The Academy is closed on 30th September 2021 to all students for staff training.

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope this finds you all safe and well. Welcome to another great edition of the newsletter, which showcases some of the great things our students have been up to over the past few weeks.

It’s taken a bit of time for our younger students to familiarise themselves with their 2-week timetables and moving around the whole academy, but they have settled into their new routines well. It has been great to visit lessons over the past 2 weeks and feel the calm, focused atmosphere in lessons. The hard work and positive attitudes from students have been brilliant to see.

Thank you all for your continued support since the start of term, particularly with the sudden switch to wearing face coverings this week. Students have responded really well and we all hope it will be a very short-lived strategy.

We’re really looking forward to welcoming Year 5 and 6 pupils and their families to Open Evening this Thursday. A huge thanks to all of our current students who have volunteered to support the event in departments or as tour guides.

I will write to you separately with an update on the COVID situation next week, but for now, please enjoy the newsletter and best wishes for the week ahead.

Matt Hacker

Principal

It’s been great to welcome students back to Walkden. At this time of the year, maintaining good health is vital. We continue to encourage our community to maintain high levels of hand hygiene. Further, we’ll promote healthy living and good hygiene through assemblies and ask you to encourage this at home.

We’d also like to remind all parents/carers about booking medical appointments outside of Academy hours wherever possible. This will help minimise disruption to your child’s education. If your child does need to be absent for a medical appointment, please always try to get them back to lessons afterwards. We’ll request copies of medical appointments to support any student arriving late or for signing students out.

Finally, if you wish to speak with us regarding your child’s health or medical needs, please get in touch with the pastoral team in the Academy.

Mr Simpson – Attendance Manager

Well Done Year 11!

On the 12th of August, our Year 11 students received their GCSE results. We’re proud of every one of them.

They’ve shown their true co-op values over the past two years and have come out with results, skills, and personal attributes which will set them up for their futures.

It was great to chat about college courses, the army, and amazing apprenticeships. In the future, we will be running some profiles of some students who achieved some excellent grades and secured their futures in apprenticeships and college courses!

We wish all of our Walkden 2021 alumni luck in the future!

Alumni Success

In July, one of our alumni got in touch to tell us about her degree success.

Rebecca graduated from Sheffield University this year with a First Class Honours in History. We’re very proud of her!

We asked if she might give some advice to our younger students, and she agreed. You can read Rebecca’s interview here.

Freddie Fundraises for Ace Grace Foundation

Over the summer, one of our students, Freddie, took part in his first 10k run to raise money for the ‘Ace Grace Foundation’. Freddie completed his 10K at the ‘Runthrough’ event at Aintree racecourse.

The ‘Ace Grace Foundation’ was set up in memory of his sister Gracie and raises money for Ward 84 at Royal Manchester Children’s hospital, where Gracie was treated.

Freddie’s Mum said, “Freddie started running during the first lockdown and worked really hard to train for this event. He absolutely smashed it, getting round in 1 hour 6 minutes and raising over £1.3k for the ward. We’re so proud of Freddie and wanted to share his achievement with you.”

We’re glad you did; we’re proud to have such a giving and caring young man as part of our community.

The Manchester Girls – Devils Score Place in Final

Year 9, Ella and her football team, the Manchester Girls – Devils, made it to the league final over the summer. Although they lost, they showed pride and determination throughout.

The team has now moved up a division and an age bracket as they now play in the under 15’s.

Ella’s Mum said, “I’m proud of my girl and her team.” We are too, Ella is clearly showing her co-op values by helping her team to succeed together.

Georgia’s Duke Of Edinburgh Success

One of our students, Georgia, has been keeping herself challenged over the summer holiday!

Not one for rest, Georgia took part in a 5-week course working towards her bronze level Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Georgia’s Mum said, “I’m very proud of her.” We are proud of Georgia’s proactive attitude, doing what matters most, and making the most of every moment! Well done, Georgia!

Going For Gold!

Three Year 10 students and a Year 8 student took part in the North West County Championships Road Relays on Saturday 11th September 2021. We are thrilled to report that our Year 10’s came first in the under 15s category. They won gold for Greater Manchester and the North West which is amazing!

Sophia’s Mum got in touch with us and said, “The girls trained hard during lockdown and stayed motivated and focused, so the results are well deserved after an 18-month break from competitions.”

We couldn’t be more proud of all of the students who took part! They’ve shown determination to succeed, and they’ve done what mattered most, even in the most challenging of circumstances!

Well done!

Helvellyn Success

Well done to William, in Year 7, who climbed Helvellyn in the Lake District over his summer holiday!

This is a fabulous achievement!

William, you’ve shown true grit and determination to succeed!

Well done.

The Cadets

• Is your child interested in joining the Cadets? 
• Are they in Year 8-11?

Then why not encourage them to come to our parade night every Tuesday 3 pm – 5.30 pm.

If you’ve any questions regarding the Cadets, please speak to a member of the Cadet staff team. 

• Years 8’s – Lt Green
• Year 9’s – 2Lt Newnes
• Year 10 & 11 – 2Lt Johnson
• New enquiries – SSg Murphy or Capt Bawden. 

Young Carers

It’s estimated that there are 700,000 young carers in the UK right now. Is your child one of them?  

Young carers often take care of a family member who has a physical disability, mental health needs, or learning disability. The family member could also be affected by drug, alcohol, or other substance misuses. A young carer will also help by taking care of other family members, such as brothers and sisters.  

It can be hard work being a young carer. Sometimes other children don’t understand their responsibilities, and they can have less free time.

If your child is a young carer, please get in touch with their Head of Year or email Mrs Corry at lindsay.corry@coopacademies.co.uk for a confidential chat about how we can help and support them.

Extra-Curricular PE Timetable

Our PE department has started its extra-curricular activities again. The full timetable for the next half term can be found here on our Facebook page.

Christmas Card Competition

At the start of this term, the Art department launched our annual Christmas card competition with Year 7-9 students.

Students have until 22nd October 2021 to design our Walkden Christmas card which will be sent out to members of our local community, dignitaries, and Co-op Academies Trust leaders.

Our winning designer will receive a £10 voucher and a framed copy of their card to keep for posterity.

You can find out how your child can enter and the design criteria here.

The library is now open!

The library is now open at the end of the day for students to do their homework.

The library will be open from 2:50 pm – 3:50 pm and will be a quiet space for any students to come and study or complete work.

The Academy Snapshot is an insight into our academy community. This was requested by parents/carers in our parent voice survey before the holiday. Each fortnight, we’ll ask a question to two of our community members, and we’ll bring you their honest replies. This fortnight, we asked two of our students, “How have you settled back into the Academy?” Here’s what they said:

“I’ve settled back into school pretty well. I think it’s been easy for me because I was used to the school pre-Covid. The staff have made sure to answer any questions I have and my friends, and I have slipped into normality pretty quickly!” Neva, Year 10.

“I have settled back into the academy quite well. I think it has been easy for me because I was kind of excited to be able to use the entire school. Staff have helped me settle back in well because they are friendly and helpful. My friends have helped me settle back which is great because then I know that I am not doing it alone.” Connor, Year 9.

Word of the Week

This half term we are introducing a further six words to the students via word of the week.

Our words of the week for this fortnight are:

Affect – to have an effect on, or make a difference to something.

Analyse – to separate something into its parts to discover its nature or function; to examine something in detail.

How many triangles?

Email your answer to walkden.info@coopacademies.co.uk as we will give you a shout-out in our next newsletter!