Welcome to Week Five at Lodge Park Academy
It has been another busy and rewarding week in school, filled with opportunities for our students to shine both in and out of the classroom. We were delighted to welcome Year 7 parents into school for our successful Meet the Tutor event, giving families the chance to reflect on how well our new students have settled into life at secondary school. Our morning House Assemblies, led by our Heads of House, have focused on the importance of healthy living and routines, while afternoon assemblies, delivered by Assistant Principal and Head of Sixth Form, Mr York, have encouraged us all to reflect on the value of generosity.
We were also pleased to host a significant number of families for our Year 6 into 7 Open Days, where our Principal, Mr Kirby, provided prospective parents with the opportunity to see our school community in action. Beyond this, our students have been actively engaged in a range of exciting activities: on Monday, 60 of our Year 11 Geographers visited Hunstanton for fieldwork, representing the school with exemplary behaviour, while our Year 11 Business students showcased their creativity and confidence through their coursework pitches.
Our House Netball Competitions have also been taking place throughout the week, with more details to follow in our next update. Finally, on Friday, our Year 7 and 8 students visited St Columba Church to join in the Harvest Festival celebrations – a wonderful way to end a week of learning, community spirit, and achievement.
Warm regards,
Lodge Park Academy Leadership Team
Table Talk
Talk about young love.... Have you ever taken the time to talk about young love with your chld?
Supporting Teenagers Facing Relationship Abuse: What Every Adult in the UK Should Know
Teenagers across the UK are navigating complex emotions and relationships—many for the first time. While young love can be exciting, it can also turn harmful. Sadly, relationship abuse among teenagers is more common than many realise. According to Women's Aid, around one in five girls aged 13-17 has experienced physical abuse from a partner, and emotional abuse is even more widespread.
Abuse can happen in any kind of relationship— regardless of gender, sexuality, or background—and it’s not always easy to spot.
What Does Abuse Look Like?
Relationship abuse isn’t always physical. It can involve:
• Controlling behaviour, such as telling a partner what to wear or who they can speak to
• Emotional manipulation, like constant guilt-tripping or gaslighting
• Threats, intimidation or pressure—especially around sex or private photos
• Monitoring, like checking a partner’s phone or social media constantly
• Isolation from family and friends
These behaviours can have long-term impacts on a teenager’s confidence, mental health, and future relationships. Why Teens May Not Speak Out Teenagers might not realise what they’re experiencing is abuse. They may feel embarrassed, confused, or worry they won’t be taken seriously. For some, this might be their first relationship, and they simply don’t know what a healthy one should look like. That’s why adult support is essential—calm, caring conversations can make all the difference
How You Can Help
1. Create a safe space. Let teens know they can talk to you about anything—without fear of judgment or punishment.
2. Learn the signs. Changes in mood, social withdrawal, secrecy, or constant texting from a partner may be red flags.
3. Believe them. If a young person shares something concerning, listen and take it seriously. Avoid blame.
4. Offer support, not pressure. Telling a teen to “just end it” may push them away. Help them explore their choices instead.
5. Signpost to help. Organisations like Refuge, NSPCC, and Childline offer confidential advice and support.
• Childline (under 19s): 0800 1111 / childline.org.uk
• Refuge (24/7 National Domestic Abuse Helpline): 0808 2000 24/7 nationaldahelpline.org.uk
• The Hideout (by Women’s Aid): thehideout.org.uk
• Respect UK (for those worried about their own behaviour) : respect.uk.net
Final Thought
Every teenager deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued in their relationships. By staying informed and approachable, we can help young people recognise abuse early—and take the steps they need to protect themselves and heal.
Why We Do What We Do
We use the MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) parent portal. This a Bromcom-powered online system and app that allows families to view real-time information about their child's school life, including aspects of their academic performance, attendance, timetables, behaviour, and school announcements. This is the method by which we send reports and things such as exam timetables for GCSE and A level exam series. The MCAS app also provides features for online payments for items like school dinners and trips, booking parent-teacher appointments, and updating parental contact details. We use this app to try and keep everything in one place and keep things as simple as possible. It is vitally important that every child has a parent or carer who has downloaded the app so they can receive important information and use the online payment system whenever needed.
Thank You to Year 10 Families
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all parents and carers of Year 10 students for your commitment in attending the Parent Information Evening on Thursday 25th September. Your support is invaluable as we work together to help our students achieve their best.
For those that were unable to attend, Mr Cronin has shared the resources from the evening with all families to ensure that no one missed out on this important information.
Best regards,
Mr McGeown – Vice Principal
Moments Matter, Attendance Counts
Regular school attendance can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a protective factor for mental health and wellbeing.
As we return to school and move into winter, there is inevitably an increase in illnesses. It can be tricky deciding whether to keep your child off school when they're unwell. There are government guidelines to support you in this decision.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
If you need to report your child’s absence, please do so before 08:15 on the day of the absence and each day of absence. If a child is absent from school for 3 days or more, our Attendance Welfare Officers will conduct a home visit.
Championing Independent Learning with Seneca at Lodge Park Academy
Seneca Week Four: Breaking Boundaries
Over 1000 hours of independent learning at Lodge Park Academy!
Since the launch of our new homework approach on 8th September, students in KS4 at Lodge Park Academy have shown an outstanding commitment to independent learning through Seneca and Sparx Maths. Together, our students have completed an incredible 1,000+ hours of extra homework and independent study – a fantastic achievement that reflects their dedication and determination. This total includes:
450+ hours of Science study
·200+ hours across English and History
60+ hours of Geography work
100+ hours in our options subjects
Thank you to all parents for supporting this work.
Alongside this, students have also dedicated hundreds of hours to Sparx Maths, showing how independent study has become an integral part of their learning journey at Lodge Park.
What makes this even more impressive is the momentum being built: in just the past week alone, students engaged in 300+ hours of independent study.
We are also proud to celebrate some exceptional individual commitments:
Nojus (Year 11)
Anastasia (Year 9)
Lily (Year 10)
Their hard work is an inspiration to others and shows the real benefits of embracing independent study.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our parents and carers for the ongoing encouragement and support you give at home – it makes a real difference in helping students develop independent learning skills that will benefit them far beyond the classroom.
At Lodge Park Academy, our students are proving every day that with hard work, resilience, and independent study, they can achieve great things.
Mr McGeown - Vice Principal, Quality of Education
Lodge Park Academy Bright Sparx
Each week, our students at LPA, complete maths questions for their homework on Sparx. Some students answer additional questions, further increasing their mathematical knowledge. The maths team would like to celebrate these students and recognise their dedicated work.
This week, we have also included a parent/carer link to 'A Parent's guide to Sparx maths', which may answer some questions that you might have about how to help your child if they need it.
Help is just a click away - https://sparxmaths.com/parents/
Mrs Irons - Director of Maths, Lodge Park Academy
Above & Beyond
Tutors have selected students in their tutor group who have demonstrated at least one of our LPA core values consistently over the past few weeks and are deserved of recognition on our Above & Beyond boards. These are displayed in the House Hub area of the Zone and have been celebrated during House assemblies this week.
Tutors will do this for a second time towards the end of this term and then House Stars of the Term will be selected by Heads of House based on the reasons give for their nominations. This will then be repeated during Terms 2 to 6 and in the final term all names will go into a prize draw.
LPA House Championship 25/26
House Netball
Goshawk, Kestrel, Osprey and Red Kite have been battling it out throughout this week in a bid to be crowned 2025 House Netball champions. Students across each year group have been representing their respective house teams in a Year group round-robin style competition. Results from each match have been accumulated together to create overall House points totals. The House team with the highest points accumulated across the week will be crowned champions.
The final round of matches are taking place today as the year 11 and sixth form students take to the courts. Full results will be revealed next week.
House ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’
We have another exciting week of House Competitions coming up next week, with a brand new competition taking place. Heads of House will be playing house ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ during House assemblies across the week. As seen on the ITV hit game show, Heads of House will face a series of general knowledge quiz questions for the chance of winning the top prize of 250 House points. There will be lifelines on offer throughout the game, including ask the audience which provides the chance for students to get involved.
We are really looking forward to this competition and seeing how many points each House can pick up. Keep an eye out for next weeks newsletter which will feature the results.
European Languages House Quiz Results
Congratulations to Ms. Webster (Red Kite) who managed to score 18/20 on the European Day of Languages House quiz, to be crowned champion. Red Kite also had the highest participation in the quiz and have been awarded an additional 10 bonus points. House quizzes will become a regular feature throughout the year – keep an eye out for the next quiz.
Harvest Festival Donations
Thank you very much for the generous Harvest Festival donations so far. Year 7 and Year 8 this morning attended the Harvest Festival service at St. Columba church. We will be running our collection through to the end of term before donating all items to the Corby food bank.
Sports Club Timetable
Just a reminder that all after-school clubs finish at 4:10pm. If students would like to take part, please ensure they have their full PE kit.
If students would like to play on the Astroturf during lunchtime, they must bring trainers or football boots. Unfortunately, students will not be allowed on the Astroturf if they do not have the correct footwear.
It's great to see so many students taking part in our Sports Clubs.
Community News - Safety Matters
Healthy Lunchbox Guide
LPA – Helpful contacts
MASH
Safeguarding concerns 0300 303 1965 Report a concern or request support | Northampton Children's Trust
Childline
Telephone Number: 0800 1111 Childline | Childline
Police (non emergency)
Telephone number: 101
Police (emergency)
Telephone Number: 999
NHS
Telephone number: 111
Young Minds
Mental Health Crisis Support Text: YM to 8528
Online Mental Wellbeing Community
Website: www.kooth.com
Youthworks Mental Health Support
www.youthworksnorthamptonshire.org.uk
Online Health Advice
NGAGE
A free and confidential service providing advice, information, education and structured support to young people in relation to drug and alcohol use https://aquarius.org.uk/our-services/young-peoples-services/northampton-yp/
NDAS
NDAS offer refuge, outreach and groupwork programmes to men and women impacted by domestic abuse. We also support children to recover from the trauma of witnessing the abuse. NDAS offer a 24 hour helpline as well as several drop in services throughout the county. https://www.ndas.co/
Housing Support
Free information and advice to anyone who is homeless or worried about becoming homeless https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/housing-options/housing-advice
SWI UNIFORM SUPPLIER
https://www.lodgeparkacademy.co.uk/docs/term_dates/2025_2026_Academic_Calendar_v1.pdf
Lodge Park Academy Closes - Friday 17th October 2025
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Contact Us
Telephone: 01536 203817
Email:
lpa-enquiries@lodgeparkacademy.co.uk Please be aware this mailbox is monitored by a number of individuals, please do not disclose any confidential information.
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