Welcome to this week's newsletter
So, the longest term of the year draws to a close. It has been a rollercoaster eight weeks for Manor and for me personally. I have enjoyed getting to know our students day to day, after a brief introduction last academic year. I have met lots of parents and carers in variety of forums and I look forward to meeting more at our Manor Together event on Wednesday 6th November. Please sign up if you haven't already. We also have Consultation Evenings for Years 8 and 10 next term, which is a great opportunity to meet teachers and leaders. Our recent Year 7 Settling in Evening had 70% attendance by parents and carers - I would love to see higher attendance at next term's events.
This week I was privileged to get an invitation to go next door to visit St Peter's CE Academy. I spent a long time answering questions on secondary school life with Year 6. I then visited Years 3-5 to see their learning in lessons. Year 6 have started a list of new questions, and I look forward to returning to answer these in Term 2. Mr Currell and his team gave me a warm welcome and I look forward to extending an invitation to Year 6 students to come and see us in action, getting a taster of our secondary facilities.
Manor have been involved in sports fixtures for netball and football. We won some and we lost some, but it is great to see our students going the extra mile and representing the school with pride. The boys U15 football team beat Wollaston to progress further in the District League which is a great achievement.
Once again, I have been into assemblies to check on uniform standards. The majority of students are dressed correctly, so they look smart and this means they think smart. Some students however are not wearing the correct footwear. I have also noticed that as the weather has got colder that some students are adding a jumper to their uniform, which is sensible. If your child wishes to wear a jumper, it must be worn with the school blazer (not in exchange of) and it must be a navy blue V-neck jumper. I will be checking again in Term 2 for any uniform issues, so there is an opportunity to correct any issues over the half-term break. If there are issues with students not wearing the correct uniform, please let your child's tutor or Progress Leader know and we will help and support where we can.
We have a staff training day on Monday 4 November, so students will return on the Tuesday.
Enjoy the half-term break and I look forward to students returning relaxed and refreshed in November.
Adam Crawte, Interim Principal
Improving attendance
We are thrilled to share some fantastic news with our school community! Over the past term, we have seen a significant increase in whole school attendance, and we want to celebrate this achievement together.
A commitment to learning
Attendance is crucial to our students’ success, and your commitment to ensuring they are present and engaged is making a real difference. We have recorded an impressive increase in our overall attendance rate compared to this time last year. This achievement reflects the dedication of our students, the support of our families, and the hard work of our teaching staff.
Why attendance matters
Regular attendance not only boosts academic performance but also helps students build social skills and develop a sense of belonging in our school community. Each day, our classrooms come alive with energy and learning, and we are proud to see so many of our students actively participating in this vibrant environment.
Continuing the momentum
While we celebrate our success, we also encourage everyone to keep up the great work. If you have any questions or need assistance regarding attendance or how to support your child’s consistent presence at school, please do not hesitate to reach out. In the first instance please do this via your child’s form tutor. Together, we can continue to foster an environment where every student thrives.
Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to our school community. Let’s keep the momentum going!
Kindness Club badge
The purple Kids’ Kindness Club badge is awarded for demonstrating kindness to yourself and to others. You may wish to take time over the half-term break to complete the challenges with your child.
Full details can be found by downloading the following file.
Remembrance poppies
Poppies will be on sale from Tuesday 5 to Friday 8 November for a suggested donation of £1. Sixth form students will visit tutor groups in the morning during that week, and will also be selling them at break and lunch time outside the LRC.
Extra-curricular timetable
We will be sharing an updated timetable for Term 2 clubs when we return after the half-term break.
For now, please note that there will be no KS5 badminton club after school on Wednesday 6 November.
Mental resilience course
We are delighted to offer our Year 7 parents/carers access to Bounce Forward’s Raise Resilience course. To date over 17,000 parents/carers have completed Raise Resilience and 99.8% would recommend it to others.
As a school we are now implementing Healthy Minds which uses the same underlying concepts, skills and language used in Raise Resilience. So, not only will you enjoy this wonderful course, but you will also be better equipped to support your children when they come home and tell you about their Healthy Minds lessons.
There are limited places available so please register now here.
Relax at home and enjoy the series of six sessions, facilitated by Bounce Forward. You will see the content and their trainer, Amy, and interact using the chat. Your camera and sound will not be required.
Find out more about Raise Resilience here or see the flyer below.
Careers talks
We have a number of careers talks next term where students are invited to hear from industry experts about their job role and experiences. The talks are open to students in Years 11-13, with Year 10 also invited if numbers allow. Any students interested in these sessions need to email Miss Smedley on lsmedley@manor.school.
Monday 11 November: Apprenticeships
Any students considering an apprenticeship should attend this session. This workshop will be interactive and is designed to assist students in setting up personal accounts to be able to view available apprenticeships and then apply at the appropriate time. Students will also be able to ask any questions they have about apprenticeships.
Tuesday 12 November: Medical careers
We have a doctor whose specialty is in emergency medicine coming into the school to discuss with students attributes medical schools look for on application, a little bit about life at medical school and what life as a resident doctor is like. Places will be issued on a first come first served basis.
Thursday 14 November: Construction careers
We have a visitor coming into the school who completed a 3-year apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery obtaining NVQ 1, 2 and 3 and spent twenty years on the tools. He then went into site management and gained an NVQ Level 6 in construction site management, becoming a senior site manager running construction sites varying in size. If you are interested in construction careers, from working with tools through to management, please book your space in this talk.
Monday 9 December: Apprenticeship and career opportunities with a local employer
Greatwell Homes is a local housing association where their vision, mission and promise drive everything that they do. They offer apprenticeships at Greatwell Homes which they would like to give an overview of, and would also like to talk to students about their own personal career journeys that began as apprentices and the life skills that being an apprentice has given them. As a local employer, they would also like to talk about the career opportunities that they can provide to local people.
Sports results
U15 boys football
There were another great couple of performances from the players this week. We hosted Huxlow and Wollaston at Manor on Wednesday and came out on top in both games. The first game against Huxlow we played really well and won this game 3-0. The second game against Wollaston saw another really strong outing from the players, seeing us win 4-0 this time.
That brings the U15 boys fixtures to an end and they conclude the season with five wins, one draw and only one loss. Current league table standings put us at the top of the league which is just fantastic for the boys. There are some more games to be played but its looking mathematically impossible for us to be caught. That should hopefully mean a trip to finals day when they come around in April.
The players have been a credit to the school over the last four weeks and we look forward to our first County Cup game after half term when we travel to Latimer School in Kettering.
Mr Sturgess and the players would also like to thank the parents/carers that have supported the team at the matches - it really is appreciated!
Netball
On Tuesday both our Year 9 and KS4 netball teams played at home against Wollaston and Huxlow. The Year 9s lost both their games, 3-11 to Wollaston and 2-3 to Huxlow. The KS4 students lost both of their games, 1-10 to Wollaston and 1-18 to Huxlow.
All students have played really well this term and have one final match left to play after half term.