On Wednesday 26th November, over 20 alumni from across our heritage schools and graduates of AKS as it is today joined us in the OAKS Hall to support the first ever PEAKS Heritage Day.
The day was created through collaboration between the Development Office and the PEAKS Senior School teaching team, with the student sessions led by Assistant Head (Teaching and Learning) Dr Chris Jessop.
The Pursuit of Excellence at AKS (PEAKS) is our bespoke framework for character education and future-ready skills. This transformational programme supports every student from Year 7 to Year 13 as they progress through a structured journey of personal development, equipping them with the character, confidence and capabilities they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.
PEAKS Heritage Day was designed to bring these future-proofing aims to life by blending inquiry, oracy and digital literacy into a one-day project. Year 7 students explored the heritage of our school and the blended tapestry that makes AKS what it is today.
Throughout the day, students met and interviewed individual alumni, discovering how school life has evolved and how the values and opportunities at AKS have shaped former students in their personal and professional journeys. These conversations strengthened their questioning and oracy skills while deepening their understanding of the connection between past and present.
Students then transformed their interviews into professional-style newspaper articles for our alumni magazine. Through researching, interviewing, drafting and editing, they produced polished writing that will be published in the OAKS Magazine in the new year.
We are looking forward to featuring these printed news articles in a special edition of OAKS Magazine in January. This edition will be available both as a hard copy and as a digital flip book that will be shared widely across the OAKS Alumni and AKS social media channels.
Heritage Day is a powerful example of how PEAKS brings learning to life. It develops essential skills, strengthens meaningful connections and equips our students with the confidence and adaptability they need to be fully prepared for the future.