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The summer half term might mean the end of a chapter for some – but for others it creates opportunities, deepens our thinking, and means new beginnings.

This week, our Year 10s start their work experience, being thrown into a new world for the first time.

For some, this will be daunting – but that is life. We all have to adapt to new environments at different times in our lives. These experiences are invaluable for their development.

While some have been experiencing work, others in Year 10 walked to the Baths Hall to participate in the first Humber Industrial Decarbonisation Conference.

Big industry from both sides of the River Humber promoted projects that will prevent carbon going into the atmosphere and help the nation achieve its net zero target.

I found it fascinating and I know students and staff did too. Too often, they are fed doom and gloom about their prospects. This event highlighted aspirational and credible job opportunities on their doorstep.

New beginnings also run through our third and last RAD (Raising Aspirations Day) of the year today.

Our students will be pursuing a whole host of activities and I’m grateful to the staff team for organising them.

Year 7 will be looking at a careers pilot. They will be researching careers and working on life skills, team work and Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE).

The Hull FC Foundation will be visiting Year 8, along with Humberside Police’s dog team and the Planetarium. They will look at topics around money sense, general finances and first aid.

Humberside Police, the Army, RAF, and Royal Navy will be guests of Year 9, which will also look at the impact of social media.

For those in Year 10 not on work experience, they will learn about opportunities in the Royal Navy and undertake tasks around teamwork, leadership, and problem solving.

The three strands running across the three RADs are careers and aspirations, life skills and PSHCE.

This one should be particularly memorable, insightful, and inspiring.

Talking of inspiring, Student Progress Leader Cathie Bremner visited Nepal over half term with Classrooms In The Clouds to help build good quality, new classrooms, support teacher training and work in partnership with local communities.

Cathie took many school items and other donations. Scunthorpe United kits were shared (see picture) and such generosity makes a huge amount of difference.

Cathie goes above and beyond to help others and her work helps promote the Academy far and wide. Well done to her.

For more information, or to support her, please visit her Just Giving page.

Finally, a large number of extra-curricular activities has been launched for this term and can be viewed here.

Please take advantage, for it’s the term to be getting outside, enjoying the fresh air – and thinking about those new beginnings.

May 2022

Dear Parent/Carer.

Year 10 students will be visiting North Lindsey College on Wednesday 29th June and John Leggott College on Thursday 14th July to experience a variety of subjects, which they have already individually selected.

Students need to be in the academy promptly at 8.30am to be registered. They are to meet in tutor groups in the Central Atrium. Transport to the colleges will be provided for both days.

Taster Days will finish at approximately 2.30pm upon which students will be dismissed directly from the Colleges to make their own way home.

Students are to be dressed in appropriate casual clothing and do not need to wear the academy uniform unless their chosen subject demands it. All students are to remain on campus throughout the day and must bring their subject allocation letter with them. Students need to bring equipment to certain sessions and should they not bring the correct equipment they may have to be reallocated to another subject when they arrive at the College.

North Lindsey College Day students are asked to bring their own packed lunch or they can bring some money to purchase from the canteen, the lunch period is 45 minutes and this will help to eliminate queues in the College diner. Students who are eligible for a Free School Meal will be provided with a packed lunch from the academy diner to take with them if requested. Please complete the form for Free School Meals here.

John Leggott College will provide all students with a complimentary lunch during their visit

If there are any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards,

Mr A Murray & Mr R Oates

Achievement Team Leader for Year 10 & Personal Development Lead

[email protected] & [email protected]

We can all remember our favourite teacher. I can mine.

Not that long ago, I had a call to say somebody was in reception and wanted to speak to me.

The mystery guest turned around and there he was, the person who inspired my love of geography.

He brought the subject to life and made it really interesting. I went on to read the subject at university and taught it, alongside PE. I have a lot to thank him for.

It had been 25 years since he had taught me. He was in the academy representing an exam board and had seen my name and face on the staff noticeboard in reception.

It was terrific to see him and thank him for his positive impact on my life.

I mention it because tomorrow (26^th May) is National Thank a Teacher Day.

The day is not just about teachers, but also recognises the important contributions made by support staff.

I would like to take the opportunity of sending one big thank you to all my staff at the academy. They work incredibly hard, inspire children daily, and don’t always get the praise they deserve.

You can show your appreciation of anybody at the Academy by sending a digital card found here.

It will mean a lot to those who receive one because we all like praise, young and old.

This brings me nicely on to our next rewards trip on Friday during the last afternoon of a busy half term.

We have a great relationship with The Vue and all Years 7, 8, and 9 – who have produced the required work rate and shown the right attitude to learning – will enjoy a free trip to the cinema.

It is our way of saying ‘well done’ and ‘thank you’ to those 450-plus children.

We have a professional photographer in school today who will use a drone and more conventional equipment to capture the Academy and enable us to update promotional materials. I hope all the students look super smart.

Sports day is looming on the horizon. It is due to take place on Monday, 27^th June, at Quibell Park for the first time in three years.

That means it will be a competitive debut for some of our students and our hope is they enjoy it. It is a day of learning, and we expect all our young people to be part of it. More information will be released nearer the day.

It is the time for appeals from Year 6 who would like to come here but have not been offered a place.

It is sad to see so many disappointed faces and we have been working with North Lincolnshire Council to formally increase our intake by 15 to 165 from September.

Building works, that are due to start, will improve facilities and increase capacity.

I am delighted that, for the first time in the Academy’s history, we will have a dedicated library as part of the improvements.

Reading is one of the most important things children can do in their educational journey. It will open all sorts of gateways and opportunities in later life.

The new learning space will be central to what we do and a hub for children to develop their love of reading.

We are grateful to our positive relationship with the local authority which has enabled these massive improvements to the learning environment.

Finally, I wish you all a great break next week. Get outside, enjoy the weather, and have plenty of fresh air. We all deserve it.

It was quite a moment for students and staff on Monday when the first national, formal exams took place in three years.

It fell to Religious Education to kick start the GCSE programme.

Attendance was fantastic with just one student missing, and we knew the reasons beforehand.

It was great to experience the atmosphere in the exam hall at first hand. A cohort that, through the pandemic, has shown great resilience, thoroughly engaged with their heads down, pens scribbling away and working really hard.

Exams can, sometimes, feel like you have not got enough time to fit everything in.

It’s a little bit like this final term. There are only eight weeks of the academic year left, yet we have so much more to do and look forward to.

Much focus is on rewards and celebrations. There are visits, parents’ evenings, events, welcoming of Year 6 and goodbyes to students who have been with us for five years.

Tonight, it is Year 10 parents’ evening. We have had contact with 80% of parents /carers about their attendance but that still leaves another 20% we need to speak to.

These are really important events for your children, particularly when it gets to Key Stage 4, and it is important parents / carers engage.

They represent wonderful opportunities to meet with staff and understand where your child is and what they need to do.

I have always said a child’s education relies on a three-way partnership between the student, school, and home. Engagement is needed from each to ensure success.

Talking of which, we had a brilliant evening last Thursday when the new prefects and senior prefects (above) were formally introduced and the head prefects named.

There have only been 28 head prefects out of 1,960 students who have attended since the positions were created. This is quite an achievement and my congratulations to Emily Browne and Janis Lasmanis who came through a rigorous selection process.

Straight after half term, Year 10 go into their two weeks of work experience, with events thrown into the mix too.

In the second week, it is Year 7 camp. All have been given the opportunity to experience something different with friends and staff at Sunflower Park in Laughton, Gainsborough. It is not too late to sign up.

It is all part of the well-balanced calendar year we strive for, the subject of discussions with staff over the coming days and weeks. We reflect on what has gone well and what we would like to do differently next year.

There are always ways to improve, individually and as a team. But we always do our best.

I know Year 11 will do likewise in their GCSEs.

May 2022

Dear Parent or Carer,

I am delighted to inform you that your child has successfully met the criteria to attend the Vue cinema reward trip on Friday 27th May. There is no cost to you at all, unless you wish to provide your child with some money to spend on refreshments at the cinema.

Students are to make their own way to the Vue cinema on Fenton Street and arrive between 8:30am and 8:45am ready for class registration. Students will be registered by our academy staff and then escorted into the cinema.

After the film showing, students will be dismissed from the cinema to make their own way home. Students will be expected to wear full academy uniform and any student who arrives without it will be refused permission to attend and you will be asked to collect your child. 

Students who are entitled to a free school meal will be provided with a packed lunch if they wish to receive one.This will be provided as they leave the cinema.

If you have any concerns regarding your child being able to make their own way to and from the cinema, then please contact your child’s Achievement Team Leader via email, no later than Wednesday 25th May. These students will be required to attend the academy at 8:30am and can then be transported to the cinema via our academy transport.

Students will be expected to display exemplary behaviour throughout the trip, but also in the academy too. As a result, we do reserve the right to remove this opportunity for any student that demonstrates poor behaviour prior to our trip.

Yours sincerely

ROates

Ryan Oates

Personal Development Lead

Mr M Cretney           Achievement Team Leader Year 7           [email protected]

Mr J Stainton           Achievement Team Leader Year 8            [email protected]

Mrs J Elston            Achievement Team Leader Year 9            [email protected]

Dear Parent/Carer 

Year 10 Consultation Evening – Wednesday 18th May 2022 – 4.00pm-6:30pm

On Wednesday 18th May 2022 at 4pm you and your child are invited to our Year 10 Consultation Evening where all subject teachers will be available to meet with you. You will be able to find out how your child is progressing with regards to their current levels of attainment and what will need to be done in order to maximise their potential for achieving success in the future. We would appreciate your support and attendance for the evening as it will give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have with regards to your child’s progress. Please confirm your attendance using the attached link

As we have had two years apart, it would be lovely for parents, carers and teachers to have face to face conversations, with focus not just on academic progress, but wellbeing also. We all look forward to meeting parents and carers on this really important and meaningful evening as we reach the halfway mark through our GCSEs; and with Year 10 exams looming in 6 weeks time.

On arrival you will need to sign in at reception and you should then proceed directly to the classrooms of the subjects studied to meet with your child’s teachers.  There is no individual subject appointment system and you can arrive at a time to suit you between 4.00 pm to 6.00pm.  Prefects will be outside classrooms to organise a reservation list and help to ensure focussed timings of appointments, so that the evening will finish at approximately 6.30pm.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely 

A Murray

Mr A Murray 

Achievement Team Leader

D Ellerby

Mr D Ellerby 

Deputy Headteacher for Learning and Progress

Everything wrong about the perception of state schools was included in an article in The Times – but my faith was restored by a perfect riposte from a former pupil.

Columnist Emma Duncan, in an article headlined ‘We’re hurting Oxbridge in the name of equality’,  had her argument dismantled by Gordon Dougan in one tweet.

He responded (see below) by saying he was born on a Scunthorpe council estate, went to state school (this one) and became a father at 20.

He is now professor of Medicine at Cambridge University and a Fellow of the Royal Society.

“Nothing was fair about getting there,” he says on Twitter. “If I am damaging Oxbridge, so be it.”

I could stand and applaud.

The article made me feel so angry – and Prof Dougan’s reply, so proud.

The professor, an alumni of this school, is an award-winning expert on infection, vaccines and genomics. Wow.

He did not let what people say is a disadvantaged background get in the way of him becoming a renowned expert in his field across the world.

On the back of this, it is worth reiterating again: Our young people at this Academy can do anything and we will do all in our power to support them achieve it.

We do not want to see them put off by the likes of Emma Duncan, blocking their progress and putting further barriers in their way.

We aspire for all our students to leave here to do great things.

An example is a Year 11 who has been offered a place at one of the UK’s leading independent schools, Gordonstoun in Scotland, on a full scholarship.

That is really important to us. One of the nation’s top education providers is allowing our young people a chance to do what they want.

The messages delivered by former alumni can be powerful. Remember Prof Stephen Westaby, who became one of the world’s pioneering heart surgeons and an award-winning author?

The main hall is now named in his honour following his visit in 2019.

I would like to hear from more alumni. They may be reading this blog, sitting in another part of the world. Or they may be more local and have an equally compelling story to tell our students. Please do get in touch. I would love to hear from you.

I wonder what those Year 11 students who attended Valediction last week will be doing in a few years time?

Thank you to the parents who joined us at a packed event to celebrate academic success.

It was a fantastic occasion and students, at the end, did not want to go home, with lots of selfies with staff, family, and friends.

The night celebrated five years of educational achievements and their potential grades. All we can do is wish them the best of luck in their exams.

The event was another great representation of what we do here.

I was also proud of our latest visit in our efforts to support primary schools. We have been responding positively to requests to share our teaching on collective worship and diversity.

Primaries, some feeder schools and others further afield, have been interested in how it can be taught, delivered and understood in their local communities. It is something on which we have great experience.

We have taken students to six primaries over the last six months and some have visited us. The feedback has been fantastic and our young people have been a credit to this Academy, their families, and themselves.

Another group who excelled were the Year 10 footballers, beaten 5-4 after a late goal, in the final of the Humberside Schools under 15 cup final at Glanford Park in front a big crowd, including parents, friends and staff.

Congratulations to winners Withernsea but our boys were brilliant and came off the pitch with their heads held high.

They were further, fine examples of everything that is right with a state school.

It has been lovely to speak to a lot of students about their Eid celebrations this week after Ramadan ended.

In a world of seemingly never-ending doom and gloom, there is so much positivity around the Muslim culture, with family at its heart.

I spend time at Christmas, as a Christian, reflecting on what is important in life, that is family and friends.

Muslim staff, students and friends have been doing the same over the Eid festival, sharing and celebrating with each other.

I often talk to students about the importance of being positive, thinking positively and looking after people who are most important to you.

Sometimes, we take our eye off the ball and Eid serves as a reminder to keep our focus on what and who matter.

It links to what I learned in the national news this week. Tractors became a hot topic of conversation (for those who don’t know the story, please Google Neil Parish MP).

It is important because it’s another story that promotes dishonesty. There is a lot of it about in the news.

At the Academy, we encourage people to be truthful – it is one of our core values – but it is not just about telling the truth, it is about being respectfully truthful.

If we add that to positivity, it creates a fabulous combination.

The deadline for Year 8s choosing their options to study at GCSE is tomorrow (Thursday).

We had an 85% attendance at last Thursday’s Options Evening, where students and families discussed with staff aligning subjects to their ambitions and aspirations.

It was a really good night and thank you to all who attended.

Another highlight this week has been helping interview seven Year 10 prefects who have put themselves forward to be senior prefect.

They all possessed a confident, enthusiastic, and positive outlook and each spoke about themselves and how the Academy had helped them.

What a wonderful process to put themselves through. They embraced the fact only two Head Prefects will be chosen and the rest will join the greater prefect team.

I am looking at two books on my desk now which could not be more appropriate: Dare To Dream and It’s Not How Good You Are but How Good You Want To be.

The seven young people demonstrated desire to push themselves that extra mile and they should be proud of what they have achieved and will go on to achieve. We have an incredibly difficult decision to make.

The winner will be announced in front of parents at our formal presentation as prefects on Thursday, 12th May, at 5pm.

While mentioning Year 10s, a reminder it is Parents’ Evening on Wednesday,18th May, between 4pm and 7pm.

For Year 11s, their time with us is rapidly drawing to a close, with only three weeks of the half term left after this week.

At 6pm tomorrow, is our traditional Valediction ceremony. Those Year 11s who have achieved the most academically will be recognised and rewarded.

The formal evening, now in its 14th year, gives families and staff the chance to pay homage to those students who have done so well.

It’s another celebration – and positive note to end on.

Our Ref VOY/Year 7 Camping

May 2022

Dear Parent /Carer

As part of the academy vision, it is intended that every child will get a residential experience at The St Lawrence Academy. I am very pleased to announce that we are intending to take the students in year 7 on an educational camping experience to Sunflower Park campsite in Laughton. 

We will be taking the students in two groups.

The first group consisting of students from 7G, 7R and 7A will leave the academy at 9.00 am on Monday 13th June 2022 and return to the academy at approximately 3.00pm on Tuesday 14th June 2022 and be allowed to go home.

The second group consisting of students from 7E and 7T and 7GREAT will leave the academy at 9.00am on Wednesday 15th June 2022 and return to the academy at approximately 3.00 pm on Thursday 16th June 2022 and be allowed to go home.

Students will be taken by coach to the camp and will take part in curricular activities which will include a hike, shelter building, and team games besides other activities. They will have the experience of camping, cooking, singing campfire songs, toasting marshmallows and sleeping in a tent! 

We are asking for a voluntary contribution of £15 per student to be paid via ParentPay and consent is also to be given via ParentPay.  If you need your Parentpay login please contact us.  We will be providing your child with a tent, sleeping bag, if they require one, cooking equipment and food for both days, as well as all the activities. If your child would like to bring their own sleeping bag they are more than welcome to do so. There will be strict limited usage times allowed for mobile devices, therefore we strongly advise that students do not bring them.  Any child with a mobile device will hold all responsibility for it if it is lost or damaged. We also advise that clothing is suitable for the weather conditions, warm and old as it may be muddy. The following items are suggested:

• Old t-shirt – Jumper/hoodies
• Old trousers – not jeans – Walking boots or trainers
• Waterproof coat/jacket – Sleeping attire
• Torch – Woolly hat, gloves
• Small bag/rucksack                                              

Please also complete the data collection form to ensure we have accurate and up to date information for your child.  

We are asking all parents to ensure you have downloaded our Arbour parent portal to give you access to a host of student information. Further information is available on our website. 

Yours sincerely

MCretney

Mr. Cretney
Achievement Team Leader for Year 7