Christmas Newsletter

Message from the Principal

Welcome to our festive newsletter at the end of the longest term in the academic year.  We are delighted that, within the first 2 weeks of our return in January, our Sports Hall will finally be open to students. The delays caused by the legalities around installing a new electrical substation took 9 months to resolve and caused a 6 month delay but it will be worth it to see our students learning in world class facilities. Alongside our 4 new Science Labs that opened in November, Redmoor now has 8 new classrooms in addition to the Sports Hall itself and the fitness room, transforming the school and the facilities our students learn in. I wanted to mention our oldest and youngest students who, for very different reasons, have had an incredibly impressive term. Year 7 have been phenomenal in the transition to secondary school and continue to impress us with their effort, their politeness and their enthusiasm. Year 11 on the other hand are very much at the business end of the compulsory school career and have coped magnificently with the demands of the year so far, culminating in mock results afternoon last Friday. They have done very well and, with continued hard work, are on track to achieve highly in the final exams. We always stress that effort and attendance are the 2 key factors in success and this year group have demonstrated these strongly in this term. With fewer school weeks until their exams start than they have already completed in this term, this needs to be sustained from the moment we return in January.  Writing this has made me reflect on the other year groups who have also made huge gains this term and demonstrated  some incredibly positive achievements. The vast majority of Year 8 students spent a day exploring London and building their knowledge of our culture, representing Redmoor excellently. Year 10 students have transformed their approach to their studies since the end of last year and have settled into GCSEs effortlessly and impressively. And Year 9 have shown maturity and effort as the oldest of our KS3 cohort, acting as role models and starting to prepare for their studies ahead. One of the most challenging aspects of school leadership is getting the balance right between the inclusive culture I am so proud of at Redmoor but also ensuring we maintain our standards in terms of attitude, effort and behaviour which we know leads to students being successful in their exams but also prepares them for success in life. Reflecting on each year group is a powerful act in remembering the brilliant things our students do and the opportunities we offer them.  We hope you as students and parents are as proud of Redmoor as we are as staff and we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New year. Matt Nicolle Principal

Staffing Updates

We have some changes in our Pastoral staffing team to share as Miss Phillips (Year Manager of Year 8) will be on maternity leave from January and we wish her all the very best for her impending new arrival! Mrs Wheatcroft will take over as lead for Year 8 and her role as Assistant Year Manager for Year 10 will be taken on by Mrs Newton. Congratulations to you both.

Parent Governors

Thank you to the five parents who nominated themselves for the two vacancies on our Governing Board. After a ballot was held, the successful candidates were Philip Woolaston and Monika Kowalczyk. We are looking forward to working with them on our Local Governing Board and our next meeting is Tuesday 3rd February 2026.

Key dates for your diary

Term dates for the current academic year and 2025-26 can be found on our website.

Sports Hall and Science Block

We are excited to see our new Science block officially open and already being used by students, offering excellent facilities that are enhancing learning across the curriculum. Looking ahead to the new year, our new Sports Hall and additional classrooms will also be opening. Our Sports Leaders were given an exclusive first look and are already eager to start using the new spaces for lessons. It’s an exciting time for Redmoor as we continue to invest in outstanding facilities for our students.

Attendance Matters

We know that students who have good attendance at Redmoor Academy go on to achieve well. It is incredibly important therefore to get students into school and learning. If you are struggling to get your child into school and have not made us aware of this please get in touch as there may be things we can do to help.

Current Redmoor Academy Attendance

DfE: Seasonal Illness Reminder

With high Covid-19 and flu rates higher than this time last year, the DfE has asked us to share a reminder of the following information with you: Managing seasonal illness – key information for schools and parents As we move further into the term, DfE wants to remind all settings of the key guidance available to help manage seasonal illnesses and keep pupils and staff well.   

By following and sharing these resources, Redmoor Academy can support healthier school environments and help maintain high attendance as far as possible throughout the winter months. For minor ailments like colds, please medicate and send them in. If they get worse we will call you. 

Steel Pans

Christmas is always extra busy in the performing arts and our fourth Annual trip with Our school's talented Steel Pans Band delighted shoppers and local residents recently outside the local Morrisons supermarket. The band played a vibrant set of music with some classics such as Little Donkey, filling the air with festive, tropical rhythms and showcasing the incredible musical progress our students have made this year. It was a fantastic opportunity for our musicians to perform in the community, and they raised a wonderful amount of money to support their future performances and purchase new instruments. A huge thank you to everyone who came to support our amazing students!

Hinckley Area Foodbank Collection

This year we have, once again, organised a Christmas collection to support the Hinckley Area Foodbank.  A big thank you for the many donations we have received to support this. It has been a great opportunity for our students to demonstrate their respect and responsibility in making a difference to our local community and supporting others in need.  Our Student Presidents and Vice-Presidents will be helping deliver the donations before the end of term, ready to be distributed by the foodbank. 

Christmas Community Fair

At our Christmas Community Fair, Redmoor proudly opened its doors to our wonderful local community. It was a fantastic event filled with festive spirit, and we are delighted to share that we raised over £400 to support our memorial garden. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making the day such a success.

Art Ambassadors news

The new art ambassadors have had a busy half term organising props and scenery for the school play and making items to sell at the Christmas Craft Fair. At the fair, they organised a bauble-decorating activity and sold students' artwork to raise funds for materials and equipment for future art projects. Watch this space for other Activities in the New Year!

Year 10 Art Trip to the Usher Gallery

Last year, Lily in Year 9 won the ArtBytes competition, gaining an opportunity for her art class to visit the Usher Gallery in Lincoln. During the visit, students took part in a number of creative activities and workshops to help enhance their art studies at GCSE level.

Media Studies Year 10 Sky Academy Studios Visit

A group of 30 Media Studies students recently had the incredible opportunity to step behind the scenes of the media industry at the state-of-the-art Sky Academy Studios in Elstree. This immersive film and TV production workshop transported the students from script to screen, allowing them to take on real industry roles such as directors, producers, and editors. Utilising cutting-edge XR (Extended Reality) technology in a working film studio—a first-of-its-kind learning facility—they collaborated to create their own short film pitch. The hands-on experience not only gave them a VIP glimpse into the vast range of careers available in film and television but also significantly boosted essential skills like digital literacy, teamwork, and communication. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, leaving the students inspired to pursue their creative ambitions and demonstrating the powerful impact of this unique educational partnership.

Media Studies Year 11 Warner Bros Studios Visit

Our Year 11 Media Studies students experienced a fantastic, practical application of theory during a trip to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. The focus of the visit was an exclusive mise-en-scène workshop, where students explored how the deliberate arrangement of elements within a frame—including lighting, setting, costume, and props—tells a story and builds atmosphere. By analysing iconic sets like the Great Hall and Diagon Alley, they gained a deeper understanding of how every detail contributes to cinematic meaning. This unique, real-world experience brought their curriculum to life, enabling them to appreciate the skill and planning involved in film making. 

Media Studies Ex Redmoor Student, Samantha Martin, Workshop

Media Studies students recently benefited from a highly engaging careers talk delivered by former student, Samantha Martin. A successful horse racing journalist for The Times newspaper and a current student at Oxford University, Samantha shared her journey from school media lessons to the competitive world of national journalism. She offered invaluable advice on the skills required to succeed in a rapidly evolving news landscape, emphasising the importance of critical thinking, accurate reporting, and the power of a strong portfolio. 

Hinckley Rugby Club Visit

This term, students welcomed Vicky Macqueen and Ben Avent from Hinckley Rugby Club.

  • Students in year 10 attended an assembly promoting the various opportunities the local club offers. The presentation gave a fun and engaging taste of the training sessions available. Hinckley Rugby Club provides training for both boys and girls of all abilities, and we encourage our students to join, building on our positive community links with the club.
  • Students in Year 7 enjoyed a fantastic practical session led by Vicky Macqueen. The session focused on the foundational aspects of the game in a safe environment. Activities were designed to promote teamwork, communication, and agility. 
  • The day concluded with an inspiring careers talk for our GCSE PE students. Vicky shared her journey in rugby, detailing how she started, the doors the sport has opened for her, including earning caps for England, her work in media, and being asked to head up the Leicester Tigers first Women's team.

Year 7 Netball

We were delighted to host Hastings High School this term for a series of successful development netball fixtures. These games were instrumental in allowing our students to gain crucial match experience and test the skills they have been practicing in training. We played two separate Year 7 games, allowing maximum participation for all students involved. The girls showed fantastic enthusiasm and made significant progress throughout the afternoon.  We also ran a mixed Year 8 and 9 game. This format was specifically chosen to expose students to a different level of challenge, allowing the older, more experienced players to mentor the younger students on the court. This dynamic fixture provided the Year 8 and 9 students with a great opportunity.

Year 7 Football

Attendance for afterschool football has been fantastic since the beginning of the new academic year, students showing brilliant dedication and commitment even when the weather hasn’t been on our side! The first tournament in October was a closely fought contest between 5 schools at The Market Bosworth School. The lads played like a team who has been playing together for a while, not their first time. They ended up winning 3 matches and drawing 1, coming top of the table and qualifying for the Hinckley and Bosworth regional finals at Groby Brookvale. This was a 3 way tournament against Hastings High School and the hosts, Groby Brookvale. This was an unbelievably close affair with all 3 teams winning 1 game each and ourselves and Brookvale matching on goal difference. Fortunately, we scored more goals than the hosts meaning we qualified for the quarter finals of the county cup. Which is a brilliant achievement in their first year playing together.  More recently in December, we took two development football teams to play in a 9 team tournament at Bosworth Academy. For a lot of the lads, this was their first experience of a competitive football match, which they handled impeccably. One of the teams managed to win the tournament, only losing 1 of their games and winning all of the rest.  

Year 11 Football

The lads have had a bit of a rollercoaster ride this year but have shown resilience when things haven’t gone their way. They qualified for the Hinckley and Bosworth regional finals but narrowly lost out 2-1 to Bosworth Academy. This is the first time in 3 years they haven’t qualified for the County Cup competition. The lads quickly back in action in the National Cup the following week winning comfortably in their first round match. The second round match was much more of a close affair with us beating Barr’s Hill School and Community College 3-2. Round 3 was closer than the scoreline suggests as we managed to secure a clinical performance, beating Alcester Grammar School 4-0. The 4th round was as close as it gets, playing one of our rivals, who have beaten us twice before, Wigston Academy. After a closely fought 1-1 draw at full time, we managed to secure the victory on penalties. Finally, the lads had a really quick turnaround to the 5th round, defeating a talented school from Northampton, Campion School 3-1. This is the furthest a Redmoor year group has got in the National Cup in many years. The lads have done so well in such an intense term in year 11. 

An amazing start to year 7!

The new intake of Year 7 students at Redmoor Academy have made a truly phenomenal start to their secondary school journey. From their very first days, they have approached every challenge with enthusiasm and determination, quickly settling into new routines and embracing the opportunities that come with life at Redmoor. Their positive attitude and willingness to learn have already made a strong impression on staff and older students alike. What has stood out most is how consistently this year group have showcased Redmoor’s core values of Resilience, Respect, and Responsibility. Whether tackling new subjects, supporting one another through the transition, or demonstrating maturity around the school site, they have shown exactly what it means to live by the three Rs. Their resilience in adapting to change, their respectful behaviour in and out of the classroom, and their responsible approach to their learning have set an exceptional standard for the year ahead. It is clear that this cohort is already thriving, and we are excited to see what they achieve next.

A Christmas Carol

The cast of A Christmas Carol delighted audiences with their festive tale of redemption and joy at the beginning of the month. With support from the Year 7 choir, actors from Y8 to Y11 told Dickens’ story with heart and grit, delivering every word with superb clarity. Favourite highlights included the proposal scene between Scrooge and Belle, the emotional performance of Silent Night around Tiny Tim’s deathbed and the creepy atmosphere of the graveyard where Scrooge finds out his fate if he doesn’t change his ways. The cast fully deserved their sold out show on Friday night, ending with confetti cannons and a fun-filled sing song. We want to thank everyone who came to see our performance, bought raffle tickets or donated prizes. We are very grateful for your support.

Drama Careers Talk

Year 8 Drama students were selected for a careers talk by one of our ex-students, Joey. The aim of the session was for students to understand a career of entertainment that they could go into. Joey left Redmoor in 2018 having completed his GCSEs and went on to work at Dorothy Goodman as a TA, Cover Supervisor and KS1 maths teacher. He has been a Redcoat at Butlins since 2023, and he has had some of the most amazing experiences and opportunities. He has been able to get into the animation characters, such as Optimus Prime (on 6ft stilts!), Catboy and Frosty the Snowman to name a few. He has progressed to team leader, supports celebrities when performing at Butlins, has helped to organise relaxed performances for the Butlins sites and uses makaton sign language to assist guests on their stay. He also receives training from the Redcoat Academies, to further his skill set and this has led him to DJing - which he now will have the honour of touring the Butlins sites next year and DJing for the New Years countdown 2025! Students asked questions at the end of the presentation, where Joey gave some good advice - including no question is a bad question! Students have given feedback that they would have loved a longer session as they found it all so interesting and would love to speak to other ex-students about their career paths. Students have since fed back that 25% said they have never thought about entertainment as a career option and now 75% of the students have said they will opt for Drama at GCSE. 94% of the students said they would love to have more careers talks, as they found it interesting how you could get into the industry and gain more skills and experience on the job! We are extremely proud of Joey and his accomplishments since leaving Redmoor and we can’t wait to have him back in the future to hear more about the opportunities he has gained through being a Redcoat. 

Young Carers at Redmoor Academy

Could your child be a Young Carer? A young carer is a child or young person (usually under 18, but sometimes up to 25) who takes on significant responsibilities for the care of a family member who is ill, disabled, has a mental health condition, or suffers from substance misuse. These responsibilities may include:

  • Helping with personal care (e.g., bathing, dressing)
  • Managing household tasks (e.g., cooking, cleaning, shopping)
  • Providing emotional support
  • Assisting with medication or mobility
  • Taking care of siblings

Being a young carer can impact a child’s education, social life, and emotional well-being, as they often take on adult responsibilities at a young age.  If you think your child is a young carer get in touch and let us know. Please do not assume school or GP’s surgeries know unless you have told us. We will hold a meeting for our Young carers support group next term. Look at this link to get further support.   Mr P Kimber pkimber@redmooracademy.org Young Carer Champion

A Christmas Card Collection for a Creative Cause!

As the festive season winds down and you start tidying up, we have a special request that will help us kickstart a wonderful, creative project in the new year!

Instead of tossing your beautiful used Christmas cards into the recycling bin, please consider donating them to our school. We are planning an exciting upcycling and craft project for the students next term, and these cards will be our primary material! Every card, no matter the size or design, can be transformed into something new and fantastic. This is a great way to encourage creativity and practice sustainability!

How to Donate:

Please bring your used cards to one of the following friendly faces:

  • Miss Yates in the Behaviour Support Office
  • Miss Cheyne in the Attendance Office (in The Zone)

Thank you in advance for your generosity and support. 

Success in English

We are also thrilled to showcase the exceptional work produced by our Year 8 students as part of their ambitious English homework, inspired by our recent study of World War One poetry and propaganda. This project challenged students to interpret the poems we studied and the ideas surrounding wartime propaganda to create their own powerful pieces of art. Submissions included detailed paintings of war scenes, striking propaganda and anti-propaganda posters, among many other interesting and varied artistic expressions. This project offered a wonderful opportunity for our students to explore complex historical and emotional themes in a creative way. We are incredibly proud of the effort and depth of thought shown in these excellent assignments.

We are also delighted to highlight the successful completion of an ambitious English homework by our Year 9 students where they were tasked with creating their own models of a dystopian society. This project challenged students to physically construct a visual representation of their own oppressive future world. Alongside their models, students detailed the strict, totalitarian controls the citizens in their society would have to follow. This project offered a wonderful opportunity for our students to apply their understanding of literature and future possibilities in a tangible way. The impressive effort and sheer artistic creativity demonstrated in these assignments deserve high praise.

Young Writers Competitions

We are pleased to share that our students have had two fantastic opportunities this year so far to get their work published in a book! Students recently participated in exciting national competitions organised by Young Writers, an organisation dedicated to encouraging creativity and offering students the chance to have their work published. Students enthusiastically submitted creative pieces for two recent competitions: 'I Have a Dream' and the mysterious 'Stranger Sagas'. They tackled inspiring themes of hope and aspiration, as well as crafting compelling short stories about unexpected encounters. We are now eagerly awaiting the results to find out which of their incredible pieces will be selected for publication in the national anthologies. We are incredibly proud of the creativity, effort, and ambition shown by all students.

Children in Need

Our non-uniform day raised a huge £915.50! Thank you so much to everyone who contributed and dressed in the yellow and spotty theme to raise awareness for this excellent charity. This money will go towards changing the lives of millions of children across the UK.

Rewards Trip to Cineworld

On Wednesday 17th December we took 30 of our students across year 7 to year 11, based on their attitude to learning, to Cineworld Hinckley to watch How The Grinch Stole Christmas. There were plenty of sweets, treats and popcorn and our students loved the film! A well deserved treat for some of our most hardworking students.

Artwork this Term

We have been truly amazed by the standard of Art and Design work produced this term. Our students have completely blown us away with their creativity, imagination and dedication, producing work of an incredibly high quality. We are so proud of the talent and effort they continue to show in every project.

Credits:

Created with images by Ievgenii Meyer - "Christmas living room with Christmas tree and gifts under it" • eakarat - "Focus on the Christmas tree star lights and bokeh near the Christmas fireplace." • Africa Studio - "Christmas decorations on music sheets" • Pixel-Shot - "Woman taking metal can from bag with products on table in kitchen" • Igor Tichonow - "Red colored stars illuminated with light on Xmas tree at Christmas Market in Hamburg, Germany" • master1305 - "Unmanageable rhythm of life, speed of decision-making.,Young girl's portrait with colorful bright abstract graphics, lines.,Contemporary art collage." • Jo Panuwat D - "Young female tourist looking gallery exhibition.,Art , photography and museum concept" • ponsulak - "Film industry.,Filming with professional camera background" • Anna - "Subjects of the school of magic.,Scarf, magic wand, book of spells on grey dark rag background." • ijeab - "Close up hands with pen writing on notebook." • miropa20 - "Rugby" • SKT Studio - "Wooden blocks displaying a sad face transitioning to a happy face, symbolizing a shift from negativity to positivity.,Final block turns from sad to happy, highlighting the power of a positive outlook" • alexkich - "Christmas decorations on music sheets, closeup" • Maria Marganingsih - "Young woman hands showing heart gesture against sunset light in field.,Love and care concept with a girl making love sign for inspiration inspirational background." • gitusik - "Christmas composition.,Christmas decorations on white background.,Flat lay, top view" • Cozine - "colorful english word cube on white paper background ,English language learning concept" • Dilok - "Silhouette man show two hand rise up and carrying heart with sunlight and blue sky , Valentine 's day concept." • andranik123 - "Paintbrush on watercolor painted background.,Art.,Hobby"