Week 1
It has been wonderful to welcome our students and staff back to Watling Academy this week as we start the new academic year. Whatever the summer held for you, I hope that you had some time to rest and relax.
On 21st August we reached a landmark moment as we celebrated a brilliant first ever set of GCSE results. Our students achieved exceptional progress and academic success, with standout performances in English, Maths and Science. Across key performance measures, Watling Academy placed within the top 3 of schools in Milton Keynes. These results are a testament to the hard work and resilience of our students and staff. You can read more about this on our website.
It has been wonderful to welcome back students into Year 12 over the past two days. The journey to opening our Sixth Form has been a challenge, but we are incredibly proud that we now have Year 12 students continuing their education with us. Students have picked their subjects based on their specific interests, receiving personalised programmes of study. Our Sixth Form is focused on preparing young people for the modern world of work and includes a unique element of online learning each week to support students in understanding the demands of remote learning. We have fully embedded our Personal Development and careers programme into the Sixth Form and look forward to seeing how our young adults progress.
On Thursday we welcomed our new Year 7 students into the Watling family. This year, we have 360 Year 7 students joining us. The students have been a credit to the Watling community already, trying their very best and approaching the start of the year with positivity. I have been incredibly impressed with the positivity and how they have already begun to demonstrate our whole school values of Respect, Responsibility and Kindness.
Our new buildings have progressed very quickly over the summer. Our Sixth Form centre has now been decorated and looks fantastic. Unfortunately we have come across an issue connecting the services in new buildings to our existing building, which has resulted in a delay in completion date for the Sixth Form centre. Whilst this delay was completely out of our control, we have worked incredibly hard with the builders to design a solution to ensure that we can move our students in as soon as possible. Year 12 students have a Sixth Form Café and social space set up and ready to use in one of our Activities Studios to ensure that they have dedicated facilities from the start of the year. The teaching block is now two stories high and is looking very impressive! This is due to be completed this term and will provide 10 new classrooms for all years.
I want to express my thanks to the Watling Academy site team who have worked tirelessly over the holidays to ensure that all maintenance, essential works and upgrades have been completed on site. We are incredibly lucky to have a dedicated team of non-teaching staff who keep Watling Academy running smoothly every day, allowing teachers to teach their lessons and students to focus on their learning.
Students spent time with their Tutors earlier today to receive their timetables, which should now be written in their new planners, and review updates for this academic year. They went straight into lessons and have now met many of their new teachers. I have enjoyed popping into lessons over the last couple of days and talking to students in the canteen and in corridors as they move to lessons. Information regarding our curriculum can be found on our website, alongside other information and policies which you may find useful in the coming weeks.
We have reminded students of how our community should work together to ensure we create a positive learning environment for everyone. Our school community has grown by nearly another 300 additional students and therefore the school will feel a little more busy. It is important that students move around the Academy responsibly, calmly and quietly. We have a broad and diverse school community and some of our students find noise and busy corridors particularly difficult at times. It is the responsibility of the whole community to consider and support others by maintaining a productive environment for all.
I would appreciate your continued support to ensure that your child is at the academy by 8:35am, in plenty of time for the start of the school day, in full school uniform and with the correct equipment for their day. Please also remember that Watling Academy does not allow the use of mobile phones for students in Years 7 – 11 at all times. I would ask that you do not try to contact students during the school day on their phones, which should be switched off and in their bags. We will continue to push for the highest standards throughout the academic year and will challenge any students who do not meet these most basic expectations.
Thank you for your support in ensuring that students were ready for the start of the year. We have had a fantastic start and I look forward to sharing success stories and plans as we go through the year.
Mrs Fry
Headteacher
Reminders:
A gentle reminder that items dropped off at Reception for your child (e.g. forgotten lunches, water bottles, PE kit etc.) should be collected at break or lunchtime by your child. Unfortunately due to the number of students we have at Watling we are unable to deliver items directly to students.
Year 7 Learning Pathways Evening
Year 7 parents and carers please make sure you have registered for the Learning Pathways evening on Thursday 11th September. You will find more information in the letter on ParentMail along with the booking form.
What’s happening next week?
- Thursday 11th September – Year 7 Learning Pathways/Meet the Tutor
- Friday 12th September – Year 11 Barcelona trip departs
Sports Fixtures
No sports fixtures w/c 8th September
