Newsletters

SWA E-Newsletter #163

{alt_tag}

E-NEWSLETTER  •  ISSUE 163

A Message from Principal, Mr Martin

Happy New Year to you all.

I hope you all managed to see family and friends over the winter break and participated in festivities. The Christmas break couldn't have come at a better time with many students and staff succumbing to colds, flu and covid in the final week of last term, as well as the disruption caused by the sudden drop in temperature and two inches of snow. I’m pleased to say that everyone seems to have returned to the academy this term feeling recharged and ready for the term ahead.

This term there are a wide range of different trips and activities being offered, including the Ski trip over the Easter break, a sociology trip to Harrow, The Society Conference and a trip to watch Matthew Bourne’s ballet ‘Sleeping Beauty’.

In sport, we’ve already had some great results with the U16 boys’ football team through to the next stages of the ESFA cup and an impressive win by the U18 Netball team against MK college. The 1st and 2nd XV Rugby Teams also had two great friendlies against NSB last Friday, to make sure they keep everything ticking over, whilst waiting for the upcoming semi-final of the National Vase Championship in March.

Students in Year 11 received their mock grades this week and their reports, which will provide them with a valuable opportunity to plan their revision timetables based on the gaps in their knowledge or understanding, will follow shortly. The exam season has already started for some of our students who will be taking their BTEC exams this month. Mocks for Modern Foreign Language speaking and Drama exams are also taking place.

Finally, this week saw the first ever Shefford and Stotfold Student Voice conference, held at BEST House. Forty-eight pupils, aged between 9 and 18, attended from twelve different schools across the cluster, and engaged in an event facilitated by our Sixth Form students. The focus of the conference was for students to create resources for schools to support children keeping themselves safe online, whether this be Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok or gaming. The conference was an enormous success and I have no doubt that it will become an annual event on the school calendar.

Messages From Heads of Year 

 

Year 10, Mrs L Clark

 

Year 10 have enjoyed learning about conspiracy theories in PSHE this week! It has been a real delight for us to see such animated discussions during registration, with students debating the validity of claims and highlighting the dangers of misinformation. Please do ask your children about PSHE sessions - we have been learning a huge amount!

Continue to share the successes and celebrations Year 10 students enjoy outside of school. We like to be able to speak with students about this and share in their good news.

Please can I remind you that hoodies are not permitted. In colder weather, students can wear a plain black jumper beneath their blazer and a coat. Students wearing hoodies will be asked to remove them and they may be confiscated.

Year 12, Mrs S Hoad

 

Next week we are pleased to invite Year 12 students and guardians to our Year 12 Information Evening about Next Steps (careers, apprenticeships, university applications) on Thursday 19th January at 7.00pm in the Main Hall. Although it can seem early to be planning for the end of Year 13, we will start on the university application process this summer and many universities will be having open days and events in the upcoming months. Apprenticeship recruitment can also start quite early in their Sixth Form career so we would like students and guardians to be prepared. The letter inviting parents has already gone out, and there is a Google Form to submit questions before the evening, click here for the Google Form. Staff will also be available to answer questions after the presentation which should take approximately 45 minutes. 

Year 13, Mr C Tonking

 

We are now into the last few days for UCAS applications and we have surpassed 100. We expect to send up to 40 more in the next two weeks. We will be delivering guidance on what to do next and on student finance. We would highly recommend the UCAS website should you wish to find out more, as they provide guidance and resources for students. We also will be collating resources and guidance for those applying for Apprenticeships and other routes. January is a particularly good time to look for apprenticeships as there tend to be more made available this month.

We will have our final IPE grades shared with students on Monday, so you and students should have a good understanding of their progress. Please contact teachers and departments if you have any questions about this progress, as we now enter the final straight of Year 13.

Save the date, Year 13 Prom will take place on 7th July 2023.


{alt_tag}

SWA ECO NEWS

Please click below to read this terms Eco newsletter! Contents includes: the eco committee's new year resolutions, Hedgehogs, and Veganuary.

 

SIXTH FORM GUEST SPEAKER

Last week our Year 12 students received a presentation from Arturs Saburovs, who work for the Latvian embassy in London. Arturs spoke with students about Latvia, the culture, location, traditions, the life of a diplomat at the embassy and Latvia’s relationship with other countries. Our students asked great questions. Thank you to the Latvian Embassy, who gifted books to the students.

ENGLISH LECTURE WITH HELEN PANKHURST

In English this week, a handful of Year 11 students had the privilege of attending a lecture with the writer, scholar and woman’s activist: Helen Pankhurst. The session focused on gender rights across history - then and now - in order to support their Literature studies. Helen was very impressed with the engagement and maturity of our students within the session, asking questions and widening their knowledge, fostering their curiosity. Thank you, Helen.

13 Jan 2023
YEAR 9 HIGHER PROJECT, VISIT TO SOUTHILL ESTATE
We have 26 Year 9 students who have been working on a Higher Project Qualification, this is an independent project which requires students to choose a title and research for themselves a title of their own design within the topic of Black British History. On Tuesday this group visited t...
Read more

PARENT LINE AND CHAT HEALTH

Please see posters below for more information.

SEND SUPPORT GROUP

Local SEND support group in Stotfold meets on the first Tuesday of every month, if you are interested in joining please read the poster below.

PERFORMING ARTS

Keeps your eyes on this space, upcoming events for Spring term will be revealed shortly.

ATTENDANCE INFORMATION REMINDER – Students in Year 9, 10 & 11

We would like to remind guardians of the process when reporting a student absent from school / leaving school during the school day.

Absence from morning registration 
Student absence should be reported by telephoning 01462 629900 (option 1) or 01462 628041 before 11am. If you have left a voicemail, you do not need to send an email.

Appointments 
Appointments should wherever possible be arranged out of academy hours. If this cannot be avoided and your child needs to leave for an appointment during the school day, please could you provide them with a note. This will need to be shown to their teacher if they need to leave whilst in a lesson and to reception staff when signing out. If they have a note, there is no additional need to contact us to make us aware.

If you have medical appointment slips / letters that you would like to share with us, students can hand these in at reception at the time of signing out or a copy can be sent via email to Mr A Martin

Term Dates 
Term dates are published on our website here and may differ from those published by Central Bedfordshire.

If you need any further information or have any questions in regards to attendance, please contact the Attendance Office on 01462 628041 or via email, Mrs A Martin.

{alt_tag}

NETBALL ACADEMY

First netball game of the new year and the team performed exceptionally. They came away with a 31-25 win, an amazing game against a strong side. Well done Whitbread, we look forward to the next game.

 

U16 BOYS' FOOTBALL

Congratulations to our U16 boys’ football team for last week’s performance against a very talented side. The team are now through to the next stages of the England Schools’ Football Association Cup. A huge thank you to Etonbury Academy (a part of the Bedfordshire School Trust) for hosting. Keep up the excellent work!

U15 BOYS' FOOTBALL

Our U15 Boy’s B Team this week have progressed through to the next stages of the England Schools’ Football Association Cup. It was an excellent game against an amazing side, Northampton School. Well done.

Follow us on social media to keep up to date...

Samuel Whitbread Academy E-Newsletter
 
You are receiving this because you are a Student, 
Parent, Carer, Governor or Member of Staff at SWA. 
 
Samuel Whitbread Academy
Shefford Road, Clifton, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5QS
Tel: 01462 629900  •  Fax: 01462 629901
Email: swa-info@bestacademies.org.uk