Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope this update finds you and your families well. It was another week of rewarding students following last week’s colours awards in year 11 with the half colours awards for year 10. With more to come later on in the academic year and all students in a position to achieve it was wonderful to see the huge round of applause for each student as they were presented with their ties and badges. Students frequently ask what it is that they need to do to achieve and knowing that it is not simply the highest achievers that are rewarded, it is also those who make consistent effort or those who continue to make progress irrespective of their starting point, everyone is really in it. A huge well done to all of those winners this week. On top of our colours and half-colours awards in Key Stage 4 there are progress points, certificates, letters and emails home – success has never been more widely and routinely celebrated at the academy. Towards the end of the academic year we will be looking to host our first formal awards evening where we can welcome parents and carers back to celebrate with us.
Sixth form open evening
Following an incredibly successful and very well attended series of open events and open evening, this week we had our first sixth form open evening since 2019. Again, our staff, ably supported by our student volunteers, were able to welcome large numbers of students, parents and carers not just from Mascalls but also from a range of other schools and academies in the region. As the reputation of the academy continues to grow, more and more people are showing an interest, it really is exciting times for Mascalls.
Review after review
Following our successful Challenge Partners review and International Baccalaureate validation as a World School in July we continue to request reviews of our academy in search of continual improvement and to reflect our commitment to ensuring we are providing the best possible education and environment for all of our students. So far this term we have welcomed reviewers for our English, Science, Spanish and History departments, with Geography and maths to follow after half term. The processes, known as Curriculum Development Reviews, are designed to dive deeper into specific subject areas than a broader visit may. Initial outcomes from each review have been incredibly positive with reviews of curriculum planning, lesson observations, book scrutinies, student and staff interviews forming much of the evidence base. The reviews have most notably recognised that our curriculum is challenging all students to achieve, there is an impressive consistency and rigour to our teaching rooted in high expectation, knowledge organisers are having the intended impact in building knowledge over time and behaviour is exemplary. We are quite pleased and will continue to pursue improvements to ensure the best possible experience for our amazing students.
COVID position
We continue to be amazed by the exceptionally low confirmed figures in the academy in contrast to the national narrative. Please continue to test on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in the evening – we have plenty of kits and will continue to send these home with students each week. Testing is our first line of defence and I thank all parents/carers and students who are supporting this effort to ensure the safety of our students.
Finally, as always with every statement my thanks go to parents and carers for your support keeping the staff going into the final week before half term. Your messages are always very much appreciated.
Yours sincerely
Mr W Monk
Principal
