theRedhillAcademy newsletter June 2019 Message from the Head of School GCSEs and A Levels are finally here and many of our students are currently immersed in the on-going cycle of revision and examinations. Year 10 students sat the GCSE short course core RE paper this week, which gave them their first taste of a real exam. The Year 11s and 13s are now well into the GCSE and A Level final assessments. We have been really impressed with their commitment and resilience at what is clearly a challenging time in their lives. They have attended additional lessons, booster sessions and consumed huge amounts of flashcards and other materials to support their revision. They have made an excellent start, showing both a positive attitude and the sheer determination needed to do their best. They need to believe that they will come through the other side into a world of proms, a lazy summer holiday and then new and exciting pathways for next year. We wish them all the success that they deserve. As part of the essential preparations for the exams, we were determined to have a new building so that students did not have to sit any in the Leisure Centre. It is really exciting to announce that the contractors met the deadline and we now have a brand new building attached to the Post 16 Centre. It has movable interior walls which mean we can host up to sixty students for exams or turn it into 3 new classrooms which will be used for Post 16 lessons. It is a welcome addition to our facilities. Finally, it was such a privilege to present certificates at the recent Year 11 Commendation Evening. It seems like only yesterday that they joined Redhill and here they are now as confident and talented young adults who we are all very proud of. During the evening, students were rewarded for their outstanding academic achievement and positive contributions to the life of the school. They were also treated to a photographic record of their journey from Year 7 to Year 11 with a few embarrassing pictures thrown in for good measure. We just couldn’t resist it! Mr N Matthews - Head of School www.theredhillacademy.org.uk www.twitter.com/redhillacademy [email protected] Plants Sale raises money for charity The Foundation Learning Group have completed a final project to complete their BTEC Vocational Studies course. The students were required to research and grow plants from cuttings and seeds, demonstrate a knowledge of propagation, health and safety and produce leaflets on how to look after plants. The group successfully grew basil, rosemary and sunflowers and then demonstrated business and numeracy skills by running a hugely popular plant stall at break-time, selling the plants to Redhill staff. This was the first time our students organised selling their products and the group raised a brilliant £25.30 which will be donated to their chosen charity Oxfam which is working around the world to fight poverty. We all feel encouraged to grow and sell even more next time. Mr M Johnson - SENCo Meet PC Ben Heath! Former student Ben Heath made Redhill proud last week as he attended his passing out parade at Nottinghamshire Police Headquarters. Ben was part of the first cohort who followed the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship completed over a period of three years. To qualify, Ben was an active member of the Police Cadets where he gained insight into different aspects of the job. Alongside this he clocked up many hours volunteering in a variety of different community settings, from a retirement home to in-class support in KS3 Geography lessons. He also wrote a lot of assignments which he reckons may amount to a word count that has more in common with a book! At times Ben found it difficult to balance this work alongside A Levels in the Sixth Form, as well as being a young carer to his parents, but he never lost sight of his dream to become a Police Officer. Redhill is delighted to see Ben reach his goal. As Mr Matthews has been quoted as saying, “If ever anyone was born to do something!” As a team of staff who have helped him along the way it really does underline the reasons why we work hard for and with our students here at Redhill. Ben himself told me he wanted to say that success comes from ‘…your work ethic, pushing yourself to your limits and being able to see the positives in what you are doing, no matter how small.’ Ben is now very much looking forward to serving the community in his new role. He tells me that he has already been working on General Response shifts at Byron House in the City Centre where he gets to go out on ‘blue light’ runs. He will also continue to train on the job, gaining further insight into departments such as CID and Intelligence, as well as working around 54 hours a week. If you are interested in the career path that Ben has taken, you can gain further information from our Careers Officer Mrs Blyth. Ben also suggests that voluntary work can benefit you in developing skills such as understanding health & safety, conflict management, teamwork and decision-making. We wish Ben all the best in his future career and hope that he might help inspire future Redhill students to follow their career aspirations. Mrs H Morris Ex-Sixth Form Tutor of PC Ben Heath ‘If you build it…’ We are really proud of the new Sixth Form extension which was completed on the 13th May 2019 and is now being used for A-Level and GCSE exams. The building has two movable walls which convert the three classrooms into one large space, perfect for examinations. The classrooms have extra thick insulation and climate control to ensure that the space is cool in the summer and warm in winter. In addition, they are equipped with LED lighting and double glazing so that they are energy efficient too. The first part of the build started in February half term, with the foundations being laid ready for the rest of the building to be constructed over the Easter holiday. This kept disruption of school life to the bare minimum. It is great to know that we now have three additional classroom spaces ready for our Sixth Form students in September. Mr J Warren - Operations Manager Feeder Primary School Vocal Workshop and Performance On Wednesday 1st May 2019 around 90 students from three of our feeder primary schools, Killisick, Arnold Mill and Robert Mellors, spent the afternoon at The Redhill Academy. During the afternoon, all students took part in a two-hour vocal workshop with members of The Redhill Academy Choir and Mrs Thomas. The workshop was an opportunity for the students, who were mostly in Year 6, to meet and perform together in preparation for some of them starting here in September. The workshop led to a one hour afternoon performance in The Redhill Academy Main Hall. The hall was filled with parents who saw a variety of performances featuring all three schools together followed by an individual performance from each school. The concert finished with a vocal performance of “The Greatest Show” from “The Greatest Showman”. The event was a huge success and all students who were involved sang their hearts out. Mrs Y Thomas – Head of Music Redhill Basketball It was a great year for Basketball at The Redhill Academy, as participation levels were at an all- time high through each year group with around 50 students attending weekly after school sessions. The Year 7 team entered into The Junior NBA competition where they made it to the first round of the play-offs. The Year 8 and 9 teams were runner up in the Gedling Schools competition and the Year 10 and 11 team played their first ever competitive Basketball match and finished the season with an impressive victory over The Nottingham Free School. Next year we hope to improve on the sporting success and continue to promote Basketball to all Years, as participation in this popular sport keeps growing. Mr M Tibbs – PE teacher Porto Football Development Tour 2019 During the Easter holidays, 59 Redhill Year 9 and Year 10 students accompanied by a further 60 students from partnering Trust Academies - Carlton, Hall Park and South Notts - travelled to Portugal on a football development tour. This was the fifth time the academy has run the trip but the first as a combined Trust tour and again it lived up to its expectations. Porto Football Club hosted the students for the 5 days, providing them with 10 hours of intense Portuguese-style football training sessions as well as 7 fixtures vs the Porto Dragon Force academy with special shout-out to Josh Shipley- Leverton, who netted a perfectly executed hat-trick during his squad’s fixture vs the Portuguese opposition. Highlights of the tour included a behind the scenes tour of Porto’s 51,000 seater Estádio do Dragão stadium, witnessing Porto play in a Primeria Liga fixture at home to Boavista which resulted in a 2-0 victory for FC Porto as well as a tour around Porto City Centre whilst being bathed in sunshine. The students trained hard throughout their sessions, ate well at the 4-star Axis Ofir Hotel and created new friendships with fellow Trust students. Ultimately the students got the taste of what being a professional footballer was like throughout the trip. Keep your eyes peeled, as plans are already being drawn up for what promises to be another exciting 2021 Football Development Tour.