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Longfield Academy
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The Longfield Lockdown
Written by Students, for Students
Safety Announcement
We hope you are all safe and well, and continuing to learn! If venturing out, remember to stay at least 2m apart from anyone else who is not in your household and to wash your hands when you get back home. Included in this newsletter are fun ways to keep yourself entertained and useful tricks to make lockdown fly by!
In addition to the government guidelines, it is important to detach from devices, getting out of bed, doing some form of exercise at least twice a week. This could be spending time in nature, walking on nearby roads, admiring the rainbows in people’s windows or exercising in your garden. All activities adhering to the government guidelines. In addition to this, try playing a board game with family or use playing cards.
With the weather getting hotter as we move into summer, it is essential that you look after yourself by drinking plenty of water and applying suncream if going outside. Everyone plays their part in the fight against COVID-19. If you’re missing your friends, do not meet up to hang out with your friends, instead video call or message them!
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Lockdown Tricks 1
Safety Announcement 1
Fun Recipes 3 Flapjack Recipe 3 Vegan Cupcake Recipe 4 Gluten-Free brownies Recipe 5
Bored? Try these... 6 7 New Skills to Learn 6 Interesting News 7 Garden eels 'forgetting about humans' need people to video-chat 7
School News 8 STEM Challenge 8 Remember to keep doing your set work! 8 P.E. 9 Careers Week at Longfield 10 Geography Iceland Trip 11
History of Longfield Academy 12 Longfield Academy 12 Longfield Academy 14 Axton Chase School 14 Longfield Upper School 16 Familiar Faces… 16
Home Stories 17
Games 18 Crossword Puzzle 18 Word Search 19 Crossword Answers 20
Thank You 21
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Fun Recipes
Flapjack Recipe
Ingredients:
250g jumbo porridge oats
125g butter
125g light brown sugar
2-3 tbsp golden syrup (depending on how goey you want it)
Method:
1) Heat oven to 200C/ 180C fan/ gas 6. 2) Put 250g jumbo porridge oats, 125g butter, 125g light brown sugar and 2-3 tbsp golden syrup in a bowl until mixed. 3) Lightly grease a baking tin with butter and spoon in the mixture. Press into the corners with the back of a spoon so the mixture is flat and score into 12 squares. 4) Bake for 14- 16 minutes, or until golden brown. 5) Wait for them to cool down, and enjoy!
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Vegan Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients:
150ml almond or soy milk
½ tsp cider vinegar
110g vegan butter or sunflower spread
110g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
110g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
For the buttercream:
125 g vegan butter
250g icing sugar
1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Food colouring (optional)
Method:
1) Heat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ gas 4. Line the holes of a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cases. Stir the milk and vinegar in a jug and leave to thicken slightly for a few minutes. 2) Whisk the butter and sugar until well combined. Whisk in the vanilla, then add the milk a splash at a time, alternating with spoonfuls of the flour, the baking powder and a pinch of salt until you get a creamy batter. 3) Divide between the cupcake cases, filling them two-thirds full. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden and risen. Leave to cool on a wire rack. 4) To make the buttercream, beat the butter, icing sugar, food colouring and vanilla with a whisk until pale and creamy. Spoon or pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.
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Gluten-Free brownies Recipe
Ingredients:
250g unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra for the tin
250g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
4 large eggs
300g golden caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
100g gluten-free plain flour, sieved
60g cocoa powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
150g milk chocolate, roughly cut into chunks
Method:
1) Heat oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ gas 4. Butter a 30 x 20cm tin with butter and line the base with non-sticking baking parchment. 2) Fill a small saucepan a third full with water, bring to a simmer and put a snug-fitting heatproof bowl on top of it. Add the butter and chocolate and gently melt over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to let it catch and burn on the bottom. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little. 3) Beat the eggs and sugar together using a whisk for approximately 8-10 minutes or until thick enough to leave a trail. Gently fold through the cooled melted chocolate and vanilla, followed by the flour, cocoa and salt. Finally, fold through the chocolate chunks . Pour the brownie batter into the lined tin, place in the centre of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. 4) Leave to cool a little in the tin before cutting into 12 squares.
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Bored? Try these...
7 New Skills to Learn
If the boredom has hit and you want a break from all the school work, then why don’t you consider learning a new skill. There are so many skills that you should choose from! From juggling to moonwalking (MJ style), or from whistling with your fingers to saying the alphabet backwards. In this newsletter, there are many resources to help you learn new skills…
1) Say the alphabet backwards:
https://youtu.be/epyQLWu0GZQ 5) Twirl a pen:
https://youtu.be/6XgG8J_g888 2) How to juggle:
https://youtu.be/_xye0tHas_s 6) Tie a tie:
https://youtu.be/xAg7z6u4NE8 3) Learn to moonwalk:
https://youtu.be/8iLdEseueh4 7) Fold clothes in 5 seconds:
https://youtu.be/BAxhr0j0thY 4) Whistling with your fingers:
https://youtu.be/G8Oz_ELAjNg
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Interesting News
1) Garden eels 'forgetting about humans' need people to video-chat
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-52500113
2) Wildlife conservation: First wild baby wolves for Belgium in 150 years
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52530878
3) Climate change: How Nasa's ICESat-2 is tracking changes to our planet
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52484993
4) Marcus Rashford: Manchester United and England star to do PE for Bitesize lesson
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52529078
5) Bitesize: Mabel, Sir David Attenborough and Liam Payne help you learn
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52344078
6) We may have spotted a parallel universe going backwards in time
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24532770-400-we-may-have-spotted-a -parallel-universe-going-backwards-in-time/
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School News
STEM Challenge
For the STEM Challenge, go to: https://lgflive.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Longfield-50-Challenge.pd f
Remember to keep doing your set work!
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P.E.
In February, the Longfield Academy Cheerleading team competed in the Kent School Games competition. Their hard work and determination paid off, as a result, they achieved second place.
Congratulations to the team!
Although the academy is not open to students, it is important to keep exercising, whether this be a daily walk, cycle or indoor exercising such as with weights. Exercise not only helps you physically, but it also promotes a more positive wellbeing, resulting in a happier person. This is because when you exercise, your body releases endorphins. Endorphins are often described as “feel-good” chemicals that are released by the body.
Have you tried the trending 5K challenge? If you haven’t, it is a challenge where you are nominated with the aim to cover 5 kilometers of distance, and then once finished donate £5 to a NHS charity and then nominate a further 5 people. However, you do not need to be nominated to try it and it can be completed at your own pace!
Additionally, you could try Joe Wick’s P.E. everyday on YouTube, (search ‘The Body Coach TV’) or you could invent your own workout including items from around your house!
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Careers Week at Longfield (January)
As part of a whole school careers focus day, year 8 students at Longfield Academy had the opportunity to hear Huw Prosser discuss the Power of Technology in the Workplace.
Huw, an alumni of fellow LAT school, the Leigh UTC, explained his own journey of starting a business at the age of 17 whilst still at college and his love of technology, especially coding. He advised that he’d utilised the skills of people around him to start his business including a mentor introduced to him by his Principal and even went on to employ some of his peer group!
Our presenter stressed the opportunities afforded to the students of today by technology like never before, especially social media and that by virtue of their age, they are both familiar and competent with these platforms. He warned, however, that the algorithms of many such networks powered by artificial intelligence, can potentially be harmful to mental health in how they analyse what is shown within individuals’ news feeds.
Year 12 students at Longfield Academy were recently put through their paces by professional recruiter, Daniel Goodwin of Pearson Whiffin Education. In a series of highly interactive workshops, students looked at a number of C.Vs to assess their effectiveness. In considering what makes a good C.V, students looked at a variety of areas including format, presentation of content, copy font and contact information.
Moving on, students had the opportunity to update and then discuss their own C.Vs with Daniel thereby further benefiting from his industry expertise.
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Geography Iceland Trip
Between February 24th and 27th, I and other students studying Geography went on a trip to Iceland. For the majority of the time it snowed heavily and was freezing, but I didn’t let that distract me from the fact that it is a beautiful country; the waterfalls, geysers and volcanoes were extraordinary… even if the geyser going off did make me jump!
My favourite fact I learnt from the trip was that 85% of Iceland’s energy is harvested through the use of geothermal energy by using the heat from the volcanoes!
Some more facts about Iceland are:
1) Approximately 60% of Iceland’s population lives in Reykjavik, Iceland’s Capital.
2) Iceland has no forests.
3) Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe, with 2 a population of 364,134 and an area of 103,000 km (40,000 sq mi).
4) Iceland is part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. (A ridge along which the oceanic crust spreads and forms new oceanic crust).
5) The climate of Iceland’s coast is subartic.
By Daniel Fasham (Year 13) 12
History of Longfield Academy
Longfield Academy
Longfield Academy, in its current building opened in 2011, is operated by The Leigh Academies Trust. The Academy has approximately 1100 pupils; 180 pupils in each year group from 7-11, as well as a sixth form. It was officially opened in October 2011, although pupils moved into the school in July 2011, following the closure of Axton Chase.
The 2018, and most recent, Ofsted Report rated Longfield Academy ‘Good’ in aspects covering ● Effectiveness of leadership and management, ● Quality of teaching, learning and assessment, ● Personal development, behaviour and welfare, ● Outcomes for pupils, and rated 16 to 19 study programmes as ‘Outstanding’.
The Academy is divided into three colleges, Anderson, Galileo and the best (in my opinion), Matisse. Each college has a Head of College, Behaviour Support Mentors and their own Admin teams. Anderson college is named after Elizabeth Garett Anderson, the first woman in Britain to qualify as a physician and surgeon. Galileo is named after the ‘father of observational astronomy’ and the ‘father of modern physics’, Galileo Galilei. Galilei was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer.
Matisse college is named after Henri Matisse, a French artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter.
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The Academy building is set out on two levels. On the ground floor are downstairs plazas. Downstairs Anderson hosts the science classrooms and experiment demonstration area. The performing and creative art classrooms are located in Matisse. Galileo college hosts the technology subjects. Outside, there is a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) and picnic area outside of Galileo plaza, as well as outside areas between Anderson and Matisse and Matisse and Galileo. On level 1, each upstairs plaza in each college has the same layout. The layout makes it easy to find classrooms.
A day at Longfield Academy consists of four 1 hour and 20 minute lessons. The day starts at 08:40 with lesson 1 followed by form/ tutor time lasting 20 minutes and then a 20 minute break. After break is finished, there are 2 back-to-back lessons, with a total learning time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. Lesson 4 follows a 40 minute lunch break and commences the school day at 15:20. However, lessons used to be 2 hours long; there were three lessons per day. The school times were changed for the school year 2015/16.
Other facilities include Sports Hall, Dance Studio, Fitness Gym, Assembly Hall, Drama Studio, Boardroom, Telescope Bistro (Restaurant), Library, Helix (Cafeteria), The Spectrum (SEN Centre).
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Longfield Academy
Longfield Academy opened in 2008 on the same site as Axton Chase. The name changed from Axton Chase School to Longfield Academy when the school became an Academy, operated by The Leigh Academies Trust. Longfield Academy closed here in 2011, when it transferred to the new (current) site.
Axton Chase School
Axton Chase School opened in 1994 and it was an 11-18 mixed (non-selective community) high school with an approximate capacity of 1200 students for Years 7 to 11 and post 16 students (approximately 105 students). It was a wide-ability secondary school of average size within an authority in which there were grammar schools. It was in a consortium with a local specialist technology college, an academy, two grammar schools and a further education college, focusing on 14-19 provision. The school included a special unit for autistic students. It had the following awards: Artsmark Silver, Sportsmark, Eco School Silver, Healthy Schools and Investor in People.
The school served both rural and urban communities in the Dartford district. The following map shows the spread of pupils and the locations of neighbouring secondary schools. 15
In 2008, Kent County Council proposed to close Axton Chase School and open a Government funded Academy. Originally, The proposal was that the Axton Chase School will close and in its place, a government funded academy will open. This Academy will be known as the Axtane Academy.
It was proposed that the Axtane Academy would open in September 2008 on the existing site and premises with a Published Admission Number of 180, with a capacity of 900 with up to 200 post 16 places. The new buildings were expected to be built for completion in September 2010 on the same site, adjacent to the current premises.
Kent County Council proposed this change in hope that the closure of Axton Chase and the setting up of the Academy would allow for new facilities, flexibility of curriculum and recruitment of high quality staff. It was intended that the investment in facilities, curriculum and funding flexibility that the academy would bring, would have the positive impact on standards that is required for the students of Dartford and for improved life opportunities in the local communities.
Axton Chase was separated into different buildings with a range of different levels. In total, there were six 50 minute lessons in the school day, starting at 09:00 and finishing at 15:30.
Axton Chase School closed in 2008. It was replaced by Longfield Academy.
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Longfield Upper School
At Longfield Upper School, there was an onsite farm which catered for sheep, cows, pigs and chickens. Students cared for the animals with support from teachers. The animals used to be shown at The Kent County Show. Additionally, in Longfield Upper School, there used to be a ‘bank’ on the ground floor. The bank allowed for students to pay for school trips. Pupils did not wear blazers. Longfield Upper School closed in 1994. It then became Axton Chase School.
Familiar Faces…
Mr Chambers started at Longfield Upper in April 1992. He had previously worked at The Leigh City Technology College (now The Leigh Academy). Whilst teaching at Axton Chase in 1997, he became Head of Year 10, as well as already being Head of Department.
Mr Hinks began teaching in Longfield in 1991. First, starting at Longfield Middle School (now Langafel Primary), he then moved to teach at Axton Chase when it opened in 1994, and continued to teach as it became Longfield Academy. He is now Head of Matisse college at Longfield Academy. 17
Home Stories
“Like many pupils coming to the end of their education at Longfield Academy, I have found it difficult to adjust to being at home all the time, and having not much to do. The spare time has given me time to complete outstanding work, as well as the chance to learn new skills. As I finished projects, I began baking, and going on walks and I’ve been maintaining my physical strength as I’ve not been able to go to rugby training. I have started to bake and cook food to deliver to some elederly people in my area. I have found this to be rewarding. Furthermore, I decided to start learning British Sign language and Sign Supported English. Although only one week in, I can confidently sign the alphabet, numbers, basic verbs and I can introduce myself, describe my family and ask questions!”
- Poppy Bridle (Year 13 Student)
“Unlike most of my friends, I am unable to find a new skill to learn as I am still working. I work in a supermarket and have been trying to work as much as I can do to support the communities during this time. When I am not working, I look after my younger brother, (as my parents are also key workers) and play some football in the garden! I recently celebrated my 18th birthday in lockdown, and although I was not able to meet up with my friends, I was overwhelmed with birthday messages. I have not jumped on the TikTok trend, but I did have to partake in the lockdown haircut trend.”
- Daniel Fasham (Year 13 Student)
“I try to walk everyday, weather permitting. I found it really helps my wellbeing. I prefer to walk through the woods and fields rather than on the streets because there’s less people and the countryside is pretty.”
- Conor Banks (Year 11 Student)
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Games
Crossword Puzzle
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Word Search
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Crossword Answers
Number Down: Answer:
1 Plaza
2 Tutor
3 Mr Chambers
6 Anderson
7 Blazer
Number Across: Answer:
4 Spanish
5 Galileo
8 Helix
9 Matisse
10 English
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Thank You
Thank you to all key workers currently working during this crisis. Thank you to all the teachers who are sending work out to students, and those who are still working at The Leigh Academy. Earlier in May was Teacher Appreciation Day and we believe that all the staff at Longfield are appreciated, especially during this time. In addition to the School staff, we would like to say a Thank You to all the students who are working and the families of the Academy. Most importantly, we would like to thank all the students following government guidelines regarding lockdown.
Whether it be by staying at home, essential working or looking after children, we want to say Thank You.