Summer Newsletter

Message from the Principal

Welcome to our final newsletter of the school year. It is no understatement to say that this has been an academic year of seismic proportions for Redmoor Academy. It started last August by celebrating our best ever GCSE outcomes, has seen the opening of our new Science Block and fantastic Sports Hall, included another successful Ofsted inspection in April and finally we celebrated 50 years of serving our local community in June. At the heart of this year and the last 50 years are our students, who continually make us proud and are the source of our commitment to providing the very best education possible. We look forward to starting another new academic year in August, with GCSE results on Thursday 20th August. Please have an enjoyable, safe and fun summer break. Kindest regards, Matt Nicolle Principal

Dropping off & Collecting Students by Car For the benefit of new parents to Redmoor and as a reminder to our current families, please abide by the following if you plan to use your car to drop off or collect students;

• Only parents/ carers of students with mobility issues have permission to enter the school site to drop off and collect in designated areas. This permission must be sought in advance.
• It is not permitted to drop off or collect at the top of our drive (in front of the gates) as this creates a serious risk to pedestrians and other road users. We have had some very near misses.
• Please be courteous to local residents and do not block drives or use private roads
• Please remind your children about road safety, including the importance of not riding bikes and scooters along paths and across drives, putting themselves and other users at risk and also that helmets should be worn when using bikes and scooters.

Uniform / Expectations We continue to have the highest expectations of our students at all times, whether in lessons, at social time or on their way to and from school. These expectations cover their attitudes and efforts, their interactions with staff and each other and of course, their uniform and appearance. Please remember:

• Footwear: must be plain black with no coloured or white soles or logos.
• Piercings: if students are planning new piercings, especially if in addition to our policy of allowing 1 small stud earring in each ear, they need to be done in the first days of the holiday as they must be removed for PE for the child’s safety
• Hair Colour: must be natural
• Mobile Phones: Redmoor, along with every school, must now be phone free for students. Therefore, mobile phones must be switched off and in bags (not in pockets).

Staffing Changes As a result of our expansion and changes to our senior leadership team roles, we are delighted to welcome a record number of new staff to the school;

• Mr Jenkins (Teacher of Science)
• Mr Heanagan (Teacher of Maths)
• Mr Downes (Teacher of Geography)
• Miss Wilkinson (Teacher of History)
• Mrs Goodacre (Teacher of MFL)
• Mrs Wicks (Teacher of Art)
• Miss Thrower (Teacher of Music)
• Mrs Mulla (KS2 to 3 Transition and Intervention Lead)
• Mr Kirby (PE Technician)

We have 3 staff leaving us this year;

• Mrs Gomm: has been teaching at Redmoor for 45 years, initially in PE but more recently Maths, which she led until recently.
• Mrs Webb: has taught Science at Redmoor for the last 10 years but previously taught at Mount Grace High School before it merged with JCC.
• Mr Allen: has worked with our PE department for the last 2 years, helping students and delivering lunchtime and after school clubs

Welcome Message from the Head of School

As many of you know, this August I start my new role as Head of School. Having been part of the Redmoor community for the past nine years, this is both a great privilege and a responsibility that I am honoured to take on. During my time here, I have seen first-hand the dedication of our staff, the resilience and ambition of our students, and the unwavering support of our families. These are the qualities that make Redmoor such a special place. As we look ahead, I am excited about the next chapter in our journey. Building on the significant progress the school has made, we will continue to focus on providing an exceptional education for every student, ensuring that every young person is challenged, supported and inspired to achieve their very best. I am fortunate to continue working alongside our Principal, Mr Nicolle, our Vice Principal, Miss Sharpe, and the wider Senior Leadership Team. Together, we are united by a shared commitment to building on the school’s many successes and continuing to improve the opportunities and experiences we provide for every student. While we are proud of how far we have come, we are equally ambitious about where we are going. Thank you once again for your continued trust and support. I wish all of our students, families and colleagues a restful, enjoyable and well-deserved summer break. I look forward to welcoming everyone back in August as we begin another exciting year together. Have a wonderful summer. Katy Nichols Head of School

Celebrating 50 Years of Redmoor Academy

On Saturday 27th June, Redmoor Academy opened its doors to the wider community to celebrate an important milestone: 50 years of Redmoor. The event was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the history of our school, recognise the achievements of our students and staff over the past five decades, and look ahead to the future. The celebrations began with a special opening ceremony led by our Performing Arts students, showcasing the creativity and talent that continues to be at the heart of Redmoor. The play took us on a tour through every decade since the school’s opening and provided a real opportunity for our audience to reminisce! Mrs Brown wrote the piece herself and featured teachers from years gone by as well as historically accurate details - like the uniform colour in the 1970s being gold and green!  Throughout the day, visitors enjoyed live music and performances, including our magnificent steel panners, the school band and JAM Music. A huge thank you goes to JAM for supporting our event, as well as our students throughout the year. Visitors also enjoyed school tours, a journey down memory lane with plenty of old images and stories to look at, a showcase of student work in Redmoor’s very impressive art gallery, and a wonderful plant sale hosted by our Eco Club in the garden they are busy transforming.  Our Memorial Garden was another busy stop for visitors. Opened in memory of Lorna Cassie, Louise Rogerson and Annie Constable, the garden is a tranquil place where staff can remember all of those we have lost. While this space is still being transformed, we have started adding new plants and flowers and we are very grateful to have received a generous discount from Sapcote Garden Centre.   The school was filled with activities for everyone to enjoy, including traditional fete games, craft stalls, badminton and basketball in our new sports hall - and the very popular ‘soak the teacher’. We would also like to extend our thanks to Councillor Cathie Gibbons, who helped celebrate our long-serving staff with us. We were delighted to welcome back Sue Jackson and Ann Mowe, alongside current staff Rachael Short, Sharon Woodland and Emma Brooks - all of whom have dedicated at least 20 years of service to Redmoor and to the local community. These individuals, alongside others from our history, will have their names honoured on our new long-service board displayed in Reception. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the day such a resounding success. It was brilliant to have so many people join us to share memories with friends, former students, staff and members of our wider community. As we reflect on 50 years of Redmoor, we are proud of our past, grateful for our present, and excited for the future ahead.  Mrs Nichols

Attendance

As the summer holidays are nearly upon us, we wanted to thank parents for your support and hard work in getting students into school as much as possible this year. Being in school regularly is important to help young people develop and grow, and build friendships, confidence and resilience.  Well done to Year 7 who had the best overall attendance this year at 94.4% We hope you have a restful break, and your children come back to school in August feeling refreshed. To ensure your child gets off to a good start next term please help them to be organised ready to come back to school and that they are in a good sleep routine before they are due to come back. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any concerns or information that may affect your child’s attendance. We are always here to help. Mr Kimber & Mrs Green

Celebrating Year 10 Work Experience

What an incredible week for our Year 10 students as they stepped out of the classroom and directly into the world of work. We are immensely proud of how they represented our school, showing dedication, curiosity, and professionalism throughout. An amazing 130 students took the initiative to find their own self-placements across a huge variety of employment sectors. The feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, with local employers consistently praising our students' fantastic work ethic and attitude. This year also marked the exciting launch of our Modern Work Experience Project. For the first time, 40 students took part in an immersive project-based scheme, tackling real-world challenges set by major industry leaders, including Barclays, IM Properties, Winvic, Flexeserve and Pick Everard Working in collaborative teams, our students worked tirelessly to produce outstanding final presentations. Their innovative ideas blew the judges away, earning high praise and even securing direct offers for future work experience! A massive thank you to all the parents/carers, staff, and brilliant employers who helped make this week possible. Most importantly, congratulations to our Year 10 students - you have set an impressive standard for the future!

REC 2026

What a fabulous time our students (and staff!) have had on REC this year.  We have seen an even wider variety of trips and activities this year, ranging from the creation of beautiful handmade crafts, facing their fear of heights, cooking paella, camping in the woods and so much more. We are very proud of the way that our students conducted themselves whilst taking part in the activities, and this was commented on by members of the public in many of the trips. We want to thank parents/carers for supporting the school in this unique opportunity and also the staff for leading and participating in the activities - none of it would happen without you.  We wish you all a great summer and look forward to REC 2027! REC team 

Year 7

As we come to the end of Year 7, I want to congratulate each and every year 7 student on everything you have achieved this year. Starting secondary school is a big step, and you have faced new challenges with resilience, taken responsibility for your learning and actions, and consistently shown respect for yourselves, each other, and our school community. These qualities have helped you grow in confidence and maturity throughout the year. As you move into Year 8, remember that younger students will look up to you. You now have the opportunity to become positive role models by continuing to demonstrate kindness, determination, and respect in everything you do. Lead by example, encourage others, and never underestimate the impact your actions can have. I hope you are proud of how far you have come. Have a well-deserved, restful summer break, stay safe, and return ready to embrace the exciting opportunities that Year 8 will bring. Well done, and best wishes for the year ahead!

Year 11 Prom

Year 11 marked the end of their time at Redmoor with a fantastic Prom celebration. It was great to see students enjoying the evening together, with everyone making a real effort for the occasion in their smart and stylish outfits. The event was a fitting way to celebrate the end of five years at Redmoor and to recognise everything the year group has achieved.

This year's GCSE results day this year will be held on Thursday 20th August from 9.00-11.00am. We look forward to seeing you all again then.

Rewards Trip

On Wednesday we treated our top house point earners per year group to a McDonald’s breakfast. Our students had a great time and were super surprised by the generosity of free ice cream from the team at McDonald’s!! Thank you!

Science

Rose in year 7 has completed a fantastic piece of creative homework in science! She has created a racing car which is as aerodynamic as possible. She also made a huge poster detailing the inspiration and physics behind her creation and an incredible 3D model - which is made from a delicious vanilla cake! Rose has achieved a subject star award for this incredible level of effort and creativity. Well done Rose!

History

This term, 60 Year 9 students visited The National Holocaust Centre & Museum as part of their studies in History and Philosophy. The trip offered a powerful and thought-provoking opportunity to deepen their understanding of the Holocaust and its significance in today’s world. Students explored the museum’s main exhibition, which traces the history of the Holocaust through personal stories, artefacts, and videos. Students spent time in the Memorial Gardens, including the Children's Memorial. This memorial is to the 1.5 million young people murdered in the Holocaust and is being built slowly over time. Each student was invited to select a stone and place it on the memorial, paying personal tribute to one of the children who lost their lives.

We were privileged to listen to recorded survivor testimonies and further questions. I was incredibly proud of the knowledge and empathy shown by our students throughout the day. 

Feedback

Thank you for your support this year in attending our in-school and online events, including the 'Settling In' tutor afternoons back in October and the parents' evening for your child. Research shows that attending progress evenings is directly linked to improved academic results at the end of secondary school, and we know that parents who attend gain a much deeper understanding of what their child is achieving and focusing on each day. We deeply value the feedback you share with us at these events, so thank you to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts via our evaluation process; it truly helps us reflect and improve. We are thrilled to share that Redmoor has maintained a 97% recommendation rate from our parents and carers this year - something we are immensely proud of.  We also want you to know that we’ve listened closely to your feedback, suggestions, and frustrations. Here is what we have done (or are currently doing) to address them:

Year 11 Exam Support Intervention Sessions:

• You rightly raised that English, Maths and Science after-school sessions for Year 11 have sometimes clashed this year. For next year, we aim to ensure that the three core subjects are offered on different afternoons. Going to one lunch will allow some subjects to run support sessions at lunchtime if they wish to too.
• We have also moved Further Maths into the school day as an option for our new Year 10s, rather than the GCSE being studied after school, which will create an extra afternoon session for some Year 10 students going forwards.

In-Person vs. Online Progress Evenings:

• Your evaluations show that the online progress evenings work well and remain a popular format and we plan to keep years 7 to 9 online next year.
• Through feedback, we also found that the Y11 in-person Progress Evenings were invaluable in allowing us to share mock exam papers and students’ work in books with you. 69% of parents preferred this option for Y11 so we will be keeping face-to-face evenings for Year 11 next year. 
• We will continue to work on the timings of the in-person meetings as there was frustration with appointments over-running. We did adopt a timer this year but consider further what can be done to ensure meetings run to time.

Standards in Toilets

• Some parents expressed concerns about the behaviour in toilets. We have now introduced year-group-only toilets with our revised one-lunch plan and we have noticed that toilets are being better looked after, which is great news. 
• We also have even more staff on duty and this has meant that a designated staff member has been assigned to toilet duty in each area.
• We have noticed a sharp decline in vandalism - and of our vaping alarms going off - and we will continue to work hard to ensure that students feel comfortable using the restrooms at social times.

Reporting and Tracking Progress:

• Some parents expressed a concern that they didn’t always know how well their child was doing at Redmoor. Please be reminded that we aim to be as transparent as possible and share live information about effort and progress each and every day, as well as sanction information. ClassCharts is an essential tool for tracking your child’s effort throughout the week. As a reminder, the app does not show details of staff comments but you can log in via a browser (on your phone or laptop) to see the full details.  

Further feedback

• Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the range of subjects we offer (94.8% agreed there is a wide curriculum) and the academic support provided to enable their children to learn well (94.2%).
• 92.7% of parents report their children feel safe at school, and 93.7% feel the school communicates essential information well.

Celebrating Our New Sports Leaders!

A huge congratulations goes out to the 41 Year 9 and 10 students who have successfully completed their Level 1 Sports Leadership qualification through the Leadership Skills Foundation! Throughout the course, this dedicated group has been a fantastic asset to our school community, generously volunteering their time to help run extra-curricular clubs and supporting primary school sports fixtures. By stepping into these leadership roles, they have developed invaluable communication, organization, and teamwork skills. These practical traits will undoubtedly serve them well as they move forward into upcoming work experience, future jobs, and their wider education. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and the brilliant role models they have become!

Literacy

We are excited to announce that we are launching our Summer Reading Bingo! Students can pick up their Bingo cards from the school library starting Wednesday 1st July. HousePoints and prizes will be ready to collect when we return for 26-27. GET CAUGHT READING - email photographs of the Bingo card being completed for extra rewards to egrudgings@redmooracademy.org  Happy reading, and have a wonderful summer!

Creative Writing

Congratulations to Isaac Clarker (7POP), the winner of our Year 7 Creative Writing Competition! Isaac’s imaginative and engaging piece impressed the judges and was selected as this year’s winning entry. You can read his fantastic work here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dlo8rfkokTjijaEPB06b2esLHXKFlK1TsVFy3zzwGKI/edit?tab=t.0 Young Writers: We have had a number of our students published this year already. Students are now completing the national competition where they are writing a short story about something they want and we look forward to see who else will be published before the end of the academic year  

TELA Book Club

On Thursday 25th June, Ms Grudgings and Mrs Adams took 10 year 8 students on a visit to Brockington College for our first cross-school book club, where we discussed The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and recommended books to each other. Redmoor students were absolutely fabulous and represented themselves and the school superbly. We are looking forward to our next TELA Book Club in the new academic year.