Some words from our Heads of Years
Year 7: It feels like just yesterday that we were welcoming our new Borden students to the school. This academic year has flashed before our eyes, but wow have we accomplished a lot! In the winter term we saw the return of the Year 7 Christmas charity fair which was a marvellous afternoon; as Mr Tomlin mentioned during our Open evening event, the year group are really good at persuading customers into spending as much money as possible, in the hopes of winning sweets! In our spring term we spent a lot of time looking at wellbeing and reflection, focusing on having a growth mindset and looking for ways to elevate ourselves as active learners and positive members of the Borden community. Year 7 have also completed their first KS3 exams, looking through their results there are so many students achieving those top marks and students who have made remarkable progress! I want to say thank you to the year group, I couldn't have asked for a better year group as my first year as a Head of Year! Have the most amazing summer break, we look forward to welcoming you back in September as Year 8's that I'm sure will offer a helping hand to our nervous new cohort! Well done on a fantastic year chaps!
Miss Irinoye
Head of Year 7
Year 8: A successful year with increased expectations following their transition to Borden in Year 7. Boys started term 6 with the Year 8 end of year exams. The exams served as vital practice to improve organisation skills and to learn how to revise. The boys conducted themselves maturely and diligently throughout the exam week, with some impressive results to reward the hard work completed throughout the year. End of term 6 saw students competing in sports day, with a variety of team sports and the track and field events. Again the boys worked well together, selecting competitors and helping each other out while competing in events such as handball and hockey. The boys were a credit to themselves with superb conduct to finish off the term on a positive note after the good start with the exams. Students have made the most of Year 8, embedding themselves into life at Borden, establishing routines and improving as learners ahead of the step up to Year 9 where they begin looking at GCSE options. Well done for the hard work and enjoy a well deserved summer break.
Mr Finch
Head of Year 8
Year 9: The summer term sees the end of KS3 for Year 9. After an intense start to the year with preparation for the Options Exams and the serious decisions around Option Choices for GCSE, the summer term, aside from End of Year exams, has been much more relaxed. I have been consistently proud of the mature way in which Year 9 have prepared and conducted themselves in the formal situations they have found themselves in this year. Many students have been rewarded for their excellent attendance and behaviour in school throughout the year and hopefully have enjoyed their bowling trips and rewards breakfasts. It was a pleasure to take a small number of Year 9 students to Montpellier in June, as well as to watch students undertake their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award, and we look forward to more trips and extra-curricular activities next year.
I would also like to thank Parents/Carers for their support throughout the year and I look forward to continuing to work with you and your sons next year. Please remember that Year 10 students wear a different tie to KS3 students, but all other uniform requirements remain the same. Looking ahead to September, students have been allocated new form groups and unlike in KS3, will be taught in sets and option groups, rather than as a form (except for Personal Development which is taught in form groups). I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 5th September and wish you all a restful holiday.
Mrs Edwards
Head of Year 9
Year 10: Firstly and most importantly, congratulations to all students moving into Year 11 next year who have navigated Year 10 with great success. Many students will have brought home certificates celebrating their achievement and improvement in their subjects, and I am also delighted with the success I have seen in the first mock exam results. Whether academically or through other activities such as Duke of Edinburgh award, sports or arts participation, the skills students have developed this year will be an important foundation for Year 11.
Next year, students will have two further sets of mock exams, from 6th November to 17th November and from 19th February to 1st March. Parents’ evening will be in person next year and will also be earlier in the year, 7th December, to provide an opportunity for feedback from the first mock exams. You should have already received a ‘Launchpad to GCSE’ booklet with advice for revision over the summer and subjects will be setting some summer work for Year 10 students. We do not expect students to be working all summer and it is important that they have a good rest and break, but review and revision of GCSE topics will also help with the year ahead.
Miss Phillips
Head of Year 10
Year 11: Year 11 were an absolute credit to the school throughout the whole exam period. Pupils worked diligently and appeared confident that their preparations for their exams had set them up well in order to be successful. I would like to congratulate Year 11 for their outstanding attitudes throughout this year. They have been a genuine pleasure to work with, and I look forward to seeing them on results day, 24 August, in what will hopefully be a fantastic day of celebration for the vast majority.
Mr Weller
Head of Year 11
Year 12: Wow what a year it has been! How time has flown by? It seems like only yesterday the current Year 12’s were collecting their GCSE grades and enrolling on to their chosen A Level courses. For many the transition from KS4 to KS5 was a culture shock, but as we expected they have approached the year with positivity and resilience.
A large group of students visited Queen’s College Cambridge University in November, a memorable day with many questions about where the future could lead them. In February we saw some of our students attend a ski trip to Italy and then a Languages visit to Montpellier in June.
To complete the year students embarked on a week's work shadowing at companies such as the NHS, Saxon Engineering, KM Facilities Management, Shell Uk Ltd and various schools and Accounts firms. Here are a few quotes of what the employers had to say:
“Enthusiastic, energetic, intelligent and has got a good future”
“Got on brilliantly! All colleagues were so impressed, and he performed better than a physio student in 6 weeks!
“Excellent young man, polite, early, never late, great conversation, dress code spot on and would place at a later date!”
“Wonderful, terrific, brilliant… we would have her back any time!”
“Fantastic - A pleasure to have around, a credit to the school!”
Finally, Stanley Moss gained a place at Oxford for a residential languages experience and here is his feedback:
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to study at Oxford University for three days. I ended up at Balliol College, which is actually one of the oldest of the Oxford colleges. Whilst there, I got a feel for some language lessons - primarily in French as it was my chosen subject, but I also had tastes of Russian and Portuguese lessons at a beginner’s level.
Furthermore, the hospitality was also great considering that I had my own room and had breakfasts and dinners in a hall that closely resembled the one in the Harry Potter movies.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience; I not only got to live the life of an Oxford student but also got to explore the beautiful and diverse city, visiting all the other colleges, which aren’t normally open to the public.
Lastly, I would highly recommend this to everyone if you get the opportunity, even if you’re not thinking of going to university - it may help or even solidify your decisions. Stanley Moss 12KM
Our final assembly of the year was to celebrate the positive contributions our 6th form students have made to the wider school community such as Open evening and aim higher helpers, as well as their academic achievements; including 100% attendance and subject nominations; such a lovely way to finish the year. Well done Year 12!
Year 13: A very busy final year which has brought about many emotions; excitement when writing personal statements, completing entrance tests for Oxford, Cambridge, medical professions and visiting universities of choice, to the anxiety faced when sitting those final public examinations.
The Geography students visited Herne Bay for their NEA field trip, then in November the A Level English students went to see Othello at the National Theatre. Our budding Chemists saw theory become reality at the Discovery Park in Sandwich, including chemical tests, melting point apparatus and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). In addition, the students had access to sophisticated equipment to perform both Infra-red Spectroscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy analyses. Finally, in May we said goodbye to our students starting with the Head teachers speech and followed by fancy dress, bouncy arenas, sumo wrestling and traditional water games. Throughout their year the students were always a credit to the school and most importantly themselves.
Final comments from the School Captain, Will Cotta
"It feels like only a few weeks ago we were sending off our various applications for universities or apprenticeships, and now, having finished our A-Levels completely, the next chapter is only round the corner. Year 13 has certainly been a stressful one, largely due to the fact that many of us sat our first formal exams, since the 11 plus back in 2016. But, regardless of these exams, the year has certainly been one to remember. The past few months have been full of new experiences, writing personal statements, receiving offers from universities/apprenticeships and most importantly, sitting our A-Levels. But away from the academic side of school, the year has had some unforgettable moments. Such as watching the World Cup back in November, the whole hall cheering as England beat Iran 6-2. However, one of my favourite days of the whole year had to be our leavers' day. With many of us dressing up in fancy dress and enjoying bouncy castles and sumo wrestling, it was truly a great way to celebrate our time at Borden coming to an end".
Enjoy your extended summer break. Looking forward to seeing you on August 17th for A level exam results day.
Please stay in contact as we appreciate hearing what the Borden Alumni are doing and how your journey has developed.
Mr Brinn, Mrs Searle, Ms Lucas, Mrs Francis
Sixth Form Team
Thank you to all those parents who have offered words of thanks or support to Borden this year, it makes such a difference. The feedback you provided from the parent evening survey has been reflected in our decision to run ‘in person’ events for most year groups from September. Thank you to the 156 parents who have already completed the communication survey sent recently, and sorry for the initial hiccup in choosing the year group on the form. It would be good to have more feedback, so please use 
On Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th of July, Year 10 Geography students undertook two days of GCSE fieldwork in Reculver and Canterbury.
This year, nine students across Years 7 to 11 completed the Entry-Level Latin qualification, all achieving in the top two grades available. These students attended Latin lessons after school and their resilience and dedication to going the extra mile in their education is highly commended. We will be running the qualification again next year, which will be open to all year groups once again. Euge!
Congratulations to all students who have participated in the Duke of Edinburgh award this year. It has been an absolute pleasure to see the skills that have been developed and the engagement of students with the programme. There are a few words below to give a student perspective of the expedition. We will be enrolling a new group of students for the bronze award next year and this will be open to students entering Year 9 in September, so look out for more information in the next school year. There will also be opportunities for progression to the silver award for students who have completed bronze this year, so make sure you keep up with your skills, volunteering and physical activities over the summer so that you have completed all sections and are ready to progress next year.
Doing the Duke of Edinburgh was an unforgettable experience, one that I found extremely fun and enjoyable. The practice expedition was great for seeing what the assessed one was going to be like, and it was really helpful for seeing where we were at skills wise for the real thing. During the practice, I found that each individual in my group had a different set of useful skills, for example one person packed lots and lots of food, another person was exceptional at putting up a tent, and another two were great cooks, although we all agreed to get a stir-in sauce rather than tinned tomatoes after dinner! Having done the practice, I felt much more prepared for the assessed expedition, and that was a good thing.
One of my favourite parts of the expeditions was coming back to the campsite in the evenings, and watching the other groups walking in and setting up their own tents. It was especially fun in the evenings, as people walked around and had more conversations with other people, even from other schools, (I believe there was a game of rugby between Borden and The Abbey at one point), because no one had access to their phones, which made everyone more sociable. Another notable moment was walking through fields full of animals, which was so nice. At the end of the assessed expedition, one person from the Turquoise Team surprised everyone by coming back with not one, but two canvasses that he found for free by the side of the road, which was very funny. To finish off, I am super happy that I did my Bronze DofE, and am looking forward to completing my Silver and Gold!
We have worked hard this year to move our careers programme forward to include provision for all students across Years 7-13. This has taken a variety of forms, from all students having a login for the careers platform Unifrog, to guest speakers such as Kier coming in to speak to year groups, to visits to careers apprenticeship fairs and university visits.
Through his racing league, Max Elmer from Year 10 was invited to Goodwood Festival of Speed to take part in a competition from which the fastest 50 competitors going through to a televised competition. 
Blue Peter Badge
Congratulations to Hayden Gear in year 13 who has recently qualified for the English Schools Athletics Championships with a personal best time of 8 minutes, 32 seconds in the 3000m and recently competed amongst an outstanding field for Kent Schools Athletics. Congratulations must also go to Boyan Todorov in Year 8 who was selected and represented the South of England, after winning a Gold medal at + 73 kg Pre-Cadets at the British Judo Championships 2022 in Sheffield in December, a Bronze medal at the London Open in March and Gold at the English Closed Championship in London in September. A fantastic achievement.
In September the English Literature GCSE course will start with the study of ‘An Inspector Calls’. We ask that parents purchase a copy of the text so that students can take notes directly into these books. This will greatly help the students to prepare for work and revision. For those students in receipt of Free School Meals, the school will buy the books for them. There are several editions to choose from including Heinemann’s hardback edition at £6.99 ISBN 0435232827 and Penguin’s paperback at £7.99 ISBN 014118535X. Please ensure the boys have their books for the start of the new term. Many thanks.
Please find the link below for food banks in case any parents require support over the holidays.
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