Message from the Principal
Welcome to our end of term festive newsletter
What a way to finish the first and longest term of the school year with our production of Matilda the Musical! More on this later in this newsletter but I am incredibly proud of our students and staff who worked really hard to deliver an absolutely phenomenal production full of joy and fun and talent. Well done all.
It has been an excellent term with all year groups showing evidence of progress and settling in very well. Year 11 have been impressive in their attitude towards their studies and were excellent in their recent mock exams - results to come on January 12th with parents invited into school. Year 10 have adapted well to the demands of GCSE courses and have made a superb start, as have Year 7, who have seamlessly transitioned to secondary school and have made an outstanding first impression. Year 9 have made the greatest progress in terms of their attitude and effort in lessons with a notable improvement since last year and our Year 8 have adapted to their new position as role models to our younger students.
As we reach the end of this very long half term (and 16 week term), it is worth reflecting on the impact of that on students and their learning. Year 11 now have exactly the same number of weeks left in school (excluding holidays) until their exams start and all other year groups will reach the halfway point by the end of January. Learning in lessons remains high quality and we know that the experience students get at Redmoor leads to impressive outcomes at GCSE. However, it is clear that students are exhausted at this point in the term and naturally are not pushing themselves as hard as they were before. It also means that when we return in January we need attitudes to learning and behavior to be incredibly positive as we strive to make the second half of the school year as effective and productive and enjoyable as we can.
We are working very hard to get student attendance back to pre-pandemic levels but improvement is very slow and this remains a concern. The link between attendance and achievement has always been clear but it stood out more than ever in our fantastic GCSE results in August. Students with attendance at 95% and above achieved nearly a grade higher than their target in every subject. That is incredible and shows the quality of what students receive in lessons. Once attendance drops to below 95%, that progress falls significantly and for those students whose attendance drops below 80% (1 day absent every week), progress falls to nearly a grade worse than targets in every subject.
“If you’re not here, you’re not learning.”
Please work with us to ensure students are in school every day and contact our attendance team to talk about your child’s attendance if you have concerns.
We continue to be hugely over subscribed with nearly 500 applications for places at Redmoor for next September. This is incredible and makes us hugely proud of our school and our place in this community. We will continue to do all we can to deliver high quality education and pastoral care, improving our provision wherever we can by providing students and families with fantastic experiences in and out of the classroom.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a restful and peaceful New Year.
Matt Nicolle - Principal
Redmoor Expansion and Site Development
The most significant development of this term has been the confirmation of our expansion plans and the substantial development of our site and facilities. This includes;
- A new full size sports hall, changing rooms and fitness suite
- 4 additional classrooms
- 4 new science labs
- A refurbished school kitchen layout providing more dining space to cope with additional students.
All planning permissions are now submitted and we await approval of these in the new year.
Thanks to people who have already completed our consultation on this, which can be accessed by this link.
Initial feedback is overwhelmingly supportive, but I do want to address some initial concerns raised about class sizes and catering facilities. By taking additional students over the next 5 years, our funding will increase proportionately and therefore we will employ more staff in all areas of the school. Class sizes in KS3 will actually decrease from six groups of 31/32 to eight groups of 28. The redevelopment of our catering facilities and additional seating areas will accommodate the extra students and also aims to reduce some of the existing issues we have at the moment with queues and social spaces. Therefore, the extra students will not put a strain on our facilities, our student - teacher ratios or on our financial position.
We are excited at this opportunity to provide our students and our community with the very best facilities and will keep you updated with developments in the New Year
Term Dates 2022-25
Our term dates for this and the next 2 academic years are on our website for your information and the first day of the Spring Term for students is Tuesday 9th January 2024.
Redmoor Hinckley Area Foodbank Collection
A big thank you to our entire school community for the incredibly generous donations made to our Christmas Calendar Collection for the Hinckley Area Foodbank. On Thursday, members of our Student Council delivered the items, which were given an estimated value of £1200. The Foodbank have told us that demand is extremely high at the moment and this will make a huge difference to local families who are struggling this Christmas.
Christmas Reading
Have a look at a snapshot of excellent reads in our library:
New Year's Resolution - Read More Books.
Please note, books with an * next to them are suitable for KS4 students only due to their language, themes and content.
Shakespeare Schools Festival
On 28th November a cast of 17 Redmoor students performed at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry as part of the Coram Shakespeare Schools Festival. Their performance of Antony & Cleopatra was described as “a super slick, stylish and committed performance” by “a tight-knit and hardworking” cast. We are so proud of their achievements, and want to thank them for representing the school so well.
Matilda Jr.
Quiet you Maggots! The Trunchbull visited Redmoor Academy last week to whip our KS3 students in to shape for our production of Matilda Jnr.
A show that was put together through lunch time rehearsals alone, showed our students dedication and commitment which has impressed everyone involved. The sheer talent in the auditions meant that two people were cast into each character and boy did they put on a show! The students worked tirelessly since September learning lines, movement and vocal pieces to perform to over 450 members of the public and 200 primary school students. The feedback from parents and students that came and supported the show has been phenomenal:
"Absolutely fantastic show last night, I can't tell you how impressed we were with everything and what a brilliant performance it was! It was absolutely top notch and exceeded all expectations!" Audience member on the Thursday
"What a wonderful show! What stood out was the joy those students were having on stage, especially with the fun singing numbers. It was so creative, the singing was so great, and everyone was so clear in their words. The set was amazing – particularly Miss Trunchball’s office and the writing on the wall." Audience member on the Friday
The show wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing support from staff, students and parents. The hard work really shone through with the enjoyment and confidence of the students performing on stage. Redmoor are extremely proud of everyone involved, who all worked together as a team and showed their Redmoor DNA. If you were inspired by the production and performers, keep watch for any upcoming performance opportunities that you can get involved with.
Thank you to team Matilda!
Steel Pans at Christmas
Our annual visit to Morrisons for Christmas shoppers was warmly received. Thank you again Morrisons in Hinckley for having us and to the shoppers who turned out. Happy Christmas from our steel pan drummers!
History Trip
On 6th December KS4 History students visited the National Justice Museum in Nottingham. We explored the Victorian Courtroom, Georgian gaol, and ancient cells. Students used their knowledge of the GCSE content to complete two different workshops. Firstly, students examined a case and presented a trial based on the evidence of a real case. One student said ‘It was very interesting getting to experience what an actual trial is like’. Both groups found the defendant guilty and gave a very harsh punishment! Secondly, students analysed the changing state of prisons. They used primary and secondary resources to prepare a case on how to improve prisons today. We were very proud of how the students conducted themselves.
Year 8 History Creative Project
Year 8 students were given this half term to produce a creative project in response to their study on the Transantlatic Slave Trade. Students have excelled themselves!
Duke of Edinburgh award
Fantastic effort from our current year 9 students completing their award. Particular well done to Mackenzie, who has already completed his skills section - great effort!
Rewards Trip
On Wednesday 20th December we took 30 students from across the school who have shown the best attitude to learning in their lessons to our local cinema.
Students had an excellent time eating snacks and drinking frozen ice blasts whilst watching a private screening of the film ELF!
They are now well and truly in the festive spirit for Christmas!
Rolls-Royce STEM Day
On Thursday 7th December, engineers from Rolls-Royce worked with our year 9 students on an engineering project. Year 9 had the fantastic opportunity to put their problem solving skills to the test, in order to design, create and test a boat that would meet the engineers’ requirements. Well done to 9 Maple group 1 for building a boat that held the most weight for the longest amount of time!