Walsall Academy

In This Issue

Curriculum Focus

Session 3

Themed Lunches

Outward Bound

Drop Everything and

Read

Fundraising

Welcome to the Newsletter!

This term

From November through to February is no less busy than the start of the year; practice examinations

abound and as students better understand the requirements for their courses for the year. In this

edition of the newsletter, we shine a spotlight on particular curriculum areas that wish to share their

practice in the second term.

Elsewhere across the school

Performing Arts, STEM and Physical Education have so much going on that they deserve their own

newsletter. Please find the links to the more subject specific newsletters on the Walsall Academy

website, under the “Parents’ Information” heading, or alternatively, follow this link:

http://www.walsallacademy.com/parents-information/newsletters/

Termly Whole School Newsletter Issue 2: February 2018

2

Key Stage 3 Students’ books have arrived from the Bookbuzz programme, which

they have been happily enjoying in our new Drop Everything and

Read scheme, introduced to the school this year. Select students in

Year 7 and 8 have also been benefiting profoundly from the Sixth

Form Reading Mentor scheme. Students enjoy one session a week

with a Sixth Form student, where they read to them for twenty

minutes from a book of their choosing. Their fluency and

comprehension skills are shooting up, and we are incredibly proud of

both the mentors and mentees for their outstanding effort this term.

Pictured above: The Duchess and her two brothers. © Royal Shakespeare Company

Curriculum Focus

English Upcoming in English...

Visiting the Theatre

I account this world a

tedious theatre,

For I do play a part

in't 'gainst my will.

Miss Farrell is organising

a trip next term for Year

12 students to see The

Duchess of Malfi,

performed by The Royal

Shakespeare Company

in Stratford-upon-Avon.

With themes that

resonate in today’s

society; The Duchess

explores the destruction

of a fiercely independent

woman at the hands of

her corrupt brothers, who

cannot accept her

marriage for love.

This play is a text that all

students will be studying

next year, and seeing the

play performed ahead of

time will enable students

to gain an increased

familiarity with the text

and therefore a deeper

understanding later on in

their studies.

3

Modern Foreign Languages Key Stage 3 Year 7 students are now on their second language on the MFL language carousel. By the end of Year

7, all groups will have had a taster course in French, Spanish and German. Year 7 French students are

studying a new engaging KS3 curriculum that has been developed by our MFL team in order to

challenge and further the knowledge of students who have already studied French in their primary

schools. They have been especially developing their speaking and writing skills by describing art work

in French.

Key Stage 4 Year 11 students have now completed a full mock exam on all four papers in December. They have

been hugely benefited by the opportunity to take part in realistic speaking exams, which gave students

an excellent insight on what to expect for the real GCSE examination that will take place in April. The

practice exam ran very smoothly, thanks to the help of the invigilators and thanks to the support of the

whole school. Year 11 are now finishing off the last topics and will start an intense period of revision

and skills practice in their sessions soon.

Key Stage 5 Year 12 and 13 Spanish students have been reading the novel “Year 12 and 13 students in Spanish,

French and German have been reading novels in the original languages such as Metamorphosis by

Franz Kafka; Kiffe Kiffe demain by Faïza Guène; and Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. They

have been analysing the themes, characters, historical context and the plot of these novels in their

sessions and considering the contribution that they make to the countries’ respective cultures. Based

on these texts, they have now begun writing critical essays in the target language to practise for their

examinations in June.

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Key Stage 3

This term in Humanities, Year 7 students have been learning about Population and City Life across

the world. This has ranged from comparing life in Beijing and Mexico City and investigating one of the

first environmentally friendly cities in the world, Curitiba in Brazil. Students have also played the

Trading Game to discover more about international trade between countries. Year 8 have been

finding out about Slavery and Civil Rights in America. Students have compared the lives of field and

house slaves, discovered the importance of individuals and economics in abolishing the trade and

finding out about the impact of significant civil rights activists, such as Martin Luther King and Rosa

Parks.

Key Stage 5

In Year 13, students have being studying the Tudors, Germany between 1918 and 1963 and Russia

from 1855-1964. The Germany and Russia courses combine well to show the development of the two

main opposing ideologies of the twentieth century and give students an opportunity to compare and

contrast these 2 fundamentally opposing ideologies. This has allowed pupils to develop a range of

skills such as the ability to interpret and analyse information. This has led to a number of impressive

pieces of coursework being researched and written by the students as part of their A Level course. In

order to write their coursework, students visited Birmingham University Library to gather

interpretations from academic historians on the subjects that they have chosen to investigate.

Trips

The History department have been on a range of different trips to coincide with the different topics we

have been studying. Year 10 went to the Nottingham Law Courts and Museum to gain an insight into

Victorian crime and punishments. The students took part in a mock trial and had to work together to

sort through evidence and solve a crime. Year 11 visited the industrial site of Coalbrookdale to

support their History Around Us module. Sixth Form students visited Poland in December. Whilst

there, they visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau site and the Wieliczka Salt Mine, as well as having the

opportunity to discover the city of Krakow. Later this term, Year 7 will be visiting Warwick Castle to

support their studies on the Norman Conquest, with Year 8 visiting The Black Country Living Museum

to coincide with their studies on the Industrial Revolution.

Humanities

5

This term in Film Studies, students are exploring the medium of

screenplays and becoming familiar with the requirements and

structural features of the form. They are also storyboarding

sequences for their own short films, after gaining inspiration from a

wide range of material that they have viewed and discussed in

lessons.

In the other half of the course, students are exploring modern

Hollywood cinema and contrasting it with European film making.

Students have enjoyed viewing films from around the globe this year

and have taken in offerings from France, Greece, Turkey, Argentina

and the United States.

Carol starring Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett has been one of the films studied from modern Hollywood cinema

Film Studies Student insights into… Film Studies

Students from Film Studies

were eager to have their say on

why studying film has been

valuable to them this year.

Olivia, Year 12:

‘Before I took Film Studies, I

used to just look at films and

not really watch them. Now I

can pick things out and I get

why’

Dan, Year 12:

‘Since I started watching film

critically, I’ve been able to

identify different filmic

techniques in the films I watch

and how they contribute to

ways that meaning is created

by a director’

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Key Stage 3

In Art this term, Key Stage 3 students have been taking part in Art Club Session 3 after school, using

skills that they are developing in their Art lessons. Students use skills in working with ceramics and

clay to make items such as money boxes, and develop their imaginations by designing and creating

monsters!

Key Stage 4

Higher up the school,

students have been

predominantly focused

upon completion of

coursework in lessons.

Students enjoy the

opportunity to develop their

pieces for their coursework

portfolio with more one-to-

one support in sessions

after school. This is doubly

beneficial: not only does it

ensure that students have enough time to appropriately refine their pieces to the levels of detail that

are required, but it enables students to hone their skills of independent work, which will serve them

well in later life.

Art

An example of student coursework

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Key Stage 4

In Year 9, students are completing their transition year. In this period, students become familiar with

key concepts and topics that are important in Business Studies, and are able to decide whether they

feel that the BTEC course or the GCSE course is a better fit to their learning styles and ability.

Students are currently exploring the topic of the economy and other financial related topics. They

have been investigating the ways

that interest rates affect day to day

life in the UK, as well as the rise and

fall of inflation and the effect of this

on a country’s economy.

At GCSE, Year 10 students are

completing a range of modules

across the GCSE and BTEC

qualification. These include:

considering the intricacies of

customer service; preparing for an

upcoming exam on finance; and discovering the decisions that businesses need to make about

aspects of promotion such as location and marketing, and the ways that these decisions can make a

business successful.

Key Stage 5

Sixth Form students have been completing a unit of coursework on recruitment, and will have

completed all of their coursework when this is finished; a much awaited point in the studies of Year 13

students! They will then be preparing for practice interviews for jobs, which will be incredibly beneficial

to them in coming years. They are also working on a reflective consideration of their own

employability, completing a career development plan and refining their CVs.

Business Studies

8

Key Stage 3

A worry on the minds of many parents in today’s information age is the safety of their children online.

Here at Walsall Academy, Year 7 students, at the end of last term, attended an E-Safety evening with

their parents, to allow parents and students to share safe practices. This was an educational evening

that many felt they had learned a great deal from. Some Year 7 students have recently featured on

Broadcast in school, sharing their top E-Safety tips for Safer Internet Day on 7 February 2018.

Trips

Students have had some

fantastic opportunities to go out

in Computer Science this term.

Year 9 visited the National

Museum of Computing at

Bletchley Park, the historic

home of codebreaking for the

Allied Forces in the Second

World War. Students learnt

about the first computers like

Colossus and WITCH, moving on through the years to current iPhone technology. They also

completed workshops in BASIC programming to make a ‘snake’ type game, before then working to

develop a ChatBot program. The linked into modules that they have been working on in lessons on

Number Representation and Programming.

Year 10 and the Retro Gaming club visited the Computer Gaming museum in Nottingham, to learn

more about how games consoles have developed and about the coding skills required to create the

next top game. This linked with Python programming skills and Computer Hardware modules taught

at Key Stage 4, but was more importantly a fascinating experience for many of the students - many of

whom are adamant they will become top games designers themselves!

Computer Science

Not quite Colossus… Space Invaders occupying a place in the National Museum of

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Key Stage 4

Over the last term in Health and Social Care, Year 10 students have enjoyed looking at life events and

how they affect individuals. Students have had the opportunity to interview individuals to find out their

experiences when coping with life events such as parenthood, marriage, divorce and illness. The

findings were diligently recorded by students, who have presented this information in the form of scrap

books. Year 10 have worked incredibly hard on these and should be pleased with their results.

Key Stage 5

Year 12 students, however, have now started their first unit of coursework where they are exploring

additional needs of individuals. They are researching diagnostic procedures for identifying particular

needs, and evaluating how additional needs can impact on different areas of a person’s life. This has

resulted in some fantastic and informative reports.

Health and Social Care Double Award students have now begun their work placements within a range

of health and social care

settings, including care homes;

day care centres; schools and

pharmacies. One of the day care

services that some of our

students attend hosts a

Christmas party for their service

users, and our students from

both Years 12 and 13 helped to

organise and run this event.

Positively impacting the lives of

service users and helping to

spread some much needed festive cheer is something that these students are very pleased to have

contributed to.

Health and Social Care

Students enjoy hosting a Christmas party

10

Travel and Tourism Key Stage 4 The pupils have been learning about the development of the UK

travel and tourism industry and how it has developed overtime.

Further to this they have also looked at the different techniques that

organisations use to ensure that they retain a competitive advantage

over their competitors.

Key Stage 5 Sixth Form have been to Disneyland Paris this term, where they

have focused on the techniques used by Disney to ensure that they

are able to fulfil their customers’ expectations. They also had the

opportunity to utilise the information that they gained from this

educational visit to support their coursework.

Government and Politics Key Stage 5 This term in Government and Politics, the Sixth Form students have been studying the outcome of the

2017 General Election and the ongoing Brexit

negotiations. In addition to this, they have also been

analysing the election of Trump and trying to account

for the rise of populist politicians in both the UK and

US, investigating and evaluating the policies that he

has so far put forward. This has been a fascinating

year to study politics, and the students have found

themselves engaged in numerous debates

throughout the year.

Students enjoyed the opportunity to visit a student conference in December: PolEconUK, held at

Central Methodist Hall in London. The theme of the conference was ‘UK Politics: Post Election, For

Better or Worse?’ The students enjoyed a range of talks from eminent speakers, ranging from Keir

Starmer MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, discussing whether the Labour Party has

returned to its socialist roots, or whether it is simply returning to a political position more dissimilar to

Students pictured above after PolEconUK

11

Hospitality and Catering Key Stage 3 This term in Years 7 and 8. students were inducted into the training kitchen. Health and safety,

personal hygiene and healthy eating were the main focus of the induction. Students were then rotated

into 4 week blocks. In these blocks they prepared and cooked pasta dishes, pizza and healthy biscuits.

Key Stage 4 Year 9 students have been finishing their induction programme this term. They have prepared and

cooked a range of starters, main course, desserts and cakes. They have also researched a range of

job roles that can be found in the Hospitality and catering sector. Year 10 students have now started

their Unit 3, which covers aspects of legal requirements and policies. They will be looking at the

benefits of meeting legal requirements and the consequences of non-compliance. Year 11 have started

their final unit that includes a practical assessment of a healthy two course meal. They will then

evaluate and analyse their data to complete the unit.

Psychology Key Stage 5

This term in Psychology, Year 12 students have been

developing their understanding of key Psychology concepts

as a starting point in the subject. These include Research

Methods, Key approaches in Psychology, Biopsychology,

Social influence and Memory. Students have developed

their understanding on these topics through a range of

different class activities and have been encouraged to

complete extended reading around the topics to contextualise their learning further. Year 12 students

have also prepared rigorously for their mock examinations.

Year 13 students have learnt a number of topics this term including Biopsychology, Gender, Research

Methods and Issues and Debates. They have also been encouraged to prepare rigorously for their

mock examinations and have completed an additional paper covering AS content. A level students

have completed a number of research tasks to help with their level of understanding, but to also help

them develop their language skills. The aim of this is to improve their essay writing skills and enable

them to craft a more sophisticated response, which will in turn make it easier for them to attain higher

marks in their exams.

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Session 3 uptake is still high with students as we progress through

into the second term at Walsall Academy.

British Sign Language is a particularly popular addition, with the

students who were mentioned in the last newsletter remaining well

engaged. They are now able to finger spell and ask and respond to

questions such ‘What is your name’ and ‘Where do you live?’

In the Autumn term, Modern Foreign Languages ran four

consecutive weeks of study in conjunction with Bristol University.

The course was entitled ‘Cultural Studies and Modern Languages’

and covered Slogans, Literature, Monuments and more! Although it

initially was intended to be popular with our A level cohort; we had

participants from Years 10 and 11, as well as on two occasions

very enthusiastic and able Year 8 students! The course was

extremely well-received by the Academy’s most dedicated linguists

and the MFL department are already looking into what could take

place next in order to fully capture this enthusiasm for languages.

A Japanese taster session has also taken place this term in

conjunction with the University of Wolverhampton, which was again

very well received. It focused on culture, basic language, food and

participants even got to dress up in kimonos!

Student insights into… ‘Cultural Studies and Modern Languages’

‘I really enjoyed the course; learning about the significance of the monuments was fascinating.’

‘I have loved this course. Specifically the sections on the Bronze Horseman, Holocaust memorial and the ethnic make-up of the Austro-Hungarian empire.’

‘Literature was my favourite topic and I would like to learn more about works that have cultural significance.’

‘I really enjoyed the course as a whole and it has certainly opened my eyes to the cultural complexities of our society.’

Session 3

13

Over this term, Year 11 Hospitality and Catering students have put

on a range of themed lunches for staff to enjoy. These have been

Mexican themed, French themed, and Afternoon Tea themed. The

uptake on these have been tremendous, at the fixed price of £4.

Students have had the excellent opportunity to hone their skills, with

the added benefit of a superb lunch option offered to staff. Much

more enticing than a packed lunch!

Themed Lunches Menus

Mexican Lunch Menu:

Mains

Chicken Fajitas, or

Traditional Mexican Chilli con Carne and Rice, or

Vegetable Tacos

All served with a Selection of Salads

Desserts

Chilli Chocolate Tart

Chocolate Tart

Pancakes with Fruit Compote

French Lunch Menu:

Starter

Carrot, Coriander and Ginger Soup

Mains

Dijon Chicken with Mushrooms Served with Duchess Potatoes and

Mediterranean Vegetables, or

Ratatouille Pancakes with Mornay Sauce (V)

Dessert

Chocolate and Orange Bavarois Served with

Crème Chantilly

Students are hard at work in the kitchen, preparing a range of meals for the discerning tastebuds of staff!

14

As a school, we are very proud of our links to the Outward Bound Trust. Several of our Year 12

students were chosen in January to go on the Hadley Group Apprentice Course through Outward

Bound. This was not an easy week, as the challenges that the group faced ranged from physical,

hands on tasks such as climbing mountains and kayaking; to mental and emotional tasks like

preparing presentations to give to two senior executives from the Hadley Group.

The team performed remarkably under the various pressures of the week, working under pressure

and strict time constraints to produce a final product that impressed all who were present. The

students on the trip gained valuable life skills and experiences, and should be proud of all that they

have achieved.

Outward Bound

Students scale Calder Idris in one of the many challenges faced on their expedition

15

A new initiative to the Academy this year has been Drop Everything

and Read—a whole school approach to improving students’ literacy

skills, developing their reading for pleasure, and widening their

general knowledge by exposing them to new ideas.

All students, especially those in Key Stage 3, have relished the

weekly opportunity to down tools and pick up a book for twenty

minutes of their lesson time. The conversations that students have

been having about their books have been excellent to hear for all

members of staff, and the library is experiencing the highest

borrowing rates it has seen in a long time!

Drop Everything and Read

Staff Response

Staff have reported an

impressive uptake among

the students, and had

overwhelmingly positive

comments about the

initiative:

‘I’m pleasantly surprised by

the number of students

who have asked me what I

am reading and what it is

about.’

‘My choice of reading

material has led to

conversations with

students who would

normally not converse with

me, not only regarding the

literature but also their

work in school and outside

interests.’

‘It has provoked more

conversations in PT time

when students watch a

member of staff talking

about a book they have

read recently.’

It hasn’t just been the students enjoying the opportunity to read: here’s a selection of books the staff have been reading!

Contact Us

Walsall Academy

Lichfield Road

Bloxwich

Walsall WS3 3LX

(01922) 493 910

Visit us online at

www.walsallacademy.com

This term, we collected an incredible 575 shoeboxes for Operation

Christmas Child. This far surpassed last year’s total of 522 boxes

and demonstrates the kind, generous nature of students at Walsall

Academy. Samaritan’s Purse as always were very grateful for our

contribution, and we have no doubt that the boxes put together by

our students have made a positive impact upon the lives of less

fortunate children across the world.

Fundraising