ACADEMY UPDATE December 2018
A warm welcome to the December edition of Academy Update. As we draw closer to the end of term, it's important to mention again the achievements of our students this summer; a 100% pass rate at A Level for the fourth year in a row, and GCSE results continuing to improve with 53% achieving a grade 5 or above in maths and English, compared to the national average of 40%. The ongoing success of our school is not just down to our fantastic students and staff but also down to you, the parents, and I want to thank you for your continuing support. At the start of this term, we welcomed 230 students into Year 7, a significant increase on previous years. At the same time, the Academy Trust took another big step, with Egerton Primary School joining us. This important move supports the vision of delivering excellent education to all children and young people in the Knutsford area, both at primary and at secondary level. I would like to offer a very warm welcome to the pupils, staff and parents at Egerton; exciting times for our schools and for Knutsford. As you will see from this edition of Academy Update, it has been a busy year so far, with so much achieved already. On page 4 there is a focus on the Academy Fund and how, thanks to the generosity of our parents since its launch in September 2017 it is starting to benefit our students in so many different ways.
Mike Cladingbowl Executive Principal Knutsford Multi-Academy Trust
Year 8 assembly on 25 October, students learnt the story of Knutsfordian Lt. Douglas Marshall Rigby who served in the Cheshire Regiment during WW1 and was killed in action September 1918.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM Several students and staff proudly represented the Academy at the Knutsford Remembrance Day Parade on Sunday 11 November, especially poignant as, this year, we reected on 100 years since the end of WW1. Head Girl, Sofia Chowdry, layed wreaths both at St Johns Church and at the new War Memorial near the library. It was pleasing to see many of our students representing local community organisations, including the Scouts, Guides, Air and Army Cadets.
ACADEMY PARLIAMENT Hope Philpott - Year 12 Our first Academy Parliament meeting in November with the newly elected members focused on student well-being, in particular the importance of anti-bullying strategies. It was great to discuss such important issues, to ensure we treat it with the importance it deserves. We also discussed a possible house system and how this could be used to enrich integration between year groups and how we could encourage student participation. If students have queries or ideas for the Parliament, details of each Year's representatives can be obtained from Mr Scott. I am looking forward to representing the student voice and having a say in shaping the school and its decisions.
PARTNERSHIP WITH PIONEERING UNIVERSITY We’re delighted to be the first school in the north of England to receive the prestigious ‘plaque of partnership’ from the UCFB (University Campus for Football Business). Presenting the plaque was former professional footballer, Paul Fletcher MBE. UCFB is dedicated to the delivery of world-class degrees and is located in state-of-the-art campuses at Wembley Stadium and the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. Through the partnership, students interested in progressing their post-sixth form studies at UCFB can visit both the Wembley and the Etihad campus to discuss in detail with current UCFB staff and students the opportunities that are available.
FOOTBALL Across Years 7-11 our football teams have competed in no fewer than 35 games in the Vale Royal Schools League, 6 County Cup fixtures, 2 National Cup fixtures as well as several six-a-side tournaments. Notable mention must go to the Year 7 and Year 8 squads for their commitment and enthusiasm. Our Sixth Form Football Academy continues to go from strength to strength; this year we’ve seen the biggest intake yet. We remain unbeaten in both the League and Cups, with a 3-1 victory against Sandbach in the National Schools Cup and a 2-0 victory over Fallibroome in the County Cup – well done to everyone who’s represented the Academy this term. Mr Horner - PE
NETBALL
CROSS COUNTRY
The Academy’s netball teams have had a fabulous start to the season, with 44 games played, they’ve clocked up an amazing 36 wins and a huge 486 goals this season so far! We are well positioned in both the Mid-Cheshire and Macclesfield B-league, and our U15s put on a superb display in the County tournament against some fierce opposition in October. The number of players now representing the Academy has grown to over 80, all of whom are committed to training and playing regularly. Huge thanks to our fabulous volunteer coaches, Steve, Jus and Elaine and well done to all our netball teams.
Students from across the school participated in the local Cross Country Championship with 8 then progressing to the Cheshire final.
Miss Walsh - Head of PE
HUMANITIES TRIP TO BERLIN During the October half term holiday, Year 13 Humanities students spent 4 days in Berlin. Here, we not only had time for shopping and taking photographs but we also developed knowledge in our specific subject areas. We saw with our own eyes the effects of the political divide after WW2 and a tour guide talked about her experiences and memories of the collapse of the Berlin Wall. We visited a former concentration camp, a Stasi prison and many memorials, developing our understanding of the horrific events that took place in Germany during Nazi rule. At the concentration camp, we were able to apply our psychological knowledge to begin to question whether the leaders of the holocaust were innately evil or were they simply blindly obeying orders from a higher authority? Poppy Roberts - Year 13
STEM VIDEO CONFERENCE The Big Assembly Tomorrow's Engineers Over 60 students from Years 9, 10 and 12 took part in a live STEM-themed broadcast, focusing on careers in engineering. The aim of the broadcast was to inform students on the variety of career pathways available in this field. Watched in over 300 schools by thousands of students nationally, this is just one of the many STEM enrichment events the Academy is participating in this year.
A group of Sixth Form students spent their summer holidays on an expedition in South America. Our journey to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands gave us the opportunity to learn so much; from the strength of community beyond the fast-paced cities to the rolling mountains of the Andes and the wonderful sounds of the Amazon; a stunning place to explore. The phenomenal biodiversity in The Galápagos and the beauty in every smile, in every story, truly resonated with us all; we realised poverty is accepted as positively as it can be and creates people so full of life. We found we lived by these values every step of the way in our volunteering experiences, building community centres, building water collectors and helping grow sustainable food sources for local communities. Alycia Beckett - Year 13 Cambodia 2020 Plans are now afoot for the Academy’s expedition to Cambodia in the summer of 2020 with over 20 students signed up for what will be an amazing adventure.
ACADEMY FUND UPDATE A huge thank you to everyone who is supporting the Academy Fund. Almost 200 families now contribute to the fund, established in September 2017, helping to support key areas such as the library, sports and performing arts. Over recent months, we have been able to instal a new sound mixing desk to enhance the Academy’s amazing productions, buy new kit for football and netball teams and an extensive selection of new library books. We have also been able to provide more outdoor seating for students to use at break times. If you would like to contribute towards the Academy Fund we recommend a monthly payment of £5. Further details are available at:
Year 8 students, Jacob and Harry enjoying the new library books The new mixing desk funded through the Academy Fund in use at the Sixth Form BTEC Musical Theatre Showcase in November.
https://www.knutsfordacademy.org.uk/academyfund
YEAR 7 RESIDENTIAL
DECEMBER EVENTS
Over 200 students from Year 7 attended a residential at Colomendy in North Wales from 3-5 October. Over the three days, they took part in a huge range of activities including the leap of faith, caving and low ropes. Head of Year 7 Mr Acton commented, “The residential was a huge success and it was great to see the students get involved in so many activities and continue to make new friends from across the year group.”
Christmas Concert
Come and join us at our annual Christmas Concert Wednesday 19 th December - 7pm
Tuesday 11th - Saturday 15th December Tickets on sale at the Student Office
DATA PROTECTION AT THE ACADEMY The Academy has been busy ensuring compliance with the new Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulation introduced in May. The security, integrity and accessibility of personal information are of key importance to the Academy. Amongst other actions, the Academy has carried out a staff training programme, moved to a cloud-based data storage and sharing solution and will be delivering sessions to students about data protection issues and rights. Our reviewed privacy notices can be found on the Academy website. www.knutsfordacademy.org.uk Please take the time to talk with your child about the importance of data protection and check their privacy settings in relation to their use of social media platforms and related apps. It would also be extremely helpful if you could ensure that the Academy is kept informed of any changes in your personal data, either through the SIMS Parent App or by contacting the Academy directly.
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