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VIAT event with Maidstone LitFest 14 Oct 2024

VIAT event with Maidstone LitFest

The Trust was delighted to team up with Maidstone Literary Festival to host a major event at All Saints Church on 10 October, with Children’s Laureate 2022-2024 Joseph Coelho. Joseph is a well-known, award-winning performance poet, playwright and children's author. His books include the critically acclaimed Luna Loves... series, If All The World Were, and the CLiPPA-shortlisted collection of poems, Overheard in a Tower Block. He spoke at two sessions, attended by around 500 primary and secondary pupils/students, about his life and journey as an author. He also performed some of his work. Both events were fantastic and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Additionally, six of our nine schools were lucky enough to receive a free author visit as part of the Literary Festival, after registering their interest. Our primary schools at Aylesford, East Borough and Leybourne Chase all had visits from KS1 or KS2 authors, while Invicta, SST and Lenham all hosted authors who gave talks to KS3 students. With reading as one of the Trust priorities for the next year, these visits and events have been fantastic in helping us to be proactive and interactive in the way we engage our pupils and students. We are hoping to work with Maidstone Literary Festival again in the future to continue this positive and inspiring approach to reading.  
Major projects now complete 23 Sep 2024

Major projects now complete

With both our major new building projects complete and in full use by students, we'd like to say a huge thank you to OSG Architecture Limited for their architectural vision, advice and support. The new classroom block at Invicta Grammar School and the new Sports Hall on the main VIAT campus were designed to make the most out of the space and environment, so we can continue to provide students across our schools with the best possible facilities. We are delighted with the end results and look forward to continuing to enhance our buildings and outside spaces over the coming years, to benefit not only students, staff and visitors, but also the local community. VIAT CEO, Richard Hayden said, ‘It has been a pleasure working with OSG Architecture again on these two significant construction projects. They understand the high standards VIAT always looks to achieve and have helped us to do that within our budget. Both buildings are fantastic new assets for our main campus.’ 
A great start to the new academic year 30 Aug 2024

A great start to the new academic year

It was a pleasure to welcome Baroness Floella Benjamin and Cally Beaton to Valley Invicta Academies Trust today, as key note speakers at our staff development day. Hundreds of staff took the opportunity to listen to Baroness Benjamin and Cally talk about their personal and professional experiences, as well as their journeys to get where they are today. Many members of staff left both speeches feeling moved, motivated and ready for the academic year ahead. It was a fantastic morning which started off the new academic year on a positive and inspiring note.
New Sports Hall Open! 26 Jun 2024

New Sports Hall Open!

We are very excited to announce that the second Sports Hall on our main Maidstone campus is now complete and already being used by students across three of our secondary schools. This new building has doubled the facilities on-site so we now have a total of twelve multi-purpose courts for sports including basketball, volleyball and badminton. There are modern changing rooms, offices, as well as an area which can be used for teaching. We are certain that this will make a significant difference to students and staff across the Trust.
Aylesford pupils to donate their hair to Little Princess Trust 11 Jun 2024

Aylesford pupils to donate their hair to Little Princess Trust

Three pupils from Valley Invicta Primary School at Aylesford are preparing to donate their hair to the Little Princess Trust – a charity that provides real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer. Year 2 pupil, Amber, aged 7, was inspired to help after losing her little sister Isabella to cancer five years ago. She will be having her hair cut at school,  on Friday 14 June, and will be joined by her friend Emily, also aged 7, who decided to support Amber by getting her hair cut for the charity at the same time. Amber said: ‘I wanted to do this because I want everyone who has cancer to be able to have a wig.’ Emily said: ‘I am happy and a little bit scared about cutting my hair but I really wanted to do this with Amber.’ Later on this month, Year 6 pupil Lex, aged 11, will also be cutting his hair in aid of the Little Princess Trust. After his best friend’s mum was diagnosed with cancer and lost her hair through treatment, Lex grew his hair to the required 12 inches, in order to cut it off and donate it. And it’s not the first time Lex has cut his hair for charity. Six years ago he shaved his head and raised £1,500 to help a family in need. Lex will be having his hair cut at a community event in Larkfield on 30 June. Lex said: ‘I think this is a good thing to do to help people going through cancer treatment, and I’m excited to see what my hair looks like after its cut. My classmates are really excited too!’ Family Liaison Officer for Valley Invicta Primary School at Aylesford, Zoe Adams, said: ‘These pupils are absolutely amazing. Their kindness, compassion and selflessness is truly wonderful to see and it’s fantastic to know that they will be helping other young people cope with the very difficult experiences they’re going through.’ Headteacher, Billy Harrington, said: ‘We couldn’t be more proud of Amber, Emily and Lex. We are looking forward to supporting them through all their brilliant fundraising efforts.’ You can support Amber, Emily and Lex by donating through the links below: Amber: https://gofund.me/45d922dc Emily: https://gofund.me/5a61871b Lex: https://gofund.me/354f5cfa The Little Princess Trust has provided over 15,000 wigs to children and young people with hair loss. The charity has also invested £28 million into ground-breaking childhood cancer research. You can find out more from their website: www.littleprincesses.org.uk
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