It was wonderful to celebrate the GCSE results achieved by Year 11 students at Co-op Academy Walkden on Thursday 25th July 2022. These were the first external GCSE examinations taken by students nationally since 2019. Over the past 3 years, there had been significant disruption to the education of this year group, due to the pandemic. This undoubtedly created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty for students in the approach to their GCSE’s. Despite those challenges, our Year 11 students have achieved truly exceptional results, which are also the best results ever for Co-op Academy Walkden. 

We are so proud of their efforts, resilience and tenacity throughout their time at Walkden and they and their families should all be proud too. These brilliant results not only reflect the hard work of students, but also the efforts of staff to deliver consistently high quality teaching and support for students through every step of their journey. It is great to see the Academy going from strength to strength and our committed team looks forward to building on this success in the future. 

At a glance

74% achieved Grade 4 (standard pass) and above in English

61% achieved Grade 5 (strong pass) and above in English

70% achieved Grade 4 and above in Maths

51% achieved Grade 5 and above in Maths

66% achieved Grade 4 and above in English and Maths, which is a 10% increase from 2019

45% achieved Grade 5 ((strong pass) and above in English and Maths, which is an 11% increase from 2019

Attainment 8 score (best 8 subjects) is 45.3, an increase of 4.4 points since 2019.

Early indications are that Progress 8 is likely to be significantly improved too, with the largest increase across the whole Co-op Academies Trust, which we’re really proud of.

You can find out more about how the grades work for this years’ GCSEs from the Department for Education: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/08/08/gcse-and-level-2-and-below-vtq-results-everything-you-need-to-know/

Students achieved an incredible number of the top grades and in total there were 249 Grade 8 or 9’s across all subjects. 

There were some incredible individual student achievements too and some of them are below.

Welcome

End of year update 

It’s the end of another year at Co-op Academy Walkden. We’ve had our fair share of challenges along the way, not least the unusual weather conditions of the last few days, but we can reflect back on a really positive year overall. I want to congratulate all of our students on their achievements and I want to thank parents and carers for your continued support. 

Start of the new term

A reminder that the start of the new term is Tuesday 6th September for Year 7 only and for all other year groups it is Wednesday 7th September. We look forward to welcoming the whole school back on the 7th and for the first time we will have more than 1500 pupils. The changes we have implemented for September will really help to ensure that we operate smoothly and safely and whilst I know that it will take a little getting used to, the changes will be very positive in the long run. To support this we’ll be spending some time on the first days, familiarising students with the new routines.

Start of the day and new student entrance

With lessons starting at 8.30am each morning from September, good punctuality is crucial. We understand that traffic around the Academy and surrounding area can be a challenge, but ask that you factor this in when planning your child’s morning journey. To assist with this, we run a breakfast club from 8.00am each morning, accessed through the sports entrance.

The timings of the school day are as follows:

8.30am Period 1

9.30am Period 2

10.30am Break

10.50am Period 3

11.50am Period 4

12.50pm Personal Development/Lunch (Split by Key Stage 3/4)

1.50pm Period 5

2.50pm Finish/Enrichment clubs

Student entrances to the academy will be open between 8.20am-8.30am: please ensure that you leave time when dropping off your child for them to walk round to their entrance well before 8.30am. If they only arrive at the gate at 8.30am they will be late. The Year group entrances are:

• Year 7 Discovery Front 
• Year 8 Discovery Stairwell
• Year 9 Creative Front
• Year 10 Creative Stairwell
• Year 11 Sports Corridor 

Student entrances will close promptly at 8.30am each day. If any students arrive after 8.30am they must sign in at Student Services, accessing the building through the Sports Entrance around the rear of school, not through the main reception. They will also use the Sports Entrance if they need to sign out of school.

Students arriving between 8.30am and 9.00am will be issued a late mark and given a note for their first lesson. Those without evidence of a medical/other appointment may be issued a Community Conduct lunchtime detention.

We will follow Department of Education guidance, closing morning registers at 9.00am. Students arriving after 9.00am without a clearly evidenced explanation will therefore be registered as an unauthorised absence and issued a lunchtime detention: please be aware that repeated occurrences can lead to a penalty notice warning and fine for persistent poor punctuality. 

Medical appointments should always be arranged outside of school hours where possible. We ask parents/carers to use Class Charts to inform the Academy of any medical appointments where a student needs to arrive late or leave early. A copy of texts received or appointment cards is needed to confirm their absence and allow authorisation on registers. 

Water Safety

I am sure you will be aware of the water safety messages we have been promoting with our students and via our social media feeds. At this time of year, we realise that some young people may be tempted to jump/swim in open water and sadly this has resulted in the tragic loss of a Salford teenager just last weekend in Salford Quays. Our hearts go out to his family and friends and together we must all do what we can to prevent another tragedy.

We delivered assemblies to students last week and on Tuesday afternoon this week, we paused Period 5 for a few moments across the whole school to deliver a strong message to students, with information from the local Fire and Rescue team. I urge you to talk to your child about water safety whether you are staying at home or going away this summer, so that by raising awareness and encouraging young people to act safely we can reduce the chances of tragedies such as this being repeated.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue have a website dedicated to the issue which can be found here:

https://www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/your-safety/water-safety/

Thank you in advance for your support with this.

‘Kids Eat Free’ and Food Vouchers – Summer 2022

There are a number of food outlets that will be offering the chance for children to either eat free or for £1 over the summer holidays.

What to do if your child has symptoms:

Your child should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if they have symptoms of COVID-19 and they either:

• have a high temperature
• do not feel well enough to go to school, college or childcare, or do their normal activities

They can go back to school, college or childcare when they feel better or do not have a high temperature.

If your child has mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat or mild cough, and they feel well enough, they can go to school, college or childcare.

Encourage your child to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough or sneeze, and to wash their hands after using or throwing away tissues.

Most children who are unwell will recover in a few days with rest and plenty of fluids.

For more information please visit the NHS website here

Please see the attached flyer regarding a Community Event we are hosting at the Little Hutlon Children’s centre, if you require more information or have any other general queries, please email us and we will be happy to help.

Key Dates

W/C 19th April – Year 11 Mocks

25th April – Year 7 Dance Competition

2nd May- Golden Ticket Week

Week 1 or 2

W/C 19th April- Week 2

W/C 26th April- Week 1

W/C 3rd May- Week 2

Welcome