Mrs Van Beales to lead Invicta Grammar School as Headteacher From September 2021, Mrs Van Beales will take on the role of Headteacher for Invicta Grammar School, while Mrs Marelle Giles will step into the position of Head of School.
Julie Derrick, who has been Invicta’s Headteacher for 11 years, will be stepping down to concentrate fully on her role as CEO of Valley Invicta Academies Trust, which Invicta Grammar School is part of.
Mrs Derrick said: “These are exciting changes. Mrs Beales, who has been at Invicta for 15 years, will be responsible for the strategic direction of the school and Mrs Giles, who joined Invicta in 2009, will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the school. They have both worked incredibly hard and know the school very well. They have an absolute synergy in their approach to ensuring that our students get the very best education – both pastorally and academically.
“I have loved every moment of my time as Headteacher at Invicta and I have thoroughly enjoyed building the school to be one that I am very proud of. Our students and staff are wonderful and I have no doubt that the school will thrive and continue to develop in the coming years.
“I will now look to concentrate full-time on my role as CEO of Valley Invicta Academies Trust which, over the last few years, has grown into a very demanding but fulfilling job. I will continue to oversee Invicta as one of the nine schools within the Trust.”
Train to Teach Information Sessions – Wednesday 30 June 2021 Train to Teach Information Sessions – Wednesday 30 June 2021
Are you, or is anyone you know, interested in considering a career change and would like to consider training to teach?
Valley Invicta Teacher Training (VITT), offers the opportunity to train to teach through salaried or non-salaried School Direct courses and Apprenticeships, currently in the following subjects for 2022/2023: Art and Design, Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Design and Technology, Drama, English, Geography, History, Maths, MFL (French and/or Spanish), Music, Physics, PE, and Primary General. These courses are delivered at Valley Invicta Academies Trust Primary and Secondary Schools; Invicta Grammar School, Valley Park School, The Lenham School, SST Maidstone, along with our five Valley Invicta Primary Schools located at Kings Hill, Leybourne Chase, Holborough Lakes, Aylesford and East Borough. As a Trust we offer a selection of training providers that you can chose to train with - Canterbury Christ Church University, University of Brighton, University of Sussex or the University of Greenwich. Bursaries are available for some non-salaried posts dependent on the subject (the bursary amounts are announced annually by the DfE).
Ideally, you would have graduated with a degree with a 1st, 2.1 or 2.2 degree. For primary teaching, your degree can be in any subject but for secondary, ideally it should be relevant to your chosen subject. You must have GCSEs at grade C or above (or equivalent) in Maths and English (and Science for Primary courses). There is no longer a need to pass the former Professional Skills tests.
Interested? Then, we would like to offer you the possibility of furthering your interest in our Train to Teach programme by providing an opportunity to join us at allocated sessions on Wednesday 30 June 2021 at our School of Science and Technology, Maidstone. The sessions will offer an opportunity to ask questions of department and senior staff, current and past School Direct trainees as well as understand a little more about the many teacher training courses that we offer through the Trust.
Please note this is not an open day for parents. The sole purpose is to offer those interested in a change of career and wishing to consider teacher training, the opportunity to explore a teaching career.
In accordance with the current COVID guidelines, we would ask you to bring your mask with you and adhere to social distancing rules in place at that time. There will be hand sanitisers around the school for your use.
We hope you are able to join us. If you are able to, please complete the online registration form at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vitt-train-to-teach-information-sessions-tickets-148600862179
SST Maidstone opens doors to founding cohort of students Valley Invicta Academies Trust’s (VIAT) brand new School of Science and Technology Maidstone (SST) opened its doors for the first time, this morning (8 September), to the founding cohort of 192 Year 7 students.
The school was formally handed over to the Trust in May, marking the end of the 18-month construction project, led by BAM, and a six-year plan for VIAT to build a new school.
The state-of-the-art building has 11 Science rooms, six Computer Studies suites, along with specialist Music, Drama and Design Technology provision.
VIAT Chief Executive, Julie Derrick, said: “Seeing our brand new school open for students today was an absolutely fantastic experience for us all. Today is the culmination of six years of hard work and dedication, and I am confident that students, parents and staff will now reap the benefits. This is a hugely exciting time for the Trust and we feel incredibly fortunate to have this fantastic extension to our main VIAT campus. I hope every single one of our founding cohort of students feel welcome and as excited as we are. I have no doubt that our Headteacher, Van Beales, and her outstanding team, will do a fantastic job in moving the school forward in the coming weeks, months and years.”
VIAT Chief Operating Officer, Richard Hayden, said: “It’s an absolute pleasure to see students start to use this amazing new school. The vision has always been to create something unique for the local community and I am confident that we have done exactly that. The school will be an incredible facility and resource, not only for the students, but also for staff and stakeholders, moving forward.”
SST Headteacher, Van Beales said: “Today is an exciting and significant day for all of us. I feel privileged to be leading such a wonderful school and I am grateful for the support we have had from our parents so far. We are delighted to welcome our students for the first time today. As our founding cohort, they will always be an important part of the history of the school, and the Trust, and my team and I can’t wait to get to know them all and create a supportive, creative, enthusiastic, happy school community together.”
A formal opening for the school will take place in November 2020.
@ValleyInvictaTT - 3 Sep 2021Hearing from our fantastic staff about Valley Invicta Teacher Training @ValleyInvictaTT and how it can help develop the careers of existing staff, as well as help start the journey for those thinking about a career in teaching. pic.twitter.com/R4BClBHtPA— Valley Invicta Teacher Training (VITT) (@ValleyInvictaTT) September 3, 2021
