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Welcome from our Principal, Mr Hacker

Dear parents and carers
We've now reached the end of our first half term and I think all pupils are ready for a short break to recharge their batteries for next term. It's been a term of high intensity in every aspect of school life and we're so proud of how pupils have responded to the ambition and challenge in their lessons and beyond.
You may have noticed a marked shift in our rewards and recognition for pupils this term. It's really important that we celebrate the daily achievements of our pupils and I'm delighted that so many have received some of the thousands of merits and postcards home that have been issued, as well as the spot prizes for progress in attendance, punctuality and much more.
I'm really pleased to see that whole school attendance has been sustained above the local authority and national average for secondary schools, this has been great to see and your support with this is very much appreciated. Children being in school, belonging and thriving is central to our ambition for excellence and most importantly to set our children up with the best chances of success in their future lives.
Following the recent ballot for the Parent Community Council Member roles, I am delighted to announce our two successfull candidates are Shaymaa Al Ani and Nick Bowen. I want to offer my congratulations as we look forward to them both joining our Academy Community Council. Huge thanks to all canditates who submitted an application and to all of our parents/carers for your votes.
Finally, I'd like to draw attention to the Co-op Local Causes Fund, from which we are hoping to gain some funding for Sports Equipment. Find out how you can support, further on in the newsletter.
I want to wish you all a restful half term break and we look forward to welcoming everyone back at 8.25am on Monday 3rd November.
Best wishes
Matt Hacker
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Who to contact at Walkden
Please see the linked document for who to contact at Co-op Academy Walkden.
Communications
Please note the academy will be closed over the half term break and all emails will be responded to on our return.
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Attendance information
This month we have created and shared with pupils a new graphic for our attendance bands, pupils can see privately what band they currently sit in. This helps pupils and parents to have a clear visual for attendance expectations. This also helps pupils set achievable short term targets to move into a higher band, and helps us to celebrate this when they do.

For more information about the attendance process and expectations, please see below.
To report your child as absent, please use ONE of the available options below.
- You can call our Academy to report absence 0161 8501625 (Option 1).
- You can now use the 'log absence' function on your Arbor app. You can find this by going to Dashboard - Menu (three lines) - Attendance - Log Absence.
For any pre-planned absences or appointments, please email our Attendance Team.
walk-attendance@coopacademies.co.uk and include an attached appointment card or letter as evidence of the reason for the planned absence.
Whichever method you choose to use, please do this each day that your child is absent from school before 8.30am.
As a helpful reminder, we wanted to share the below information that is useful to know when it comes to attendance.
The school bell is at 8.25am and students are expected to be in lessons ready to be registered by 8.30am.
Students who arrive late between 8.30am and 8.50am will be given a late mark; however, this does not affect their overall attendance percentage.
Students who arrive after 9am will be given a U code (unauthorised absence) on their register which equates to a half a day of absence, this does affect their overall attendance percentage.
The day is split into two halves with a morning attendance mark and an afternoon attendance mark, students must receive both marks to be registered in school for the full day.
Please note that medical appointments and authorised absences are marked differently and to authorise one of these absences or to make us aware of any exceptional circumstances please email our attendance team with prior notice where possible walk-attendance@coopacademies.co.uk
Thank you as always for your support.
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Parent Pay guidance - Lunch payments
We wanted to share a couple of reminders and options regarding your ParentPay account for breakfast/lunch payments.
If your child purchases meals at Co-op Academy Walkden, please ensure funds are topped up via ParentPay in advance of the week ahead. If a pupils has zero funds, our kitchen staff will ask them to go to Student Services for a note which enables them to get lunch and prompts us to contact you to request payment is made. Ideally we would prefer not to send a pupil away for this note so please ensure funds are topped up, you can ofcourse contact us if you need support with this. ParentPay has the function to set yourself an alert for when funds are getting low, if you would like this reminder please follow the process below
- - Log into your ParentPay Account
- - Click the three lines at the top left of the screen
- - Communications
- - Alert settings
- - Balance alerts
- - Set threshold per student
- - Tick email (email is free to use / text messages can be set up, however there is a charge for this)
- - Save
All students are offered a free bagel with spread during breakfast service, which runs between 8am - 8.25am.
Other breakfast items are also available to purchase during this time as well as during morning break at 10.30am.
Breakfast items range from 29p - 99p per item.
At lunchtime, students can purchase a meal deal which consists of a main meal and a dessert for £2.20
Please see our menus here
We encourage students to bring a refillable bottle as there are water fountains positioned in each zone of the academy. If your child would prefer bottled water, these can be purchased for 85p.
We believe that £5 is the most any student should need to spend on food/drinks throughout the day, which is why all students' daily spend is capped and will not let them spend more than £5 a day at school. If you would like this cap to be increased, then please let us know via this link Any changes can take up to three days to show on the catering system.
If your child is entitled to free school meals, they can have a free bagel at breakfast like all other students and then, when they put their PIN number in at the till for lunch, they can order a main meal and dessert (meal deal).
ParentPay log in details are sent via email to one parent/carer for each child at the beginning of each school year. If you have forgotten your password, you can select 'forgotten password'. If you believe you do not have an account set up for your child or if you have any queries about ParentPay and lunch payments, then please let us know via the same form here.
All students require their catering PIN number at the till when getting breakfast and lunch. If your child is entitled to Free School Meals, they still need to use their PIN number to get the meal.
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What's on at Walkden
| Club/activity |
Where and when |
| Chess |
Every break and lunch outside G9 |
| Homework club |
Every Monday lunchtime with Mrs Davis - D1 |
| Space Club |
Every Tuesday 3-4pm with Dr Gardner - D8 |
| British Sign Language |
Every Tuesday 3-4pm with Mrs sayer - G3 |
| Frozen Jr Rehearsals |
Every Friday lunchtime with Mrs Hughes - E1 |
| Expressive Arts Club |
Every Wednesday 3-4pm with Miss Wharton - Drama Studio |
| Year 11 Revision |
Every day 3-4pm in the library |
See below for all of our extra-curricular clubs
Extra-curricular Timetable
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Rewards and Recognition
So far this half term we have seen our rewards programme soar to incredible heights and we are loving the positive impact this is having on our pupils, this will be continuing througout the rest of the year.
| Positive Postcards sent home since 1st Sept |
Merits awarded since 1st Sept |
| 922 |
48,985 |
With the increased number of positive attitudes to learning, we have been able to reward our pupils with prizes. We have given prizes for pupils with no lates to lessons in a week, pupils in Attendance Band 1, pupils with most improved attendance, pupils with the most merit points in a week and the list goes on. Prizes have included stationary items, donuts, lunch queue jump pass's, chocloates and football tickets. We aim to carry on rewarding our pupils throughout the year ahead as well as in our end of year awards ceremonies in Summer.
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Year 7 Panto - reminder
Our Year 7 pupils are being taken to see a fabulous production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at the Victoria Hall Theatre Bolton in November. This trip will be a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to see a live theatre performance, to understand the magic of pantomime and see actors in person.
The cost of the trip is £11.50 which is payable on ParentPay and includes the tickets for the show as well as coach travel to and from the theatre.
The deadline for this payment is Tueaday 4th November.
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Year 11 - Leavers Hoodies
Year 11 Parents/carers, this is a reminder for payment to be made by Monday 3rd November for your childs leavers hoody. After this date you will no longer be able to purchase a hoody, so please do not miss out.
The cost of the hoodie has been held at £20 and this will need to be paid through ParentPay Once payments have been made, we will look to collect sizes, colours and names.
It is expected that the hoodies will be delivered to the academy after Easter.
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Co-op Local Causes Fund
Walkden has been chosen as 1 of 3 local causes for Co-op Members to support.
We would like your support to build sustainable futures for our pupils and future pupils. Co-op members can vote on their membership app.
The funding will help us to purchase inclusive, modern sports equipment, which will open up opportunities for all young people – especially those who are disadvantaged or have physical disabilities – to participate fully in physical activity.
Every time Co-op Members buy selected Co-op products and services, 1% of what they spend goes towards local community causes, and your votes can help our school receive a larger share!
How to help:
Become a Co-op Member at coop.co.uk/membership
Choose Co-op Academy Walkden - Building Sustainable Futures as your cause in the App
Shop and scan your card!
Thank you for helping us make a difference in our school community.
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Young Musician of the Year
Co-op Academies Trust are hosting another Young Musician of the Year competition which is open to pupils from all Co-op Academies including Walkden.
Stage 1 is for pupils to upload their performance digitally. Further details have been shared with students in their music lessons and around school, as well as details shared on our social media pages.
For more info, pupils can speak to their Music Teachers
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Free hygiene products donated by Co-op
We are fortunate to have had a small delivery of hygiene products courtesy of the Co-op.
Products include:
- Toilet rolls
- Shower gel
- Shampoo
- Sanitary Products
These will be available, free of charge from the main reception between 10-11am on Monday 27th October. (during half term) If they would be of benefit to you and your family please come along to take a box.
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Pupils livestreaming Darts for Charity.
Two of our Year 11 pupils, Kaden and Harrison are hosting a darts livestream event to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support - an amazing cause that deserves our support.
With the permission of the boys and Kaden's family we are sharing this with our wider community in the hope we can help the boys smash their target.
Please use the link below to get behind this wonderful cause.
Donation Link: https://dartsmarathon.macmillan.org.uk/users/kaden-devine
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Class of 2026 Prom
Last week we launched Prom 2026, pupils received an assembly and a letter was also sent home with the criteria for prom invitations.
This is one of the most important years for our Class of 2026 and whilst pupils are currently focused on their mock exams in preparation for GCSE's, we are aware that Prom is also a very important part of this year.
Last year we worked closely with Becky at Body, Mind, Educate based at Salford Step Into Action Becky runs a wonderful initiative which is available to all pupils attending prom, with absolutely no criteria to meet. Becky has a huge selection of dresses, suits, accessories and more. They offer a bespoke prom service where pupils can book a private appointment and try on outfits with a glass of bubbles. All items are completely free of charge.
We have also been kindly gifted some vouchers for The Dress Studio in Culcheth, the Year 11 team will be giving these out as a part of our ongoing rewards scheme throughout the year. The lovely team at The Dress Studio are looking forward to welcoming our pupils into their store.
Prom Date - Friday 19th June
Location - CorpAcq Stadium (formally known as Salford Community/AJ Bell Stadium)
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College Open Days
It's an exciting time for our Year 11 cohort, as they are starting to think about their post-16 plans. Have a look at the image opposite to see when the open day is for your preferred college.
All colleges require you to book in advance.
Please type the name of the college you are interested in and ‘open day 2025’ into Google and you will be directed to a booking page.
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October Half Term and community activities
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Latest stories |  | 21 Aug 2025 So, the day has finally arrived for our 2025, Year 11 students to collect their GCSE results. Whatever the results inside the envelope, we hope our students are incredibly proud of themselves for the hard work and determination they have shown during their GCSE Exams.We wish each and ev... | |
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Check out our social media pages for daily updates. |  | Today on our wellbeing trip to the @rhsbridgewater we took a very muddy walk and collected leaves.Scroll to the last photo to see our spooky mascot pumpkin riding shotgun on the journey home 20 hours ago Follow | |
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