Dear Parents / Carers,

I only have one message for you in this edition of Academic Update (apart from happy Christmas, of course), so for once, I will keep it brief! As I am certain you are aware, we are in exam season, so whether your son / daughter is in Year 7 sitting their first end of term exams, or in Year 13 in the build up to the final stages of their time at Chelsea Academy, the advice is the same. I would strongly encourage you to ask your children for their exam papers so that they can explain to you what went well for them, and most importantly, what the key areas are that they need to improve. Many things change in terms of teaching, curriculum content and the actual subjects we study, but this particular strategy will never get old and will always make a big impact. Many students are often in a hurry to move on, and are not that interested in ‘going back over work’, but applying this self-discipline is one of the most significant factors in improving students’ performance.

This is my final academic update before leaving Chelsea Academy, so I would like to say a big thank you to those of you who have read my articles over the past year, asked useful questions, and challenged me to be better at my job. I wish you and your children the best of luck and greatest of success and happiness in years to come.

Tom Cragg,
Vice Principal, Curriculum