16th April 2018
Dear Parent/Carer,
It gives me great pleasure to send you the spring term edition of the academy newsletter, ‘Inspired’ which is packed with information about the wide range of enrichment activities and opportunities to help our students progress to fulfilling careers.
Academy Calendar Key Dates - Summer Term 2018
Please find an outline below of key dates for the forthcoming term:
Date / Time / Event / Year16th April / 08:30 / Academy opens / All
26th April / 16:00-18:00 / Year 10 Parents Evening / 10
14th May / - / GCSEs begin / 11
16th May / 16:00-18:00 / Year 7 & 8 Parents Evening / 7-8
25th May / 14:30 / Academy closes for half term / All
4th June / 08:30 / Academy opens / All
15th June / 12:00 / Early finish – staff INSET / All
25th, 27th, 28th June / All day / Year 5 transition days / Year 5
18th – 29th June / All day / Year 9 and 10 end of year examinations / 9 & 10
25th June – 4th July / All day / Year 7&8 end of year examinations / 7 & 8
28th June / 18:00-23:00 / Prom / 11
5th July / 08:30-14:30 / Year 6 Transition Day / 6
5th July / 18:00-20:00 / New Intake Parents Evening / 6
9th July / 18:30-20:00 / Academy Awards Evening / 7-10
17th July / All day / Blackpool Trip / All
20th July / 12:15 / Academy closes for summer / All
Examinations and Revision
Year 11 students will be issued with their examination timetable and revision programme which takes effect from the start of term.
Students in year groups 7-10 will prepare for and sit formal end of year examinations as indicated in the schedule above. Students will prepare for the examinations in lessons and will be issued with knowledge organisers for every subject, which summarise the key information they need to learn. This information is also available on the academy website. Homework time will be spent learning this information in preparation for short class tests in advance of the main examinations. The examination results will be reported to parents as part of the summer term assessment reports.
Primary Partnerships and New Intake 2018-9
The academy has continued to grow significantly in both reputation and popularity to become the secondary school of choice and hub of the community. We are delighted to be welcoming so many year 6 students and their parents in July. Many of our new intake already have siblings, or other family members in the academy and we are looking forward to providing opportunities for our student leaders and peer mentors to support and welcome our new students to make an excellent start to their secondary education.
If any prospective parents are still undecided, we extend a very warm welcome and invitation to contact us to arrange a visit to the academy during the school day to see us in operation. We have also arranged several taster days for year 5 students in June to help younger children understand more about academy life and secondary education.
Data Checking
It is vital that the academy holds current contact details for all students, parents and carers so that we are able to make contact in the event of an emergency. Please complete the data collection form enclosed and return to the academy by 20th April 2018 so that we can update our records.
We also require information from parents regarding national insurance numbers and parents’ dates of birth so that the academy can check if students are eligible for additional funding for free school meals.
Uniform and Standards
We are very proud of our student’s standard of dress and pride in their appearance as academy members. Please find enclosed an outline of the academy uniform policy. We are currently consulting with students across all year groups to review the uniform for 2018-9 and will notify parents of any minor changes by the end of this half term.
Attendance and Behaviour Rewards Trip – Blackpool Pleasure Beach - July 17th 2018
We are planning for the annual rewards trip to Blackpool Pleasure Beach on 17th July 2018 and will be reserving seats for all students who are eligible by meeting the agreed criteria of at least 96% attendance and no more than five behaviour points.
Students will be informed early in July if they have qualified. Every student in the academy will begin the summer term with a seat on the coach regardless of his or her previous record. It is therefore essential that they do not lose their place through poor behaviour or absence.
We are very proud of its strong record for excellent attendance and punctuality and are grateful to parents for avoiding booking non-urgent medical appointments and holidays in term time.
Thank you for your support and contribution to the ongoing work of the academy and I look forward to meeting you at this terms events.
Yours sincerely,
Fiona O’Sullivan
Principal