Friday 1 April 2022

The First Post

Thank you to everybody who has made my first two weeks at the Bulwell Academy so enjoyable. I have met many amazing students and seen the hard work staff are putting in to ensure high standards are maintained.

I know there are going to be challenges ahead but excellent foundations have already been put in place. We will continue to build on the success of the past 12 months by further raising expectations of students, and ensuring every child can achieve success in all aspects of school life. It is the start of an exciting journey together.

This is the first of my weekly Friday posts in term time, but you may have seen my introductory one earlier this week. Thank you to those parents and carers who have responded to the opportunity to meet after the holidays. I am looking forward to welcoming you. Some slots are still available, and appointments can be made on SchoolCloud: Meet the Principal.

Year 11 Exam Information & Support

Year 11’s mock exam results have been published on SIMS Parent. They show a rapidly improving picture but more work needs to be done before GCSEs start in a few short weeks after the holidays.

The results have highlighted where interventions need to be made and a programme of support has been in place for some time. This will continue over the Easter holiday.

Year 11’s Easter timetable can be accessed on the Academy website on the Exam Information page, along with the summer exams timetable for Years 11, 12 and 13.

Students have also received a personalised copy of their schedule.

Could parents/carers encourage children to attend the Easter sessions and support their revision efforts over the holidays please. It is a vital time in their learning and those exams will be here before they know it. We want our students to feel as prepared as possible and give themselves the best chance of success. My thanks to the staff who are putting on the extra revision sessions.

Recognising Achievement

Congratulations to the children celebrated in the Award Assemblies this week in the categories 100% Attendance, Tutor Shout Outs, Subject Achievements, the coveted Values Awards plus the Fantastic Friday awards. They are the first to have been led by the Year Managers. Mr Chambers, the Year 8 Manager, received high praise for the delivery of his “brilliant” assembly in this week’s staff celebration awards. Well done to him.

*Mr Chambers & Year 8 winners of the Values Awards: Aspire. Work hard. Be kind.*

Creative Curriculum

I have already seen and heard about some of the fantastic creative talents at the Academy.

Miss Smalley has been running a fortnightly after-school club to support students with their submissions for the Royal Academy of Arts Young Artists Summer Show.

Good luck to those students for the judging next month. You can view their entries in the short video.

I was also fortunate to hear the four students from Years 9 to 11 who had the opportunity to join more than 100 students from other Creative Education Trust schools for the second cross-Trust orchestral day. For most participants this is their first time playing in an orchestra. They clearly enjoyed the experience and are looking forward to the next one on 12 May.

Watch the video to hear their work-in-progress ‘Habanera’ from Bizet’s Carmen.

We will continue to do what we can to support our students’ wonderful talents. Other events running across the Trust can be viewed on page17 of the latest Connected magazine which brings together stories and news from across the CET schools. Well done to The Bulwell Academy students and Miss Marriott who feature in its student and staff commendations.

Read the magazine here: knowledgeconnected.org.uk/Connected28

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Careers News

This week, ICT students from a variety of year groups had lessons with Business volunteers from Nottingham Trent University School of Science and Technology in partnership with Ignite Futures – each lesson explored ‘Data in Our Lives’ and how we use it in everyday lives including at school and in the world of work. Thank you to Ignite and NTU.

Meanwhile, Year 12 visited the UCAS Discovery Exhibition at Derby Arena, where they networked with universities and employers and gathered information about their futures.

Key Dates

I would like to highlight two dates in the diary in the forthcoming term. The Year 7 Parents’ Evening takes place on Thursday 28 April between 4pm and 7pm while the Year 9 Parents’ Evening has been moved to 14 July at the same times. More details on both will follow. All key dates and term dates can be found in the SIMS Parent calendar and here: Term dates, Events & Activities

Finally, I hope you have a great break and I look forward to seeing everybody refreshed and ready for a busy summer term starting on Tuesday 19 April.