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SUMMER SCHOOLA SUMMER ADVENTURE!

SUMAN VISITORSWELCOMING STUDENTS FROM CHINA

TATTON 2014THE GREEN SHOOTS OF SUCCESS

SPORTS AWARDS 2014TENSION.CELEBRATION & INSPIRATION

KS3 AWARDS EVENINGBOYS ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE

academy inspiring all to achieve

Contact Us:Wellacre Academy, Irlam Road, Flixton, Manchester, M41 6AP

0161 748 5011 0161 755 3234 admin@wellacre.org www.wellacre.org

AUTUMN 2014

academy inspiring all to achieve

DATES AHEAD:Tuesday 23rd SeptemberStudent Photographs for Years 7, 10 and 12 Thursday 25th September 6 - 8 pmOpen Evening

Friday 26th SeptemberRoald Dahl Primary Day – Academy closed for Wellacre Students

Monday 13th October – Friday 17th OctoberYear 11, 12 and 13 Internal Mock Examinations

Wednesday 15th October – Friday 17th OctoberYear 7 Trip to Condover

Thursday 16th October 6 – 8 pmSixth Form Open Evening

Monday 20th October 6 – 8.30 pmJampod Launch

Wednesday 22nd October 5 – 7.30 pmYear 7 Achievement Tutor Evening

Thursday 23rd October 3 pmAcademy Closes for half term

Monday 3rd November 8.45 amAcademy Re-opens

Tuesday 4th NovemberNovember Exam Season Commences

Thursday 6th November 7.30 – 9.30 pmPresentation Evening, Celebrating the class of 2014 GCSE Results

Monday 10th November & Monday 17th NovemberYear 10 Immunisations

Wednesday 12th NovemberNovember Exam Season Ends

Thursday 13th NovemberAutumn 1 Interim Reports published on SIMS Learning Gateway

Thursday 13th November 5 – 8 pmYear 12 & 13 Parents Evening

Thursday 27th November 5 – 8 pmYear 11 Parents Evening

Tuesday 2nd December – Thursday 4th December 7.30 – 9.30 pmSchool Production

Monday 8th December – 12th DecemberYear 9 Internal Examinations

Monday 15th December 7.30 – 8.30 p.m.Carol Concert at St. John’s Church

Wednesday 17th DecemberEnd of Term Rewards Activity Afternoon

Thursday 18th December - 3 pmAcademy closes for Christmas holidays

SUPPORTING THE CHRISTIE CHARITYJames Brothwood took part in the Manchester to Blackpool bike ride to raise £400.

6 WELLACRE NEWS WELLACRE NEWS 3

WELLACRE'S SPORTINGEXCELLENCE APPLAUDED BY MARK COLBOURNE MBE

Paralympic legend, Mark Colbourne MBE, visited Wellacre in the Summer term to host our Sports Award evening. The Gold medalist, delivered an inspirational speech and made time to speak to our aspiring elite athletes.

It was a wonderful event and gave us the opportunity to celebrate our sporting successes, namely the Year 7 Rugby team, the 6th Form Football team, Jack Killen, Dillon Sumner and Nick Houghton.

MANCHESTERAIRPORTYear 9 students had a magnificent experience 'running' Manchester Airport for the day back in June. The event devised to broaden students horizons and enhance their awareness of different career options involved them undertaking a variety of practical, hands on opportunities in a wide variety of job roles.

Our lads were singlehandedly picked out as the highest performing school across the four days which had been attended by a number of other Manchester schools. In fact, one of our students, Zac Randles, actually managed to beat the actual fireman in one drill and got dressed and ready for an emergency in under 30 seconds. The day was a great success and all students had a fantastic time.

We look forward to celebrating the success of our current Key Stage 3 students later this year. Well done to all concerned and many thanks to the local businesses who donated trophies (Anderton Gables, Cargills, Harcon Services, United Utilties, Blackburn and Murgatroyd Construction).

NEW FOR 2014Rather than use the vehicle of super learning days to deliver our PSHE programme, as of September 2014, we have introduced a new faculty; RESPECT.

The purpose of the Faculty is to address an identified need to enhance and consolidate the roles of PSHE, Citizenship, Careers, SMSC and RE within the Academy. The mission, therefore, of the RESPECT curriculum is to ensure that every student develops the skills and knowledge to pursue a productive and fulfilling life.

BOYS ACHIEVING EXCELLENCEThe successes and achievements of our Key Stage 3 students were celebrated at our annual Key Stage 3 Awards Evening which took place in the Main School Hall on Wednesday 16th July 2014.Over 100 students received a variety of awards, trophies and certificates in recognition of their hard work and endeavour.

Numerous awards were handed out including subject prizes for outstanding progress and exceptional effort, 100% attendance for the academic year, Outstanding Contribution, Principal’s Award and Governor Inspirational Award.

The awards were distributed by Miss Wicks, Principal, Mr Tanner, Chair of the Governing Body and our Learning Directors. It was great to see so many parents and carers, staff and supporters of the school congratulating the achievements of our young people.

'LIKE' US AT FACEBOOK.COM/WELLACRE FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @WELLACREACADEMY

It was then lovely to welcome back our Year 13 learnerswho have a busy year ahead of them as they work towards the completion of courses. They will also be applying for universities through UCAS and some will be planning their next step into employment with the help and guidance of sixth form staff.

It is great to see all students back and we wish them all the best for this academic year. I am sure with the expert teaching and guidance that is on offer and the students working very hard they will all achieve great success.

2 WELLACRE NEWS WELLACRE NEWS 7

A HEALTHY FOCUS FOR OUR GLOBAL LINKS On Friday 19th September, the Comenius team will have left for Antalya Turkey. This is their fourth visit to one of the partner schools as part of the British Council funded 'Healthy Body; Healthy Mind Project'.

Last year saw staff and students visit Estonia, Bulgaria and Germany whilst also hosting our own meeting of the partnership. Students have taken part in activities such as; research analysis of European eating habits, converting National dishes to healthier alternatives and producing an advice book to be sold online at the end of the project.

The Turkish visit looks at the 'physical' aspect of healthy living, students will undertake a variety of physical activities and make recommendations for the book, which will be an advice manual for students in Europe who wish to follow a healthy lifestyle.

We look forward to hearing about Turkey in our next newsletter. We send best wishes to our Comenius Ambassadors, namely Year 10 boys Matt Phillips, Liam Thornely, Alex Muir, Ben Eames, Murad Khan and Cameron Lamont.

We look forward to hearing their stories upon their return.

SIXTH FORMINDUCTION 2014Another academic year started with a bang in the sixth form as we welcomed our new Year 12 students in September. A long Summer of waiting was finally over as a whole host of faces some familiar, some not so came through the doors to begin their Key Stage 5 courses and the exciting next step of their education.

This year we have welcomed students from a wide range of local schools and it was good to see them all mixing and making new acquaintances in the Wellacre Refectory over a latte or cappuccino.

Mr Todd gathered the students together for a warm welcome and to pass on some vital information about sixth form life before it was time to meet the Achievement Tutors and settle into form groups which will be an important part of life for the students for the next couple of years.

Timetables were then issued and students went on their merry way to start their all important lessons. Their programme of study will be made up of the subjects chosen by them but also development through the Respect curriculum, assemblies, our sixth form PLUS programme and inter form competitions.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPALWelcome back to a new academic year, with a special welcome to our new Year 7 and Year 12 students who joined us in September.

The Academy is extremely proud to have achieved the Arts mark Gold award and the Silver Kite mark for school sports last year. We are currently working on the Gold Award for our Careers, Advice, Information and Guidance.

The new year has got off to a great start, with students settling back into their routines and working hard on the new challenges that they have before them. I would like to pass on my congratulations to all our students who sat examinations in the summer. There were some truly impressive individual results.

We look forward to celebrating these achievements in November at our annual Year 11 Awards Evening. Overall, our 5A*-C including English and Mathematics results saw an increase on last year and 20% of the year group achieved at least one A* grade.

Our 6th form results were again impressive with 95% of students leaving with 3 or more A levels or equivalent qualification. All of our Year 13 students were successful in gaining a place at their chosen university and we wish them all a bright and successful future.

Our 6th form Open Evening will take place on Thursday 16th October. Not forgetting the achievements of our Key Stage 3 students, whose academic excellence and attitude to learning were celebrated at the end of the academic year.

In times of great national change for education and an increase in the robustness of examinations, our students and staff are working harder than ever before. We are confident that our GCSE and A Levels will continue to improve and that our best is yet to come.

I hope you enjoy reading about our success and achievements and I look forward to meeting you at our various school events and parent evenings throughout the year.

Miss M. WicksPrincipal

WELLACRE WELCOMES 100 STUDENTS FROM CHINALast Summer, I helped as a student leader. One job was to be aschool Ambassador. We have a partnership with the Suman Centre. This means, our Academy lets school children and school teachers from China experience school life at Wellacre. Some of them couldn't speak English and it was hard for me and them to communicate with each other. However, we managed to have a really successful day. During the tour, they took lots of pictures and had a good time. They were very generous and give us a few gifts. Alex Tilston Y8

LITERACY AT WELLACREDuring the 2013-2014 Academic year there were some very impressive statistics. Students taking part in our Accelerated Reader (AR) programme read a combined total of Six Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty Nine books.

That's an average of 16 books over the school read by each student, with an average word count of Two Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, One Hundred and Seventeen per pupil.

The total number of words read by Wellacre boys since September is...One Hundred MILLION, Nine Hundred and Ten Thousand and Twenty Eight words!

Three Wellacre students hit the One Million words read on Accelerated Reader during last year bringing the total number of word millionaires at Wellacre to twelve. Amazing statistics which they should all be very proud of.

Some of our students were lucky enough to attend an event with the author Darren Shan before we finished for the summer break last year. Each one received a free copy of a book from his new Manga series and had an opportunity to meet Darren and get their copy signed.

DERIAN HOUSE ACCEPTS £3,000 THANKS TO YEAR 9Last year, our Year 9 students, Cameron Lamont, Jack Mastin, Lewis Roddy and Zac Randles worked intensively in their RE lessons to secure a £3,000 grant for Derian House Childrens' Hospice, through the Youth Philanthropy Initiative.

Miss Hosty has been overwhelmed by the efforts of all Year 9 students and said: "I'm so proud of all the students and their diligence. YPI is a superb scheme which offers our students the opportunity to practice life skills whilst making them aware of the wider social issues that our present within the community. The Derian House team have worked extensively to secure the dona-tion for their charity but it should also be noted that the boys are continuing to volunteer at the charity in their own time because they have been so moved with the plight of fellow youngsters. As an educator I'm delighted that the Year 9 students have been able to become aware of such vital and pertinent charities which serve our society."

'LIKE' US AT FACEBOOK.COM/WELLACRE FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @WELLACREACADEMY

SUMMER SCHOOL2014Wellacre Summer School was a huge success once again. With over 80 future Year 7 students attending. It was a fantastic opportunity for our prospective students to familiarise themselves with both staff

.nuf fo stol gnivah elihw lla ,flesti loohcs eht dna

Students took part in a wide variety of activities including, smoothie making, giant board games, the marshmallow challenge and a wonderfully exhilarating trip to the Play Factore.

Students have been provided with their own copy of David Walliams' Billionaire Boy and this too was incorporated into the Summer School programme to allow students to capitalise and advance their literacy skills, even during the holidays.

4 WELLACRE NEWS WELLACRE NEWS 5

WELLACRE HOSTS SIEMEN'S STEMCHALLENGEWellacre Academy had the pleasure of hosting ‘The Siemen’s Roller Coaster Challenge’, an inter-school competition which involved students not only from Wellacre but from Urmston and Stretford Grammar Schools as well.

The roller-coaster challenge is aimed at students at KS3 who are challenged to design and build a working model roller coaster. The competition is designed to inspire and motivate students to engage with STEM projects and work towards creating a talent pool of engineers for the future.

The two day event at Wellacre introduced the students to the challenge and in teams they started working on their design, build and marketing. The teams will visit Siemens, Manchester in the Autumn term, where their finished models and promotional videos will be judged by a panel of engineers who designed Nemisis at Alton Towers. The winners will then be entered into a national competition and their winning design will be on show at MOSI Manchester.

RHS AT TATTONPARK: OUR FOURTH AWARD IN TWO YEARSWellacre made a successful return to the national flower show scene this year, with a garden in the school zone. Way back in the cold dark days of winter, the Garden Gang began their plans.

This year the garden had to have a literacy theme and, with Mrs Haymes’ inspiration, settled on war poetry. After much competition, Cameron Lamont's war poetry piece took centre stage. His combination of poetry and remembrance was deemed unbeatable.

Over the next few months plants were grown and seeds were sown. Spring was in the air and the green shoots of success began to appear. Our excitement was short lived however. Disaster! The watering system failed and our first plants succumbed to a surprisingly warm Easter break. With true fighting spirit, our boys got stuck in and started again.

It wasn’t just plants we needed though and Mr Beech and Miss Fallon were soon press ganged into action, devoting their time to produce the back drop and a larger than life size model soldier. With everything prepared and a quick trip to the flower shop, we set off to Tatton with a handful of tools and hope in our hearts. Over a few short days, under the beating July sun, the Garden Gang built a truly amazing show garden and were rightly proud of their efforts.

Press day came and so did the judges. Once again the Judges were impressed and Wellacre received their fourth award in two years. Well done to all the staff and students involved, here’s hoping we can do even better next year.

6TH FORM SUCCESSESStudents had a morning to remember as they collected their A Level results after a tense wait since the examinations in early Summer. The August rain may have been pouring but the opening of the envelopes soon ushered in beaming smiles.

Many students, in fact a record number at the Academy were hoping to match entry requirements for University places and will be starting in a wide range of Higher Education establishments later this year.

Daniel Elgueta was “proud and delighted” with his results and is now going forward to read Japanese studies at University.Thomas Dotters who achieved excellent A Level results in Graphics, History and Psychology said that is was with “relief and excitement” that he opened his results today.

Tom is heading off to Leicester in September to study for a degree in Gaming Design.

We wish all our leavers the very best for the future. We hope they will keep in touch with the Academy, so we can be updated on their progress.

'LIKE' US AT FACEBOOK.COM/WELLACRE FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @WELLACREACADEMY

It was then lovely to welcome back our Year 13 learnerswho have a busy year ahead of them as they work towards the completion of courses. They will also be applying for universities through UCAS and some will be planning their next step into employment with the help and guidance of sixth form staff.

It is great to see all students back and we wish them all the best for this academic year. I am sure with the expert teaching and guidance that is on offer and the students working very hard they will all achieve great success.

2 WELLACRE NEWS WELLACRE NEWS 7

A HEALTHY FOCUS FOR OUR GLOBAL LINKS On Friday 19th September, the Comenius team will have left for Antalya Turkey. This is their fourth visit to one of the partner schools as part of the British Council funded 'Healthy Body; Healthy Mind Project'.

Last year saw staff and students visit Estonia, Bulgaria and Germany whilst also hosting our own meeting of the partnership. Students have taken part in activities such as; research analysis of European eating habits, converting National dishes to healthier alternatives and producing an advice book to be sold online at the end of the project.

The Turkish visit looks at the 'physical' aspect of healthy living, students will undertake a variety of physical activities and make recommendations for the book, which will be an advice manual for students in Europe who wish to follow a healthy lifestyle.

We look forward to hearing about Turkey in our next newsletter. We send best wishes to our Comenius Ambassadors, namely Year 10 boys Matt Phillips, Liam Thornely, Alex Muir, Ben Eames, Murad Khan and Cameron Lamont.

We look forward to hearing their stories upon their return.

SIXTH FORMINDUCTION 2014Another academic year started with a bang in the sixth form as we welcomed our new Year 12 students in September. A long Summer of waiting was finally over as a whole host of faces some familiar, some not so came through the doors to begin their Key Stage 5 courses and the exciting next step of their education.

This year we have welcomed students from a wide range of local schools and it was good to see them all mixing and making new acquaintances in the Wellacre Refectory over a latte or cappuccino.

Mr Todd gathered the students together for a warm welcome and to pass on some vital information about sixth form life before it was time to meet the Achievement Tutors and settle into form groups which will be an important part of life for the students for the next couple of years.

Timetables were then issued and students went on their merry way to start their all important lessons. Their programme of study will be made up of the subjects chosen by them but also development through the Respect curriculum, assemblies, our sixth form PLUS programme and inter form competitions.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPALWelcome back to a new academic year, with a special welcome to our new Year 7 and Year 12 students who joined us in September.

The Academy is extremely proud to have achieved the Arts mark Gold award and the Silver Kite mark for school sports last year. We are currently working on the Gold Award for our Careers, Advice, Information and Guidance.

The new year has got off to a great start, with students settling back into their routines and working hard on the new challenges that they have before them. I would like to pass on my congratulations to all our students who sat examinations in the summer. There were some truly impressive individual results.

We look forward to celebrating these achievements in November at our annual Year 11 Awards Evening. Overall, our 5A*-C including English and Mathematics results saw an increase on last year and 20% of the year group achieved at least one A* grade.

Our 6th form results were again impressive with 95% of students leaving with 3 or more A levels or equivalent qualification. All of our Year 13 students were successful in gaining a place at their chosen university and we wish them all a bright and successful future.

Our 6th form Open Evening will take place on Thursday 16th October. Not forgetting the achievements of our Key Stage 3 students, whose academic excellence and attitude to learning were celebrated at the end of the academic year.

In times of great national change for education and an increase in the robustness of examinations, our students and staff are working harder than ever before. We are confident that our GCSE and A Levels will continue to improve and that our best is yet to come.

I hope you enjoy reading about our success and achievements and I look forward to meeting you at our various school events and parent evenings throughout the year.

Miss M. WicksPrincipal

WELLACRE WELCOMES 100 STUDENTS FROM CHINALast Summer, I helped as a student leader. One job was to be aschool Ambassador. We have a partnership with the Suman Centre. This means, our Academy lets school children and school teachers from China experience school life at Wellacre. Some of them couldn't speak English and it was hard for me and them to communicate with each other. However, we managed to have a really successful day. During the tour, they took lots of pictures and had a good time. They were very generous and give us a few gifts. Alex Tilston Y8

LITERACY AT WELLACREDuring the 2013-2014 Academic year there were some very impressive statistics. Students taking part in our Accelerated Reader (AR) programme read a combined total of Six Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty Nine books.

That's an average of 16 books over the school read by each student, with an average word count of Two Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, One Hundred and Seventeen per pupil.

The total number of words read by Wellacre boys since September is...One Hundred MILLION, Nine Hundred and Ten Thousand and Twenty Eight words!

Three Wellacre students hit the One Million words read on Accelerated Reader during last year bringing the total number of word millionaires at Wellacre to twelve. Amazing statistics which they should all be very proud of.

Some of our students were lucky enough to attend an event with the author Darren Shan before we finished for the summer break last year. Each one received a free copy of a book from his new Manga series and had an opportunity to meet Darren and get their copy signed.

DERIAN HOUSE ACCEPTS £3,000 THANKS TO YEAR 9Last year, our Year 9 students, Cameron Lamont, Jack Mastin, Lewis Roddy and Zac Randles worked intensively in their RE lessons to secure a £3,000 grant for Derian House Childrens' Hospice, through the Youth Philanthropy Initiative.

Miss Hosty has been overwhelmed by the efforts of all Year 9 students and said: "I'm so proud of all the students and their diligence. YPI is a superb scheme which offers our students the opportunity to practice life skills whilst making them aware of the wider social issues that our present within the community. The Derian House team have worked extensively to secure the dona-tion for their charity but it should also be noted that the boys are continuing to volunteer at the charity in their own time because they have been so moved with the plight of fellow youngsters. As an educator I'm delighted that the Year 9 students have been able to become aware of such vital and pertinent charities which serve our society."

'LIKE' US AT FACEBOOK.COM/WELLACRE FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @WELLACREACADEMY6 WELLACRE NEWS WELLACRE NEWS 3

WELLACRE'S SPORTINGEXCELLENCE APPLAUDED BY MARK COLBOURNE MBE

Paralympic legend, Mark Colbourne MBE, visited Wellacre in the Summer term to host our Sports Award evening. The Gold medalist, delivered an inspirational speech and made time to speak to our aspiring elite athletes.

It was a wonderful event and gave us the opportunity to celebrate our sporting successes, namely the Year 7 Rugby team, the 6th Form Football team, Jack Killen, Dillon Sumner and Nick Houghton.

MANCHESTERAIRPORTYear 9 students had a magnificent experience 'running' Manchester Airport for the day back in June. The event devised to broaden students horizons and enhance their awareness of different career options involved them undertaking a variety of practical, hands on opportunities in a wide variety of job roles.

Our lads were singlehandedly picked out as the highest performing school across the four days which had been attended by a number of other Manchester schools. In fact, one of our students, Zac Randles, actually managed to beat the actual fireman in one drill and got dressed and ready for an emergency in under 30 seconds. The day was a great success and all students had a fantastic time.

We look forward to celebrating the success of our current Key Stage 3 students later this year. Well done to all concerned and many thanks to the local businesses who donated trophies (Anderton Gables, Cargills, Harcon Services, United Utilties, Blackburn and Murgatroyd Construction).

NEW FOR 2014Rather than use the vehicle of super learning days to deliver our PSHE programme, as of September 2014, we have introduced a new faculty; RESPECT.

The purpose of the Faculty is to address an identified need to enhance and consolidate the roles of PSHE, Citizenship, Careers, SMSC and RE within the Academy. The mission, therefore, of the RESPECT curriculum is to ensure that every student develops the skills and knowledge to pursue a productive and fulfilling life.

BOYS ACHIEVING EXCELLENCEThe successes and achievements of our Key Stage 3 students were celebrated at our annual Key Stage 3 Awards Evening which took place in the Main School Hall on Wednesday 16th July 2014.Over 100 students received a variety of awards, trophies and certificates in recognition of their hard work and endeavour.

Numerous awards were handed out including subject prizes for outstanding progress and exceptional effort, 100% attendance for the academic year, Outstanding Contribution, Principal’s Award and Governor Inspirational Award.

The awards were distributed by Miss Wicks, Principal, Mr Tanner, Chair of the Governing Body and our Learning Directors. It was great to see so many parents and carers, staff and supporters of the school congratulating the achievements of our young people.

'LIKE' US AT FACEBOOK.COM/WELLACRE FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @WELLACREACADEMY