RSA Academy

The Academy is organising a large event, Enlighten, to be held at the multi faith centre in Wednesbury in November of this year. As part of the planning for this event thirteen Year 12 students had a tour of the site and building, met some inspirational people and had a very valuable lesson on event management by a local entrepreneur and self-made millionaire, Ken Banks. The students not only realised the sheer size of the Enlighten project and how much organisation will be involved but it also encouraged a period of self-reflection and personal development in the understanding of ’breaking down barriers’ in a multi-cultural society.

Here are just a few of the comments put together by Rachel Willetts:

“The experience was enlightening to all of us as it helped us to get an understanding of the location of the event, as well as being more aware of the sheer amount of work that goes into planning an event. This will be extremely beneficial to us in the process of planning the Enlighten event so that we can be more organised and prepared for the hard work that lies ahead when we are working on this fantastic opportunity.”

“I found the event meeting very enriching in terms of learning about the organisation and the aspects of the events. I’m eager to get started and jump in.”

“I found that the visit was a very valuable experience and gave me an insight to how complex project management is. Personally I believe that the event will help improve my management and communication skills and will help me to become more adaptable. The people there were very successful and inspirational.”

“I realised that both event organising and completing the risk assessment are both much harder than I thought. Also Ken Banks is a very successful man – I could strive to be like him at his age. I also now really understand what is needed to organise this event.”

“I found the visit informative and it showed me how much effort goes into setting up an event. I think it will help my team work and management skills as well as many other skills.”

“I found today’s experience very enriching and it opened my eyes as to how much responsibility and hard work goes into event management.”

“I think today’s experience has made me realise that there has to be a lot effort put into working with other cultures.”

“It was amazing; I enjoyed seeing the site that we are going to be working in. I can’t wait to start preparing the event.”

“I found it really interesting and I’m more interested in this as a career. I am looking forward to working on it.”

“Since its completion in 2005 I haven’t known much about the centre and I was really interested to learn more. I have had a little contact with them before due to my involvement with Sandwell Arts Service, but it wasn’t until today that I have truly begun to understand what it is that goes on in there. I am looking forward to being a part of this event and I feel truly privileged to have been asked to help.”

The roles of head boy, head girl and international ambassador will involve the following responsibilities:

• Represent and be an Ambassador for the Academy
• Promote the Academy and work to enhance its reputation
• Support the work of the Student Parliament
• Meet VIPs who visit the Academy Read the rest of this entry →

Students in Year 12 are invited to apply for the position of Head Boy, Head Girl or International Ambassador. To apply you need to write a letter of application to Student Parliament and give to Ms Dominese (PA to the Principal). Read the rest of this entry →

Shayna Rushmere, completed a 3 week work-placement, during the summer holidays. This scheme is open to all Hospitality students aged 16 and above. Read the rest of this entry →

On Thursday 19th July the annual celebration of students in Maths, Science & Technology took place. The theme for the evening was ‘Olympic Awards’ and the food, which was designed, cooked and served by our Hospitality students incorporated this theme.

Several of our technology students were tasked with designing and making the awards for the evening. Numerous awards were given out and the Caparo AP Braking Award was won by Connor Hart. The presentation of this award was made by Mr Paul Smith of CMT (part of Caparo).

A great evening was enjoyed by all!

On Friday 20^th July the Year 12 Vocational ICT and ITGS groups, accompanied by Miss Kelly and Mr Naeem spent a day at RM Education in Abingdon near Oxford. The focus of the day was for students to get hands on access to RMs latest hardware and software as well as getting an understanding of IT related careers. Read the rest of this entry →

St Michael’s, home to the amazing Latin Summer School, is unique in a lot of ways. Firstly, the course had the best facilities for all learners to enjoy learning another language. The teachers rotated their learning styles to make sure everyone knew what to do and to fully enjoy the lesson. Read the rest of this entry →

A small number of students from the Academy had the privilege to attend the IB World Student Conference in Segovia, Spain. The conference lasted five days and was attended by a large number of students from across the globe. Read the rest of this entry →

On Wednesday 11^th July, Reena Guddu from P3: People, Potential, Possibilities came in to school to collect the amazing amount of donations that the students had collected. Read the rest of this entry →

The RSA Academy’s first cohort of IB students received their results recently. The students had worked incredibly hard over the two years on what is acknowledged to be an extremely rigorous programme of study and thoroughly deserved their excellent grades. Read the rest of this entry →