7 May 2019Invicta Grammar School to hold Year 5 open evening
Invicta Grammar School will be holding a Year 5 open evening on Monday 20 May 2019, from 6pm to 8pm, which will provide important and practical information around the transition from primary school to secondary school.
Headteacher, Mrs Julie Derrick, said: “This event is aimed at Year 5 girls and their parents who are starting to think about which secondary school might be right for them. During the evening, we give them a practical experience of what it’s like to be in a grammar school, to help them make the right choice moving forward. Thinking about the next stage of education can be daunting for both children and parents, so we hope this event will provide really valuable and practical information, help allay any concerns and lend a hand with the decision making process.”
The open evening starts with an input from Mrs Derrick and two Invicta Grammar School students focusing on the reasons to choose a grammar school, information around the Kent Test (11+) and tips for students and parents to help them decide whether or not to take the test.
The evening is finished off with a 45-minute practical lesson, across a range of subjects, to give a first-hand feel of the school.
Mrs Derrick added: “The Year 5 open evening is a great way for girls and their parents to find out more about the next stage of education to ensure they make a decision that is right for them, and which will see them really enjoy their experience throughout secondary school, and achieve their full potential.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming as many people as possible to Invicta Grammar School on 20 May, so they can see exactly what we have to offer our future students.”
3 Apr 2019Valley Invicta Primary School at Kings Hill receives prestigious Unicef UK Award
Valley Invicta Primary School at Kings Hill has been awarded the Bronze Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) by Unicef UK.
Unicef is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. The Bronze, Silver and Gold Rights Respecting Schools Awards are granted to schools that show commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults, children and young people to respect the rights of others in school.
Head Teacher, Steph Guthrie, said: “We are so proud to have achieved the first stage of Unicef UK’s Rights Respecting Schools Award, Bronze: Rights Committed. It is a huge achievement and recognises the effort and commitment put in by all our pupils, staff, governors and parents. The Bronze Award will undoubtedly have a positive impact on us all moving forward as it puts the importance of children’s rights at the heart of everything we do as a school. I would like to say a huge thank you to all of those who have contributed to this fabulous achievement. We are now excited to be working towards the Silver Award.”
Year 6 pupil, Hudson, said: “I think our Rights Respecting Team is great because we can express our feelings with the team and nobody criticises our ideas or thoughts. I feel confident sharing all my thoughts with teachers now and being a Rights Respecting school has boosted my confidence into higher levels.”
The Award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of a school’s planning, policies and practice. A Rights Respecting School is a community where children’s rights are learned, taught, practised, respected, protected and promoted.
The Unicef UK Rights Respecting Schools initiative is aimed at schools across the UK, including those in an early years setting. This year, the programme has received additional support from The People’s Postcode Lottery. This vital funding is helping Unicef UK continue its work with over 4500 primary schools, secondary schools, schools for children and young people with special educational needs and pupil referral units across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Schools have reported a positive impact on pupil behaviour, relationships and well-being by enhancing pupil’s self-esteem, leading to less truancy and bullying, better learning and improved academic standards.
8 Mar 2019Valley Invicta Primary School at Holborough Lakes receives prestigious Unicef UK Award
Valley Invicta Primary School at Holborough Lakes has been awarded the Silver Rights Respecting School Award by Unicef UK. It is one of only 11 schools in Kent to be given this award.
Unicef is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. The Rights Respecting Schools Award is granted to schools that show commitment to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults, children and young people to respect the rights of others in school. The Silver Award is given to schools that make excellent progress towards embedding the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into its ethos and curriculum. There are over 1000 schools across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales that have achieved Silver and over 400 schools that have been awarded Gold, the next step up and highest accolade granted by Unicef.
Head Teacher, Lisa Vickers, said: “We are so proud our school has achieved the Silver Rights Respecting Award. It is a huge achievement and recognises the incredible effort put in by all our pupils, staff, governors and parents. The Award will undoubtedly have a positive impact on us all moving forward as it puts the importance of children’s rights at the heart of everything we do as a school. I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of those who have contributed to this achievement. We are now eagerly working towards the Gold Award.”
Year 6 pupil, Christian, said: “Getting the silver award felt like a gargantuan achievement. It has made our school be shown as a Rights Respecting School and is a proud achievement to have. It has had a very big impact on how we behave during school because classmates look out for each other and understand the rights of the child and school. A lot of people have been putting respecting achievements in lessons, for example, if they see a pen on the floor that isn’t theirs they put it in the pot.”
The Award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of a school’s planning, policies and practice. A Rights Respecting School is a community where children’s rights are learned, taught, practised, respected, protected and promoted.
The Unicef UK Rights Respecting Schools initiative is aimed at schools across the UK, including those in an early years setting. This year, the programme has received additional support from The People’s Postcode Lottery. This vital funding is helping Unicef UK continue its work with over 4500 primary schools, secondary schools, schools for children and young people with special educational needs and pupil referral units across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Schools have reported a positive impact on pupil behaviour, relationships and well-being by enhancing pupil’s self-esteem, leading to less truancy and bullying, better learning and improved academic standards.
25 Jan 2019Work on brand new School of Science and Technology Maidstone is officially underway
A groundbreaking event was held at the site of the new School of Science and Technology Maidstone, this week, to officially mark the start of the building project.
Chairman of Valley Invicta Academies Trust (VIAT), Nick Ware, along with Co-CEOs, Vic Ashdown and Julie Derrick, joined representatives from the construction company, BAM, who are leading the project, to formally turn the first piece of earth and to tour the site of the new school.
The £23m build will take around 72 weeks to complete and the school will be open to 180 Year 7 students from September 2020.
Additional work will start on a brand new £2.5m Sports Hall, situated on the VIAT Maidstone campus, this April. The build is scheduled to take around 50 weeks in total, after which the state-of-the-art facilities will be open for use by students from all VIAT schools.
VIAT Co-CEO, and Executive Headteacher at Valley Park School, Vic Ashdown said: “This is a very exciting project for the Trust and we are looking forward to welcoming students to our brand new school next year. We will be extremely fortunate to have some of the best facilities in the county which will benefit thousands of students from across all of our primary and secondary schools.
“We would like to thank all the people involved in this project, particularly BAM, who have helped make sure it has started very smoothly, and also to local residents for their patience and support. We know this project will be a valuable addition to the education provision for the Maidstone Community.”
13 Nov 2018Series of events across VIAT schools to commemorate Remembrance Day
Valley Invicta Academies Trust (VIAT) has commemorated Remembrance Day with a variety of poignant events across all of its eight schools.
At Valley Invicta Primary School at Aylesford a poppy wall has been created in the school hall with lots of different poppies made by pupils, families and members of the community. A special remembrance assembly was held last week, and all classes spent an afternoon taking part in learning activities relating to remembrance.
At Valley Invicta Primary School at Holborough Lakes – A special remembrance service and assembly was held for children and parents who attended; remembrance artwork was also created to display in school.
At Valley Invicta Primary School at Kings Hill there is a poppy display in the hall made from poppies the children have created. The whole school has taken part in a special project about missing soldiers which has involved asking members of the local community for their own stories about WW1. Some children also attended a Community Remembrance Service held in Liberty Square on Sunday.
At Valley Invicta Primary School at Leybourne Chase a special remembrance event was held this week, and Years 4, 5 and 6 attended a service at Leybourne Memorial. Children have created artwork to commemorate the event which will be displayed around the school.
At Valley Invicta Primary School at East Borough, a remembrance assembly was held with Yeoman Serjeant Jim Duncan and an outdoor poppy wall has been created by the children, which showcases hundreds of individually hand-painted poppies.
At Invicta Grammar School Year 11 student Hannah Clifton played the trumpet while the school observed a two-minute silence. There was a Help for Heroes cake sale and paper poppies were purchased through the week with students writing a memory or thank you to those fallen. These notes were then displayed on a large noticeboard. The sale of crocheted poppies raised £113 and other poppies, badges and wrist bands have been sold throughout the past two weeks via the Royal British Legion.
At Valley Park School, an evening remembrance service was held and students created beautiful ceramic poppies which are being displayed within the school.
At The Lenham School, students have created a display board of war poems they have written which will be placed in St Mary’s Church, Lenham, as part of the village’s commemorative activities. The board also features photographs of students who visited the battlefield cemeteries last year.
Julie Derrick, Joint Chief Executive of Valley Invicta Academies Trust, said: “We are very proud to have held so many wonderful events in all our schools to mark this very special day. Our students thoroughly enjoyed learning about Remembrance Day and really embraced the poignancy of the occasion.”
