Blog week ending 22nd May
It was wonderful to be able to meet some of you last week at the ‘Meet the Headteacher’ events, where I outlined my vision for the school and my future plans. I believe it is essential to have very high expectations of all young people and that with the right support they are all able to meet these expectations.
This week we launched our new ‘golden ticket’ reward which is given by teachers in every lesson to a student who has shown excellence in terms of work and attitude. It has been wonderful to see the smiles on the faces of the students who have been awarded them for outstanding effort or contributions in lessons. The golden tickets are designed to be ripped in half, with one half put in the house boxes for the half-termly draw for an Amazon voucher and the other to be taken home to share the fantastic achievement.
As part of my commitment to improving communication with parents/carers, I will be sharing details later this week of the Parent/Carer Advisory Council (PAC) which will be having its first meeting next half term.
Across the school students have been proudly showing off their golden tickets, including Tommy of Year 8 who received his for demonstrating great work during the Viking topic, and creativity in model making – well done Tommy!
Year 7 Chemists have been investigating energy changes in chemical reactions in their Endo and Exothermic Topic. When a chemical reaction occurs, energy is transferred to or from the surroundings. In the below photos, students successfully conducted a four-part experiment and recorded their findings in a scientific manner – well done! Miss Deacon was delighted to award her lesson golden ticket to Ella & Lily H of 7A who worked together, Miss Deacon added “their self-management during a complicated practical lesson was exemplary, completing all tests and clearly tabling their test results independently”
Ms Ayling, Head of History and Politics, and part of the SLT team with responsibility for equality, diversity and inclusion is pictured below with golden ticket winner Jaydan. Ms Ayling commented about the new rewards scheme, “primarily, for me, the schemes greatest value is the pride that the students clearly feel as a result of their efforts and actions being seen and recognised. The golden ticket recognises students who always ‘do the right thing’ but also those who show positive self-management, who are able to demonstrate personal development”. Additionally, as a form tutor, it’s lovely to be notified when one of my form receives a golden ticket and share in their accomplishments”
In the below lesson, Year 10 History GCSE students have started a new unit of their course, Nazi Germany from 1918 and are already engaged and considering how scapegoating and control of media still feature in world politics today. Congratulations to Jaydan who was awarded the golden ticket for his class contribution and motivation.
Year 8 Science students Eco House Project. Students 
have been working in teams to plan and design an energy efficient, eco-friendly house model. Using cardboard, egg boxes, foil and other ‘found’ items students have started their build, once completed, I will share them in the Blog. This project brings together topics across the science disciplines; biodiversity (Biology), energy resources (Physics) and the earth (Chemistry). Ms Deacon’s golden ticket was presented to Ellie for showing lots of determination in overcoming set-backs to perfect her design. Ms Deacon added “the students and I enjoy the opportunity to celebrate someone every lesson, highlighting positives and rewarding those students who endeavour to do the right thing”
Careers Programme – work experience. Last week, our Year 10 students immersed themselves in a wide variety of industries, from engineering, education, healthcare, and hospitality, to business, construction, and the creative arts. Each placement offered invaluable insights into the working world, helping our students to make the connections between classroom learning and real-world application.
The work experience week has seen our students apply new skills and has taught them that this is far more than a week out of lessons. It’s a cornerstone of our commitment to high-quality careers education, allowing students to explore different career options, gain employability skills and most importantly, begin to visualise their own futures.
There were two in-house groups, the first Employability Skills, focused on job and university application skills as well as interview techniques. Activities included employability skills ‘Escape Room’ and ‘Dragon’s Den’ and teamwork challenges delivered by the Army to test their critical thinking and team skills. The second group was chaired by Megan Prigmore, engineer with the Lower Thames Crossing construction team. Megan ran an engineering dedicated programme of workshops focussing on technical design and application including industry processes and protocols. Students created their own professional response to an engineering brief before finally presenting their work back to the group and Megan for feedback and discussion.
The feedback from employers has been overwhelmingly positive. Many have commented on the professionalism, enthusiasm, and curiosity of our students – one adding ‘they’ve done you proud!’ Students have returned to school energised, with many expressing newfound interests or greater clarity about the paths they might pursue. For some students, the experience confirmed a long-held ambition; for others, it opened their eyes to possibilities they hadn’t considered before.
Laing O’Rourke sent us this feedback “The team at Select Plant Littlebrook had the pleasure of welcoming for the second year running the Year 10 students from Stone Lodge School who were completing their work experience with us from 12th – 16th May.
Thanks to all those involved for making the week once again another successful one with special thanks to Bethany, Kira, George, Levi, Will and Austin for embracing the week and being such a joy to host, and if you need any help with careers advice, future placements or just need a chat, then feel free to get in touch or pop in, you will be most welcome – but remember, education is the key to life and unlocks so many opportunities so heads down and achieve those grades.
Thanks also to Miss Bassant, Miss Ho and Mrs Tiddy for their continuing support and care that they demonstrate quite clearly towards their students.
We hope that you all enjoyed it as much as the team here did and look forward to working in close partnership with Stone Lodge in the future.”
“Bring on next year’s Year 10 group but be warned, you have a lot to live up to if the guys from 2024 and 2025 are anything to go on. See you in May 2026”
Sincere thanks from all the team here for remaining safe and engaging with us
Best wishes, Daniel Dennehy, Depot Manager – Select Plant Littlebrook
We take pride in ensuring that our Careers Programme is inclusive, tailored, and forward-thinking. Work experience week is integrated into a wider framework that includes one-to-one guidance, employer encounters, personal development sessions, and curriculum-linked career learning. Together, these elements equip our students with the knowledge, confidence, and ambition to take their next steps with purpose.
Harvey H, our SL6 correspondent
. In my final blog piece, I would like to say a huge congratulations to all my fellow students in Year 13. When I look back on our first day and compare it to where we are now, the transformation is incredible. We are much more confident, knowledgeable and as a collective, we have gone through lots of change. This has led us to becoming a close-knit group and really valuing and appreciating each other. We have all worked so hard to achieve our needed grades for University/Apprenticeships and I am incredibly grateful and proud to have attended SL6 and be able to call you, my friends.
Along with this, this sixth form says goodbye to Miss Bassant who has been a massive help to all of us throughout our time here, we really appreciate the effort that she has gone to, to help us throughout our sixth form journey as well as guiding us to our next steps. SL6 wishes her all the best in her new endeavours.
Library update: The VE Day activities really captured the students’ imagination, raising more questions than answers, so I’ve decided to explore the topic further.
SLS students were keen to find out what challenges and disruptions to their daily life children faced during the war. We talked about evacuation and separation from their families and the way children adapted to their new environments and the disruption to their education. I drew their attention to the emotional impact the war had on children and their families. We listened to the account of Heather who was evacuated from Southampton to Dorset at the age of four and a half. It was truly fascinating to be able to hear her story and see her granddaughters Lucie and Amelia asking all kinds of questions regarding her life away from home and difficulties she faced at the time. Listening to Heather had a profound effect on the students I believe, as soon after they started sharing stories of their families from WWII.
The students were also keen to find out what roles women played during WWII. They left the lesson understanding that when men were away fighting, Britain needed women to take on the roles traditionally held by men before the war. They were surprised to hear that women were asked to work the land, staff the factories (including munitions ones), join the armed forces and work in intelligence. We then watched a short movie about Bletchley Park – Britain’s top secret codebreaking headquarters during WWII – and listened to Ruth Bourne who was a Bombe machine operator there.
As part of our lesson, students completed a codebreaking activity to give them a taste of what it was like to work at Bletchley Park as a codebreaker. Special congratulations to all those students who earned golden tickets for their exceptional work and engagement … all made insightful and considered contributions to the lessons.
Happy reading! and don’t forget .. book donations are ALWAYS welcome! Mrs Nguyen, Librarian.
Following a fantastic season, coming top of the league table, the Year 8 football team earned their place in the District Cup Final at Dartford Valley Rugby Club vs Sir Geoffery Leigh Academy. Despite a fantastic performance, the game ended with an agonising penalty shootout, losing 6-5. Mr Proctor is extremely proud of what the squad have achieved this season (also making the last eight in the prestigious Kent Cup!) and is looking forward to the new season for them starting in September!
Congratulations to every member of the squad for an exceptional season!
Harry G – 8H
Ollie S – 7G
Samuel N – 8G
Josh B – 8G
Joey C – 8C
Luca D – 8A
Brodie B – 8A
Connor L – 8D
Louie M – 8D
Alfie P – 8D
Tyrese A – 7C
Kyle W – 8D
Kaya B – 8H
Beau BA – 8H
Forthcoming Dates;
Last Day of Term 5 – 23 May
First Day of Term 6 – 2 June
Year 12 UCAS & Personal Statements Deadline – 4 June
Year 12 Higher Education Exhibition – 5 June
Year 13 Last Day – 6 June
LBC Trip Meeting for Parents/Carers – 9 June 5.30-6.30pm
Years 7, 8 & 9 Written Reports home – 11 June
Year 11 Last day – 13 June
Go Karting Event (for STEM Club members) 14 June
Sports Day – 20 June
Year 6 Information Evening – 26 June
Year 11 Prom – 25 June 7-11pm
Year 6 Transition Day – 4 July
Year 12 Alton Towers Residential – 8-9 July
Year 12 Work Experience – 14-18 July
Learning Beyond the Classroom week – 14-18 July
Last Day of Term 6 – 22 July
Best wishes,
Catherine Cusick
Headteacher
