The Redhill Academy Newsletter October 2020

Message from the Principal

I’d like to formally welcome Mr Hardy as the new Headteacher of The Redhill Academy. Many of you will know him from his very successful time here as Deputy Headteacher, and he is now returning after being Head at The Oakwood Academy for the last three years. The staff, students and I are very much looking forward to working with him as Redhill continues to further develop as an outstanding academy. We all wish him well in his new role.

Mr A Burns - Trust Principal

Message from the Headteacher

I am delighted to be able to write to you in this years’ first newsletter as the new Headteacher of The Redhill Academy. I feel extremely honoured and privileged to have been chosen to continue to build upon the success the school has already achieved. Many of you will know that I return to Redhill having previously worked here as Assistant and Deputy Head.

It has been a different first half term in many ways, yet still a busy and exciting start to the year. We have already held virtual open evenings for both Year 6 and Year 12 parents, which included lots of information and many different presentations that can still be viewed on the academy website. Once again Redhill is looking a popular choice for parents and I would advise parents to make their applications in good time to avoid any disappointment.

I would like to congratulate all the students, who have settled in fantastically well to the ‘new norm’ at the academy. They have shown a great deal of maturity and as always dedication in adapting to new routines. Staff have also worked hard at making the learning in classrooms as creative and interactive as possible, keeping aspirations high whilst being there for students in and out of the classroom to feel safe and supported.

We are incredibly proud of our Year 11 and 13 students who recently left the academy in the summer. We had some excellent individual success stories and outstanding results as an Academy cohort. Year 11 students will be going on to study at our Sixth Form, with many of the Year 13 students having achieved the very best A-level results and going on to study at Universities. These include the prestigious Russell Group Universities, with even two students attaining entry into Oxford University, and one at Cambridge University. Congratulations to every student who left us for all their hard work over the years.

Finally, a big thank you to you, our parents. We fully appreciate the support and feedback we have received during the first two months. This strong school-parent relationship is key to our success here at Redhill. I wish all a relaxing half term break and look forward to welcoming students back in November.

Regards Mr M Hardy - Headteacher

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Meet the New Sixth Form Student Leadership Team

Every year the Sixth Form experience is improved by the efforts of the Senior Students. Meet this year’s team:

Head Girl – Alana Meenan Alana has been a proud member of the Redhill community since Year 7. She is studying A Level PE, Philosphy and Ethics and French. Alana is currently applying to university to study French and Russian, and following that she plans to join the Army as an Officer to peruse a career in the Intelligence Corps. Outside of school Alana is a triathlete, has a part time job as a lifeguard, and loves American football. As Head Girl, Alana is proud to represent both the Academy and the Sixth form, and is excited to contribute to making our supportive and prosperous learning environment even better, by overcoming the challenges presented by COVID-19, to make our school a community that each and every student is proud to be part of.

Head Boy - Raheem Zameer Raheem joined Redhill Sixth Form from Djanogly City Academy. He is studying A Level Maths, Psychology and History. Raheem wants to study law at Cambridge or UCL, and become a Barrister with a top UK law firm. Outside of his studies, Raheem is interested in football, debating and politics. Raheem applied to be Head Boy as he believes the role is really important in voicing ideas and raising concerns for the Sixth Form and wider school. He also feels that he has a lot of responsibility to ensure that the students’ opinions and suggestions are taken into consideration and acted upon.

Deputy Head Girl – Maddie Hopewell Maddie has been a student at Redhill for six years. She is studying A Level Geography, History and PE. Maddie is going to study History at university and aspires to become a teacher in the future. Outside of school Maddie is interested in going to the gym and socialising with family and friends, which is a bit difficult at the minute. Being Deputy Head Girl is extremely important to Maddie as it has increased her confidence and helped her become more organised. She also wants to try and help Year 12 and 13 students with the challenges of Sixth Form and help them succeed.

Deputy Head Boy - Miles Husbands Miles joined Redhill Sixth Form from Park Vale Academy. He is studying A Level Maths, Physics and History. Miles has ambitions to join the armed forces as an Officer. Outside of his studies, Miles is a keen Air Cadet, a black belt in Taekwondo, a scuba diver and a miniature wargamer. As Deputy Head Boy, Miles wishes to achieve a more effective and efficient Sixth Form. He recognises the influence the role has in determining where the effort of change is directed.

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Interview Practice

As part of The Redhill Academy Trust’s continued commitment to work related learning, on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th October, Year 11 students will have the opportunity to experience an interview with a volunteer from a local business. We have volun- teers coming into school from The Open University, Balfour Beatty, The Desert Rats, HMRC, Keepmoat and Savills.

This year the event is optional for all Year 11’s and will take place in accordance with the latest government guidance to ensure the safety of our students, staff and visiting employers. In preparation for the interviews, Year 11 students have been working on their CV’s and have received guidance and support on interview techniques. Watch out for information and pictures of the event in our next News Letter.

Mrs C Blyth Trust Careers Advisor

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Sixth Form Virtual Open Evening

We were excited to launch our ‘Virtual Open Evening’ page for Sixth Form on 1st October 2020, which Year 11 students and their parents can access at any time.

The site explains everything you need to know about applying for a Sixth Form place. It also gives Year 11 students the chance to explore our post-16 courses through virtual taster sessions. These resources will stay online throughout the term to help students make informed decisions, guided by their tutors and current teachers, too.

As usual, students can apply for Sixth Form places online.

Visit our website to get started: https://www.theredhillacademy.org.uk/year12-open-evening-2020/

We hope you enjoy finding out what we have to offer!

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In the next few weeks we will be introducing our Year 7 students and parents to an exciting new opportunity called miMove. This is a physical activity App where you log your daily exercise and how this makes you feel.

The App will allow you to track the physical activity your child does and very importantly how they feel about that activity. As PE teachers we will also be able to offer encouragement and guidance with the goal of raising the activity levels of our Year 7 students, supporting them towards a lifelong love of physical activity.

Students will receive a presentation on miMove in one of their PE lessons and a de- tailed letter will be sent to parents in the next few weeks.

We look forward to helping you get more active over the coming months.

Mrs S Johnson Head of PE

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Year 7E1 Science experiments from home Science is different this year for our students, as it is with other subjects, however 7E1 have embraced the challenge of not doing practical work in the classroom but doing it at home. I have been overwhelmed by the effort of some of the students who have not only carried out the investigations at home but also filmed them so others could see what they had done. Extra special praise goes to Willow Evans for her excellent practical work and superb editing. Others have also shown an exceptional level of commitment. Thankyou 7E1!

That's the number of Homework and Self Study Questions our Year 11 Students have answered in GCSE Science since the 7th of September. 10001 in two and a half weeks Thank you, from all your teachers, to everyone in Year 11 for continuing to work hard. Let's see if we can get it to 100,000 by Christmas. Mr C Hewitt Trust Director of Science

Millie Churchill Year 12—Watch the space!

Millie Churchill in Year 12 has written a short story which is about to be published as part of the anthology Rainbow Writers. She has been writing from a very young age and is hoping to study Journalism at Nottingham Trent University. Look out for it around Christmas time.

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Mystery Challenge

Thank you to everyone for participating in the first Inter- House challenge for this academic year. From the ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ heat round we had two students from each year group representing their house. They worked as a team completing different tasks. Results will be coming soon, so stay tuned!

______

Inter-House events for October Week commencing 12th October: Arts challenge launch in tutor time

Theme: Role models Definition: a person who someone admires and whose behaviour they try to copy Respond to any of the following: (a), (b), (c), or your own research.

a) National treasures, celebrity, community, family & friends, elders, athletes, political lead- ers, good, moral, hardworking, respectful, optimistic & creative

c) Quote: “Each person must live their life as a role model for others.” Rosa Parks

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Virtual Medic Meeting

One of our Redhill alumni, and former Head Girl, Sophie Timson, kindly gave up some of her precious time to talk to our current cohort of aspiring medics over Zoom. Sophie is currently a second-year student of medicine at the University of Manchester.

As Sophie knows just how competitive it is to get onto a medicine course, we knew she would be the perfect candidate to talk to our students. She was happy to share her experiences and offer some excellent advice for the application and interview process.

As Covid-19 prevented many of our medicine applicants from completing any form of real work experience in a clinical or care setting, Sophie’s insight into the real life of a medicine student was invaluable. The students came away from the meeting feeling inspired and more confident about what they needed to evidence in their personal statements and portfolios.

Sophie was also really positive about online lectures and the blended student experience that is in the news so much, helping put the students mind at ease about going to university and making them more determined than ever to follow their dreams.

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From left to right: Rebecca Smith, Luca Geary, Caitlin McCracken

Class of 2020

The class of 2020 certainly had a unique ending to their time at Sixth Form! Yet despite all the challenges, they never gave up on their ambitions. We are very proud of each and every one of them, and know they all have exciting futures ahead. Over ninety students have chosen to continue their studies at university. Some have decided to stay local and take advantage of the impressive universities that Nottingham has to offer, whilst others have spread their wings wide and far. This year we have students across the length and breadth of the country from Exeter to Glasgow, London to Liverpool. Indeed, one student, Priscilla Powell, has spread her wings as far as the Oral Roberts University, Oklahoma, USA. The students have gone on to follow their passions, taking a wide variety of subjects from accounting to zoo biology, with a few doctors, engineers, interior designers, historians, lawyers and mathematicians, to name just a few, in the mix too. Oxford and Cambridge are consistently ranked amongst the top five universities in the world, and are notoriously difficult to get in to. We are therefore exceptionally proud of, and pleased for, Luca Geary and Rebecca Smith who are currently studying Law and English respectively at Oxford, and Caitlin McCracken who is studying Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at Cambridge. Congratulations, Class of 2020

The Redhill Academy Newsletter Borneo 2022 - The Trip of a Lifetime!

The Redhill Academy are excited to be able to offering current Year 10, 11 and 12 students the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to embark on an expedition to Borneo, during the summer of 2022! This expedition will be run by Camps International and, in co-hosting this expedition, we will be joining forces with Oakwood and Park Vale Academy to give as many students as we can, the best experience possible.

Information has been given to students in each of the year groups, displaying all of the incredible activities they could be involved with - from launching their initial fundraising campaigns, volunteering for community projects, to Scuba Diving - this trip has it all.

Personally, I feel that our students are incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to embark on such a life-changing expedition. It truly is a unique experience. I hope that many of our students will see the value in this opportunity and will take the chance to go for it!

It is worth noting too, that this trip can form a large part of any Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Should your child wish to embark on both, the Borneo expedition and a DofE Award, it could provide them with the opportunities they need for their Volunteering and Residential sections.

Mrs C Smith DofE Manager & Lawrence House Achievement Co-ordinator

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Duke of Edinburgh's Award - COVID-19 Edition!

This term, our ex-Year 9 and ex-Year 12 DofE students have been extremely busy! Due to COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions, many of our planned summer 2019 expeditions were, inevitably, cancelled with no securities that they would be allowed to reschedule.

However, in true DofE resilient-style, we managed to use our 'DofE With a Difference' adaptations to adjust the way we hosted our expedition activities, ensuring that our students did not miss out on their experiences.

Our Gold students were able to embark on their Practice Expedition (3 days and 2 nights, in the Peak District) from 17-19th September with their training company, Adventure Expeditions - and with great success! They are now preparing for their Gold Qualifying Expedition (5 days and 4 nights) and we hope they are able to complete this too, in good weather and high spirits - Good Luck Gold team!

Our 2019-2020 Bronze Award students completed their first outdoors training event and Practice Expedition from 26-27th Sept. Covering over 30km on foot, over the course of the weekend, carrying heavy rucksacks, cooking on Trangia stoves and camping on school grounds, they did us proud! Our Bronze group are due to complete their Qualifying Expedition on 10-11th October - this will be their first experience on their own (with no staff to stop them getting lost!). Wish us all luck.

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Achievements

English - Year 7 For being helpful and keeping the whole class organised between rooms: Anya Kiddier and Libby Withers

English - Year 8 For producing a wonderfully presented homework about Wilfred Owen: Summer Yates

English - Year 9 For input to discussion and debate so far this term in English lessons: Kailan Bruce For sending work in during school closures and never missing a lesson: Joel Davison

English - Year 10 For excellent homework and research into ‘An Inspector Calls’: Giulia Toffoli

English - Year 11 For essays of exceptional quality showing independent learning: Caitlin Clarke and Tim Lindars

Science Educake is an online resource that can be used by students to test their understanding of topics. Homework is regularly set on Educake but students can also set themselves additional questions. Educake is now also available as an app on both iOS and Android. Here are our top performers in September: Year 7 - Briant Sherko – 240 questions answered Year 8 - Shane Zhao – 189 questions answered Year 9 - Llewellyn Alexander – 258 questions answered Year 10 - Sarah Clark – 301 questions answered Year 11 - Lily-Grace Turner – 435 questions answered

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The School Year Term Dates for 2020 - 2021

Autumn Term Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December

Half Term Weeks Monday 19 October to Friday 30 October

Spring Term Monday 4 January to Thursday 1 April

Half Term Week Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February

Summer Term Monday 19 April to Tuesday 27 July

Half Term Week Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June

Additional trip information that is not listed in this calendar will be sent home to parents throughout the year.

The Redhill Academy Newsletter NOVEMBER

Week 2 Monday 2 Nov Year 11 Assertive Mentoring-Week (1) continues Tuesday 3 Nov Wednesday 4 Nov Year 13 Oxbridge admissions tests 5.30pm Year 13 Interview practice 7.00pm Oxbridge Information Evening tbc Thursday 5 Nov Year 12 and Year 13 Senior Maths Challenge (P1 and P2) Friday 6 Nov Inter-House Art Challenge deadline

Week 1 Monday 9 Nov Year 11 Mock exams 1 (until 20.11.20) Year 10 Spoken Language exams begin (until 20.11.20) Tuesday 10 Nov Wednesday 11 Nov Remembrance Day ceremony at the Memorial Garden tbc Morning - Dance4 CAT programme workshop (tbc) Thursday 12 Nov 7.00pm Year 10 Parents’ Meeting – “Supporting your child with their GCSEs” tbc Friday 13 Nov

Week 2 Monday 16 Nov Year 11 Mock exams 1 continue (until 20.11.20) 3.15pm Inter-House Maths Challenge launch Tuesday 17 Nov 4.00pm Year 13 Parents’ Evening tbc Wednesday 18 Nov 6.00pm – Year 13 Drama Devised Performance tbc Thursday 19 Nov Friday 20 Nov

Week 1 Monday 23 Nov Year 13 Oxbridge Mock Interview Week Trip: Year 13 Psychology ‘Behind Bars’ tbc Year 11 MFL Mock Speaking 1 (until 27.11.20) Tuesday 24 Nov Wednesday 25 Nov Year 10 Progress Report 1 issued 3.30pm – 6.00pm Performing Arts Aptitude Workshops tbc Thursday 26 Nov Friday 27 Nov GCSE Dance company workshop tbc

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Week 2 Monday 30 Nov Year 13 - Medicine Mock Interviews

DECEMBER

Tuesday 1 Dec 3.45pm Year 11 Drama Devised Performance tbc 3.15pm Inter-House Redhill Bake-Off Wednesday 2 Dec Year 12 Progress Report 1 issued and Review Day 3.45pm Year 11 Drama Devised Performance tbc Thursday 3 Dec Trip: Year 12 & 13 English trip to Warner Brother Studios tbc Friday 4 Dec Year 11 Mock Results Day

Week 1 Monday 7 Dec Tuesday 8 Dec Year 11 Progress Report 1 issued All day - Year 11 Drama Devised Performance Exam tbc Wednesday 9 Dec All day - Year 11 Drama Devised Performance Exam tbc 4.30pm – 6.30pm GCSE Dance Choreography Showcase tbc Thursday 10 Dec 4.00pm Year 11 Parents’ Evening 4.30pm – 6.30pm GCSE Dance Choreography Showcase tbc Community Carol singing – all day tbc Friday 11 Dec

Week 2 Monday 14 Dec Year 10 Review Week Year 7 ARTi Reading Tests throughout the week Tuesday 15 Dec School Christmas Dinner tbc Wednesday 16 Dec School closes early at 2.05pm Year 7 Progress Report 1 issued Christmas Reading event, LRC 7.00pm Carol concert, St Paul’s Church, Daybrook tbc Thursday 17 Dec Community Carol Singing – all day tbc Friday 18 Dec 12.30pm Inter-House Redhill’s Got Talent tbc Year 13 Internal UCAS Deadline

END OF AUTUMN TERM