Dear Parent / Carer 

At the end of another busy week there is lots to share in relation to what your children have been learning about this week. 

Mr Noblett led assemblies for all year groups which celebrated World Religion Day. One of the fundamental British values is tolerance of different values, beliefs and cultures, and Mr Noblett’s assembly took students on a virtual tour of different ‘temples’ from around the world. Students were encouraged to reflect on the rich diversity in different faiths before talking about how our students can demonstrate the value of tolerance within our school community. The closing statements encouraged students to be more curious and actively seek to learn more about the different members within our community, particularly those who may have different beliefs, to ultimately ensure a more inclusive community. 

Year 9 students were off timetable all day on Thursday for a ‘Building, Healthy Relationships Day’ which was organised by our Ethos Team. The students had a fantastic day where they listened to various external speakers and completed various workshops on themes such as healthy online relationships and contraception. All students thoroughly enjoyed the day and the feedback on the sessions was overwhelmingly positive.  

Year 13 students have spent the week completing their mock examinations which will offer an important insight into their progress to date. It will also allow teachers to explain their strengths and areas for development in detail so they all know where to focus their efforts as they enter the final run-up to their actual examinations in the summer.

With just 4 weeks until the February mock examinations, Year 11 students have been working hard to ensure that they improve on their grades from December. An update letter will be going to the parents of all Year 11 students updating you on their progress, attendance, conduct summary, and ultimately if they are eligible to attend prom at this stage. There is still time to improve their progress scores but in order to do so we would expect all students to be revising daily at this point in the year.  

In relation to Go4Schools which is our online platform, we have looked at which parents and carers are using the platform regularly and this varies greatly across the school. With this platform providing live updates on behaviour, attendance and progress reports, it is important that all parents and carers are using the app so you are kept in the loop regarding your child’s day to day school life. If you are having any problems accessing the app, please contact your child’s form tutor who will be able to assist you with how to do so.

Finally, it is a genuine pleasure to see individual students showing a real commitment to their own personal development by earning badges for the Rushden STARR award. There are several silver ties now in circulation and a much greater number of bronze ties. Seeing students wearing these special ties with pride is wonderful to see and reflect a high level of dedication to self improvement.  

Have a restful weekend,

Yours sincerely,

Mr B Baines

Principal

Dear Parent / Carer 

It has been a chilly week with temperatures dropping well below zero but it hasn’t stopped the students enjoying another week at Rushden Academy.

The assemblies were delivered by Mr Smith and Mr Smart and focused on the important theme of safe and healthy relationships. Students explored the characteristics of healthy relationships as well as how to recognise unhealthy behaviour. They were encouraged to reflect on their own relationships with friends and others and also looked at the theme of relationships through the lenses of equality and individual liberty.

Our Year 8 students have been enjoying a geography and business studies ‘mash-up’ working on a cross curricular project around the theme of globalisation and non-ethical companies. Miss Kinsman and Mr Smith have worked hard to bring about this exciting cross-curricular experience which the children have thoroughly enjoyed.

Year 12 students have been undertaking their assessment for their second progress check of the academic year, the results of which will be shared with parents and carers in due course. With more of the course undertaken, this should provide a more accurate measure of how your child is progressing. Year 13 students commence their mock examinations next week and so all normal lessons will be collapsed, excluding Btec lessons, to allow students to review and prepare for the assessments.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of Squad Frog and Squad Blue Wolf, to represent our Social Action Squad(SAS) in the community. As always, the feedback from The Beeches and The Serve Day Centre was brilliant and a particular highlight was Evie who did a fantastic job as the bingo caller. A big thank you to Rosie, our Ethos Team Youth Worker who is doing a fantastic job leading this work.  

On Thursday evening, we invited many of you into school for Year 11 parents’ evening. It was great to see so many of you meet with your children’s teachers and receive an update on their progress to date. Hopefully you left with a clear picture of where your child’s strengths and areas for development are and that you are clear on how you can support them in the run up to their mock examinations. If you were unable to attend the evening, we will be following up with you directly to ensure that you are updated fully on your child’s progress.  

Have a lovely weekend,

Yours sincerely,

Mr B Baines

Principal