Dear parents and carers,

Welcome to our weekly newsletter.

You may have seen the school performance tables in the news last week which use a relatively new Government measure called Progress 8. Based on this measure we were one of the top performing schools in the city with a score of -0.09. Progress 8 has replaced the former measure of five or more A* to C grades, including English and Maths. It is made up of a student’s attainment score and a formula to work out a final grade, represented by a number. The individual score of every pupil in the year group is then added together and divided by the total number of pupils to give the Progress 8 score for the school, which is centred around 0, with most schools within a range of -1 to +1. Although we are pleased with our score we are ambitious to improve even further and we will continue to work hard to ensure that each and every one of our students is achieving their full potential.

Last week, we welcomed represntatives from the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust along with elite athlete Kelvin Batey as part of a programme designed to raise students’ aspirations. These sessions were an excellent reminder for students that they can be whatever they want to be in life if they work hard enough. They worked on developing a number of vital life skills in a series of engaging activities and we hope that the day served to really raise their aspirations. You can read more about this later in the newsletter.

On Thursday 1 February our most recent Ofsted monitoring report will be published on the Ofsted website for all parents and members of the public to view. On Thursday morning, paper copies of the report will be distributed to all students to bring home so that you have your own copy. This will also include a covering letter from me. We would be grateful for any feedback to help us in our continue efforts to improve our school.

Just to let you know that over the next six weeks we will be having a whole school push on attendance. It is vital that your children attend school every day as any time missed will have a significant impact on their progress.

A couple of dates for your diary are February 8th when we will be holding our Year 9 options evening and March 6th, when our Year 10 parents’ evening will take place.

Good luck to the sixth formers who start their mock exams this week.

Enjoy the rest of your week,

THEWEEK@SAINTBENEDICTISSUE NO 48 JANUARY 29th 2018

Kevin GrittonHeadteacher

Students were inspired by an elite athlete as part of a series of workshops designed to raise their aspirations.Four times BMX World Champion Kelvin Batey (pictured below) visited the academy with the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust as part of its Aspiring Minds programme.He talked to Year 10 students about his own life and career and asked them to share their hopes for the future.He said: “If you have a goal in life then work towards it and get rid of any limits that you think you have. You might have a dream and think that

you might not be able to do that but why not? You are not different from anyone else who has achieved their dream. You can make it happen.”The Aspiring Minds programme is delivered by Learn By Design and uses elite athletes to inspire young people to increase their motivation and future aspirations.Students took part in a full day of activities providing them with insight, tools and opportunities to develop their skills for success.They worked on teamwork, communication, target setting,

personal goals, problem solving, risk taking and creative thinking.Activities included using four

pieces of cutting-edge sports equipment to help young people understand more about the principles of setting targets for themselves.Students also looked at what skills are needed for success, investigated the impact of internal and external motivation factors on performance and heard about inspirational stories from high profile people living with disabilities.

Elite athlete urges students to follow their dreams

EVENTS FOR THE WEEK MON, JANUARY 29th TO FRI, FEBRUARY 2nd 2018

MONDAY, JANUARY 29th 2018

Year 12 & 13 Exams until FridayYear 9 AP2 open until FridayYear 10 AP2 (WAG) open until 9 FebruaryFormtime Buddy reading in LibraryLunchtime D of E route cards (Mr Robinson) Room 70 Flute group and Boys Acafellas in

TUESDAY, JANUARY 30th 2018

Formtime Romero Assembly (SBH) Kolbe Assembly (RLT)P1—4 French Mock Speaking test (Mrs Galletly) P1— 5 MAT coaching strategy session (Mr Gritton)Lunchtime Nurture Lunch Year 7 & 8 Boys Acafellas in MU1 with Mrs Rowlands & Miss Gregson D of E route cards—Mr Robinson—Room 703pm—4.25pm Homework Club in Library Annexe—all years (Mrs Wickens & Mrs Rigby) Netball in Sportshall Basketball fixtures3.05—4.25pm Year 11 GCSE Construction in Room 58—Mr Williamson

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31st 2018Tutor time Teresa Assembly (RLT) McAuley Assembly (SBH) John Paul House, Bakhita House & Romero House DEAR sessions in formLunchtime Teresa 3 strikes detentions in Room 5 (accessible via external door to the room). Romero 3 strikes detentions in Room 25 Kolbe 3 strikes detentions in Room 38 John Paul 3 strikes detentions in Room 1 Academy Choir in MU1 (Year 9 upwards) (Miss Gregson) Lower School Choir (Years 7 and 8) MU2 (Mrs Rowlands) GCSE PE and V-Cert Surgery in Room 29 Year 11 Badminton—Mr Hughes 3– 4 pm John Paul detentions in Room 1 C3 detentions in OR with Mrs Oxtoby PE detentions Basketball Fixtures Orchestra (Music Block) 3.05—4.25 pm Year 10 Construction in Room 58—Mr Williamson

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1st 2018Tutor time John Paul Assembly in South Block Hall; Bakhita Assembly in RLT Kolbe House & McAuley House DEAR sessions in formP1/2 Maths Challenge—SavannahP1—5 French Mock speaking test (Mrs Burguin)Lunchtime Bakhita 3 strikes detentions in 22b McAuley 3 strikes detentions in VC Nurture Lunch Year 9/10/11 Trampolining GCSE —Mr Robinson GCSE Music Drop-in and Music Theory Club (Music Block)3—4 pm Basketball training (Sportshall)/Basketball Fixtures3.10—4.10pm Further Maths GCSE revision in Room 55 (Mr Buxton)3.10—4.25pm Homework Club in Library Annexe—all years (Mrs Goss)

EVENTS FOR THE WEEK MON, JANUARY 29th TO FRI, FEBRUARY 2nd 2018

FORTHCOMING DATES8 Feb Year 9 Options evening9 Feb Brighter Futures P36 Mar Year 10 Parents Evening7 Mar Careers Fair8 Mar Brighter Futures P313-18 Mar Spanish Visit to Ourense21 Mar Year 12 Parents Evening10 Apr Brighter Futures P126 Apr Year 7 Parents Evening7 May Bank Holiday—school closed11 May Year 11 Leavers Mass in RLT (1.30 pm)14 May Brighter Futures P317 May Year 8 Parents Evening6 June Brighter Futures P322 June Athletics Day26 June Brighter Futures P4 Year 6 Induction Evening3 July Year 6 Induction Day5 July Brighter Futures P3 Year 12 Induction Day Year 11 Leavers Prom6 July Year 13 Leavers Ball13 July Saint Benedict Day Mass14 July Summer Fayre17-21 July School Show25 July Last Day of Term

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd 2018

Formtime Year 9 Options Assembly in SBH (Mr Fenn Griffin) 6th Form Assembly in RLT (Mrs Hall/Mr Jarvis) Buddy Reading in LibraryLunchtime Year 11 Reading Club in Room 28 (Mrs McGuinness) Brass Band and Music KS3 catch up/homework club Nurture Lunch Year 9/10/11 Trampolining GCSE Intervention—Mr Robinson3—4pm C3 detentions in OR with Mrs Oxtoby Big Band—Mr Jarvis—MU1 3.05—4.05pm Senior Staff Detentions in Dining Hall (Mr Brailsford & Mr Fenn Griffin)3.10—4.10 pm Further Maths GCSE revision in Room 55 (Mr Buxton)3.30—4.45 pm Year 7—11 Hockey on astro turf