Half Term Newsletter

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Dear Parent/Carer                                                                                                           17^th February 2023

Another long half term ends and we keep looking forwards; much has been achieved this year and there is still so much to do.

We are really proud of our ‘One world in One school’ slogan and, following previous assemblies on dyslexia this half term I led assemblies on what it is to be autistic in our society.  We do talk with young people in PSHE, tutor time and the curriculum about the Nine Protected Characteristics but in student voice activities they said they wanted to know more about what really makes an inclusive society.  These talks are a formal attempt to create a sense of understanding and champion our differences.

On the theme of inclusion I was massively impressed not just by the standard of our spectacular show Hairspray but also the incredibly inclusive cast.  The singing, dancing, theatrics, lighting and sound were incredible and I was just delighted to see how much our students enjoyed their time in the spotlight.  Well done all.  A huge thank you to Mrs Jones who stepped up last night, at the last minute, to learn the score and conduct – incredible musicianship!

Our focus on reading continues at pace.  We are seeing the fruits of our labours in introducing Bedrock as a vocabulary building tool in Year 7: the vocabulary gap is most definitely narrowing.  We have also launched The Day – a new online reading resource.  Click on the link from the academy website to find out the daily news and much more.  Library loans continue to grow and we have doubled the amount of loans compared to this time last year!  As you know I just love reading and my top read at the moment is ‘A Man Called Ove’ – Mr Wolffel was kind enough to buy me a copy and I just love it.

As the holiday approaches can I please remind you of the strike dates which are Wednesday 1st March, Wednesday 15th March and Thursday 16th March. As we did on the 1^st February we will close the academy on these dates to all students, except those students we have contacted,  it simply would not be possible to open.  A letter has been emailed and posted on social media accounts.

Can I also remind parents/carers of our uniform rules?  We are right to be proud of the way in which our children wear their uniform with pride.  We will not accept trainers, leggings, piercings or unnatural hair colour so please over the coming week do not be persuaded that these things are acceptable. May I also remind you that jumpers should have a ‘V’ neck that enables the students tie to be visible and that tracksuit tops / hoodies are not allowed whilst any coat must be black.

Our attendance rates continue to be good and at 92% currently sit above the average for local secondary schools and I thank you for your support in getting your child into school regularly.  Our target is to further increase the rate of attendance between now and the summer and I know I can rely on your support in achieving this target by ensuring that your child is in school 100% of the time.  On the subject of attendance and punctuality can I please remind you that the gates are closed at 8.38am and any child arriving after this time will be considered late so please encourage your child to arrive to school before this cut off to avoid receiving any sanction for this.

As always, thank you for your support, which is not taken for granted.

Adrian Price

Principal