At Walkden we want to ensure the transition from primary to secondary is as smooth as possible for each student. Whilst students don’t get to choose their Personal Development or who they are in a Personal Development with, we take the process of choosing each child’s Personal Development very seriously. For each student attending Walkden we meet with their year 6 teacher to gather helpful information and we use a lot of this advice and knowledge to place a student in a Personal Development group.

We ensure that every pupil is in a Personal Development with someone they went to primary school with so that there is a familiar face on the first morning. Students will be in different classes for each subject and meeting new people every day in those first few weeks. Before long, these new students have become friends. If a student is attending from a primary school and none of their peers are coming to Walkden, we will be sure to put them in a Personal Development group with a student in a similar situation.

No, the students are not expected to bring their PE kit in for the first day. In their first Personal Development time session, they will receive their timetable informing them of their lessons. From the second day of school students can follow this timetable and bring their PE kits only on the days they have PE or any sporting events such as a Netball match.

Accordion contentAs a minimum expectation, we would advise pupils to arrive at school with a blue or black pen, a red pen, a pencil and a ruler. It is advised that they bring a pencil case and are welcome to bring other useful equipment such as highlighters or rubber etc but teachers will have spare equipment if pupils require it for their learning.

At Walkden, we run a cashless catering service that means that students do not need to bring their lunch money to school. Parents and guardians must upload money onto a student’s account. Login information for ParentPay will come out to parents/carers in the Summer holidays before pupils start at the Academy.  This will give parents/carers the chance to top up before pupils start in September.

Meal Deal Options are £2.20. Meal Deals include 2 courses:

Choice of main meal
A choice of fresh fruit, cookie, or muffin
Bottled water is available to purchase from the canteen or we have drinking water available from the water fountains around school. Please remember to send your child to school with a water bottle so these can be topped up if required.

For early morning Breakfast or Breaktime, we have a range of snacks available.

Pin codes will be issued on the first day into the Academy and children will be shown how/when to use them. 

Period 1 starts at 8.30am and pupils need to be onsite for 8.25am so that they can be in their classroom on time for the start of the day. The school day ends at 2.50pm. 

If my child gets lost around school, will they get into trouble?

In the first few weeks there is support in place to make sure the students learn their way around the building. Students will not be punished if they are on occasion late to lesson in those early weeks. We find that by the October half term students are very confident with both using their timetable and navigating the school.