Architect's impression of Saint Paul's Academy

London Grid for Learning | Sport & PE Extranet

Achievement And Success

Greenwich Indoor Rowing Team Triumph in London Youth Games

On Sunday 1 July, the indoor running track at Crystal Palace saw 28 London Boroughs compete for medals in what is a new point scoring event for the Games. The Greenwich squad, managed by Peter Rouse of Globe Rowing Club and trained at the Trafalgar Rowing Centre, put on a tremendous performance against some tough competition. The squad was drawn from 5 Greenwich schools: Blackheath Bluecoat, Woolwich Polytechnic, Saint Paul’s Academy, St Thomas More and Kidbrooke.

Junior girls and boys (all Year 9) and our senior boys (Year 10) rowed in individual events: juniors for 3 minutes and seniors for 6. The relay lasted 10 minutes with each person rowing for 1 minute – two of our junior girls had to row twice as the squad was missing two senior girls.

"The competition was so close" said Peter Rouse, "we were second overall after the individual events so it all came down to the relay – the team were amazing, they worked together so well with great changeovers and lead the field by a considerable margin for most of the race".

There is plainly some rowing talent among our young people in Greenwich and the sport is undergoing a renaissance in our Olympic Borough. To find out about rowing in Greenwich visit www.globerowingclub.co.uk or talk to your school’s PE department. London Youth Rowing are offering 1 week learn to row courses starting 30 July costing only £10 – see www.londonyouthrowing.com

Greenwich Indoor Rowing Team Triumph in London Youth Games

One giant leap for the Dulwich Harps/Academy!!

The team and backroom staff travelled to Manchester recently to compete in the U-14 British Gaelic football semi-final against Tir Connaill Harps from Glasgow. The Dulwich Harps/Saint Paul's boys were just too strong for their opposing celts with a final score of 8-19 to 0-0. A one sided affair indeed but a defeat and a step into the final for the fiesty pack from Abbey Wood and a first time in clubs/Academy's history to reach such heights in underage GAA Best wishes to all involved in this magnificant achievement.

Three students in ground-breaking feat

We are proud to introduce three of our students who have taken centre stage in a ground-breaking achievement for Saint Paul's Academy. The news that they have successfully auditioned for places at the prestigious National Youth Theatre (NYT) Company still sounds good and looks good. All around the Academy it feels good and joy bells still ring for the three students.

These are our students on their way to NYT - Chucks Onyia, Ola Shittu, Year 11 and Anthony Daniel, Year 10. For themselves and for Saint Paul's they competed for and won three of only 600 residential places which were available to over 4,000 in the nationwide audition.

For over 50 years NYT has offered young people aged 13 to 21 opportunities to pursue studies in theatrical arts. But to secure a place all applicants must complete a three hour workshop, an audition and an interview. According to NYT, its audition policy ensures that all applicants have an opportunity to demonstrate their talent and potential. Auditions are generally held in 17 cities across the UK from Edinburgh to Truro, Belfast and Cardiff.

Anthony auditioned with a Malcolm X speech. On hearing the news that he had secured a place, he said "I never dreamed I would get into NYT." New facilities at Saint Paul's including Sound and TV studios would have aided the development of his rapping, acting and art, which he enjoys. "I will say I am laid back but energetic, others say I have excellent voice projection."

Ola likes music, drama and poetry. After a nervous start he settled into his audition which he now describes as an enjoyable experience. "When I received the letter, all I could say was 'Oh my dizzle!!!' and give thanks to God."

Chucks admits that all along he knew that NYT was a big deal, but it never hit him until the audition. He is fan of basket ball, music and poetry. Speaking of his audition he said "when I got there I was not scared but then the nerves rushed in. I thank God for giving me people around who support and bless me."

When the history of our Academy is told, the names Anthony Daniel, Ola Shittu and Chucks Onyia will be recalled as three students who did Saint Paul's proud in 2007, a record year.

We hope on completion of their courses they will move on to the performing division and take part in the company's productions or "ETC projects" which form part of the public showcase of the NYT each year.

Another successful term

As we approach the end of the calendar year and the Feast of Christmas we can look back on a very successful term during which Her Majesty's Inspectors and the deputy director of Ofsted have confirmed that as an Academy we are making very good progress. You will be aware that there is very little notice given now before an inspection unlike in the past when we were given several months to prepare.

At Saint Paul's we think the new system is much fairer because we believe that inspectors should see a school as it really is with all the usual activities taking place. In our case, the inspectors liked what they saw very much whilst fully appreciating the severe limitations of our accommodation.

Complimentary Ofsted

Many features of our school were highlighted by the team. We were told that, "This is a very inclusive school; staff provide challenge, care and guidance to all." Our public examination results at Key Stages 3 and 4 "represent good progress for all pupils" while "individual progress is tracked very carefully and personal targets are set for all pupils to achieve."

The team was also extremely complimentary about the ethos of the Academy; our students see their school as a safe environment where "mutual respect is evident and there is little harassment in any form because it is promptly and effectively addressed." We were also very pleased that the inspectors recognised that, "Senior staff take a strong lead in developing initiative for a safe and happy establishment."

Obviously, we are delighted by this report as it not only supports the views of many other people who regularly assess what we are doing, but also confirms our own judgements. Self evaluation, which involves every aspect of school life, is very important because if it is accurate it clearly demonstrates that we know our students and that we know what we have to do to move them forward.

Netballs news

Netball has got off to a positive start this season with all four teams having played away fixtures with promising results. Year 7 girls opened with their first ever fixture; a challenging match at Westwood School, which has given them a real taste for the competitive game!