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Welcome from our Principal, Mr Hacker

Dear parents and carers
We've had a brilliant start to the new half-term. Year 11 have now completed their first round of mock exams and are now eagerly awaiting their results, which they will get on a mock results day in December. We've been so impressed with the mature and focussed approach to this intense exam period and to recognise all their efforts, we treated them to an ice cream van on Friday last week.
On the theme of recognition, we're also delighted about pupils attending the 'celebration station' at the end of each week, for us to see and celebrate their on-going efforts in school. Thanks for all your support as parents and carers, please encourage them to keep up the great work!
Well, the weather has definitely turned more wintery this week and we're expecting colder weather from next week. Can I encourage you to send your child to school with an outdoor jacket to make sure they stay warm and dry on the way to and from school. They are all, of course, expected to wear full school uniform in school and the jacket must not be a substitute for the blazer.
In assemblies next week, we're being joined by Kemoy Walker to talk to pupils and raise awareness about the dangers of knives and knife crime. We hope this will be a powerful learning experience as part of our PSHE programme.
Thank you for all your continued support and wishing you all a great weekend.
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 term 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.
Please NO NOT use the in-app message function to report absence, as this will not be recorded.
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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Term Dates: 2026-2027
You will find our new 2026-2027 term dates below. Please note our INSET Days have had a minor change.
Term Dates 2026-2027
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Donated Uniform stock
We have a sizeable stock of donated blazers, these are in great condition and have been outgrown in most cases. If your child has outgrown their blazer or lost it, please email us what size you need and we can pass this to your child's PD tutor for them to take home.
You can email your PD tutor directly or email us at walkden.info@coopacademies.co.uk
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Holiday Hamper Appeal
Earlier this week we sent an email asking for donations for our holiday hampers, last year we created 103 hampers which were delivered to 58 extremely appreciative families. This year we would love to make even more.
Find out how you can help...
As a school, we would like to help as many families in our local community as possible. Last year we were blown away by the generosity and kindness from you as parents/carers and we are reaching out to you again this year for anybody who is in a position to help.
Each PD group will make a hamper filled with essential food items and treats which will be delivered to a family in need.
If you feel that you can help, please send any non-perishable items or treats into school over the next 2 weeks. This can be given to your child's PD tutor.
Please do not include any alcohol or nut produce as we will be unable to put this in our hampers.
We would also love to include some small gifts within the hampers, we will let pupils know as soon as possible what family dynamic and children's age ranges their PD group are creating a hamper for, if you would like to send in an age appropriate toy/game/book etc (all items must be new and in original packaging please)
If you follow our social media pages we will keep you updated with photos of the hampers we are creating. The photo attached shows just a few of last years 103 hampers we created, which were delivered to 58 families in our local community. This year we would love to help even more families.
Thank you as always for your support
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The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to the academy.
Books will be available to browse between 25th Nov - 4th Dec.
Pupils will be able to buy books and stationery on site during library opening hours, and, in the majority of cases, take them home right there and then. Payment can be made either with :
ParentPay - parents can pre-pay for books to the school account;
Card payments - the academy will have a card reader on site.
Cash payments are not accepted.
For more info about what books are available and books that require pre-order, please refer to the email sent by Ms Shannon earlier this week.
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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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Community update
We were informed recently of the sad passing of a previous long-standing member of staff who worked at Walkden High. We believe that Mr Alan Chapman worked at Walkden High for the majority of his teaching career as a Maths Teacher from the 1960's before then moving into a Deputy Head role in the 1990's which is when he left us. As a school, we want to send our condolences to Mr Chapman's family and to express our gratitude to Mr Chapman for the many years he served our school community.
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Class of 2026 Prom
Tis term we have 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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Latest stories |
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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. |
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Last month our amazing KS3 Art Club entered the trusts mixed media competition.
Pupils were asked to produce a piece of mixed media art work celebrating Black History Month, representing the theme of 'Standing firm in power and pride.'
Although our club members didn't win they were runners up and have been shown recognition of the fabulous talent and time taken to participate.
Pupils have received a Co-op Rise tote bag, pen and a £5 Co-op Gift Card.
Well done Annabelle, Florence, Abigail and Theo
At Walkden we have a huge range of extra curricular clubs, please take a look at the clubs available on our website or in our newsletter, there is quite literally something for everyone!
2 hours ago
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