The Canterbury Academy – Year 11 Results 2020
Our Class of 2020 have faced unprecedented challenges in their final year of KS4 study at The Canterbury Academy. To have worked hard towards a variety of qualifications, at a variety of levels, and then to lose the opportunity to sit final examinations could have been a devastating blow for many. But, the resilience, focus, determination, care and empathy which our students have shown throughout this pandemic, both towards each other and their wider communities, has been truly humbling and served as an inspiration to all of the staff that have worked with them.
Today, despite all of these setbacks and the undoubted anxieties they will have caused, we are incredibly proud to announce another highly successful year, congratulating all of our students upon their successes in the many qualifications taken, allowing them to progress on to a variety of positive destinations.
The Canterbury Academy is a comprehensive school ‘for all the talents’ that has maintained and enhanced pathways for learners of all abilities, aptitudes and skills located on a university style campus for school students, and is pleased to have been able to continue to offer its students a wide range of opportunities. We are extremely proud of all our students’ achievements across our pillars of excellence in academic learning, sport, performing arts, practical learning and enterprise education, and our area wide work in youth, community and extended service.
The Simon Langton Grammar stream at the school, which is for students whose gifts are academic (amongst others) again performed very well and obtained some top grades, with these students progressing to positive destinations. A number of those students who did incredibly well benefitted from a coaching relationship with the University of Oxford’s St Hugh’s College. This included weekly support and guidance from current Oxford students and academics. Their results are the product of their hard work, commitment and focus, supported by their teachers.
We are delighted that once again many have benefitted from the close relationship with Simon Langton Boys’ Grammar School and will now be going on to study predominantly A Levels, with the aim to progress on to Russell Group universities. Some of our students’ successes include James Haddad, who secured 10 GCSEs at grades 9-6; Molly Layton who received 10 GCSEs at grades 9-7; Harvey Keeble and Iona Bolton, who both complete Year 11 with 10 GCSEs at grades 9-6 and Grace Weldon who finishes with 10 GCSEs at grades 9-5.
Our successes in performing arts continue to fill us with pride. They include Sabrina Newton-Fisher, who has been signed for a recurring main role in the ‘Paddington Bear’ TV series; Olivia Laing performing in The Royal Shakespeare Company’s ‘Next Generation Act’ company performance; ‘Decameron2020: Under Lockdown’. Maize Theze remains the undisputed ‘IDO UK Champion in HipHop Dance’ and for the first time, a Canterbury Academy student, Lewis Aspinall, has gained a main role in ‘Nativity The Musical’ at The Marlowe Theatre!
Sport continues to be an integral part of our Trust community, and during this academic year an increasingly high number of students have excelled in a range of sports. Two of our golfers, Lily Cook and Tom Paterson, have represented Kent in national competitions; with Lily’s progress being rewarded with a place on an England Golf development programme. Year 11 student, Lewis Marsh, has been accepted on a course at Grantham College, which is a specialist academy for high performing table tennis players. Year 10 student, Jamie Keir and year 7 student, Ollie Scott, have both performed really well in their endurance events over the course of the year, with Jamie winning the county under 15 cross country race in the winter. All of these students have benefited from either individualised timetables or additional support for their sport, demonstrating our commitment to ensuring students realise their full potential.
Sport continues to grow at The Canterbury Academy and our cricket programme was nationally recognised by The Cricketer Magazine in November 2019, when we were named in The Top 100 Schools for cricket across the country; an exceptional achievement for a school outside of both the private and selective education systems. Our strong partnerships with local sports clubs and organisations means we continue to provide a very professional Sixth Form sport programme for highly committed sports students, and this will grow further next year with the introduction of a specialist cheerleading academy in association with one of the county’s leading cheerleading clubs, ‘Vista Twisters.’
It has also been an excellent year for students within the Practical Learning and Enterprise Education Pillar. Jessica Hodges has secured an apprenticeship at a well-known salon; Jack Sayer has secured an apprenticeship as an electrician and Agatha Matson will be attending a fashion course at a local college. There has been a huge amount of creative work produced this year in Textiles, notably from Mia Gage, who completed a fascinating 3D design about war. Whilst in Art and Design, Hannah Wilkes and Lauren Price have continuously produced very exciting visual pieces.
The school continues to enjoy growing popularity, with increased numbers seeking to join it and its Grammar stream supported by Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, which goes from strength to strength. The school has the largest sixth form in Kent, with our highest number of students ever going onto university this summer, including Russell Group and Oxbridge. The students achieved tremendous success in sport at local, regional and national level; remarkable successes in the performing arts, with students of all ages appearing on stage, screen and TV; and, various successes in practical learning.
We are exceptionally proud of our students’ achievements, despite the unprecedented disruption to their education this academic year, and wish them every success with the next stage of their lives.
