Friday 25th October 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
As we come to the end of this first half term, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what has been a wonderful and successful start to the school year. We have seen so many achievements from our students in various areas, and it has been a joy to celebrate their hard work and dedication.
We are incredibly grateful for your continued support; it is because of our partnership with you that we can create such a positive learning environment for our students. I encourage you to stay connected with us through our social media channels on Instagram, Facebook, and X, where we regularly share updates about all we are doing here at Northampton Academy to support and inspire your children.
Black History Month & Diwali
As mentioned in my previous letter, we have moved Black History Month from being a single, big-ticket event to one woven into the fabric of our curriculum. Here’s how various subjects and different areas of the school have engaged with Black History Month:
- We began the month with an inspiring assembly from our Director of Character, Mr. Anderson, titled "Reclaiming the Narrative."
- In Character Development students learnt about Equality and human rights, valuing themselves and others regardless of ethnicity, identity, responsibility and tolerance.
- Sociology students explored ethnicity and crime, focusing on institutional racism through the lens of the Stephen Lawrence case.
- Psychology classes examined cultural biases in the diagnosis of schizophrenia, discussing why certain ethnic groups are disproportionately diagnosed.
- In PE, students discussed the significance of taking the knee in the Premier League.
- In Maths, pupils watched a video celebrating Katherine Johnson, whose work at NASA was instrumental in getting astronauts safely to space.
- Drama classes explored clips from the play "Small Island," reflecting on the Windrush generation and the influence of famous Black writers.
- Music lessons focused on the evolution of Black music genres and their impact on today’s soundscape.
- In English lessons, year 11 students have been preparing for their GCSE literature exams with unseen poetry by black poets such as Benjamin Zephaniah, Grace Nichols and Edward Kamu Brathwaite.
- The library has featured a special display of books and literature by Black authors. Students have been encouraged to explore diverse voices and stories that highlight the rich contributions of black writers to literature and culture.
- Our student leadership team have put together a series of extracts for students to read and discuss in DEAR time to celebrate black history month. Students have read extracts and quotes by authors such as David Olusoga, Malorie Blackman, Ijeoma Oluo and Jeffrey Boakye to celebrate black voices.
In addition to Black History Month, we celebrated Diwali in school this week. Some areas have been decorated, students received Diwali treats, and on Thursday, they listened to a special assembly prepared by our student leaders, introducing them to the significance of Diwali.
Attendance
I want to thank all families that have supported their child’s attendance to date this academic year. As I’m sure you are aware, Northampton Academy believe that for a student to fully benefit from their education, excellent attendance is crucial.
We will continue to celebrate fantastic attendance and efforts to improve by awarding a £30 Tesco voucher to one family per week. To be in with a chance of winning this voucher your child must have completed a whole week’s attendance that week – we are calling this an ‘attendance streak’ here at the Academy. It has been lovely speaking to parents each week and explaining the fact the voucher has been won.
Something I’d like all students and parents to consider is a 95% attendance rate equates to 2 weeks absence from school every year; by Year 11 a 95% attending pupil will have missed a total of a quarter of a year of schooling. This emphasises why low attendance equates to lower outcomes.
There is also new national guidance that all schools must follow in relation to unauthorised absences and fines for parents. Fixed Penalty Notices (fines) will be considered when a child has missed ten or more sessions (five days) due to unauthorised absence in a period of ten school weeks. In September 2024, Penalty Notices charged to parents rose to £80 (if paid within 21 days) or £160 (if paid within between 22 and 28 days). Where a penalty notice is unpaid, legal action will be pursued. Being late to school after registration counts as an unauthorised absence. PLEASE NOTE: It is not the school/trust that is issuing penalty notices to parents.
You can monitor your child’s attendance at any stage via the Arbor parent portal: https://support.arbor-education.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020147458-Getting-started-Log-into-the-Parent-Portal-and-the-Arbor-App If you need support please get in touch and we will help.
If your child feels ‘a bit off’ or ‘under the weather’ please send them to school where more often than not they quickly improve as they engage in their schooling. If however, they don’t improve and feel ill we will contact you and discuss a further course of action.
Trip
We are pleased to offer a limited number of places for Year 10 students to participate in our Kenya experience trip for two weeks in May 2025. The trip is a two-week experience, with the first week focussing on wildlife conservation and offering some extraordinary experiences of Kenya. The second week would focus on a community project interacting with residents and offer a chance to experience a different culture. A separate letter, with information on how to sign up recently came out from Dr Fishwick.
Year 10
Year 10 students have had a good start to the first term in their GCSEs and have settled into the new pace of subjects well. The celebration assembly was lovely to watch at the end of this week.
The Kenya experience was also launched to Year 10 this week, which is such an amazing opportunity!
All Year 10 have been given their support and guidance booklet for their CORE assessments coming up in January. This means that they can use the next 8 weeks to start to revise for these assessments, which will start to build a picture of how they are performing mid-year.
Year 11
Year 11 have had a fantastic first half-term, and when they return after the October half-term, they will go straight into their first round of Mocks. The timetable has been published and sent home via Arbor. We will run this the same way as the real ones in May.
Some students will be required to stay later due to the finish times of the exams; this is detailed on their timetable.
Students need to be here in plenty of time for their exams to start, and there will be a team of support put in place to make sure students have the best possible experience for their Mocks.
A reminder that students should be using their time over the break to revise and rest, and small chunking of revision is the most beneficial.
Students have a plethora of resources to support revision:
- Support and guidance booklets
- Revision guides for all subjects
- Walking Talking Mock Videos on the TEAMS area
- Past papers on TEAMS and hard copies given out by subjects
- Mark schemes to check their work
- Revision sites to support, such as Sparx and Seneca
- Proud table resources – including revision material and flashcards
Sixth Form
We have now sent over 35 UCAS applications for Year 13, and many of these students have received offers already from competitive universities.
A reminder that Year 13 mock exams begin on November 18th, and Year 12 mock exams begin: on November 9th.
Character Enrichment
Please can I remind all families the enrichment opportunities are in full flow and available for everyone!
Enrichment is a very important part of the Northampton Academy experience, ensuring students can develop new skills, talents and character outside their formal learning environment.
Please take a look at our current offer: https://www.northampton-academy.org/students/character-enrichment
All opportunities are free, and the vast majority are open to all year groups. We will always record attendance to safeguard your child and track participation for celebration and reflection purposes.
The Proud Table
The Proud Table continues to be a valued weekly celebration of student achievements. Every Friday, students are invited to share work they feel proud of, whether it’s been awarded a proud sticker in school or represents an accomplishment outside of school, like a swimming certificate or a new drama skill. On the last Friday of term, our proud table focus has been on study skills for Year 11 students, supporting them with essential resources—like flashcards, highlighters, and motivational postcards—to prepare for their upcoming mock exams. After half term, we’re excited to introduce weekly focus themes at the Proud Table, each with themed prizes and the chance to showcase incredible work. Look out for Study Skills for Post 16, Maths, Anti-Bullying, Geography, English, and Well-being weeks!
Essential Equipment
Half term is a great opportunity for students to audit their equipment and ensure they are prepared for the start of the next term. Every three weeks, we conduct equipment checks in tutor time to support students in being ready for learning. The next check will be on Wednesday, 13th November. Students should have the following items in their bag each day: a pencil case containing two blue or black ink pens, a pencil, pencil sharpener, rubber, ruler, a water bottle to stay hydrated and a scientific calculator. Students in Years 7-10 should also have a book for DEAR time, which they can borrow from the library before school, after school, at break and at lunch. At the end of term 2 in the last week of term, there are prizes awarded to students who have come to school with 100% of their equipment since the start of the year. Students can visit the proud table every single week to get equipment prizes.
Presentation Awards
At the end of this term, 14 students were awarded for their effort and determination in maintaining high standards of presentation in their books and folders. We value and celebrate students who take pride in their work, keeping it organised and well-presented. Each of these students received a prize and a certificate to recognise their hard work. We’ll be running this initiative again at the end of Term 3, so there is another opportunity to win.
Careers
Wow! The BBC Careers Bitesize event last week was incredible. Years 7-10 all attended for an hour slot and were treated to live interviews from three guests in different careers, videos, and student participation, and the event concluded with a Q&A where our students asked some thought-provoking questions. Ask your child about it and be sure to check out the socials if you haven't already caught up.
Our first ‘Afternoon with a Professional’ series also launched this week - where he had Paul in from Cheney and Co, a local accountancy firm. Paul gave an excellent insight into his journey, explained the key components of his job role, and allowed the students to ask him any questions. These will continue throughout the year, so look out for the information on Satchel and be sure to get booked on!
Year 11 post-16 destination conversations should be ongoing, and a reminder they can drop into the Careers Office on Monday lunchtime to ask any questions.
College open days have now been released, please check their websites for more information:
Moulton College: https://www.moulton.ac.uk/about/blog/open-day-guide
Northampton College: https://www.northamptoncollege.ac.uk/open-events
In closing
Wishing you all a safe and happy half-term break. We look forward to welcoming students back on Monday 4th November.
Thank you once again for being part of our Northampton Academy community.
Kind regards,
Owen Jones
Principal