Leigh Academy Minster is part of Leigh Academies Trust

Leigh Academies Trust is one of the country’s largest and most-established multi-academy trusts operating across Kent, Medway and South East London. It contains primary, secondary and special academies and is highly inclusive and successful. Our mission is to deliver “an education for a better world” by ensuring that young people in our academies have an excellent start in life regardless of their background or ability.

Welcome to Leigh Academy Minster

I am privileged to welcome you to Leigh Academy Minster, an institution where innovation and excellence combine with respect and integrity to ensure all young people who study with us go on to lead happy, successful lives. We are a newly established mixed secondary academy dedicated to providing an excellent, well-rounded education for children in our fantastic community.

A headshot of Mathieu Stevens

Mathieu Stevens
Principal

As Principal of Leigh Academy Minster I am unapologetic in my commitment to our young people, ensuring that all students are provided with a high quality, internationally-influenced academic curriculum that showcases and celebrates the rich history of the Island. Our small school, human-scale education model, delivered through a college structure, ensures the educational experience for every student is personalised to ensure they are successful. Students will be held to a high standard, and will be challenged to fulfil their ambitions through the academy’s strong culture of academic achievement and respect.

I am a strong believer that education has the ability to change lives, and our academy is steadfast in its commitment to provide students the opportunity to develop themselves both academically and personally through the integration of both traditional and digital approaches to learning. Central to this approach is a student’s ownership and responsibility for their own learning. We are dedicated to equipping our young people with the resources, opportunities, and support they need to grow in all areas of their academic and personal lives, working closely with their families.

Our Small Schools

Our small schools approach ensures that every student is known, understood and valued as an individual. They are made up of students from Years 7-11 and students are in a tutor group within their own year. Our students also benefit from a dedicated Sixth Form Small School, supporting their transition into Post 16 education. 

Our small schools reflect the importance of local context to our academy, with each college figurehead of prominent historical importance to the Isle of Sheppey; The Wright Brothers (Wright College), Amy Johnson (Johnson College), Hilda Hewlett (Hewlett College) and Samuel Cody (Cody College). 

Each small school has approximately 350 students, its own Head and Deputy Head’s of School, Small School Managers, Student Support Officer, Administration Officer and a dedicated team of tutors.

Our small schools form strong relationships with students and families and are a source of both academic and pastoral support. They are the first port of call for any individual and families value having a specific named contact for communication.

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Our Facilities

The academy benefits from major investment and refurbishment as a part of Leigh Academies Trust. Students are able to enjoy their global education, well suited for the 21st century, against the backdrop of an historic, celebrated building. Our facilities enable students to thrive, learning the very best of what has been thought and said. We want our students to experience their learning using quality resources and as such we have excellent IT facilities, spacious science laboratories, a modern sports centre, onsite playing fields, and new design and engineering centre with industry standard equipment. 

Students are able to enjoy their breaks and lunches in our academy restaurant or outside in designated spaces that provide comfortable social spaces. We have a space exclusively for Year 7s to use to support them in their transition to secondary school. Our well stocked library ensures our students have access to reading for study and leisure. 

There has been an unprecedented investment in our digital infrastructure to ensure that students are able to access information and online platforms to support their learning.

Our Curriculum

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Our curriculum prepares students to be the very best and compete with the very best. Our commitment to inspire students so that they can learn and achieve is delivered daily and inspires students to be inquisitive, eager to find out more. We want all of our students to leave with a comprehensive understanding of the world around them in order for them to compete on the global stage.

The curriculum is shaped by, and deeply rooted in, the strongest available evidence about how students learn and retain knowledge in the long term. We value the uniqueness of each subject we offer. We are committed to students engaging deeply and comprehensively with both substantive and disciplinary knowledge so that they achieve strong outcomes throughout each phase of the curriculum: the Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Years 7, 8 and 9; a two-year Key Stage 4 where students study a range of GCSEs and vocational qualifications in Years 10 and 11; and A Levels and Vocational subjects in our Sixth Form. 

We are also aware that children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also challenges and risks. In this environment, children and young people need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way.  Our daily tutor periods give our students the information they need to support them to develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds, which also complements our values of respect, achievement, collaboration, integrity and resilience.

We ensure that all our students receive specialist support in terms of careers, future training and informed university choices, including a substantial guidance programme for UCAS applications.This, combined with extracurricular activities and personal development programmes, helps enhance applications to universities and future employers.

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

  • International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP)

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

  • GCSE
  • Vocational Qualifications

Key Stage 3 (Years 12-13)

  • International Baccalaureate Careers Related Programme (IBCP)
  • Vocational Qualifications

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

  • English Literature and Language

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

  • English Literature and Language

Key Stage 3 (Years 12-13)

  • IB English Language and Literature
  • GCSE English Resit

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

  • Mathematics

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

  • Mathematics

Key Stage 3 (Years 12-13)

  • IB Mathematics
  • GCSE Mathematics Resit

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

  • Sciences

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

  • Combined Science
  • Triple Science

Key Stage 3 (Years 12-13)

  • IB Biology
  • IB Physics
  • BTEC Diploma Applied Science

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

  • Physical and Health Education

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

  • Physical Education
    (Non-Examined)
  • BTEC Sport

Key Stage 3 (Years 12-13)

  • BTEC Diploma Sport

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

  • Geography
  • Global Citizenship
  • History

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

  • Geography
  • Global Citizenship
  • History

Key Stage 3 (Years 12-13)

  • BTEC Criminology
  • IB Geography
  • IB History
  • IB Psychology

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

  • French
  • Spanish

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

  • French
  • Spanish

Key Stage 3 (Years 12-13)

  • IB French
  • IB Spanish

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

  • Art
  • Drama
  • Music

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

  • Art
  • Drama
  • BTEC Music

Key Stage 3 (Years 12-13)

  • IB Art
  • BTEC Performance Art

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

  • ICT
  • Technology

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

  • BTEC Business
  • Creative iMedia
  • Design Technology
  • BTEC Engineering
  • BTEC Food Technology

Key Stage 3 (Years 12-13)

  • BTEC Business
  • BTEC Diploma Engineering
  • OCR ICT

Digital Learning

Leigh Academies Trust’s vision to transform lives and enable every member of the Trust’s family to thrive in an ever-changing world is borne through our commitment to develop powerful digital citizens of the future.

We recognise that the development of independent learning habits is critical to student success and that by having access to digital technology students can use the varied learning tools and online resources available to help them realise their full potential. Students are introduced to a variety of programmes, tools and platforms throughout their educational journey that will enable them to enhance their learning both inside and outside of the classroom. 

We understand the importance of being digitally literate in our current world and therefore we are committed to equipping students with the necessary knowledge and skills to lead in the digital world.

Students enjoy using their Chromebook to support their studies and stimulate further research and wider learning.

Enrichment and Extra Curricular Activities

Extracurricular activities have a positive impact on academic success and our enrichment programme which runs in the morning and after school goes beyond academic, technical, and vocational pursuits. Our programme promotes students’ overall development by allowing them to explore and discover their interests and talents. We ensure that we provide clubs that increase an understanding of how to stay physically healthy, eat healthily, and live an active lifestyle, and we provide ample opportunities for students to be active during the school day. Our extra-curricular activities range from drama clubs, sports clubs, STEM club, photography club, coding club to chess clubs.

Assessment and Reports

Our schedule of assessment, throughout each module (half term), ensures that student progress is regularly monitored and reviewed. Additional support and intervention can be swiftly put in place if necessary with extension work provided for those who have made exceptional progress. 

Parents receive their child’s progress report in line with their qualifications specification. In Key Stage 3, two reports are sent home per year, with information corresponding to the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme assessment specification. Key Stage 4 and 5 students receive three progress reports per year.

Uniform

At Leigh Academy Minster, we believe that high expectations and standards around uniform, conduct and appearance form the basis for students to show pride in their learning, in their academy and in themselves. As a result, students strive to achieve the highest standards academically, thus securing the best life chances.

The uniform is differentiated with colours of each small school shown on the academy tie.

Our Sixth Form students wear business attire in order to ensure a professional and mature approach to their studies in addition to being the academy’s inspirational role models.

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