I hope you all had a brilliant break and it was lovely to welcome back our students looking smart and ready to shine on the gate this morning.
It’s an exciting half term ahead. I will write to you again shortly to confirm plans for two days of industrial action by the National Education Union on Thursday 27th April and Tuesday 2nd May 2023. We also have two bank holidays this half term on Monday 2nd May and Monday 9th May which marks the King’s Coronation. All events at the Academy can be found in our events page on the website.
I have written to parents of Year 11 students with the full exam timetable (which can be accessed here) and it is important students are ready and prepared as the external exams will soon be upon us. All students in Year 11 have access to GCSE Pod and will need to utilise all their resources to complete coursework to target grade and be confident about key areas of exams.
Today is about re-connecting our students with our values and our routines – it’s always important to do this after a break so students are clear about what we expect from them – our ‘gold’ standards.
Key focus areas are: standards of uniform as well as attendance and punctuality. I’d like to remind all families that are celebrating Eid later this week that only ONE DAY of absence is permitted for Religious Observance. Families whose children are absent should call in on the day of absence for this to be authorised and I wish all families celebrating ‘Eid Mubrarak!’ It has been lovely to see students making use of our Reflection space during the month of Ramadan in particular together.
Attendance has really improved at the Academy and we would like to maintain this momentum this term. It was great to see students rewarded for 100% weeks in our ‘golden ticket’ raffle on the last day of term. It was my pleasure to also give out other rewards for other ‘gems’ too on the last day.
I spent some time watching our potential ‘podium’ athletes of the future training at Alexander Stadium over the holidays. We are excited to welcome the BBC to the Academy on Wednesday who are likely to record a nice piece on our partnership with Birchfield Harriers and the talent at the Academy. I’ll share a link with you all if the BBC decide to hopefully broadcast. These elite partnerships are important to give our students access to excellence.
There is no CORE Extra this week and it will resume on Tuesday 25th April with students receiving their new sessions today, ready to start next Tuesday. Students are likely to be tired after the first day back, particularly those who are almost at the end of a month of fasting.
Hopefully, you have noticed a difference in terms of the upgraded phone system at the Academy after parent feedback. As always, you can call the Academy on 0121 729 7220, leaving a message if you don’t get through and we will get back to you. If you would like urgent support, you can always reach Mr Bibb (our Designated Safeguarding Lead) on option 4.
You can always contact me directly at: [email protected]