Dear all,
On behalf of the trustees and my executive team, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all of you for the difference you’ve made for our young people this year. As we approach the end of this academic year, it finally feels like we are getting back to normal across our schools.
As you read through the following pages you will see some of the great work that is going on across our Trust, both in schools and in our Central Team. In a year where I probably have no right to expect outstanding practice across the Trust, as ever you’ve proved to me that even in the most difficult of circumstances our youngsters are hugely advantaged by having your support. Staff have provided opportunities for our students to work with world class organisations, host exceptional visitors and most importantly experience first quality teaching in their drive to improve the life chances of our students. Across our schools there are excellent examples of all three of our Trust values – innovate, inspire and collaborate.
As you know earlier this year we welcomed our newest secondary school, Shireland Biomedical UTC. Based in West Bromwich with a focus on health sciences, the school will welcome its first Year 7 cohort in September. Our other three Free Schools are all progressing well, with construction partners already working on the Wednesfield and Shireland CBSO Academy sites. In the new academic year, development will take place on the Coseley site with an expected opening date of September 2024 for Coseley Technology Primary School. Our family of schools continues to grow.
Please have a restful and enjoyable summer break and we look forward to welcoming you back for another term of outstanding teaching and learning in September.
Sir Mark Grundy, CEO
Shireland CBSO Academy will open its doors to Year 7 students for the first time in September 2023.
Set up in partnership with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Academy will be the first state school in Britain to be established in collaboration with an orchestra and marks a radical new approach to music education, innovatively addressing the much-publicised decline in the position of the creative arts in many schools.
The Academy will deliver an outstanding education for its students built on a foundation of academic and musical excellence.
Located in West Bromwich and serving Sandwell and the wider West Midlands, it will be a non-selective state school delivering a broad curriculum and welcoming children of all backgrounds who have a passion for music.
Meet us at our Year 7 Open Event: Saturday 24th September 2022, West Bromwich Collegiate Academy, West Bromwich, B70 7LE.
Visit our website to find out more about the Academy, how to apply and book your place at our open day: www.shirelandcbso.org.uk
It has been an exciting, busy term for the Enrichment Team, who have been hosting a variety of inspiring activities across our schools.
At Wallbrook Primary Academy, student Gracie-Mai raised an amazing £215.00 for The Ronald McDonald House charity, which our Passport to Success Charity Ambassadors have been supporting this year as part of the programme.
We also held a half term activity at Tameside Primary Academy. Over 70 children took part in street dance, multi-sports, and art. Well done to all the children that supported these three days!
A whole range of enrichment activities and workshops have also been supported across the Trust since the much-welcomed easing of COVID restrictions. Such as cooking, debating and resilience sessions at Holyhead Primary, djembe drumming, art, sport, and drama workshops at Shireland Technology Primary and creating calm workshops with children from Wallbrook Primary Academy.
Passport to Success also launched weekly family workshops across three of our primary schools. This is a family focused learning programme which we will now continue to provide next year both on a weekly basis and online, with sessions presented by motivational speaker Zoe Bennett. These workshops are for parents, guardians, and carers of students at our Trust schools and cover a range of topics from building resilience, aspirations and money management to staying safe online. With the aim of enriching children’s school experiences by building skills, knowledge and cultural capital, helping personal development for the world around them.
Be sure to look out for our exciting events and activities next year! Workshops will run throughout the whole academic year so please ensure you have signed up and collected your Passport to Success Family booklet.
For more information, email Daniel Donaldson at Daniel.Donaldson@collegiateacademy.org.uk
School Spaces Available
- Tameside Primary Academy: Limited Nursery and Reception places available for September 2022.
- Wallbrook Primary Academy: Reception places available for September 2022.
- Holyhead Primary Academy: Year 3 places available for September 2022.
- Shireland Biomedical UTC: Limited places available in Year 7 for September 2022.
Staff Vacancies
Governor Vacancies
Do you know anyone who would be interested in becoming a Standards and Performance Committee Governor? We have vacancies at the following schools:
- Thorns Collegiate Academy
- Holyhead Primary Academy
- Shireland Technology Primary
- Lightwoods Primary Academy
If you know anyone who would be interested, please ask them to email Emma Billingham at ebillingham@shirelandcat.net
God save our gracious Queen, long live our noble Queen. Wow, what a day it was celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee!
We had a day full of exciting and memorable experiences to mark this occasion. All of our children wore red, blue and white for the day and met Deputy Lord Lieutenant Gurpreet Bhatia, who was the Queen’s representative for this special day. Children from our Historian Club had also buried a time capsule with the Lieutenant, which contained items linked to the year 2022.
EYFS and Key Stage 1 had a picnic, where they enjoyed a regal lunch of triangle sandwiches, jelly and ice cream. Key Stage 2 also took part in their own street party, where they had a posh lunch, made their own Union Jack flags and sang the national anthem. All of our children had a great day, which will last in everyone’s memories for some time to come.
Three hundred and twenty-two of you also joined us for our Jubilee Picnic! Thank you to everyone for your support, especially to all the staff and PTA involved, who not only made the event with teas, coffees and cake, but also raised over £600 in the process.
Over the last term, Year 6 have been working with the Birmingham Hippodrome Education Network (HEN) as part of their PE lessons to collaborate and choreograph a dance routine linked to the journey of the Commonwealth games whilst showcasing their talents. The children performed their routine in the Patrick Studio in front of a live audience, and it was evident that they had worked very hard on their routine, which they performed with professionalism and pride. We were thoroughly impressed with their dedication and how they presented themselves. They wore our Lightwoods badge with pride.
We also say goodbye to our Year 6’s at this time, whose journey at Lightwoods has come to an end. We wish them all the best of luck at their new schools in September.
We are exceptionally proud of our Year 2 pupils who have completed their end of Key Stage One SATs assessments in Reading and Mathematics. It was the first time these assessments had gone ahead nationally since 2019 due to the pandemic, and therefore the first time we have completed them here at Shireland Technology Primary.
We are also exceptionally proud of the efforts of all our children as well as our staff, who encouraged and enabled them to shine. They have worked incredibly hard and demonstrated a wonderful attitude to learning during this period, with their results showing this. They have exceeded national expectations, with many of our pupils working at a greater depth which is an excellent achievement! Thank you to all the families who also supported from home; every hour you spend with them has made a difference. Now we keep driving forwards as we prepare our children for the move into Key Stage Two and Year Three. Well done to you all!
In Reception, we also had our Sow and Grow sessions, which proved a huge success and has turned our Reception outside area into a wonderful green paradise. Pupils were able to enjoy learning outdoors and how to care for plants with the aim of developing a love of nature and gardening. The programme also saw families come in each week to help, working with a local community group to help sow seeds with their children and marvel at how they grow with water, sun and tender loving care.
What a term it has been at Tameside! We had a full, exciting day celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee with a series of special parties for all the children, including scones and Union Jack flags. We also had our National School Sports week in July, where not only did we have four wonderfully well attended sports days, but also visits from our friends at Drumba and Skip 2b Fit. Thankyou to everyone who supported and helped made the days successful.
It is also with great pleasure that we announce Tameside Primary Academy has achieved the Quality Mark Early Years Award for our Early Years provision! This award recognises that all children who attend our Nursery and Reception are receiving the highest quality education across all the key areas, helping them to thrive and develop.
What an amazing year it has been at Wallbrook Primary Academy! As the summer term draws to a close, we reflect on the school’s many accomplishments and celebrate our pupils’ successes. From free enrichment activities after school, competitions, and a variety of theme days, to private tuition to support with lost learning, voucher and uniform schemes and free-swimming lessons to support those families and pupils that had missed out due to Covid restrictions. We have certainly been busy and are proud to provide a supporting and engaging educational environment for our pupils and local community.
We have undergone a refurbishment and implemented new technology to enhance our teaching and learning, including online support programmes and a parent online communication system. Our teaching resources have also been updated, including the addition of lots of new books for our children to read and enjoy.
Our pupils have been involved in many opportunities this year, such as our Factopia Reading Club, a visit from Loud Mouth Productions. Including more recently our celebrations of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and Sports Day, which have been a huge success and enjoyed by everyone involved. We also had a Fun Day for our pupils, complete with funfair-themed activities, where the children had an amazing day full of joy and creating lots of forever moments as a celebration of all their hard work this year. We wish all of our pupils and their families a restful summer, and cannot wait to welcome them back in September.
In June, the Art Department hosted its first Art exhibition since 2019, which celebrated the successes of our Year 11 and Year 13 students. This has been a vital conclusive part of all the hard work and effort which our Art, Photography and Textile students have put in over the last two years.
The variation of skills and techniques which has been explored by our A-Level students were impressive, with works varying from life sized sculptures and hyper realistic paintings to psychedelic pieces. Our first-year photographers also showcased exceptional potential, producing work which will take pride of place throughout the academy for many years to come. Outcomes have been just as varied in Textiles, with pieces ranging from wall hangings and textured ball gowns, to printed outfits created using digital patterns.
The drive to succeed was abundantly evident among our GCSE Art students, with moderator feedback reporting hardships which have been felt by all practical subjects during the pandemic was not visible in any of our students’ coursework. This is due to the stellar determination of our students, along with the innovation and hard work of our Art Department, who adapted well to what was a very challenging time. Thank you to all the Art staff for all their hard work to make this exhibition happen!
In June, our Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award students completed their weekend expedition in South Staffordshire, completing two walks totalling over 15 miles in just two days while carrying rucksacks and kit. Students set up camp and tents as well as cook their own meals on the stoves provided. It was a hugely successful expedition with students completing all activities, showing fantastic teamwork and resilience. Upon completing their remaining sections, students will receive their DofE Bronze Award certificate and badge, which is an incredible achievement!
Students also enjoyed a cultural trip to Paris, where they visited some of the capital's famous landmarks including Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre art gallery, with opportunities to visit the markets and see local artists at work in Montmartre. Students had a fantastic time and will no doubt be an experience they will remember for many years to come.
We also said goodbye to our Year 11 students and celebrated with them as they enjoyed their final days at Thorns Collegiate Academy. Their prom was hosted at Spring Grove House in Bewdley, with the theme being ‘A Night of a Thousand Lights’. We are immensely proud of their achievements and how they have persevered during a difficult two years. We wish them every success in the future!
Our talented cast of Year 7, 8 and 9 students have done an amazing job with their live performances of ‘Matilda: The Musical’, which has been our first public performance since the pandemic. We are immensely proud of all the hard work students and staff have devoted to putting on such an amazing interpretation of the classic children’s novel. Including our Academy community, Art Club and DT Team who have been working hard behind the scenes to complete sets and props for the show. This special edition brought all the best songs and moments from the West End and Broadway show, which continues to bring in a packed audience.
We also saw two of our Year 8 students, Zara and Amna, win the ‘Community Champions’ category at the Apps for Good Showcase 2022 against 28,000 other students across the UK. Well done to them and all of our other students who took part in the programme, including Assistant Principal Mrs Percival, who received the Donna Hay Award for Impact.
Between March and June, our Year 10 and Year 12 students took part in the Limitless Project whereby working in groups, alongside a mentor, they were tasked with setting up and running their own enterprise. Students had the opportunity to take out a loan of £50 to help them develop, market and retail a product. During this time their income and expenditure were scrutinised each week, with main objective to maximise their profit. The Limitless Project culminated in a trade fair where students had their own stalls to sell their products, followed by a presentation from all groups to a panel of judges, who assessed them on their presentations, USP and transferrable skills developed throughout the programme. All groups successfully created a profit from their enterprises and were able to repay their loans.
The winning group was ‘Sunshine Sparkles’, whose enterprise specialised in designing and manufacturing bespoke pictures in frames, and had even extended their market through social media.
We have been very busy at First Steps Nursery this term, with our topic theme ‘Let’s Explore’, where the children have been creating their very own dens using pop up tents and torches. They also tried their hands at making tasty s’mores in our garden, looking at weather patterns and team building.
Our Preschool and Toddlers took a walk along the grass area near the school to try their hand at some cloud spotting after reading 'The Cloud Spotter by Tom McLaughlin', and have been making their own treasure maps using paper, tea bags for staining and pens. The children then used their imaginations to find treasure in the garden, and have also been practising their names through mark making with name cards, sand and sticks.
Babies at the nursery have been developing their physical skills including balance and coordination by kicking balls in the garden, and have been exploring their senses using fruit and water play. Which gave the children opportunities to smell, taste and feel. They also enjoyed learning key words using the story 'Where's Spot?' and were introduced to positional language.
A graduation party was also organised for all our children who will be starting school in September, and hope they all had a fun and memorable day. We will miss them dearly and wish them all the best of luck.
We are also very excited to announce that our brand-new building will be ready for September 2022, and it looks amazing! We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved as we prepare for this transition and look forward to sharing it with you.
As part of their 'Let's Explore' theme topic for this term, the children at Tinywoods have had a wonderful time being explorers on our large field. Here, they were searching for all sorts of natural, wonderful things in our outdoor space. Some of the children also made a den to read stories, with others looking at maps ‘to search for treasure’. They loved using the magnifying glass to look at things from the natural world more closely, which also sparked some fabulous conversations between the groups.
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