Another Year. Another Phase

Knowledge itself is power. ipsa scientia potestas est


Welcome to all our students and parents both old and new. We embark on another phase of the development of Hammersmith Academy. This academic year we have doubled the number of staff, students and parents. Students look tremendously professional in their suits and ties. We have seamlessly transitioned and are now beginning to fill this once cavernous building.

The academy crackles with the energy of minds being stretched and new topics being taught. There is so much to learn at the beginning of every school year. The new recruits have taken on the many rules and expectations with great aplomb and eagerness. This vitality is setting the fast pace of learning which is holding back the damp weather and darkness of the ever shortening days. All can be seen at the new year 6 Open Evening on the 10th October. Come and see us in action!

Session 3 enrichment activities have now started with a huge range of options. These include sports teams where Rugby, Football, Hockey and Netball teams are making great strides in the local and national competitions. Also, there are other opportunities in dance, table-tennis and trampolining. Other less exhausting options include art, engineering, languages and creative writing sessions. So many choices and not enough days!

The burgeoning sixth form settle down to their long lessons and the heady heights demanded by A Levels. There is no substitute for hard work as mock exams race towards us. We will get to show off all that we are achieving with our upcoming 6th Form Open Evening on the 17th October. Further, the students were visited earlier this term by Robert Swannell, Chair of Marks and Spencer. His inspirational speech on his life, opportunities and success in business with key messages about integrity, professionalism and determination resonated strongly with all 220 students. Robert is the first in a line of speakers who will be sharing their wealth of knowledge and ingredients for our young people’s success over the coming months.

I look forward sharing with you the on-going story of Hammersmith Academy and the achievements of all our students and staff over the coming year.

Dreaming of sandy beaches and lazy holidays

The inaugural year at Hammersmith Academy is over. We bade farewell to our Year 12 students who completed their studies and celebrated their achievement at the celebration assembly in early July. They moved onto their work experience prior to a much deserved rest and anxious wait for the AS results in August. We look forward to their return in September.


The year 7 students have completed their ninth module of this academic year. Revision and examinations continued as we prepared for our Olympic themed cross-curricular events to close out this fantastic year. Our reward system is creaking under the difficult choices being made after so many students have performed to the highest levels and achieved so widely. The end of term achievement assembly is excitingly anticipated. I am still considering the choices for Headteacher awards.

We continue to feverishly plan for the next academic year whilst we evaluate the year gone by. We look forward to the addition of 20 new staff to complement our current staff. We double in size to almost 500 students from September. A whole year 8 and year 13 curriculum to be written and added to the online Virtual Learning Environment.

Class lists to be created, tutor groups added to, equipment to be cleaned and checked for September. Handbooks and telephone directories are being updated whilst uniforms are fitted for all our new arrivals. New books are on order for the library and lessons. All hands to the pump, this ship is on course for next year!

Those thoughts of sandy beaches are held at bay while we prepare for our final push this academic year. Our Olympic celebrations continue with our inter-house competition. A myriad of activities and sporting excellence. Who will be the winner of this inaugural sports day? Which house will be the first? Berners- Lee, Gates. Lovelace or Tesla?

So with pride and heartfelt thanks, I congratulate the tremendous efforts of all our staff that toiled and turned this building into a school with a heart. An inspirational place where students strive to better themselves and others. A place where students risk failure in order to taste the sweetness of success. They have given so much of themselves. Congratulations and a well-deserved rest awaits you.

And finally to all our parents who have guided and supported their children through the high expectations and rain, sunshine and homework, on the road to maturation. Still far to go but how the young students of Hammersmith Academy have travelled. Let’s celebrate their achievements.

Be good and stay safe and I look forward to our continued learning adventure.

Sunshine, rain and rainbows

The new academy building has been tested by the immense rainfall last month. The warmth of our building has certainly banished the wet weather from our thoughts as we press on through module 7 and the exam season. Mocks are currently under way, coursework firmly squared away and practice papers being attacked with vengeance. In observing the 6th Form, the year 7s are clear about the intensity and quality that will be required of them in a few years’ time.

The arrival of our outdoor tennis tables has created enthusiasm for this Olympic sport. Fast topspin smashes and cool backhand defensive strokes are served up daily. We have seen an increase in participation of both boys and girls seeking regular combat across the net. We search out for more good weather to aid this lunch time competition.

Four classes went indoor bowling as a prize celebration for winning the competition for naming the academy houses. A splendid evening of strikes and halves and dogged competition. A small prize for enduring house names that will last many generations.

Our recycling effort in the academy is developing at pace. This focus, led by the Student Council, will develop an environmentally conscious group of students which will benefit the academy as we grow and double in numbers for next year. The Student Leadership will report on its foci, actions and impact in each academy newsletter. Congratulations to all those successful candidates voted on to the council by their peers.

The cricket season continues unabated by the rain. Not quite a traditional game as games are played indoors but better than cancellation. We hope the wickets will dry out soon for more sporting games on balmy afternoons. The same goes for athletics. We dream of the sunshine in order to move outside and run with the breeze in our faces.

It was a pleasure to show so many of our local community around the academy at our Community Open Evening on the 19th April, the hardy individuals who braved thunder and lightning and no little rain to enjoy a student led tour. We aim to hold further events in the future and will communicate through our community newsletter.

We are beginning to finalise our induction plans for the new year 7 entry for September. Uniform and bag orders are being made. We will send out details very soon.

Offers are going out to our potential 6th form students for next year. If you are in year 11 or 6th form currently and would like to make an application, do so quickly if you want an interview. Contact the academy directly.

Keep up-to-date through our newsletter.

The Lord Mayor's visit and other news, March 2012

All growing together


The formal Opening of Hammersmith Academy by Alderman David Wooton, The Lord Mayor of the City of London, took place on the 7th March. The academy was washed clean by the torrential rain but it did not dampen spirits. The students performed their mini-plays and sang wonderful songs to celebrate the fantastic work of students, parents and staff to make the academy launch such a success. Thanks were given to the many unsung heroes from builders and architects, to teachers and governors who all had significant parts in bringing the academy together over a six year period. The day finished with a balloon launch with tagged messages from the students, indicating their hopes and dreams for the future. The sun managed to break through so that the afternoon finished in a blaze of sunshine, good feeling and shared exhilaration.

Students are focused on the lead up to Easter. Our focus as always is progress and for the year 12s how best they can prepare for the final push to the exams in mid-May. The revision starts now.

We are also in the midst of interviewing prospective sixth formers for September. We make offers but all depends on results this summer. Those in Year 11 must concentrate on those GCSEs and ensure they get the grades to join our current students next year.

Book Week was a tremendous affair. A big thank you to Ms Hartnett, our dynamic librarian. She organised inspiring events, including the visit by children’s authors, Andy Briggs and Dan Freedman, both real inspirational characters and role models for our year 7 students.

Well done also to our girls and boys year 7 indoor athletes for winning the Hammersmith and Fulham Indoor Athletics Championship. A real credit to the academy. You have set the bar very high for the following year groups.

Congratulations to those current year 6 students that have been offered a place at the academy starting this September. We look forward to inducting you in the summer term and getting you organised for uniform and information. Get those acceptance letters in ASAP.

Our Student Council is now up and running and providing a voice for our students. Nominations for House prefects continue as we add layers to our student body representation.

The summer beckons and with the good weather our outside table tennis tables take on a whole new dimension. Silky skills and whipped forehands really have the competition ‘hotting up.’

We have also employed 18 new staff for teaching in September 2012. A marathon of interviews and short-listing has proved to be rewarding as we have some outstanding staff joining the ever expanding academy team. This will lead to even more Session 3 opportunities next year.
I sign off with the imminent launch of HA Radio. Our web-based radio station will give students to really get a sense of developing different industry type skills or simply develop additional skills and interests.

Happy New Year! Welcome Back for the Spring Term

Going for gold every day!

It is with much anticipation that I welcome you back for this Spring term.  I hope that you have had a restful festive break.   We are looking forward to adding to our collective achievements in this Olympic year.

The first term was quite remarkable for making history and launching this much needed school in west London. The end of term Winter Fayre was a wonderful celebration of the talents and creative endeavours of our year 7 students.  This showcase really highlighted the wonderful collegial attitude of our students and staff.  It was a really fun way to end the year with art showcases, singing, dancing and drama sketches written and performed by the students.

The crowning event for the term was the naming of the academy houses.  Sixteen different presentations were made by the tutor groups with four major names selected by the sponsors.  The chair of governors, Tom Ilube, on behalf of the sponsors pitched each idea to the whole student body who then voted for their preferred choice.  I can now reveal that the new house names are:

Green House                     Gates House

Yellow house                     Lovelace House

Red House                          Berners-Lee House

Blue House                         Tesla House

Our focus for this term is very much on maintaining and expanding the excellent ethos created last year and pushing up the standards even more over the coming months.  We will be entering a busy period of staff recruitment and thus continue to build and develop our teams to provide an inspirational educational experience.

Students will be launching immediately into module 4 and the 6^th formers will be sitting their first formal modular exams throughout January.  We wish them good luck and look forward to receiving their results.

As we approach the coming months we will see more daylight as the days lengthen but please can parents ensure that their children have appropriate winter coats and footwear for the conditions (please see dress code on our website).

Our first Talent Month competition will be held throughout January.  It will culminate with a formal contest, where the top acts identified and selected from dancing to art, comedy to juggling and many others, go head-to-head to become the winner of  HA’s Got Talent 2012.  All talents are given the chance to shine. I am sure we will also see some staff entries!

I look forward to sharing more throughout 2012.