A day in the life ‌
Before break you could … ‘Acid, a chemical that can be highly dangerous but why can’t we live without it?’ ‘Did you know that they use acids to make paper and batteries and it’s in our stomach? My Gran told me that vinegar cures wasp stings and I laughed. But a wasp sting is an alkali and vinegar is an acid - by adding the two together the pH level of your sting will become neutral which means it would stop hurting.’
‘What would you say if I told you I could grant you one wish, for an object, any object, anything you want … the catch? I want you to design the wish yourself using our computer aided design to create the blueprints for that wish.’ ‘I’ve just made myself a Christmas tree cookie cutter! After I designed it using the CAD technology, it took about 20 minutes to print. I wasn’t allowed to wish for a car.’
After break you might … ‘You are going to take inspiration from your trip to Manchester Art Gallery and create a personal response. Remember to use a range of media to develop your creative journey.’ ‘The inspiration behind my piece is Susan Stockwell; her work is unique and beautiful. She takes the ordinary to create the extraordinary. She uses maps as dress material and I love the idea of that.’
After lunch you could … ‘When he shall die , take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine, that all the world will be in love with night’. ‘Even though the language is so old, Shakespeare really paints pictures that live in your mind. He says things that you would want to say but who could find words like he does?’
Who likes to eat popcorn while watching a film? I want you to use your knowledge of science, thinking about convection, conduction and radiation, and tell me which one is the fastest method so I don’t miss the trailers.’ ‘It’s conduction; we cooked our popcorn in a saucepan on the hob. I never thought about the ways to speed up the process of popping popcorn. I like toffee though, now I just need to find a scientific way to make my own.’
Before the end of the day you might … ‘I would like you to create your own song. Think about the kind of artist you would want to be - does the melody represent the message of your lyrics and does this represent your identity? ‘We’ve just used Garage Band to write our own music. It’s a really simple way to start writing and composing, it’s a good feeling to listen to something that was only in your head a few hours ago.’
‘You’ve researched the mathematician Pythagoras - now can you explain his theorem?’ 'He was a Greek philosopher as well a mathematician. His logic makes sense to me.’
At the end of the day you could …
Work alongside the
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Or you might … Train as an with th astronaut Space AegEeuropean ncy
Listen to tales of th
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Or even …
‌ Not want to leave
Welcome to Manchester Communication Academy, a mixed, non-selective school serving local children. Our lead sponsor at the academy is BT, who have a long and successful record of involvement in education.
“We are looking forward to using our knowledge and real world business experience to bring the Academy’s specialism of communication to life. Communication is an important skill and we will help all our students to learn about speaking and listening, languages and drama, and digital communication.”BT We also benefit from the expertise of our other sponsor – Manchester City Council. We believe passionately in the power of an excellent education to transform lives and provide new opportunities for young people. We provide an exciting and challenging experience for our students in a supportive and caring environment. The proof of our success is demonstrated by the quality of the daily experience we provide for young people. We have the highest expectations in terms of teaching, learning and the standards our students achieve. We work on the principle that every child can be successful. You will see as you read on that we are doing things differently.
Our Values Our Academy values are: ÊÊÊÊÊUÊÊ/ÀÕÃÌÜ ÀÌ Þ ÊÊÊÊÊUÊÊ i «vÕ ÊÊÊÊÊUÊÊ Ã« À } ÊÊÊÊÊUÊÊ-ÌÀ> } Ìv ÀÜ>À` ÊÊÊÊÊUÊÊ i>ÀÌ / iÃiÊ >ÀiÊ Ì iÊ V ÀiÊ Û> ÕiÃÊ Ì >ÌÊ Õ `iÀ« Ê > Ê vÊ ÕÀÊ `>ÞÊÌ Ê`>ÞÊÜ À Ê> `ÊÌ iÞÊ >ÀiÊ `i ÃÌÀ>Ìi`Ê Ê > Ê >ëiVÌÃÊ vÊ V>`i ÞÊ vi°
Ethos and behaviour We have a formal uniform and we expect every student to attend school looking smart, in full uniform every day. Good attendance is essential to success at the academy and all students are expected to have an excellent attendance record and be punctual. Students are placed in mixed tutor groups with a family basis to ensure that personal relationships between students and staff develop quickly to create a culture of excellent behaviour. Students benefit from the smaller scale nurturing environment, and also access to high quality specialist teaching expertise across the academy. The pastoral team
We have a culture of high expectations and high achievement, which requires hard work and resilience from all. We believe that it is important to teach good manners, respect for others and social responsibility.
‘The strong ethos promotes good behaviour and a calm and purposeful atmosphere throughout the academy.’ (Ofsted) A key feature to our approach is working very closely with parents to ensure that they are an active partner in their child’s learning. We have excellent relationships with our partner primary schools and believe we have gained the support of the local community for this academy.
Teaching and Learning at the Academy The academy has a team of highly skilled staff whose job is to develop outstanding teaching and learning to ensure student success. Within each curriculum area a member of staff is accountable for a group of students and the progress they make. They are responsible for monitoring and reporting attainment, challenging under performance and encouraging accelerated progress.
‘The good teaching is characterised by high quality planning, strong relationships and good use of learning resources.’ (Ofsted) The design of the learning environment consists of flexible learning areas and specialist rooms; this has enabled us to drive independent and individualised learning. This approach has enabled us to establish innovative and creative practice that supports the transformation of teaching and learning. Ê Ê Ê Ê
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Our 14-19 programmes provide a variety of exciting academic and vocational programmes for students to follow through to examinations at 16 plus and 18 plus. We offer a full range of - ÃÊ> `Ê ÕÀÊ> L Ì Ê ÃÊÌ Ê«À Û `iÊiÛiÀÞÊÃÌÕ`i ÌÊÜ Ì ÊÌ iʵÕ> v V>Ì ÃÊ> `ÊiÝ«iÀ i ViÊÌ Ê make real choices: to go on to university, take up a vocational training route, employment or apprenticeship.
Curriculum plan Core Subjects 11 - 16
Functional Skills Global Understanding Communication Citizenship History Geography RE MFL Shakespeare House
Health and Wellbeing PE Fit4Life Food Dance PSHE
English Maths Literacy Numeracy Turing House
Olympic House
‘The innovative structure of the curriculum within well – defined areas of learning has been implemented successfully.’ (Ofsted)
Creative Arts Drama Music Art Textiles Graphics Media Computer Science
Science and Technical
Key Stage 5 AS/A/Vocational Courses Maths Computer Science Physics Chemistry Engineering
Science Physics Chemistry Electronics Engineering Robotics Product Design
‘Extensive out-of- hours learning extends students’ experience and enriches their good social, moral, cultural and spiritual development.’ (Ofsted)
Cooper House Marconi House
All faculties will ensure that they contribute to Communication, Literacy, Numeracy, Careers Guidance, ICT and Enterprise
Inclusion Special Educational Needs / Disability The academy provides a range of interventions to support students with individual learning needs. We follow the Code of Practice in identifying, assessing and supporting these students and through individual education plans we provide support which is tailored to cater for each student’s unique situation. Support may be given in class, in a small group or through intervention classes and is delivered by a skilled team of teachers, learning support assistants and specialists behavioural support workers. If your child has special educational needs you can discuss these in more detail with the Area Leader – Inclusion.
English as an additional language We provide well matched extra support for students with additional language needs until they reach the expected levels in English.
The community Manchester Communication Academy is very proud of its strong community relationships with local people, organisations and business. The academy facilities are open for everyone to use in the evenings, at weekends and in the holidays. There is also a programme of events which run throughout the year offering theatre, cinema and restaurant experiences.
‘The academy has given Collyhurst its heart back’ – Josie Loftus (Resident) There are twenty live community projects which are jointly run by the MCA community team and local residents. Some examples of these are – MCA Community College Here adults, largely from the academy’s immediate community attend a number of courses throughout the day and into the evening. The courses are run by Manchester Adult Education Service (MAES) and there are approximately 300 students attending each week. The students enjoy the excellent facilities including The Bistro and organise a calendar of social events where they can enjoy each other’s company and make new friends. Once Upon a Time Once Upon a Time is another exciting celebration of the local community. Hundreds of memories have been gathered from older adults and preserved in a wonderful oral history archive. A children’s book has been produced from their memories and a quarterly magazine is delivered to over 500 members throughout the world. The Brainhouse Academy MCA has a partner school in Nairobi, Kenya called The Brainhouse Academy. The MCA students are building links and constantly raising funds so their friends in Africa can enjoy a better quality of life.
The community is at the heart of the work of MCA
Uniform
The Academy supplies each student with – Ê Ê Ê Ê
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Joining us At Manchester Communication Academy, we understand that the transition from primary to secondary school is one of the most important stages in a child’s school career. We work closely with local primary schools to ensure that arrangements are in place to support children as they make this crucial step. We provide a five day induction programme to help every child make the best start to their secondary education. We look forward to you joining our academy family. Information regarding term dates and news can be found at – Find us on Facebook – ManComAcademy Follow us on Twitter - ManComAcademy Visit our Website - www.manchestercommunicationacademy.com