Ormiston Park Academy

A Day of Discovery and Ambition 🎓

As part of the OPA Careers Education Programme, a group of Year 9 and 10 boys spent an inspiring day at the Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, exploring future pathways and gaining first-hand experience of university life.

The students took part in engaging lectures in Criminology and Forensic Science, toured the university’s impressive facilities, and got hands-on with some of the latest technology from Apple⁠.

The visit formed part of the Break The Ceiling project, delivered by Make Happen, helping to raise aspirations, broaden horizons, and show our young people what’s possible.

A fantastic day of learning, discovery and ambition. Well done to all involved! 🚀 Aspiration ARU

Today at Ormiston Park Academy we celebrated an amazing Diversity Day filled with colour, culture and community 🌍✨

It was wonderful to see so many flags proudly displayed around the academy, with students sharing and teaching each other about their countries, traditions and cultures. The enthusiasm, respect and curiosity shown throughout the day made it a truly special occasion.

A fantastic celebration of the diversity that makes our school such a welcoming and vibrant place. Thank you to everyone who took part and helped make the day such a success!

Students from the main site and Ascend enjoyed an inspiring taster day at Anglia Ruskin University! 🎓
They participated in an interactive Korean language lesson and learned to speak, read and write the Korean alphabet, including writing their own names in Korean! 🇰🇷
Students also explored student finance, gaining valuable insight into income and expenditure, loans, scholarships, grants and childcare support.
The day included a tour of the university’s specialist medical facilities and the opportunity to meet student ambassadors from around the world, giving our students a real taste of university life and future opportunities. Year10

This week sees the academy festooned with flags of every nation, to illustrate the rich and varied community at Ormiston Park. In a week of different events, we have seen our student leaders present assemblies on promoting individuality and diversity. The week has also showcased different dishes from around the world in a specially created menu, which was devised by our students. One of our fabulous teachers also took time out of lessons to cook her amazing Jollof rice, which sold out in no time at all!The week will culminate in a flag day parade tomorrow. Watch this space for updates…

Huge shoutout to our amazing Careers Lead for creating so many valuable careers encounters and opportunities for our students! 👏✨

Yesterday a group of Year 10 students completed the 6-week ‘ Picture Your Potential programme’ with an inspiring taster day at the University of Essex 🎓
Students enjoyed a tour of the picturesque campus before taking part in:
🤖 An engaging AI versus Humanity lecture
🎤 A Q&A session with student ambassadors
🕵️ A fascinating Criminology and Forensics class
It was a fantastic opportunity for students to explore possible future education pathways and experience university life firsthand. We’re proud to provide experiences that help raise aspiration, broaden horizons and support students in planning for their futures. 🌟

Aspiration CareersEncounters

Yesterday saw all our Year 9’s visit the Science Museum as part of their EnRICHment Learning Journey. The trip aimed to extend the classroom for our students and increase their cultural capital along the way. All pupils enjoyed the day, with the interactive displays and sheer size of the exhibits being key talking points on the way home! 🧬🔭🧪

Mental Health Awareness week:
Action doesn’t always have to be big.
Sometimes it’s checking in with a friend, taking a break, going for a walk, asking for support, or simply being kinder to yourself.

This Mental Health Awareness Week, let’s turn awareness into action, because small steps can make a real difference. 💚

Ormiston Park Academy are the under-14 co-ed Dynamik National Schools Conference champions. following our 118-80 win over Acklam Grange School. Well done boys on a fantastic achievement. We are all extremely proud of you 🏀💪🙌👏🏼

Good Luck to our Year 9 basketball team, who play in the National final later today at the NPC in Manchester. They are unbeaten all season and are Essex champions too. One more game boys, we are all proud of you! 💪🏼 🏀 🏆

Year 8 students took part in an exciting enterprise workshop as part of OPA’s careers programme.
Our local business partners from the Lower Thames Crossing supported the day, giving students valuable insight into the local labour market and challenging them to pitch their ideas for a construction contract to industry professionals.

We were incredibly proud of the confidence, creativity, and enthusiasm shown by all our teams, who truly embodied our PARK values throughout. Well done to all students