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February 2015

I hope all our families enjoyed a restful and enjoyable Christmas break. Pupils have returned to Sir William Robertson with a positive approach to learning and the focus of our work in school remains on maximising the progress of all of our students.

I always consider this term to be particularly vital for our students: those studying GCSE and A Level courses need to devote their time to crafting the best possible pieces of coursework or con-trolled assessment to ensure good results in the Summer, while engaging with all of the new learning, on-going assessment and revision taking place in class and supplemented through work at home.

At the other end of the school, our Year 7 students have successfully made the transition from primary to secondary school. Their boundless energy and enthusiasm is a credit to them and it is through Year 7 and Year 8 that we reinforce the values of hard work, commitment, curiosity about the world, tolerance of others and high aspirations that we believe will serve them well during their time in school and beyond. For Year 9, the Spring Term focuses on Option Choices and making the key decisions regarding their GCSE courses – we look forward to welcoming all Year 9 families to our Options Evening on 5

th March. Students from all year groups had the opportuni-

ty to consider their future Careers Options on 3rd

February as part of our whole-school Careers Day, which featured a Careers Fair in the hall with more than 20 local and national organisations represented.

On the subject of welcoming families in to school, it was fantastic to welcome so many parents and Year 11 students to our Revision Workshop Evenings for this year on 20

th January and 5th

February. They were extremely well attended events and the positive feedback from parents was greatly appreciated. Further details about an extensive range of subject-specific revision classes and activities can be found on the school website and details of our Easter Revision classes will be published shortly.

In terms of education outside the classroom, our annual – and ever popular - ski trip to Courma-yeur leaves shortly, as does a Sixth Form study visit to Berlin. Our Year 10 pupils are just back from experiencing a packed Science study visit in Paris. Alongside these European learning ex-periences -which are important in line with our International School accreditation - local history and culture is certainly not neglected, with our Year 11 students having recently returned from a visit to Tattershall Castle in preparation for their controlled assessment. We are also developing an exciting initiative with local community groups based on Caythorpe’s crucial role in the prepa-rations for Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. Further de-tails of this project and the exciting opportunities this provides for our pupils will be featured in future newsletters.

Thank you for your on-going support of the school.

Mark Guest

Headteacher

SWRA News Page 2

SWRA ‘Wow’ World of Work Careers Day

SWRA held its very own Careers Fair and ‘Wow’ day last week which gave all our Year 9 to Year 13 pupils a chance to discuss career opportunities with some key local employers including Siemens, Lincolnshire Coun-ty Council, the RAF, the Army and colleges and univer-sities including Lincoln University, Bishop Grosseteste, Leeds University, Sheffield Hallam, Grantham College and Access to Music. Other organisations attending included Hill Holt Wood, Positive Futures, National Citi-zen Service, WBA and Learning Communities.

Mr Grant, Deputy Headteacher, who helped organise the day commented:

“It is important for all young people to reflect on their futures. Careers day was an opportunity for all pupils to reflect on the various pathways that are open to them. A highlight was the Careers Fair that took place on the day… 22 organisations were represented from a range of employers and education providers from across the region. Pupils from Years 9-13 took the opportunity to talk to the organisations to find out what they offer and the skills/qualifications they were look for in prospective employees. If I could condense the ad-vice from all of the visiting organisations into one mes-sage, it would be: ‘Try your hardest and be the best you can be in everything you do. Set yourself high targets and never give up.’ As we all know, at Sir Wil-liam Robertson Academy we like to ASPIRE…”

Some of our Year 9s commented on the day:

“Today has really helped me understand where I want to go future in my future career.” Ewan Armstrong

“This day was all about being creative and exploring the future which is really beneficial.” Jack Fawkes

“Today has inspired us to be more thoughtful with our future.” Jake Shaw & Jake Stamp

“It was good to know which colleges I want to apply to and very helpful to know more.” Lily Whitfield

SWRA News Page 3

. Royal Shakespeare Production Trip - Much Ado About Nothing

After school on Thursday 8th January, the Year 12 English Literature students hot-footed it to Stratford-upon-Avon

to watch the critically exclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company production of “Much Ado about Nothing”. Year 12 are currently writing their Dramatic Comedy coursework on this text so the timing could not have been riper.

Conor Elliot (Year 12) writes:

The English Department are organising three further trips to the Royal Shakespeare Company this academic year

to see productions of “Death of a Salesman”, “The Merchant of Venice” and “Othello”.

The English Department

“This trip was incredibly valuable for our class because it enabled us to gain an apprecia-

tion of “Much Ado about Nothing” that reading the text during lessons simply cannot match. The production was set at a country-estate Christmas gathering during World War 1 and both the costumes and the set were incredible. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the performance was the physical comedy performed by The Watch. Benedick also delivered a number of his lines from inside a Christmas tree, which was a sight to behold! Everyone really enjoyed the evening and we gained so much from it that it made the mid-night arrival back at school well worth it. Huge thanks must go to Mr Roberts for agreeing to drive the mini-bus for us. I am determined to get a place on the trip to see “The Merchant of Venice” in the summer term”.

SWRA News Page 4

We are delighted to report that our Year 13 students have received a long list of university offers and interviews which is brilliant news. We have decided to include the long list as it illustrates the calibre and variety of universi-ty and course choices. We are extremely proud of our students and wish them well with their interviews and ex-aminations.

University Offers so far

Anglia Ruskin University: Nutrition

Bangor University: Marine Biology

Bishop Grosseteste University: Education Studies

University of Bristol: Physics

De Montford University: Product Design (following interview)

University of Derby: Architectural Technology and Practice

University of East Anglia: Film and Television Studies

Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh: Mathematics

University of Huddersfield: Medical Genetics

University of Hull: Human Biology

Leeds Beckett University (formerly Leeds Metropolitan University) :Sport and Exercise Science

University of Leicester: Physics with Space Science and Technology

University of Lincoln: Business and Finance

University of Liverpool: Mathematics

Loughborough University: Human Biology

Loughborough University: Mathematics and Economics

Loughborough University: Psychology

University of Newcastle: Mathematics

University of Northampton: Psychology and Education Studies

University of Nottingham: Mathematics

Nottingham Trent University: Accountancy and Finance

Nottingham Trent University: Architectural Technology

Nottingham Trent University: Biomedical Science

Pearson College: Business Management (following interview)

University of Sheffield: Biomedical Science

University of Sheffield: Mathematics

University of Sheffield: Media

University of Sheffield: Psychology

University of Sunderland: Broadcast Journalism

University of Warwick: Mathematics

University of Westminster: Business Management

University of Worcester: Education Studies and Psychology

University of York: Psychology

Forthcoming interviews

Birmingham City University: Primary Education with QTS

Bishop Grosseteste University: Primary Education with QTS

Lancaster University: Physics

University of Manchester: Physics

University of Northampton: Multimedia Journalism

University of Salford: Journalism:

Mr Mann & Mrs Brewer

Still waiting to hear from:

Adult Nursing

Aquatic Zoology

Biology

Drama and Theatre Studies

Forensic Science

Genetics

Geography

International Relations with German

Sport Therapy

SWRA News Page 5

Interested in joining our vibrant Sixth Form?

There’s still time to apply...

Contact Mrs Brewer

for an application form and pack

Sixth Form Christmas Team-building

The last day of the Christmas term provided the Sixth Form students with the opportunity to prove once and for all which Academic Tutor group is best. The banter had been going backwards and forwards all week with the all important 'common room bragging rights' on the line. The Academic Tutors were also to be heard play-ing mind games in the staffroom, in an effort to undermine the opposition 'managers' ahead of the big event. The first team challenge was the Christmas relay with teams racing each other to complete tasks such as the 'sprout and spoon' race and 'climbing down the chimney'. This was followed by the 'Do you wanna build a snowman?' event with students required to transform one of their team into an Olaf lookalike using just toilet paper, a carrot, scarf and hat. The climax of the afternoon came in the '30 second nativity' with teams chal-lenged to perform the entire nativity in just 30 seconds using a collection of random props. Great fun was had by one and all but, more importantly, Miss Earle's group proved themselves to be 'top elves' and took away the prestigious award for 2014. Roll on Christmas 2015!

Some of the pupils who were in the Miss Earle’s winning tutor group said:

“I knew we were going to win the whole time, I was confident and we accomplished what we set out to do!”

Other students who took part in the activity said: “the afternoon was a fun activity for the last day and was a good thing to start the Christmas holidays off.”

Other students said that “Miss Earle’s tutor group were very sure of themselves throughout the whole game and apparently it came no surprise to them when they won.”

Mr Mann & Charlotte King Year 12

SWRA News Page 6 Sports News

We are delighted to announce that our Un-der 14 Girls Basketball team became Lin-colnshire County Champions! Represent-ing Kesteven against the other districts in Lincolnshire, the mighty Will Rob won all their games coming out comfortable win-ners.

Jasmine Keyworth (Year 8) was voted by the organisers as the tournament’s Most

Valuable Player.

Well done Jasmine and the fantastic squad of: Abbie Bennison (Captain), Freya Gro-cock, Eve McDonough, Millie Heppell, Chloe Sloan and Holly Appadoo.

Well done girls!

Mrs K Davison

U14 Girls Lincolnshire County Basketball Champions

Congratulations to our Swimarathon Swimmers

Once again swimmers took to the water at the Meres Lei-sure Centre for this special Grantham Rotary Swimara-thon event and the atmosphere did not disappoint!

This year’s annual Swimarathon event celebrates 26 years of fundraising and was another great success with 30 students from Years 7 - Years 12 swimming on the Saturday morning, 7th February. In 2013 we raised £829 and last year we smashed it with fundraising above £1500. This year I hoped to at least surpass the

£1000 mark but already the 30 students have raised nearly £1300!!

The swimmers were split into our four houses with 11 for Simla, 8 for Chitral, 4 for Lancer & 7 for Dragoon. Some lanes only had 1 or 2 swimming yet they gave it 100% to ensure they completed as many lengths as pos-sible in their one hour time slot. Mrs Parsons came back to watch and Mrs Davison came to help out and yet again we were praised for our organisation & fundraising!

The atmosphere was fab and they received lots of support from the spectators. Their efforts were commenda-ble, swimming nearly 1100 lengths between them. The results are shown across: (Simla Surfers yet again for the 3

rd year running retained their 1

st place & smashed their result by another 13 lengths from 167 to 180)! An-

other special shout out must go to Joe Spurr in Y12 who swam solo in his lane for Lancer swimming 140 lengths!

Thank you again to everyone who swam. Well done and we are very proud of your achievements.

Mrs C Mower

Mrs Davison pictured with Grantham MP, Mr Nick Boles, Mrs Mower and Mr Mos Kalbassi, Grantham Rotary Club President.

SWRA News Page 7 Sports News

Santa Run Fundraising

Well done to Mr Qunicey and his son Jack for raising £80.00 for the Rotary Club charities at the annual Lincoln Santa Run. More than 2,300 people took part and it was quite a sight to see so many santas altogether!

Place Team name

Lengths com-

pleted Swimmers

1st

Simla Surfers 180

Kyle Wallhead, Man Lun, Jake Shaw,

Jordan Williams & Zach Durham.

(so far raised £130.00)

2nd

Lancer Lifesavers 140 Joe Spurr! (raised £49.28)

3rd

Dragoon

Dolphins 138

Maddie Marchant & Jacob Ingamells.

(so far raised £40.00)

4th

Simla Sharks 136

Chloe Sloan, Daisy Tyerman, Daisy Hard-

wickshaw, Evie Pearson, Eve Lawson &

Jacob Lawson. (so far raised £259)

5th

Chitral Coast-

guards 132

Katie Randall, Elizabeth Richardson, Ellie

Sewards, Sam Wright & Alex Volichenko.

(so far raised £136.00)

6th

Lancer Lobsters 118 Skye Williams, Freya Grocock & Lucy

Wilson. (so far raised £202.00)

7th

Chitral Crocs

115

(3

swam)

Jake Hadfield, Joseph Ablewhite

& Robert Braithwaite. (so far raised £202.50)

8th

Dragoon Divers

115

(5

swam)

Lilly Donohoe, Lottie Shelbourn, Ella

Holmes, Elise Souter & Chloe Pearson.

(so far raised £260.50)

SWRA News Page 8

Teachers Got Talent!

Teachers At the end of last term it was our teachers turn to show their talents off with Teachers Got Talent which was held dur-ing lunch break on Tuesday 16th December. The hall was packed to capacity with the crowds waiting with feverish excitement for the first act to come on stage! They were treated to an amazing line-up of acts ranging from juggling to singing to trumpet and guitar playing! The Sixth Form judges and organisers of the show had the tricky decision to make….

… and declared the dynamic duo of Mr

Buxton and Mr Norton as the winners!

A big ‘thank you’ for all the staff for being such good sports and taking part and to the Sixth Formers for organising such a fun show to end the term!

SWRA News Page 9

Terror and Wonder!

On Saturday 10th January, a group of Year 12 and Year 13 students of English Literature visited a major exhibi-

tion relating to Gothic texts at the British Library in London. At present, Year 13 students study three Gothic texts as part of their course. The exhibition: Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination offered students the chance to see the development of the Gothic genre, from its beginnings with ‘The Castle of Otranto’, through ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘The Bloody Chamber’ and ‘The Woman in Black’ to the more recent Whitby Goth culture!

Alex Maughan (Year 13) writes:

As Alex says, students were also able to visit another exhibition, ‘Treasures of the British Library’ and see, first

hand, some of the world's most beautiful and influential books and documents. These included magnificent

hand-painted books from many faiths, maps and view and early printed books. There were also manuscripts

and first editions of historical, scientific and musical works from over the centuries and around the world.

Mrs B Ainsley & Alexander Maughan Year 13

“The trip offered us a unique experience to see the literary genre we have been studying come to life in an exhibition packed with contextual information invaluable to our studies. In lessons we have studied the Gothic genre, but the exhibition at the British Library gave us the chance to see the story of the Gothic. The timeline of exhibits helped us to map out the texts we have been studying and to see where they fit into the genre. One particular highlight of the day was reading the information about the Brontë sisters and how some of their work was influenced by the artist John Martin. It is believed that Emily Brontë’s construction of the landscapes in ‘Wuthering Heights’ was potentially influenced by the art-works of this artist whose paintings hung in the Brontë Parsonage! In addition, the original manuscripts of Charlotte Brontë, WH Auden and Shakespeare were a fantastic sight and really put into perspective the age of some of these great literary works. It was a superb day: the exhibition gave us a deeper insight into the Gothic, something invaluable for the exam in the summer.”

SWRA News Page 10

‘Making Poetry Happen: Transforming the Poetry Classroom’

This new book on the teaching of poetry has just been published – with a chapter written by Mrs Ainsley who teaches English at SWRA!

The chapter is about Gothic poetry and how to encourage students to enjoy writing in this style. Mrs Ainsley said to us, “Although most pupils in primary schools enjoy writing poetry – and are often very good at it – they do not always maintain that love of creating and performing po-ems when they come up to secondary school. I was lucky to be invit-ed to a range of seminars with famous poets such as Michael Rosen. We tried out lots of ways of encouraging young people to keep writing and performing exciting and interesting poems, including a Poetry Slam (a sort of poetry competition). Something new that I tried out with my students was the ‘Goth-o-matic Poetry Generator’ which led to some amazing results.” If you would like to try this out for yourself, you can access this tool online – just search for it, using Google.

Poetry has an important role in the curriculum for English. This new book will be used in Universities and by English teachers in this country and around the world, as they seek new and interesting ways of keep-ing alive the enjoyment of reading, writing and performing poetry.

As it says in the introduction ‘Speaking poetry and listening to its sounds and rhythms are fundamental activities in engagement with poetry that are sometimes sadly overlooked in classrooms where reading can reign supreme. The active approach with language…inspired [teachers] Parton and Ainsley to develop poetry schemes and Slam events. Parton and Ainsley offer practical suggestions and reflections on how they refined activities to suit their own contexts and to enhance students’ thinking about poetic language.’

“A must-have for poetry teachers across the age phases. Accessible workshop activities for the classroom show

how to bring poetry alive on the tongue, in the mind and the body. Pleasure and play rub shoulders with attention

to language, interpretation and meaning, and conspire to inspire. A book to read, use and enjoy.” Teresa Cremin,

Professor of Education (Literacy), The Open University, UK.

Keeping your Child Safe Online

As your child grows and becomes more independent, it is only natural that they take this independence online. In our teenage years we explore, try new things and sometimes push boundaries and take risks, this is an essential part of grow-ing up.

With all of the potential that the online world and new technology offers, young people now have access to huge opportunities. They use technology to express themselves, explore, and be cre-ative; it has changed the way they communicate.

The internet has changed all of our lives, and your child has grown up during this change. Many of the things that confuse, baffle or even scare us, are part of the everyday for them. For many of us, this can all be a bit too much.

Whether you’re a technophobe or a technophile, it’s still likely that you’ll be playing catch-up with the way your child is using the internet.

You might wonder whether what they are doing is safe, and you might also be thinking how can I be as good a parent online as I am offline? Visit our website - Parents, Internet Safety for more information.

For advice about keeping your child safe online, please see the ‘think u know’ website:

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk

SWRA News Page 11

http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/parents/things-to-do/what-to-do-in-the-school-holidays/

Valentine’s Day Fundraiser

Well done to our Year 11 pupils who have been taking

orders for their Valentine Day cupcakes which they are baking to help raise funds for the School Prom.

Options Evening Thursday 5th March, 6.30pm-8.30pm

ASPIRE to a brighter future...

Half Term Activities

Looking for things to do this holiday?

Design & Technology Online Resources

If you visit the Curriculum, Design & Technology Resources page on our website you can access a fantastic range of educational resources for D & T. The school has recently purchased Focus Educa-tional Software eLearning Resources which covers a whole range of topics ranging from fairground rides, mechanical toys, metals, plastics, graphic products, wood joints, the food industry and product analysis.

http://www.swracademy.co.uk/curriculum/design-tech/d-t-resources/

SWRA News Page 12

A group of A Level Theatre Studies students visited London on Wednesday 4th February to see a modern, live adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello at The Lyric Theatre in Hammer-smith.

This production has been running for just under a year and has received 4* and 5* reviews. It was a fantastic production and a great day in London including a visit to the famous Globe Theatre where the students had the chance to see Othello performed as it would have been back in the 1600’s.

A Level Othello Trip to London

Miss E Bennett

Despite the mad dash back to the train it was an exciting and memorable day which will definitely help with their studies.

Lots of fun had at The Globe and the Lyric Theatre (including the use of a selfie stick!)

SWRA News Page 13

National Citizenship Service - an opportunity not to be missed!

National Citizen Service (NCS) is a way for 15 to 17 year olds living in England and Northern Ireland to make extraordinary friendships, learn new skills and create unforgettable memories.

Remember, It All Starts At Yes…

Grow your confidence

Make your UCAS application stand out

Make new friends

Develop the skills that employers want

Get a killer CV

Access to exclusive events

The Summer NCS programme takes place over four weeks during the Summer holidays. NCS is a 3-part programme: Get Active - Enjoy an action-packed week away tackling activities like rock climbing, hiking and raft building.

Get Involved - Stay away from home at a Higher Education campus. Work with businesses and organisations to improve your employability skills and take part in creative challenges.

Make your Mark - Return to your local area with your team to plan and deliver a Social Activity project that will really make a difference to your community. Government backing means that taking part costs no more than £35.00. This includes accommodation, food, activities - everything!

Stay away from home at an outdoor activity centre

Develop new skills and meet new people

Learn to budget and live for yourself

Make your mark in your local area delivering your social action project

Receive a certificate signed by the Prime Minister

Keep volunteering

Just three of our many students who have thoroughly enjoyed and benefitted from taking part in NCS:

Conor Elliott

"My experience on the NCS programme has helped develop my team building and leadership skills as well as growing my confidence and independence. It really helped my organisational skills giving me first hand experience of organising activi-ties and working to deadlines. One of the tasks included making lots of phone calls and I now feel more confident on the phone and making professional calls."

Joe Spurr

"I really enjoyed being involved in the NCS programme and it has really helped develop my team building skills as well as making new friends and meeting new people. Initially it was a little daunting joining a group of people you don't know but it was really easy to make friends and get to know people in a new situation."

Jonathan Jackson-Spooner

"NCS was a fantastic experience and helped me learn how to be a better team member and a leader. It also taught me an awful lot about the area I live in as our Community project was in my home town of Sleaford. We worked hard cleaning up a public space and planting bulbs to regenerate the area for others to enjoy. The fundraising aspect of the project went really well too."

There is still time to apply. Information Packs are available from school.

Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity!

SWRA News Page 14

The Dining Hall

Our Spring menu is available on the website & leaflets are in Reception.

New allergen content information for our menus is also available to view.

Open Evenings/Open Week Dates

Year 4 & 5 Open Evening - Tuesday 7th July 2015

Year 4 & 5 Open Week - Monday 14th, Tuesday 15th & Wednesday 16th September 2015

Our Sixth Form Open Evening will take place on Thursday 15th October 2015

Please help spread the word….

Did you know that you can set an alert so that your child doesn’t run out of money for school

dinners?

Since the introduction of Cashless Catering we are finding that a small number of pupils are trying to purchase school meals with insufficient funds on their accounts. In the first instance we will encourage your child to call home to get their account topped up online.

In order to ensure that the canteen runs as smoothly as possible may we suggest that you set and receive auto-mated alerts from ParentPay for low balances and other purposes! It’s quick and easy to set up giving you peace of mind that your child/children will not get to the till only to find they have insufficient funds.

Go to the ‘I want to…’ area of your home page View/edit profile>Alert settings

Balance alerts: simply choose the type of alert you wish to receive (Email or SMS text) and set the ‘Threshold’ for each child. We recommend that this is set to cover the cost of meals for 3 days in order that you have time to top-up.

Other alerts that may be of interest include:

New item alerts: you can choose to receive an alert when your child’s school sets up a new payment item for your child.

Payment alerts – cheques and cash: you can set up alerts to tell you when a cash/cheque payment has been recorded against your child’s account in school ensuring you know the payment has been received safely.

Should you have any queries please contact the Finance Team on: finance@swracademy.org

Helping you manage school dinner money allowances

SWRA News Page 15

If you would like to look at the publication online, click below:

http://issuu.com/walpole_publishing/docs/moving_on_jan_feb_2015_final?e=12910644/11231155

Our Budding Journalist, Conor Elliott….

Conor Elliott from our Sixth Form, Year 12, recently had the oppor-tunity to try his hand at journalism and was asked to write an article for Moving On magazine, a national careers guidance publication. He would like to pursue a career in journalism so has taken the op-portunity of writing for this national magazine.

They were so impressed with his article on training to be a Car Tun-ing Automotive Engineer that they have asked him to write another one for them. Conor commented: “I enjoyed my experience of writ-ing for Moving On so much and feel like it has given me an insight into the industry of journalism”. Well done Conor and good luck with your next article!

SWRA News Page 16

You can find a full list of our Lunchtime, Revision Clubs

and Sporting activities on the website.

Learn new skills and have fun!

Pilot Officer Seymour

For the pupils, parents and staff who remember Mr Andrew Seymour who taught Citizenship at SWRA until about

a year ago, he has now graduated from RAFC Cranwell and is now Pilot Officer Seymour. He has a stripe, a thin

one…..Congratulations and we wish him well in his new career!

Hoodies & Yearbooks - final chance

Calling all Year 11s...there is still time to or-der your SWRA hooded top in a variety of colours at a cost of £15.00. If you would like to see a sample, please ask.

Don’t forget to place your orders for your hoodies and your very own Yearbook as a great memory of your time at the school.

The deadline is 24th February. All the de-tails are on the website (under Parents sec-tion) and can be paid online via ParentPay or please see Mrs Healey.

Mrs E Healey

SWRA News Page 17

Free School Meals

– Are you claiming your entitlement?

According to current research it is estimated that over 200,000 pupils entitled to claim Free School Meals are not doing so in Lincolnshire! School meals offer a nutritionally balanced meal during the school day to ensure your child is ready and able to engage fully in their learning and we would encourage you to apply for this entitlement. The following eligibility criteria apply:

Income Support

Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance

Income-related Employment & Support Allowance

Support under Part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999

Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit

Child Tax Credit with an annual household income of less than £16,190 & do not get Working Tax Credit

Cashless catering*– there is no differentiation between who pays and as a parent you can track your child’s meals online. An additional sum of money has also been allocated to pupil’s daily allowance above the pre-scribed floor value.

Trip subsidies – for all curriculum based off site events to ensure they can participate fully in all learning oppor-tunities.

Easter revision classes* – to ensure your child is prepared for their final examinations by accessing additional sessions based on examination technique and content linked to a wide range of courses.

1:1 Tuition in Maths and English* - to bridge any barriers to making progress in these key areas of the curricu-lum.

Learning Mentor* – provided to support pupils who are struggling to make progress or who are having difficul-ties at home or school.

For a full list of the interventions the school is providing please see the school website (under Parents, Pupil Premium). (*This intervention is accessible by all students)

Mr D. Bensley, Assistant Headteacher

Making the claim not only benefits your child in providing a healthy meal but also releases additional funds to the school to ensure they meet their full academic potential through a range of interventions that the school has put in place. Current initiatives include:-

Sign up for Free School Meals

From September there is a new universal checking service for free school meals which will enable us to check all secondary school pupils for free school meal eligibility. This system will also deter-mine eligibility for Pupil Premium, which means schools receive an extra £935 per eligible pupil from central government to fund valua-ble support such as extra tuition and learning support.

The form and further information is available on the school website and can be found under: Finance/Free School Meals and under

Pupil Premium on the Parents section of the website.

SWRA News Page 18

Sir William Robertson Academy was delighted to welcome 29 Year 5 pupils from Navenby Primary School to take part in a Workshop in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) on Thursday 15

th January 2015. The workshop

included sessions in both French and German with Modern Foreign Languages teachers Mrs Dover and with Mrs Alexander-Grocott.

The theme was New Year Celebrations in France and Germany and included looking at the Feast of Epipha-ny, the commemoration of the arrival of the Three Wise Men with their gifts at the birthplace of the Christ and covered some cultural elements, as well as giving pupils the opportunity to do some language based craft activi-ties. The session concluded with a fun quiz and looking at the tradition of the making and eating of the Galette des Rois. This celebration cake is baked with a small favour hidden inside it: the person who gets the favour in their slice of the galette is proclaimed King or Queen of the party where the galette is eaten, and gets to wear the gold paper crown that comes with the cake.

Well done to the Year 9 pupils who helped with the workshops and taking photographs: Chloe Haggo, Jordan Howard, Millie Heppell, Jack Fawkes, Chloe Sloan. Thanks to Mrs Dover for baking the ‘Galette des Rois’ cake and for organising/delivering the workshops along with Mrs Alexander-Grocott. Thank you also to Mr Ber-ridge and Mr Thompson for kindly ferrying the children in the mini-bus and Mrs Marr and her team for providing lovely cakes!

The pupils seemed to really enjoy themselves and the cake went down very well too! Each pupil was presented with a certificate and goody bag for taking part in the session and took away a special ‘feve’ (a pottery figurine from the Nativity scene).

We are busy preparing for our next Primary School Workshop which will be Easter themed and will involve 59 Year 5 pupils from Coddington Primary School.

Save money and raise funds

www.spendandraise.com/swra

New Year Celebration Languages Workshop

with Navenby Primary School

SWRA News Page 19

Catering Creations

Our Year 10 Catering GCSE pupils have recently been learning how to prepare fresh fish caught by Mr Quint. They learnt gutting and filleting and then used the lovely fish to prepare tasty fishcakes. Well done to the group who did a fantastic job! And thank you to Mr Quint for being such a good fisherman!

Miss E Dillnutt, Food Technology

SWRA News Page 20

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Keep up to date with school news

@SWRACADEMY

Parental Surveys On-

line Our Parental Surveys are now

available on-line and can be found on the Home page of the website. They are quick and easy to com-

plete.

http://www.swracademy.org/parents-evening-dates/

Help us to help you! Keep us informed

Please make sure that we have up-to-date contact information in the event we need to speak to you during the school day.

Absences:

If your child is absent from school or has a medical appointment, it would really help us if you could telephone and leave a message by 9am on the same day. Messages can be left by:

Dialling 01400 272422

Selecting Option 3 to record pupil sickness/absence/medical appointment

Selecting Option 5 to report anything else or leave a message for a named member of staff.

Alternatively, we have a new Attendance email address: attendance@swracademy.org which can be used to communicate absence and appointment information. For future medical appointments, a note can be written in your child’s Planner and should be shown to Mrs Jex at the Office in advance of the appointment.

Attendance is monitored daily/weekly and parents are contacted about any unexplained absence.

Thank you for your help with this important communication process.

Friends of SWRA Next Meeting

The Friends of Sir William Robertson Academy

Our next meeting is on

Tuesday 24th March, 7.00pm

Dixon Suite, SWRA

New members and ideas always welcome!

SWRA News Page 21

Are you due to be deployed? As a school we recognise the strain that deployment can place on the families of Service Children and have implemented the following resources that you might want to access during this challenging time.

A learning mentor – who can be assigned to your child to offer both pasto-ral and academic support.

A counsellor – trained and experienced specifically in helping Service Chil-dren.

Tablet PC’s – discrete access to email and Skype has been made possible to ensure that pupils can maintain strong communication with a deployed parent.

If you would like to make use of any of these services please contact Mr Bensley

for further information.

We’re collecting Sainsbury’s Active Kids vouchers

We would be delighted if you, your friends, your family members could help collect Active Kids 2015 vouchers.

The vouchers are being offered every time you shop in your local Sainsbury’s and it would be great if you could send them into school and ask your child to put them in the box near Reprographics in Robertson. The more vouchers we receive, the more equipment our pupils will be able to benefit from.

Let’s pull together for Active Kids….

Pupil Premium change in Eligibility Please be aware that the criteria for Pupil Premium funding is being widened to include:

Pupils who are adopted but have been looked after for one day or more or were adopted from care on or after 30 December 2005 and left care under:

- a Special Guardianship Order on or after 30 December 2005 - a Residence Order on or after 14 October 1991

If you feel that you may be eligible for the funding (£1900), please contact the school office.

Mr D. Bensley

SWRA News Page 22

Important Dates for Next Term & 2015

GENERAL

Monday 23rd February - Return to school Term 4

21st– 28

th February - School Ski trip to Italy Courmayeur (please note change in departure time to 3.45pm)

Tuesday 24th March - Friends of SWRA Committee Meeting 7.00pm Dixon Suite

Friday 27th March - End of Term 4 (break up for Easter)

Monday 13th April - INSET Day

Tuesday 14th April - Return to school Term 5

Thursday 2nd July - Year 7 New Starters Induction Day & Evening Parents’ Meeting

Tuesday 7th July - SWRA Open Evening (Year 4 & 5 Prospective Pupils)

Thursday 13th August - A Level Results Day

Thursday 20th August - GCSE Results Day

Monday 14th, Tuesday 15th & Wednesday 16th September - Open Week (Year 4 & 5 Prospective Pupils)

YEAR 8

2nd

& 3rd

March - Art Workshop

YEAR 9

Thursday 5th March - Year 9 Options Evening 6.30pm - 8.30pm

(Presentation is at 6.30pm)

YEAR 10

3rd

March - ‘Of Mice and Men’ Controlled Assessment

2nd

/4th/16

th/18

th March - PE Controlled Assessment Mountain Biking

9th - 13th March - Work Experience Week

Tuesday 17th March - Parents’ Evening, 4.00pm - 6.30pm

24th – 25

th March - Duke of Edinburgh Training Expedition to RAF Cranwell

Science Revision Sessions - now running most lunches and after school.

Please check notice boards outside labs and school website for detailed pro-gramme of revision.

YEAR 11

4th March - Languages Writing Controlled Assessment

16th – 27

th March - Languages Speaking Controlled Assessment

17th March - PE Moderation

12th March - Catering Controlled Assessment Practical

9th - 13th March - IGCSE Speaking & Listening week

Science Revision Sessions - now running most lunches and after school.

Please check notice boards outside labs and school website for detailed programme of revision.

Thursday 18th June - Year 11 Prom at Newark Showground, The Cedric Suite 6.30pm - 11.30pm

Friday 19th June - Year 11 Leavers Day

SIXTH FORM

25th February- Geography trip to Burbage Brook

24th – 25

th March - Duke of Edinburgh Training Expedition to RAF Cranwell

2nd March - Year 12 Nextsteps4study programme—Bishop Grosseteste University

25th March - Nextsteps4study programme—Bishop Grosseteste University

19th March - English Literature trip to Haworth, Bronte Parsonage Museum