Ex nihilo nihil fit - Nothing comes from nothing

Ex nihilo nihil fit - Nothing comes from nothing


I hope the week-long half term has left everyone refreshed and revitalised for the final part of the academic year. Whilst there is not long left, there is still a lot of hard work to be done.

Year 8 students will sit English and Maths tests in the coming week. As students move into Key Stage 4 and undertake their GCSEs, these tests will prove imperative in helping us to measure the progress students have made at Key Stage 3. Although these tests are important, they are not linked to in-class study and cannot be revised for.

BTEC Performing Arts students have had their forthcoming appearance at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival confirmed. A huge ‘pat on the back’ must go to all students and staff that have been involved in this project and all its fundraising efforts, which are still continuing.

Finally, we have a few upcoming events this term which will be open to the local community. We are holding a ‘Race for Life’ fundraiser for Cancer Research (28th June) which will involve various events and activities, and an ‘Arts Day’ (10th July) to showcase the artistic talents and skills of our students. All are welcome to attend and more details are to follow.

Let’s have a great end to the academic year!

Gary Kynaston

Head teacher

Starting as we mean to go on

Non quia difficilia sunt non audemus, sed quia non audemus, difficilia sunt.

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, but because we do not dare, things are difficult.

I hope you all enjoyed your two week holiday and welcome you back for the final term of the Academy’s second year.

Since the end of last term, the Year 8 football teams travelled to Paris to compete in the International Youth Festival of Football. The girls’ team performed exceptionally well winning the tournament and securing more silverware for the Academy’s trophy cabinet.

The summer term will prove important to all students, especially those in Year 8 and Sixth Form students. GCSEs options must be chosen shortly and subject choices may greatly influence future career choices, so should be given careful consideration. Sixth Formers must also ensure all coursework is completed and continue revising in preparation for their forthcoming exams if they are to achieve the required grades to progress into Higher Education or the workplace.

Finally, we were visited by adventurer and mountaineer Squash Falconer who delivered an inspirational talk to students about some of her accomplishments which include becoming the first British woman to paraglide from the top of Mount Blanc and reaching the summits of both Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro. Squash’s experiences and words of wisdom were beneficial to all; whatever your dream or goal is, whether big or small, if you put your mind to it, you can achieve.

I look forward to us all having a good summer term.

Gary Kynaston

Head Teacher

December 2012

aut viam inveniam aut faciam - I will either find a way or make one.

Our enterprising and caring spirit grows as we continue along our journey of success. The doubling of size has been a real challenge but has provided the most rewarding op-portunities for staff and students. Sharing your Academy as the current year 8 and 13 have had to do is always difficult but we have come together as one community and shown great integrity and kinship. We have built our new relationships on the back of our shared passions for development and innovation where opportunities are being devoured remorselessly by the abundant ambition from both our staff and students.

We ended the year with a celebration assembly for each year group. These were an op-portunity to share the outstanding achievements of all our students and to recognise the efforts and advancements made across each subject. We all arrive at this well-deserved pit stop and rest this Christmas holiday season. The incredible dedication of the HA staff is shown in the wonderful work completed by our students and rewards shared through vivos and praise cards.

HA students have continued to excel in sport. Our teams have enjoyed a huge amount of success throughout this term. A special mention goes to the girls Football team and the boys Rugby teams as trophy winners. We look forward to a continued season of success in the spring term.

Sports Makers in sixth form made up part of our first Drop Down Day (DDD). The im-portance of health and fitness in our modern age is highlighted by the can-do attitude of students through sport. The overall focus of the DDD was community and safety and we followed an alternative curriculum with the help of the police, Barnardos and Road traffic awareness and many other organisations. This cross year event day really showed our HA community at its best with many important lessons learnt.

The Winter Fayre grew in size again with marvellous shows and dramatic entertainment coupled with displays of students‟ wares and artistic presentations. Such talent and flair expressed through shared endeavour. It feels that we have been together as a 500 strong community longer than the 4 months since September.

Our first foreign trip to Lille was a tremendous success. The Christmas markets showed another culture in its finest and were appreciated fully by our eager linguists. More trips to the continent are planned for next year. Watch this space!

The year 7s went en-masse to the pantomime Cinderella at The Lyric. They enjoyed the splendour of the occasion and all came back smiling and regaling tall tales and corny jokes. (Oh no they didn‟t!) Oh yes they did!

We continue with our inspirational speaker programme where professionals from all types of industries and backgrounds speak to our sixth formers and present lessons in life and being a success from many different perspectives. This has included media and film, forensic accounting, business and entrepreneurship inspiring students and advising them on how to break into different industries and start successful careers. If you would like to volunteer your services in giving a professional talk or to mentor a sixth former, please contact us at the Academy.

The staff were put through their paces this term when I invited some inspectors to come in and review our progress. I am satisfied of our good progress towards achieving our strategic goals. As a new build Academy, we will have a formal Ofsted inspection some-time in the spring term. We will keep you posted.

Despite the well-deserved rest, sixth form have many modular exams after the festive break, so revise, revise, revise!

Can I thank all parents, sponsors and community members for your continued support of the Academy and look forward to a new year of further growth, development and success. Have a restful festive break and I wish you all a prosperous New Year.
Gary Kynaston, Headteacher

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.