Welcome to Redmoor Academy’s March 2024 Newsletter
As a school, we set ourselves the challenge this academic year to increase the amount of high quality enrichment experiences available to our students as part of our commitment to providing a world class all round education. This term has seen us deliver on that commitment.
Please read on to find out more about the fantastic experiences our students have had this term and the amazing opportunities they have enjoyed beyond the classroom.
In addition to this, the academic education students receive in lessons remains our main focus and we continually monitor and evaluate the quality of student learning and their progress and make adjustments where necessary. We know that when our students attend regularly and frequently, they make outstanding progress. It is imperative that we work together to ensure students are in school every day. If you would like to discuss your child’s attendance in more detail, please contact school and ask for Mrs Green (Attendance Officer) or Mr Kimber (Assistant Principal).
Year 11 are preparing well for their GCSE exams and have recently completed a second set of mocks in the core subjects. Easter revision sessions are on offer and have been communicated via Parentmail with exams starting in the week of the 29th April. Students must remain available until after the government’s exam contingency date of Wednesday 26th June 2024.
Year 10 also have mock exams as soon as we return after the Easter break, beginning on Tuesday 9th April for two weeks. We are conscious that this year group have not taken any formal tests before because of the pandemic, so all students have had an English ‘big lesson’ in the hall with exam tables to help them feel comfortable. We have also provided additional exam preparation sessions. We wish both Year 10 and 11 the very best in their exams.
We are delighted that we remain the first choice school for parents in this area and received over 470 applications for Year 7 in September 2024. Congratulations to those who were successful and we look forward to welcoming the newly expanded group of 224 students into our school community.
Finally from me, thank you as always for your support and praise of Redmoor Academy. We get to hear from a variety of sources the high regard our parents have for the school and the number of applications we receive is testament to that.
Have a lovely Easter break with family and friends.
Matt Nicolle - Principal
Construction News
Work to expand and improve our school facilities will commence soon with the construction of our new 4 Science Labs and the re-development of our school kitchen and student dining areas the first to start. Both should be completed in September 2024 and we will communicate separately with further news of the construction and any implications for students. It is likely we will not have full use of the kitchen for the last few weeks of the summer term and therefore a limited food service will be on offer for this short period.
Thank you to all parents who responded to our consultation on our admissions policy and on increasing the number of students who can attend Redmoor. The responses were overwhelmingly in favour of our expansion and the updated policy, which has now been fully adopted. We had some great questions which are worth sharing with you and our responses;
Some parents questioned if we could expand the number of students without increasing the staff we have. Don’t worry - our staffing will expand proportionately to the number of students. This includes teachers and all other staff who make the school as brilliant as it is. In fact, our average class size for Key Stage 3 will decrease from 31 to 28!
We were also asked about our catering facilities which are currently working flat out to cope with demand. These are being redeveloped this summer, making better use of space with new, more efficient equipment. This will create additional social space for students and we anticipate this will also reduce queue times during particularly busy periods.
We will keep you updated with developments as we get closer to breaking ground in the Summer Term.
House Games 2024
March saw the return of House Games, an event where every student gets the chance to compete in a variety of sports for their house team in the hope of winning the overall House Games trophy. The weather (once again) wasn’t kind to us and resulted in postponements for some year groups but for those who managed to dodge the torrential rain, a great day was had by all. Football, Netball and Table Tennis competitions were keenly contested and students showed excellent Redmoor DNA by doing so in a friendly and sporting manner. Results to follow once all events are completed!
Duke of Edinburgh award
There are so many brilliant skills being developed by our year 9 Bronze Duke of Edinburgh participants. An amazing aspect of the DofE award is that it allows young people to get recognition for activities they are potentially already doing and support in developing those skills through the setting of personal goals. This year we have participants working towards certain grades in musical instruments, aiming to build a number of models in 3 months and practicing within a group to perform at a dance show. There is a vast range of activities for them to choose for each section, it does not need to be something they are doing already.
It is also fantastic to see all of the contributions they are making in the community through volunteering their time and energy to support others. We have some involved in supporting their local Beavers, St Johns Ambulance and Martial arts groups, who we are sure are grateful for the help.
During the Summer term we will be introducing the Duke of Edinburgh award to year 8 in an assembly and encouraging them to consider what activities they might like to do for each section (Physical, Skills, Volunteering). We will then be enrolling a new cohort in September 2024. More information will be sent out to year 8 parents towards the end of this academic year.
For current Bronze participants, please see the timeline for a reminder about key dates following Easter, including practice and assessed Bronze expedition dates.
Fashion Competition
A number of KS3 and year 10 students have taken part in the Young Talent of Tomorrow Fashion Design Competition. Students had to produce a research board based on the theme identity and 3 final fashion designs that connect to their research. We look forward to hearing the results at the end of March.
Art Bytes Competition
A number of year 9’s artwork has been entered into an online competition called Art Bytes. Art Bytes builds confidence and nurtures talent, allows children and young people to see galleries as places “for them” and encourages future cultural engagement. After a shortlisting panel and an online public vote, the winning artist from each school sees their work displayed in our virtual gallery. We will keep you updated on how you can vote for your favourite art piece.
The University of Leicester
On Wednesday 13th March we welcomed Joe Glover from the University of Leicester to Redmoor. Joe delivered a 30 minute assembly to each year group to discuss the benefits of higher education and to bust some commonly believed myths. We were really pleased with the engagement of students and hope that many will consider the possibility of university study - though Joe was keen to explain that university isn’t always the best option for everyone.
He explained the amazing range of courses on offer at UK universities, tested students’ knowledge about which jobs require a university education, and explored the huge personal and social benefits of attending university.
We are really looking forward to working closely with the University of Leicester again this academic year and hope to visit the campus with Year 10 in the summer term - more details to follow!
Leicester Tigers Trip
As part of Redmoor’s ongoing commitment to inspire our students outside of the classroom, we had the opportunity to take some of our year 10 students to visit the Leicester Tigers.
They had the opportunity to take part in inclusive sports such as wheelchair rugby, curling and seated volleyball. They had a stadium tour, giving them an insight on a working stadium and the roles a variety of staff have. Then finally students took part in a careers workshop, looking at the wide range of careers the world of sport can offer.
This was a fantastic opportunity to inspire and engage students about career opportunities in a professional environment.
Year 10 Sports Leaders
This term the year 10 sports leaders have embraced their roles and been involved in refereeing and leading a year 5 and 6 Netball tournament with over 50 students involved. They were fantastic and this was recognised by parents and teachers from the Primary Schools.
The leaders were also involved in the house games, this event was enjoyed by all and can only happen with their help refereeing.
Red Nose Day
On Friday 15th March we held a non uniform day and bake sale to raise money for good causes supported by Comic Relief. We raised a total of £835.71. We were also incredibly impressed by the skills of our bakers. The following students were awarded 25 house points for their fabulous bakes:
- Ema D
- Maisie C
- Harry B
- Harry B
- Daisy E
- Isaac C
A huge thank you to everyone who baked and purchased cakes and to our very own Geoff the Chef for selling Red Nose Day treats. Thank you to everyone who took part in our event, especially 10 Maple who were the tutor group wearing the most red. We look forward to next years event!
Rewards Trip - Nuneaton Bowl and Pizza
On Wednesday 20th March we took a group of 30 students across all year groups to Nuneaton Bowl for a game of bowling and a pizza lunch. This was a reward for having no homework sanctions this academic year. Huge achievement as this shows excellent organisational skills and dedication to their studies. We are incredibly proud of them.
Team Year 11 won the bowling competition however there was fierce competition from the Year 10 team.
Well done to everyone!
Prom
We are super excited to hold another fantastic Year 11 Prom at Twycross Zoo on Friday 5th July 2024. Tickets are now available to purchase from ParentMail at £41 a ticket. Tickets include a welcome drink, a two course meal, a disco, a photo booth and photographer. The deadline to purchase tickets will be 31st May. We look forward to celebrating with our Year 11 students.
TeenTech
Ten year 9 students got the opportunity to visit MIRA Technology Institute as part of the TeenTech festival this half term primarily to present their project ideas that they had been working on in an online session to a panel of industry experts. The event was hosted by BBC Technology presenter Kate Russell with a theme of artificial intelligence. Students also got the exciting opportunity to take part in a number of workshops exploring cutting edge technology such as AI, hydrogen powered cars, virtual reality training, drone technology and even flying taxis!
Lego League
The Lego League team headed to Robert Bosch Ltd on the University of Warwick campus to compete against schools from across the region in a number of robot games, putting their autonomous Lego robot design and programming to the ultimate test. Students had worked extremely hard putting in several long after school sessions to ensure they were ready and competed very well against stiff opposition, posting high score totals and exceeding their own expectations. Students also presented a project to a panel of experts and won the Core Values award on the day. Well done James L, James S, Seb, Ethan and Max for all of your hard work.
World Book Day 2024
To celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 7th March, there were several events and competitions running for students to get involved with. Most excitingly, we were able to reschedule our much-anticipated Lauren James author visit for the day itself.
Lauren James delivered an amazing assembly on ‘Writing with STEM’ (Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics) to all Year 10 students, led a special assembly and Q&A for our Year 8 students (currently reading her book, ‘The Quiet at the End of the World’, during their Literacy Lessons), hosted two bespoke workshops for selected students titled, ‘Writing Science Fiction with STEM’ and offered a personalised book signing at both KS3 and KS4 lunchtimes in the heart of our school - the library! Students relished the opportunity to meet Lauren James; listened enthusiastically to her experiences and were enriched and empowered to develop their writing through her workshops. One of our Year 10 students, who isn’t far from the age that Lauren James was when her first book was published, said, “She was both knowledgeable and inspiring, making me believe that my life-long dream to become a writer might actually be possible.”
In addition to the entrancing visit from Lauren James, students were exposed to wonderful books in every lesson, as the first ten minutes of each were dedicated to being read to. Each subject chose an extract from a book that relates to their subject to exemplify how reading encompasses all subjects. Extracts from ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ (Science), ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ (French) and ‘Robot Dreams’ (Computing) were included amongst these.
Our Redmoor staff also participated in a World Book Day dress-up and students had the opportunity to complete a quiz sheet and vote for their favourite costume. There was also a display of staff’s favourite books outside the library. Moreover, students were all given a World Book Day token to use in exchange for or as a discount on a new book.
To add the figurative cherry on the cake, our catering team also provided a Harry Potter-themed menu, featuring a Hogwarts Feast, Dumbledore’s Magic Hotdogs and an array of splendid desserts, including Golden Snitch Pop-Cakes, Witches’ Hats and Berty Bott’s Every Flavour Beans Chocolate Bark.
We hope everyone enjoyed World Book Day 2024 and felt encouraged to discuss and read more for pleasure.
Finally, on a personal note, I would like to thank all staff involved in World Book Day: Mrs Moore, our librarian, who organised the Lauren James visit, the catering team for providing a magical meal for our students, and everyone who read extracts at the starts of lessons and dressed up especially for the occasion. - Miss Bale
Enterprise Days
To celebrate National Careers Week (4th - 8th March) Redmoor welcomed visitors from construction company Willmott Dixon, who provided an Enterprise Day for all students in Year 7, 8 and 9. Students were off timetable all day and worked in small teams to design and plan environmentally sustainable schools and towns. The challenging tasks encouraged students to work on their teamwork and communication skills as well as allowing them to show off their numeracy ability and artistic talents. There were some fantastic ideas and the team from Willmott Dixon were blown away by our students' attitude and conduct.
Mock Interviews
As part of our extensive careers provision, all students in Year 10 took part in a mock interview this Friday (22nd March) These interviews were conducted by our local Careers Champions and provided students with a fantastic opportunity to practice their interviewing skills in preparation for Post-16 study and the world of work. Our students have been preparing for these interviews in PSHCE time, looking at what makes a good CV and how to give great answers to common interview questions. Our Careers Champions provided valuable feedback and students came away feeling confident.
If you are interested giving up some time to support our careers provision by becoming a Careers Champion yourself, please contact our careers team at jduggins@redmooracademy.org or ldavey@redmooracademy.org
History Creative Project
Year 9 students were given this term to produce a creative project in response to their study on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Students have began to bring these in and so far, have excelled themselves!
Music Technology
This term in music we have been exploring music technology. Ten of our turntablists have entered the national schools competition. Good luck to all the entries who are against the two other schools in the country competiting to be crowd top DJ of the spring term.
We have trialled a new unit looking at the voice, looping and beatboxing. This has allowed the students to beatbox, loop their voice, sing a melody, sing a harmony and then create a mashup with vocalisation techniques. The trial classes have gained new confidence with singing and using their voices in a different way. We will be rolling this out in the future across key stage 3.
Our musical theatre students have been working hard after the success of Matilda preparing for the next musical. This is still to be confirmed however they have trialled a few songs and have performed them at Richmond Primary school to year 5 and 6. Auditions for the next musical will be in May and the shows will be in December later this year. Watch this space!