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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 

 

2) How to juggle: 

https://youtu.be/_xye0tHas_s  

 

3) Learn to moonwalk: 

https://youtu.be/8iLdEseueh4  

  

4) Whistling with your fingers: 

https://youtu.be/G8Oz_ELAjNg  

 

5) Twirl a pen: 

https://youtu.be/6XgG8J_g888  

 

6) Tie a tie: 

https://youtu.be/xAg7z6u4NE8  

 

7) Fold clothes in 5 seconds: 

https://youtu.be/BAxhr0j0thY 

 

 

 

 

 

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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.pdf 

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                   a population of 364,134 and an area of 103,000 km2 (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) 

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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.  

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 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.  

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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.