Mr Ian Rich

My name is Ian Rich. I am the Lay Chaplain at the Academy. I have worked at the Academy (and predecessor school) for nearly 16 years.

Before that I worked for a Lloyd’s Insurance Syndicate for over 25 years, as an Underwriter, Credit Controller and a Financial Services Skills Accredited Trainer. I am an Authorised Lay Minister in the Canterbury Diocese attached to the Ashford Parish, mainly based at Kingsnorth Church.

I am an avid West Ham fan travelling around the country to home and away games. My other hobbies include going to the gym, reading and doing word and number puzzles such as Sudoku, crosswords etc.

My ambition is to be a contestant on either Channel 4’s Countdown or BBC’s Only Connect. In the past I have taken groups of students to Mexico and South Africa to build houses for homeless people with the charity Urban Saints.

For me, excellence is treating every day as a new opportunity to learn, to always try to be the best you can be, at whatever you are doing. In my role as a trainer in my previous job I employed groups of people to be trained in all aspects of the business. I looked for well-rounded individuals with a range of abilities not just qualifications.

I read this about excellence which I really liked:

"Excellence is not a set level of quality or perfectionism. It’s an ever-changing dynamic in our personal journey. It’s about growth and maturity. Excellence should be a moving target of sorts. The quality of our craft and serving today should not be the same as the quality of our serving yesterday. It should be increasing and moving forward, not stagnating!"

The best thing about the Academy is that visitors say that they can feel the love in this place. We know that we are like a big caring family, but it is always good when other people see it. Our LIGHT values are an indication of how we value each member of the Academy community: staff, students and parents.

In a previous SIAMS inspection it was observed that our pastoral care is ‘second to none’ and I truly believe that to be true.

The Academy was featured in a book a few years ago, ‘Lessons In Spiritual Development’, Learning from Leading Christian-ethos Secondary Schools, and the writer/researcher noted that the Academy’s influence can be seen framed in a Christian context enabling students to access all dimensions of life – social, cultural, moral and spiritual.