{item_alt_tag}
{item_alt_tag}

Welcome from our Principal, Mr Hacker

image of Principal

Dear parents and carers

Welcome to the latest newsletter. The last couple of weeks have been exceptional in the academy. One of our main aims is to continually develop the quality of teaching and learning and it is clear to see that as a result of consistently high expectations and structured independent learning tasks, pupils are increasingly engaged with their learning in a way that will ultimately make their future success inevitable. It's been fantastic to see so much recognition for pupils' hard work with more than 15000 merits and 100's of postcards issued so far this half term. A huge well done to our pupils and thank you to all our fabulous families for all your support.

 

Thank you to all the Year 11 parents who attended our preparing for success evening last week. The first round of mock exams start next week and continue after the half term break. Wishing all Year 11 pupils the very best of luck in their exams.

We are looking forward to welcoming Year 7 parents and carers next week for the Year 7 Progress Review Evening. 

Best wishes

Matt Hacker

 

View our website

Noticeboard

Who to contact at Walkden

Please see the linked document for who to contact at Co-op Academy Walkden.

Communications

Attendance information

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.

Read more

 

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.

Parent Pay guidance - Lunch payments

Read more

 

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 free toast 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 toast 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) with no charge to your account. 

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.

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. 

 

{item_alt_tag}

Hades Town

After the huge success of last years Sweeney Todd Production, the Academies Trust are putting together another show stopper with the West End hit, Hadestown.

Pupils from all of the Co-op Academies Trust schools are invited to audition.

Walkden Auditions will be taking place after school on 4th Dec.

Pupils and parents/carers should have received an email in September with all of the information and the sign up form for auditions.

{item_alt_tag}

National Cadets Week

Last week we were thrilled to shine a light on our incredible Walkden's Combined Cadet Force during National Cadet's Week. 

Head to the news story on our website to find out more about what Cadets have to offer and to read the very special letter from HRH King Charles.

 Cadet's Week

{item_alt_tag}

Careers Provision

At Walkden we aim for our careers support to go above and beyond, with 95% of students taking part in hands-on external work experience and less than 1% not entering further education or work place experience. Through practical experiences, skills workshops, and individual guidance, our students build the confidence to explore what is possible after school.

Read more:

 

{item_alt_tag}

Extra Curricular Clubs & Enrichment

At Co-op Academy Walkden, we are proud to offer an extensive extra-curricular programme designed to inspire curiosity, foster new talents, and build confidence outside the classroom. With over 50 lunchtime and after-school clubs running across the week, there is something for every student to enjoy.

We have created this handy booklet which gives a brief overview of each one of our Extra Curricular Clubs. We encourage all pupils to try a join an extra curricular activiity, there really is something for everyone. 

Extra Curricular & Enrichment Booklet
{item_alt_tag}
{item_alt_tag}
{item_alt_tag}

Walkden Social Media

Please follow our socials for notices, reminders and day to day highlights from your children day. 

Thumbnail for Instagram post created 3 hours ago
walkdencoop View Post
On Friday's we celebrate! Pupils can join us for Celebration Station every Friday in the Atrium at 3pm. Pupils can stop by as they are leaving and show us any piece of work that you are proud of, our staff are ready and waiting to celebrate you and your work!
3 hours ago
Follow
Co-op Academy Walkden View Post
On Friday's we celebrate! Pupils can join us for Celebration Station every Friday in the Atrium at 3pm. Pupils can stop by as they are leaving and show us any piece of work that you are proud of, our staff are ready and waiting to celebrate you and your work!
3 hours ago
View Post

Important upcoming dates

  • No events to show

Latest stories

09 Oct 2026
Celebrating Our Combined Cadet Force during National Cadets Week
Building Skills, Confidence, and Community Impact
Read more
{item_alt_tag}