SLT Update
On Thursday it was lovely to take part in the village VE day celebrations with our student leadership team representing the academy. The celebrations were:
- 9:00am - Flag raising and proclamation on The Green
- 9:15pm - Gather at the beacon
- 9:30pm - Beacon lighting and national song
All students were a credit to the academy.
Thursday was also the first GCSE exam in the exam hall with all students attending their Drama exam. We wish our Year 11 students every success in their exam series.
On Wednesday we had our Terra charity carnival event which included 5 activities run by the students. Most popular was definitely the sponge throwing at staff! Our staff were great team players in taking part in this. Our charity events are always a lovely occasion for our community to come together.
Miss King, Head of School
Character
This week the whole of Terra House united to host their charity even on Wednesday lunchtime. The Summer Fair event saw welly-wanging, penalty shoot out, tombola, tin can alley and sponge-a-teacher events. Terra students showed confidence in drumming up crowds and event participants, and Mr Thornton showed particular resilience under fire from multiple sponges!
Year 11
Thank you to all that have ordered leavers hoodies for your child. The order is being placed and hoodies should be with us middle of May to be given to students.
PROM
PROM will be held on the 27th June 2025 from 6.45pm-10.30pm at the Academy. After the Easter holidays, full information will be sent.
Revision
Please follow this link to a revision letter from Miss Brealey to support our year 11 students.
Maths Department
Each week, our students at CRA, complete maths questions for their homework on Sparx. Some students answer additional questions, further increasing their mathematical knowledge. We do this as there are online resources to help and guide students if they are struggling with a question. You might like to ask them to show you what they typically do on a weekly basis.
This weeks Sparx Stars are
- Millie W - Year 7
- Violet C - Year 8
- Harvey J - Year 10
Why We Do What We Do
At CRA we poverty proof our equipment list. Some schools will require you to bring in items such as whiteboards and whiteboard pens, highlighters and coloured pencils etc… At CRA we just list six items: 2 black pens, 1 pencil, a ruler, a rubber and a purple pen.
The importance of the pencil and rubber!
This week we explain the importance of the pencil and rubber in the CRA 6.
Students are often asked to draw diagrams in pencil for several reasons, primarily due to the erasability and flexibility pencil provides, allowing for mistakes and adjustments. It's also considered a good practice for building foundational drawing skills before using more permanent media.
So in a nutshell … We ask students to draw diagrams in pencil in case they make mistakes and they can use their rubber and correct their work.
Table Talk
In the rush of school, work, and after-dinner chores, it’s easy for the dinner table to become just another pit stop in a busy day. But research consistently shows that regular family meals are linked to better academic performance, stronger self-esteem, and reduced risk of risky behaviours in children.
One of the key ingredients? Meaningful conversation.
This week, we invite you to try a simple yet powerful question with your children at dinner:
“What’s one thing that made you think today?”
This open-ended question does more than just invite a rundown of daily events—it encourages reflection, curiosity, and emotional insight. It can lead to conversations about a science topic that caught their attention, a classmate’s unexpected act of kindness, or a challenge they didn’t quite know how to solve.
Here are a few tips to guide the conversation:
- ✓ Be curious, not corrective. Let their thoughts unfold without jumping in to teach or fix.
- ✓ Share your own answer. Kids love hearing that adults are still learning and thinking, too.
- ✓ Don’t force it.
If they’re tired or not in the mood, that’s okay. Try again another night. The goal isn’t to have perfect conversations—it’s to create space where your child feels heard and valued. So tonight, as you pass the peas or pour the juice, ask the question and see where the conversation takes you.
Times Tables
At the end of all lessons students stand behind their chairs in silence to prepare for themselves for the next lesson. From September, on a weekly rota, Years 7 and 8 will be reciting their timetables to help embed them in their long term memory.
Week beginning - 12 May 25 - Times table is 12
Accelerated Reading
Week beginning - 12 May 2025 - Period 5
Attendance.
Please may we remind you that absences for increment weather will not be authorised, unless the school is closed.
If your child is absent from school, please ensure you contact school daily either by email/MCAS or by telephoning the attendance line 01476 550333 ext 502. It is vital we are notified everyday of any absence for safeguarding reasons, unless previously authorised. A reason for illness will always be requested, this is to observe attendance patterns and outbreaks of illness amongst students.
Please do not hesitate to contact myself kcoleman@charlesreadacademy.co.uk on 01476 550333 ext 515 or tsandison@charlesreadacademy.co.uk ext 502 to discuss ways to support your child's attendance.
CRA - Lets work together to make every day count!
Leave of absence request
A Principal can only authorise a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. We will take into account the Government guidance when considering what the exceptional circumstances are- all applications are considered on a case-by-case basis. You may be able to take your child out of school in exceptional circumstances, providing an application is made in advance by the parent/carer, this request complies with Government guidance and the leave is deemed to be ‘exceptional’ by the Principal.
If you take a leave of absence without our permission or if your child fails to return by the agreed date if permission was granted, then this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and noted in your child’s record. You might also be issued with a fixed penalty notice for this absence. If your child has not returned within 10 days of the expected date of return then, after consultation with the Local Authority, we may take your child off our school roll.
As examples, the following reasons are not considered to be exceptional circumstances:
- availability of cheap holidays
- periods overlapping with beginning or end of term
- visits to family
- renewing passports
Requests for leave of absence will only be considered if made in writing. Please ensure you use the leave of absence request form to do this.
To request a leave of absence, please use this form.
House News.
House Rounders
Congratulations to Terra house who were crowned champions of the house rounders competition after securing 2 wins and 1 draw from their 4 matches. Aqua finished closely behind in 2nd place following 2 wins from their 4 matches. Caeli house managed 1 win and 1 draw from their 4 games to finish in 4th place despite overall victory in the year 7 & 8 competition. Points were accumulated across both competitions to determine the overall winner, where Terra finished 2nd place across both days but picked dup the most competition points. House points will be added to the house championship totaliser.
NOW Music House Quiz
Theatre house competitions return to CRA next week as house teams go head to head in the house ‘NOW Music Quiz’. Participants will face a number of questions from a range of NOW albums across three rounds; General knowledge, guess the artist & song and complete the lyrics. Each house requires a participant from years 7 to 10 plus a member of staff. Overall winners will be decided by the house team who accumulate the highest points total across the competition.
The Sporting Post.
PE kit reminder - 2024/2025
The standard PE kit is as follows:
- CRA House PE top (compulsory)
- CRA PE shorts or skorts (compulsory)
- CRA PE Hoodie (compulsory)
- Black socks. These can be purchased from any provider.
- PE track pants / leggings / skins - optional - must be plain navy or black. These can be worn under the CRA PE top, shorts or skorts. These items should have no logos/writing/labels. These can be purchased from any provider.
Sports trainers- These can be purchased from any provider. No fashion trainers.
Girls will take part in hockey and boys will take part in rugby during PE lessons. Gumshields and shinpads are recommended for their safety.
Shinpads will also be needed for girls' and boys' football.
Moulded football boots are also recommended as students can wear these on the 3G artificial surface and grass field.
Please can all students be collected from the BACK of the school when being picked up from after school clubs and fixtures.
Term Dates
Please see the latest term dates for 2024-25
A list of diary events can also be found on the CRA Website by clicking here
Credits:
Created with images by Michael Möller - " 9. July 2025" • Color Pixel Lana - "Fundraising event banner held by volunteers, daytime setting" • puckillustrations - "word with dice on white background- workshop" • Philip - "Class of 2025, word lettering script banner. Congrats Graduation lettering with academic cap. Template for design party high school or college, graduate invitations." • patpitchaya - "Mathematics" • Uuganbayar - "Wooden blocks with words 'Are you ready?'." • Artur - "Handwriting text writing Let S Is Talk. Conceptual photo suggesting in the beginning of a conversation on the topic Stationary placed next to a cup of black coffee above the wooden table" • Naypong Studio - "Sports Equipment on white background" • tatomm - "close up of calendar on the yellow table background, planning for business meeting or travel planning concept"