Dear Parents and Carers,

As we end this very busy autumn term, I would like to thank you for all the fantastic support you have given us with regard to some of the changes we have made at the Academy. We really do appreciate this. Recent visitors have all said what a really positive difference this is making to the Academy.

Celebrating our successes

From the strong start to the academic year, we continued to move forward with many amazing events and experiences for our students:

• We started the academic year with a few of our Eco-Club students visiting London to talk to the Prince and Princess of Wales about the work they have been doing with Education Nature Park.

• We welcomed lots of visitors to the academy for our Open Evening.

• We held a Post 16 careers fair for KS4 students, inspiring them to think about their futures.

• In November, our Year 7 Dodgeball Team became the Co-op Academies Trust Dodgeball champions.

• We wore brightly coloured socks on Odd socks day to mark the culmination of Anti-bullying week.

• We held a Coffee Morning for parents and carers of children with SEND.

• We welcomed back our outgoing Year 11s at Certificate Collection Evening.

• We held the first round of mock exams for our current Year 11 students.

• We were awarded the Music Mark of Recognition in celebration of the value we place on music education in our academy.

• Two colleagues won awards at our Colleague Recognition Evening.

• We re-opened our Community Fridge.

• We welcomed parents and carers to speak with teachers at Year 11 Progress Evening.

• Our community came together for the Community Christmas Party, where they were entertained by some of our students singing, had a Christmas dinner, played games and had a visit from Santa.

• The Christmas Showcase celebrated our talented students with song and music combined.

• We finished the term with rewards trips to Total Ninja, Altrincham Ice Skating and Atomic Archies.

 

 Dates for your diary

Thursday 15 January 2026 3.10pm - 7.00pm	Year 7 and Year 8 Progress Evening (Meet form tutors)
Thursday 5 February 2026 3.10pm - 7.00pm	Year 9 Progress Evening and Options Evening
Wednesday 4 March 2026 - Saturday 7 March 2026	Oliver! JR - The Musical by Lionel Bart - Tickets on sale now at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/cam
Thursday 23 April 2026 3.10pm - 7.00pm	Year 10 Progress Evening

 

Attendance

As an academy, we strive for Excellence in Attendance. Our most successful students are those that attend each and every day, on time. We are proud to say attendance has improved for all year groups this term. We held attendance forums, Local Authority panel meetings and carried out attendance monitoring this term to support families where needed, and will continue to do so next term. 

Punctuality has also vastly improved. The number of students who are late has reduced by 50% compared to the same time last year. Students who have been late to school complete daily detentions at lunchtime. However, we will continue to look to reduce lates further, so from Term 2, there will be a change to this system. If students arrive late to the academy after 8.30am twice or more in a week, they will need to complete an after school detention for 45 minutes. Students who are late for tutor, miss out on vital learning in PSHE subjects as well as missing out on careers and skills for life information. 

Thank you for your support with attendance over the last few weeks. There have been a lot of viruses going around. We have provided additional hand sanitisers in classrooms and would ask that you encourage your child to wash their hands regularly to help control the spread of these bugs. If you have any questions or would like any further support, please don’t hesitate to contact the academy. 

 

Supporting families and the community

 

Our Community Fridge has now been relocated to the other side of the academy, which has enabled us to increase the times that it is open to our community. Not only does this enable us to have more opportunities to redistribute good food that would otherwise go to waste, but we have additional storage which means we will be able to offer more items such as hygiene products and pre-loved uniform.

We have also supported families through our annual Christmas care packages that have been distributed within the community, to ensure that all families have access to some luxury items over the festive period. 

 

The first day back

Please note that students will be returning for the usual 8:20 am on Tuesday 6 January 2026. Staff will be returning a day earlier for a staff training day.

 

Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone for their support over this last term. I wish you and your family a peaceful and relaxing break, and a Merry Christmas to those of you who will be celebrating.

 

Phill Quirk

Executive Headteacher

 

---

If you’d like to get in touch with your child’s Head of Year, please contact them via email.

 

Year 7 Heads of Year: Mr K Hughes and Mr J Carroll - manc-y7@coopacademies.co.uk

Year 8 Heads of Year: Mr Z Ul-Din and Ms C Downend - manc-y8@coopacademies.co.uk 

Year 9 Heads of Year: Ms S Saeed and Mrs E McClean - manc-y9@coopacademies.co.uk

Year 10 Heads of Year: Mr A Poole andMiss JL Roberts - manc-y10@coopacademies.co.uk 

Year 11 Heads of Year: Ms M Rehman and Ms P Jackson- manc-y11@coopacademies.co.uk

 

Useful links

 

We know that for some families, Christmas can be a difficult time where some parts of their support network (such as the school) are unavailable. The following links are always available on our website at  https://www.manchester.coopacademies.co.uk/safeguarding.

 

YoungMinds (mental health support) youngminds.org.uk

Kooth (online mental wellbeing community) kooth.com

Samaritans Call 116 123 | samaritans.org

Childline Call 0800 1111 | childline.org.uk

 

If your child receives new devices over Christmas, you may find the parent online safety guides at nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety helpful. 

 

See also an attached poster for FC United’s ‘Feeding Families’ free festive meal on Monday 29 December, open to all families, no referral required.