{item_alt_tag}
{item_alt_tag}

Welcome from our Principal, Mr Hacker

image of Principal

Dear Parents and Carers

In this latest newsletter you will find lots of useful updates about what's been happening in and out of the academy over the past couple of weeks, with links to our social media where appropriate. We hope you enjoy reading all about it.

The last couple of weeks have certainly been intense for our Year 11's as they rounded off their GCSE examinations, the last of which was last Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, we held leavers' celebrations for our 'Class of 2025', which was brilliant. It was so good to be able to reflect and reminisce on the last 5 years and to wish them well for the future. They were a special year group and we will miss them all.

 

Last Thursday, the Leavers' celebrations continued when we held the Prom down at Salford Community Stadium. It was a very special night and everyone really enjoyed themselves. I'm sure there were a lot of very tired 15/16 year olds the next day! It's now time for them all to take a break and wait for the results to come in, later in August! But we wish them all well and I have to say that they have been an absolute credit during the whole exam season!

 

A final note about warm weather. Last week was particularly warm and it felt like the right thing to do to relax the normal uniform down to PE kits for those 2 days of particularly warm weather. We will always take a fair and balanced approach to this and we want all of our pupils to be comfortable when they're trying to learn. It is important, however, that when we do relax the uniform, there is always a choice to continue wearing their uniform (no blazer required on hot days) or to wear the PE kit. It's really important that if choosing to wear PE kit, that the correct top is worn so that it is still 'uniform'. If your child ever claims that it's 'fine' to wear other sportswear, please know that this is not true and they will be asked to change. It is really important to uphold both standards and fairness for all. Your support with this is greatly appreciated.

 

With best wishes to you all

 

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

Rewards Trip

Reminder for all remaining Blackpool payments to be made by Monday 2nd June at the latest. If students have not paid by this date, we will add them to the list of students who will be staying in the academy on this day.

Carpark barrier

The barrier is operated from reception and any visitors will need to use the intercom to speak with reception to enter the car park. Regular drivers who need to pick children up with additional needs or disabilities, closer to the entrance, will be allowed access, but it is important that all other vehicles are parked in the surrounding streets if you need to wait for children. Please do not attempt to enter the drive from Old Clough Lane.

Attendance information

This month we sent an email regarding attendance and fixed penalty notices. This email was sent to all students in the academy. This is something that we share with parents to ensure you are aware of the rules and consequences involved regarding absence. This is not a direct reflection of your child's current attendance. We are sorry if this email caused any undue concern.

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.

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 possiblewalk-attendance@coopacademies.co.uk

Thank you as always for your support.

Parent Pay guidance - Lunch payments

Read more

 

An email was sent last week with the below information.

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. 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. 

 

What's on at Walkden

Club/activity Where and when
Grow and Taste Club Tuesday's 3.05pm-3.30pm D6 with Ms Lee, Dr Kaloo and Mrs Davis
KS3 STEM Club Monday's 3.10pm-4.10pm D2 with Miss Glennie
KS3 Drama Club Monday's 3.05pm-3.45pm Performance Hall with Mrs Bentley
Pride Club KS3 lunchtime - D6

See below for all of our extra-curricular clubs

Extra-curricular Timetable 

{item_alt_tag}

Mr Evans is running 100km in June.

Our very own Mr Evans is raising money for Motor Neurone Disease, which is a charity very close to his family's heart. Mr Evans has been running to cover 100km throughout the month of June. If you would like to get behind Mr Evans and help him to complete his challenge by this time next week, please head to the link below to donate.

Mr Evans MND Fundraiser Link

 

{item_alt_tag}

Class of 2025

After weeks of hard work, dedication and commitment from our Year 11's we were able to celebrate the end of their GCSE exams and send them on their way with a special Leavers assembly and end of high school Prom. We hope everyone was able to grab a Yearbook and if not, please email us and we can leave one at Reception for you. We hope all of our Class of 2025 students have a lovely summer and we look forward to seeing everyone on Results Day 21 Aug.

Parents have been sent the album of photos from prom, please take a look at our socials for a snapshot of photos.

{item_alt_tag}

Sponsored walk/run for Milly's Smiles

Next week our students will be walking or running 3-5k during their PE lessons to raise money for Milly's Smiles. This is our last main charity event of the year. Next month at our Celebration Evening we will present the founder of Milly's Smiles with a cheque for the amount raised. If you are able to donate a small amount for your child and their classmates, you can do this via ParentPay. 

{item_alt_tag}

Jamie's Farm

This month we have had the opportunity to take a small group of students to the wonderful Jamie's Farm in Rippon. We will be sharing these visits as we go, so please keep an eye on our socials for this coming very soon.

 

{item_alt_tag}

Boxing superstar Maisie, Year 9

Maisie has just had her first boxing fight, along with Maisie and her parents we are incredibly proud of her resilience and confidence in her sport. Mrs Hughes asked Maisie to write about her journey into boxing to inspire other young people to take up the sport. Read below for Maisie's story.

Maisie's Boxing  Journey

 

So at the end  of year 5 I was being picked on/ bullied and it went on for a bit then in yr 6 my mum and dad decided to put me in boxing so that I would stand up for myself and become more confident and then that took my to where I am now  I have been boxing for 3 and half years and last week I had my first fight and now I want to take it further and when I get there I can share my stories so that girls who are in the same predicament as me then they can do the same and get the help as I got and help them through the rough times .My fight had finally come after waiting for ages and when the day had finally come and it was like my adrenaline was pumping through me and my knees went weak but all my fears seem to fade and I forgot about everyone that was there and at the end it felt amazing after that I knew that i wanted to become a pro and that is what I'm working towards now u meet so many new people and it is nice to see but u are walking into a boys environment the girls are always scared to start but I realised that they are so welcoming and u will get some much help and resilience it takes a lot of hard work to progress but u will eventually get there it’s not like a sport that a lot of girls will take to bc It does mean that sometimes u will get hurt it’s scary but u get use to it. 

{item_alt_tag}

Brass Bands England Award winner - Harrison, Year 8

Year 8 student Harrison has been shortlisted for the Brass Band England Rising Star award. These awards are proud to recognise individuals in the banding world who have made an exceptional contribution to brass banding. 

 

Harrison is an EB tuba player with many bands. Since gaining his Music Theory Grade 5 Distinction, Harrison has started attending the new Cadishead Training Band where he mentors the newer and younger players by helping with rhythm and note lengths. He is aspiring to become a professional tuba player as well as a music teacher. Keep doing yourself, your family and us at Co-op Academy Walkden proud Harrison. 

{item_alt_tag}

Sweeney Todd, a Co-op Academies Trust Production

Rehearsals are well underway for our Trust production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Read more

 

Students from 10  Co-op Academies - including  Walkden - have joined forces to put on a spectacular show - this deliciously thrilling story of revenge and retribution.

??? Tickets are now available for the performances in July, taking place in Manchester.

Buy tickets here

Latest stories

01 Apr 2025
Brothers dominating the racing and film-making world!
The sky is the limit for Zaman and Zain who have both carved themselves a path to success.
Read more
09 Jan 2025
Powerlifting to success
Here at Co-op Academy Walkden it is not just the success of our students that we like to celebrate, but also that of our staff.Last year, our very own PE Teacher, Mrs Bawden flew over to Belfast, Ireland to compete in the British Open Masters Powerlifting Competition.Although Mrs Bawden...
Read more

Check out our social media pages for daily updates.

Thumbnail for Instagram post created 19 hours ago
walkdencoop
We are looking forward to welcoming our new parents/carers into the academy tomorrow afternoon between 5.15-6.30pm for the Year 6 parents Transitions Evening. This event is for the parents/carers only, you will be provided with all the information you need about the upcoming student Transition Days taking place later this week and will be given a full overview of what to expect and tips on how to help your child prepare for high school in September.
19 hours ago
Follow
{item_alt_tag}