Principal's Update
Positive Steps on a Journey towards Outstanding
At the end of my first term as Principal here at Leeds East Academy, I am thrilled to be able to report to you the positive steps forward we have made this term. Through the hard work of you, our students, our teachers and our support staff we have delivered the best attendance in the history of the Academy by a significant margin! We have also worked together to improve behaviour, such that exclusions from the Academy have reduced by more than 60%. I am pleased to see so many of our students living up to our core value of Punctuality by arriving on time, in the correct uniform, fully equipped and ready to learn every day. Attendance remains a focus of the Academy and we will be working hard to further improve this in the coming months.
This term has seen us welcome many new staff to the Academy as we grow our staff to ensure that we offer your child the best education possible. Ten new members of teaching staff and three support staff have arrived this term. In addition, Mr Rafiq, Mrs Carrie and I have been extremely busy recruiting staff to the Academy and have appointed 25 teachers to join our staff in September. This additional recruitment means that class sizes at Leeds East Academy will reach their lowest ever levels in September, at an average of just 18. I am committed to ensuring that your child receives nothing less than a first-rate education at Leeds East Academy and smaller class sizes will support us in delivering a far more personalised curriculum that meets the individual learning needs of our students.
For those of you who have Year 6 children or have friends or family members who do, you will undoubtedly have heard about the huge numbers of parents who have chosen Leeds East Academy as their first choice of Secondary School for September. I was absolutely delighted to speak with new parents and students at our Transition Evening and was encouraged to hear that their perception of the Academy was as I would want it to be – a place where students are propelled academically in addition to meeting their needs pastorally. We look forward to welcoming parents back to the Academy in the coming weeks and months as we continue with our transition programme.
To finish off this term, I would like to publically thank staff and students who performed in our drama production, Hairspray. The students absolutely blew me away when I watched the show last week. The time and effort from all staff and students cannot be underestimated and the hard work paid off with the students delivering an absolutely fabulous performance! Well done and thank you to all involved.
I wish you a relaxing Easter break, which offers an opportune moment to look back on several success stories of 2017 in our Easter Newsletter, which is available to pick up at reception or as a digital download here.
Best wishes,
Chris Stokes
Principal
Printer-friendly versions of Mr Stokes' letters are also available in PDF format in Letters Home.
Photo: Hairspray, Leeds East Academy's largest and most impressive school production to date.