Principal's Update 26 April 2024

Dear families

Welcome to this week's update. Before we begin the update I was very proud to share the latest Ofsted letter with you earlier in the week. The inspectorate continued to recognise our improvement and were complementary about many aspects of our work. I would encourage you to read both the letter from Ofsted and the letter from myself and Luke Sparkes, our CEO, in full. Both letters are available on our website.

This week we have had a lot going on outside of the curriculum with winning sports fixtures for the Y9 rugby team and the Y7 cricket team. Two of our students also attended the Citizens Assembly at Leeds Beckett University - it was a privilege to have our community represented at such a prestigious event. In addition, our Y7 students took part in a maths challenge on Thursday this week and we look forward to seeing how they got on! Finally, last week we had out Y8 options evening. Students and families received relevant information to make informed choices about their next steps. Families should now complete the online options form together, this was sent out via text message.

Next week our Y11s begin the first of their final examinations with their Spanish speaking assessments. It is imperative that students prepare thoroughly and try their absolute best - please reach out if you or your child needs any further support. On Thursday next week we welcome Y7 families for our progress review, please ensure that you have booked your appointments using our online system and reach out to main reception if you need any help.

Finally for this week, Ofsted alluded to the fact that our biggest limiting factor as an academy is our attendance. We aspire to all students achieving an attendance of over 95%. Please support us with this by ensuring that you send your children to school every day. Students who are in school, are learning, and therefore do better in their exams at the end of Y11. Those students who gain strong qualifications have a range of doors open to them in terms of post-16 opportunities. This is what we aspire to for all students, success in education and a happy and purposeful life.

I hope you all have an excellent week and hope to see you soon.

Mr A Jacobs