The academy is organised into 3 colleges – Kingsley, Angelou and Turing. Each college is situated on its own floor and provides pastoral care to 60 pupils from each year group, led by the Head of College and Student Services team. Students are placed in mixed ability form groups and have dedicated form time each day where they follow our pastoral curriculum. All students, regardless of college, access the same academic and pastoral curriculum across the academy but go to their college areas for their form time and to access Student Services.
Leigh Academy Rainham actively encourages the competitive element of inter-college competitions through termly events based linked to all aspects of academy life. They are named after pioneers who aspired to achieve great things, irrespective of barriers, linked to the subject disciplines in their college.
Mary Henrietta Kingsley was a Victorian pioneer and explorer who set out alone to explore West Africa to pursue her anthropological interests. In her written works she describes her unaccompanied treks through dangerous jungles, encounters with deadly animals and fascination with the African culture, language and botany. The disciplines linked to this Kingsley College include Humanities and Languages.
‘African forests are like a great library, in which, so far, I can do little more than look at the pictures, although I am now busily learning the alphabet of their language, so that I may some day read what these pictures mean.’
Mary Kingsley
Maya Angelou was an acclaimed black American poet, storyteller, activist and auto-biographer from Missouri. Despite experiencing a series of harrowing events in her childhood, she overcame her own fears and anxieties to flourish, developing a broad career that included writing, singing, dancing, acting and composing. This disciplines linked to Angelou College include the Arts and Literature.
‘If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.’
Maya Angelou
Alan Turing was an English mathematician, computer scientist, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Born in London and a fellow of Cambridge University, Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation with the Turing machine. Turing played a crucial role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in World War II. He faced significant challenges, being criminalised as a homosexual, with much of his work going unrecognised until today.
‘Those who can imagine anything, can create the impossible.’
Alan Turing
George VI ascended the throne unexpectedly after his brother Edward VIII’s abdication. Despite having a significant stammer, he gave speeches which provided vital morale boosters, conveying resolve and unity during the height of the Blitz during the Second World War. He made regular visits to bombed-out areas and to soldiers, demonstrating a visible and personal commitment to his people. This is why Windsor college is remembered in his name as it reflects a commitment to developing students who embody responsibility, leadership, and service to the community.
‘The highest of distinctions is service to others.’
King George VI
