The Alleyn’s Academy

A weekly after school community learning launchpad, offering up to 300 children from local schools access to Sport, Music, the Alleyn’s Digital Academy as well as the History and Science Academies.

The Alleyn’s Music Academy offers Year 5 children from nine local primary schools to learn a variety of music styles and be taught how to sing in two and three-part harmony, with a concert for parents and at the end of the programme. This has been run on a half termly basis, but as of April 2024, such has been its popularity and at the request of parents, we have moved to three nine-week long programmes throughout the year.

The Alleyn’s Digital Academy provides the chance for year 10s from The Charter East, Trinity Academy Brixton, St Joseph’s Beulah Hill, and Alleyn’s to gain experience in creative digital design, coding and tech entrepreneurship.

The Alleyn’s Sport Academy continues to provide coaching in several different sports, including a half term of swimming lessons and competitive matches against other local schools. It has been wonderful to continue to welcome coaches from Girls United football, Tulse Hill & Dulwich Hockey Club and Old Alleynian’s Rugby Club. Our Year 10, 11 and 12 student helpers also have continued to do a great job in providing support for these activities and have been benefitting a great deal from their work with the visiting pupils.

The Alleyn’s History Academy has seen Year 9 students from Trinity Academy, Brixton participate with Year 9s from Alleyn’s – together with Year 12 helpers from each school - in the Sankofa London Schools Project learning about people of colour living and working in the local area in the 18th century. Six sessions were run including a visit to the London Metropolitan Archives as well as a workshop on resistance, in partnership with the Decolonising Wikimedia Project and the University of Glasgow runaway database.

The Alleyn’s Science Academy welcomes a remarkable 60 Year 12 students from around ten SSLP schools to Alleyn’s and in cross-school groups, collaborate in the planning and delivery of independent, undergraduate-level science projects under the British Science Association’s Gold CREST Science Award. A roughly bi-weekly session has guided students through the process, culminating in a symposium in September 2024 for the students to present their work to friends and family.

Aims

The Alleyn’s Academy is an outreach and partnership programme designed to provide a range opportunities for our local children, breaking down barriers to access, increasing social mobility and, by working with our own children building wonderful collaborative relationships.

The Academies are geared towards different agegroups with Sport and Music Academies being for Primary aged children - supported by Alleyn's mentors as well as external specialist coaches - and the History, Digital and Science Academies being for secondary aged students. These have led to wonderfully enriching collaborative projects bringing teenagers from around Dulwich and Lambeth together to work collaboratively on challenging projects.

Background

The Alleyn’s Academy came about in recognition that there is activity provision that many children in our local area would not have access to without our efforts, together with the belief that partnership work, when done well such partnership activtity - long term, mutually beneficial and aligned to schools’ strategic objectives - are of huge benefit to our own children as well as to our partners.

Resources

Each week Alleyn's provides access to sports pitches, music facilities, Science labs, computing rooms and a dining space in support of the Alleyn's Academy.

We recruit a Partnerships Officer in support of the work and have c12 Alleyn's staff running various aspects of the ambitious programme.

Mindful of the significant practical challenges for parents in bringing children to after-school activities we provide a light tea for the children, as well as somewhere warm for parents to sit with Wi-Fi access, tea, coffee and biscuits and a snack for their other children.

It has been wonderful to continue to welcome coaches from Girls United football, Tulse Hill & Dulwich Hockey Club and Old Alleynian’s Rugby Club. Our Year 10, 11 and 12 student helpers also have continued to do a great job in providing support for these activities and have been benefitting a great deal from their work with the visiting pupils.

Impact

Alleyn’s Academy | Parent Survey Responses

Alleyn’s Academy was praised by parents for its diverse opportunities, such as football and quality singing, fostering confidence and camaraderie among students from various schools. Suggestions for improvement included broader sports options and clearer communication about term lengths. Parents appreciate the welcoming atmosphere and the chance for their children to develop new skills. They also suggest enhancing snack choices and communication channels. Despite minor suggestions for improvement, overall, the Academy is valued for its inclusive environment and enriching experiences, both musically and socially.

“We truly appreciate this experience for my son. He loves football and it’s an amazing opportunity for him to play and learn something new.”

“That they get to work with children from other schools. My son loves it so much. The staff are very friendly and helpful “My daughter has said Tuesday after school is what she looks forward to best.

“Such a wonderful opportunity for children outside of Alleyn’s to be able to experience and benefit from the expertise of your teachers and facilities.”

“Quality singing and meeting children from other schools. They achieve a lot in a short time scale! “

“Seeing my daughter’s confidence grow, preforming in front of parents. She loves singing and this has helped her learn more about singing. “

“Everything from the children enjoying their selves and the teachers who are helping both in the dinner hall and the sports ground.”

The Alleyn’s Music Academy received extremely positive feedback from our visiting partner pupils, with a number of them highlighting bonding with friends, enjoying performances, and boosting confidence through singing. Suggestions for improvement ranged from incorporating more popular songs, like those by Taylor Swift, to enhancing individual line coaching. Some desired more modern tunes and additional instruments, while others requested a broader song selection. Students appreciated the opportunity to learn new singing techniques and develop their abilities.

Partner pupils who were part of Alleyn’s Academy Sport indicated really positive impact, expressing intentions to apply newfound knowledge and skills at school. Mentors are appreciated for their support, particularly in sports like football and rugby. Students' favourite activities included football and swimming. Suggestions for improvement included clearer instructions and more matches. Overall, our visiting pupils felt empowered to apply what they learned, showing enthusiasm for future endeavours.

"One way the Alleyn’s mentors have helped me is that they have been supportive when I am annoyed."
"They have told me to carry on even if you lose and also always making me feel happy."
"They have given me confidence to be resilient and make jokes and laughs."
"They have supported me to do even better and encourage me to practise it more.”
"What I would use is do lots of work and read lots of book and study so I can learn more things."
"When I go back to my school I will improve my skills in the project I am learning."
"I will use this as a learning curb for things in future that I have gotten wrong."

Alleyn's Digital Academy students reflect on utilising project learnings at school, aiming for improved performance in subjects like ICT and problem-solving. Year 12 Mentors are commended for aiding understanding and providing creative solutions. Favourite activities include creating arcade games and exploring VR. Suggestions for project enhancement include more interaction and diverse tasks. While some express uncertainty about application, others plan to leverage newfound skills for future studies. Overall, students value mentor support and project experiences, highlighting potential areas for further development to enhance engagement and learning outcomes.

"The Alleyn's mentors have helped me a lot on this project, they have helped me reach my full potential and have helped me with my coding skills."
"They have provided me with creative solutions to my problems."
“I've gained very valuable skills from this club, such as logical thinking, and coding. This has also given me an excellent opportunity to make friends with people from other schools and other year groups."
· I have gained friendships with older year groups and now when I see them in school we say hello." I think that I will use my new skills for my studies such as problem-solving, logical thinking skills, and collaboration.