Key Dates

Year 11 Mock Week – 31st October

Careers Evening 2022 – 10th November

Jamie’s Farm Trip – 21st November

Places to go, things to do.

We have created a calendar which is packed with plenty of things to do for everyone! From socials to festivals, our calendar will see you up to the Christmas break so you will have plenty to do with your family. Click here to view

We have also attached this half term’s Eat Out For Less graphic. Here you can find plenty of places to eat which are offering reduced or free pricing for children. See the image beside to view the offers.

An Interview with Tom – Year 11, British Champion, U16 Sprint, 550m & Time Trial

What did you win?

U16 Sprint, U16 500m & time trial. 

How did you feel when you won?

I was glad it was all over to be honest. The prep was really long but I am pleased I won.

What does training involve?

My training schedule involved 5-6 sessions on the bike per week and gym work. Depending on what kind of training block I go into the gym before getting on the bike or I get on the bike before going to the gym.  The reason for doing gym before bike is to get more powerful. And the bike before gym is to increase speed.  

I did 6 months of training for this one competition. Everything I did was geared towards competing and winning. The last two weeks were tapered which was all about conditioning and that was tough. 

What do you eat on the morning of a race?

I eat cereal and fruit for breakfast. Then I have 1 cereal bar every 45 minutes throughout the whole day. I also have Haribo sweets right before I get on the bike so I get an instant burst of energy. 

How did you get into cycling?

My brothers did athletics and football and my mum encouraged me to do an activity as well. My dad was a cycler so I joined him. I joined a cycle speedway club and then got into road. Then I got into track which is what I do now at Manchester National Cycling centre. 

How did you get scouted?

I got scouted through the Regional School of Races (RSR) and was then put through to the National School of Racing (NSR)

How long have you been doing it?

I have been cycling for 6-7 years and doing track for about 3 years. 

What’s your goal for the future?

I’m focused on the small steps. I want to progress through the academy to junior Europeans in 2024. Eventually the goal is to get to the Olympics

Languages – Leader Board Results & Free Apps!

In our MFL department, we use a host of different websites and apps to help students get more out of their language lessons. Throughout the term we follow the LanguageNut website to complete homework and tasks and then at the end of each half term, we look at the leader board to see where our students place against other Schools and Academies around the world!

The results are in for the first half term leader board on LanguageNut. Results are based on how many words are learnt whilst using the website. In our class leader board we have 7e/FR1 and 7e/SP1 in joint first place with a total of 671100 words learnt!

Our top 3 performers in the Academy are:

. In 1st we have Anitgone in Year 7 with a score of 92500,

. In 2nd place we have Ellie in Year 9 with a score of 90600

. In 3rd we have Emily in Year 10 with a score of 90200.

Finally we have our Academy/School World ranking competition, which we are in third place! Amazing work from individual students results and also by succeeding together with the world result!

Another site we would like to highlight in this edition is Linguascope. They have provided us a with a range of free apps for our students to use and enjoy. Click here to view the apps

Year 10 & 11 Netball Success

The Y10 and 11 Netball teams competed in their annual inter-schools tournaments on Wednesday 28th September. The Y10 girl’s team was made up of GCSE PE students who are developing their skills and game play during the weekly Netball club every Monday. This was their first competitive match as a team. They came third overall which was a brilliant result. The Y11 girls were exceptional throughout, they played slightly longer matches which required a higher level of fitness. The girls played exceptionally well and came first. Well done to both teams!

Open Evening 2022

On Thursday 29th September, we welcomed prospective Year 5 and Year 6 students into our Academy, to show them what life would be like as a student at Co-op Academy Walkden. The students, along with their families, were greeted and escorted around by our student guides who offered great insight into being a student here at Walkden. Each department had staff and students demonstrating what their department has to offer, from various creative outlets such as Food & Catering to the steel drums in Music. We also had some amazing talent from our student pianist, who welcomed the families into the atrium with a range of different pieces.

We want to say a huge thank you to all of the students who took part in making our Open Evening a great opportunity for those who, maybe one day, will be attending as a student themselves.

Geography Field Trip

In the second week of October, the Geography department embarked on 3 days of field trips studying coastal landscapes and uses at Waterloo in Merseyside with all of Year 8. The students were met with blustery winds and a great variety of human and physical features to study including sand dunes, and human land uses such as water sports and observing constructive waves. Students were excited to see the coast they’ve been learning about in lessons, and completed detailed fieldwork activities including some amazing high quality field sketches of the coastal landscape. The staff involved were incredibly pleased with how well students used their knowledge gained in lessons to discuss processes in action, and members of the public commented on how wonderful it was to see students excited to be at the beach looking at the landscapes. 

Girls Outloud Graduation

October saw the graduation ceremony for the Girls Outloud Project and the students spent the day at Manchester College Hair and Beauty department having manicures and their hair styled by the students studying there. After a buffet lunch there was a graduation ceremony with each student giving a presentation thanking their Business Mentor. We want to say a huge thank you to all the ‘big sisters’ that came in to the Academy to take the time the speak to our students who participated.

Student Success Update:

Sophia and Marissa have had a lot of success in their running careers so far. Here is an update: 

11th September: Sophia and Marissa ran in the North West Road Relay and competed against multiple teams from the North West coming home as the North West champions with a gold medal.

25th September: They competed again in the Northern Road Relay at Sports City in Manchester coming a very close 2nd place.

1st October: They represented North West in the London Mini Marathon which they were selected for competing against counties all over the Uk.

8th October: They raced in the National Road relay where their team positioned 9th out of 30 national teams as well as being one of the youngest of the U17 age category. 

We are so proud of you girls. Keep up your hard work and dedication and we will look out for you in the next Olympics!

Careers- Events & Info

Football – Early Season Review

It’s been a busy start to the term with a number of our football teams in action in the Salford Schools Cup, County Cup & English Schools’ Cup competitions. One such team is our U16A team who started the year with 4 wins from 4 games; firstly beating The Barlow HS 6-0 in the 1st round of the English Schools’ Cup (Campbell, Monks, Blackshaw, Nutsey 3).

Following up that victory with another against Bridgewater (6-1; Campbell 3, Cooney 2, Curwen), this time in the Salford Schools’ Cup.

Next up, was a local derby against Moorside in the Greater Manchester Schools’ County Cup 2nd round, with the boys prevailing 6-3 (Blackshaw 2, Oguname, Curwen, Monks & Holden) in an entertaining tie.

Laurus Cheadle provided the boys with their next test, and a comfortable 4-1 victory (Holden, Oguname, Grundy & Arrowsmith) secured our place in the 3rd round of the English Schools’ Cup. After the half term holidays, the fixtures continue to come thick and fast with games against Buile Hill scheduled for 1st Nov, before 3rd round ties in the English Schools’ Cup against either Rivington & Blackrod School or Westhoughton HS, and County Cup against Laurus Ryecroft. Special mention should also go to our U13A team who defeated Moorside 3-1 (Ahern 3) in the 2nd round of the English Schools’ Cup and now face a trip to Halton to face Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy in Round 3.

Meanwhile, our U14B team also progressed into the next round of the English Schools’ Cup with a 6-0 victory against Crompton House (Hulme 4, Royle & Burrows). They now face St Margaret’s Academy, Liverpool after half term. Hopefully, we will have more success to write about in the next edition.

Have something to contribute

Has your child done something amazing inside or outside the Academy?

Why not get in touch and let us know about it?

We want to feature our students’ successes in the newsletter and let our community celebrate with you.

Email success stories and feedback to walkden.info@coopacademies.co.uk.

Got feedback about the newsletter? Let us know at the same address!

We always appreciate your feedback.

Have a great half term!