Dear Families,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your
support over this incredibly busy first term. We all know how hard
our students have been working and we are all looking forward to
the Christmas break.
The work supporting our local community has been really
important this last half term. This has included: inviting members
of the Staffordshire Regiment in to speak to students; being
present at both local war memorials as part of Remembrance
Day; our students singing at the Hednesford Christmas lights
switch on and at Hednesford Town Football Club Christmas
Carol concert; having over 40 local OAPs along this week for our
annual Senior Citizens’ Christmas party — just some highlights.
We have also been incredibly successful collectively with our
fundraising initiatives this term and I wanted to offer our thanks
for your help and support with these events. To date we have
raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support £126; Birmingham
Children’s Hospital £496; Children in Need £929. A grand total of
£1,551. I am looking forward to seeing lots of Christmas jumpers
in aid of Save the Children this Friday for our final fund raiser of
2017.
Last week we were able to celebrate the successes of our Year
11 and 13 students in our annual award evening. It was truly
wonderful seeing students leavers as well as our current Year 12
students accepting their awards and collecting their GCSE and A
Level certificates and the various other awards. Well done to you
all!
Wishing you all a peaceful Christmas break and very Happy New
Year.
Best wishes
Mrs Hillier
Year 11 visit to Carding Mill Valley
Year 11 visited Carding Mill Valley on 2nd November to
collect data for their geography controlled assessment. The
heather that covered the hills and valley gave stunning views
of the Shropshire countryside. Carding Mill Valley is an Area
of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is an important place for
wildlife, geology and archaeology. The visit went extremely
well and everyone had an enjoyable time.
Mrs S Randle
Student Takeover Day
On Thursday 24th November we took part in the national
"Children's Takeover Day". This is a day when our
students takeover the roles of staff within the academy.
Students are invited to apply for their roles and these are then
selected via our senior prefects. The following is a report from
the student Senior Leadership Team written on Takeover
Day.
Mr S Andrews
Takeover Day is a brilliant opportunity to spend time learning
about the school and it’s beneficial to be able to see the
school through the eyes of a teacher.
It’s slightly intimidating to go into classrooms to talk to older
students but it’s nice to build confidence and have the chance
to interact with the students you wouldn’t normally associate
with. It also gives an insight into how other students work and
what happens inside lessons outside of your classes and year
groups.
It’s funny to go into lessons that your friends are in to see how
they react differently to when you’re a member of staff as
opposed to being a student. We discovered that it’s quite hard
to fit in all of the jobs of being a teacher that go alongside the
teaching and marking (which was another interesting look at
teaching as you can see the different approaches to work).
Briefing at the start of the day was quite intimidating and
scary because all of the teachers are looking at you and
you’re under pressure to confidently deliver a notice, although
we did a really good job. As well as this, doing jobs including
taking or receiving messages from/to members of staff gave
us a huge level of responsibility because we had to have
good memory as well as understanding confidentiality which
is important for a teacher.
The SLT meeting was interesting because we had a chance
to discuss what goes on within the school. Furthermore, we
had a chance to discuss how we could support the school to
further develop and improve it from the view of a student but
in the style of a staff member. This gave us a flavour of what
it’s like to have more responsibility.
Overall, Takeover Day has been an interesting, fun and
insightful day and has inspired some of our students to
potentially become teachers in the future – although obviously
the drinks, food and biscuits that staff gave us were the
highlight!
Ali Baker, Keely Walker, Ellie Osoba, Ellie Watkins,
Maddi Wilcox, Student Senior Leadership Team
Global Values
The last term has seen five (yes five) external organisations
deliver diverse lessons to the Sixth Form cohort as part of
the Global Values programme of study. In October, Jonathan
Mclean from One Recovery, Staffordshire Drugs and Alcohol
Rehabilitation Service, provided a workshop on illegal
substances and Ash Williams from the National Citizenship
Service delivered a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style task that focussed
on independent thought, team-work and business.
In November John Berrisford and Paul Crutchley from
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue did an-interactive presentation
on fire safety. The Staffordshire Regiment Association joined
us to talk about Remembrance and in particular the work of
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Then in
December we were honoured to welcome Squadron Leader
Gaz Evans from RAF Cosford who spoke about his
engineering career in the military as part of the Jon Egging
Trust outreach programme. All of the sessions were
fascinating; fulfilling the criteria of Global Values by widening
the students’ experience of a range of topics.
The photograph is of Year 12 and Year 13 students with
Squadron Leader Evans who said, “It was a pleasure to talk
to such an amazing, diverse, patient and keen audience
from Staffordshire University Academy. All the students were
polite, welcoming … and clearly proud of the recent
modernisation and the results being delivered by students
and staff. For my first talk of this kind they certainly made me
feel at ease and hope that even if I can motivate one person
to push that little bit harder, or be more positive about their
experiences then I will be more than grateful for the
opportunity.”
I am sure that all of the Sixth Form cohort would like to thank
all of the contributors over the last term for sharing their
passion and knowledge and delivering the sessions using a
range of pre-prepared material and humorous anecdotes
that were informative and entertaining. Mr S Williams
Y7 Kenilworth Castle/Y8 Quarry Bank Mill
In October, Year 7 got to go on their very first school trip as
the Humanities department took them to Kenilworth Castle.
Whilst there, the students got to explore all of the different
parts of a well preserved medieval ruin, including being able
to climb to the top of a very tall tower, where they could
observe the surroundings for miles. The students were able
to learn much about what castles were and why they were
built, and a wonderful time was had by all.
Last month saw the Year 8s enjoy a trip to the industrial
north, Quarry Bank Mill in Manchester. The students had the
opportunity to explore the vivid sights and ample sounds of a
Victorian mill; the change from the domestic system to the
mill; be told about the treatment of apprentices and tour
where they lived. All the students had a really informative
and stimulating experience that will help with their
Industrialisation topic and Home Learning Projects about the
children in the mills. Accompanying governor and former
humanities teacher Miss Lester-Holman commented on the
enthusiasm and interaction of the groups throughout the day.
Mr J Andrews
Year 11 Spanish
Fuimos al restaurante Ego para cenar
Our Year 11 Spanish class went out for Tapas – we tried lots
of different Spanish foods, such as patatas bravas, chorizo,
mussels, gambas, calamari, lamb and chicken.
Some of us were more adventurous than others!
We all had a really good time and it was a nice reward for
completing coursework.
Mrs S Mays
Christmas Shoe Box Appeal
In December Year 7 and 8 helped over 30 children who
are less fortunate than us. Both year groups were
extremely generous; we were overwhelmed with the gifts
and donations that were provided. Boxes were filled with
lots of lovely gifts that these children will appreciate and
treasure forever. A massive well done to you all and thank
you!
Miss L Fletcher and Mrs S Sheppard
Kirkland Rowell
Thank you to parents and students for their support with the
recent academy survey that we conducted. There was an
excellent response from all who completed a survey. We will
be sharing the findings of this in the near future. A prize
draw took place for all parent returns and the winner of an
Amazon £25 gift voucher goes to the family of Emma
Rushton.
Mr S Andrews
Young Enterprise Success
Hednesford Art Project
Above: Project Consultant Steve Cooling and Jo Palmer
from SUA (front) with students and representatives from
Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles.
Organisers of an ambitious arts scheme in Hednesford are
asking for input to help decide what form it should take –
based on a love for the town, past, present and future.
Academy students have started work on the Bridging
Communities
project, managed by Hednesford in
Partnership (HiP), which was awarded £10,000 by the
Staffordshire Community Arts Fund in April this year. The
aim of the
finished artwork is to help shape the town’s
identity and it’s a chance for everyone from the local
community to have their say about how the town
develops.
Representatives from various groups in
Hednesford also attended The Aquarius Ballroom
afterwards, to answer questions from students from SUA
about Hednesford past, present and future.
The art project aims to reduce anti-social behaviour in the
community, bring different age groups together and attract
more visitors, bringing new colour to the railway bridge in
Market Street. Local businesses and artists are also invited
to join in over the next two years. Hednesford in Partnership
Chairwoman Carol Fittes added, “I’m really proud of the fact
HiP has been awarded this money and that the project is
already getting different age groups working together. It’s a
great way to create community engagement.”
Hednesford in Partnership was launched in November 2015
and includes a diverse range of members from local schools,
businesses, fire service, police, churches and community
groups.
Staffordshire County Council’s Community Arts Fund helps
to support Staffordshire communities in their access to a
wide range of cultural activities.
For more information about Hednesford in Partnership, or
the Bridging Communities art project contact Carol Fittes on
01543 468621 or email [email protected]
Mrs J Palmer
Senior Citizens’ Christmas Party
On the 13th December we welcomed Senior Citizens from
the local community to our annual Christmas party. The
event was organised and hosted by all of our Sixth Form
students, they prepared food, refreshments, entertainment
and set up the hall for the event. It was a very successful
event and full credit to our Sixth Form students for making it
happen. Mr S Andrews
The Year 12 Business Studies class are currently taking part
in the Young Enterprise Company Programme. They have to
set up and run a business for the academic year.
The group have been featured on the Young Enterprise
Twitter page after doing particularly well in their recent
Dragons’ Den task, where they pitched their idea to business
professionals. They received excellent feedback. We are the
only school who attended the event to have made it onto the
Twitter page.
Their company is called ‘Forest Furnishings Cannock’, and
following advice from the business professionals, they now
have their own Facebook and Twitter pages. The business
needs to be run outside of lesson time and I have been really
impressed with their commitment to this, the orders they
have received and the fact that they have already secured
places at 3 events to sell their wares. They have made links
with 3 local businesses to sell their products on a sale or
return basis and B&Q have agreed to donate their waste
timber to the group. This has all been achieved in 48 hours!
Should you see, Gurvinder Dhami, Amy Bird, Tyler
Crighton-Homer, Becca Manderson, Nat Wilkes or Chelsea
Martin, congratulate them on their efforts.
Miss S Larkham, Head of Business Studies
On Wednesday 9th November I and my Business Studies
group went to Burton on Trent to compete in our Young
Enterprise Challenge. We went to pitch our business idea
and show the products we have created, in the hope for
positive feedback and advice. The “dragons” gave us
amazing feedback and loved the idea we have created, they
provided us with great, positive feedback which we all took
on board. We were then selected as the only school in the
UK to be shared on the Young Enterprise Twitter page for
our Dragons Den event, this was amazing news for us all.
The day was a great learning opportunity for us and we are
grateful for the experience we have shared. We are excited
to continue to manufacture our products and develop our
business in the future!
Gurvinder Dhami, Sixth Form
Children in Need
On Friday 18th November, students and staff took part in a range of activities to raise money for Children in Need. All students
were challenged by the Academy Student Council to raise at least £35 in their tutor groups. Money was raised by holding a
non-uniform day and a range of activities organised and delivered by our students. A special thank you goes out to our brave
teachers who volunteered, or perhaps should I say were encouraged by students, to take part in a, ‘Sponge the Teacher’ event
after the academy day. A massive £929 was raised for a very worthwhile cause. Well done to all involved.
Mr S Andrews
Brilliant Book Fair
Celebration of Achievement Evening
The academy library held its very first Book Fair from
‘Scholastic’ recently. A great range of fiction and non-fiction
books were available for students from all year groups to
purchase. The students were fantastic as always and
supported this event spending a whopping £550.25! As a
result of this, Scholastic have given us £275.13 to spend
with them. Students from our Book Club have chosen the
books and they will be available to loan from the library very
soon!
Thank you to all students and staff for supporting this event.
Mrs L Brown, Academy Librarian
“I am writing to tell you about the recent Celebration of
Achievement Evening at Staffordshire University Academy.
The event gave the academy an opportunity to celebrate the
achievements of Year 11 and Year 13 students from last year
and these students were invited to collect their GCSE and
A-Level certificates.
The event was a really positive event and allowed us to come
together as learners once again to receive awards for making
significant progress within a certain subject and also for
achieving the high grades in their exams.
We were fortunate enough to have a guest speaker in to
present the awards to each student, Mr John McGallan, as
well as parents and family members having the opportunity to
attend the achievement event. The evening was a huge
success, with the vocal talents of current Year 11 students
Elle-Rose Filmer and Missy Gallagher as well as Sixth Form
student Bethany Westwood.
It was clear that the evening was enjoyed by all and was a
lovely opportunity to meet up with previous students and
friends who had gone their separate ways. A big thank you to
all of those members of staff who were involved in organising
this event and for the positive impact it had on the
community.” Tia Russell – Year 12 Head Girl
Maths Inspiration
On Friday 18th November, the AS level mathematicians, Mr
Thomas and I attended a Maths Inspiration lecture at
Birmingham University. We all very much enjoyed the talks
from Jennifer Rogers, Chris Budd and the juggling
mathematician Colin Wright, using statistics in real life
situations. After the lectures a student ambassador gave us a
tour of the campus and insights into university life in
Birmingham; some of our students are now considering this.
Miss S Browning
English Theatre Visits
On Wednesday, 19th October, the English department
braved the crowds in Birmingham to take a group of 50 Year
10 and 11 students to watch a performance of the West End
production Blood Brothers- a story of love, family and
friendship. The play is a set text on the GCSE Literature
course and seeing it live at Birmingham Hippodrome was an
unforgettable experience. The students were as always,
impeccably behaved and represented our academy with
dignity and politeness given the fact that the theatre was full
of the general public and 30 other schools in attendance.
After the show, some students purchased merchandise and
were full of enthusiasm for the production - some of the
songs being sung on the way home!
I am delighted to inform you that we will be running the
Peer Mentoring programme at Staffordshire University
Academy again this year.
The Peer Mentors provide a valuable service to the
younger members of the academy, supporting them both
academically and emotionally.
A variety of sessions will run throughout the week, which
all students are welcome to attend. Please see below for
further information.
Need help/time to do your homework?
Study Club
Monday (Break 1 in the Library)
Wednesday (Break 1 in G10)
th
Another exciting visit was held on Friday 9 December, this
time to watch a performance of the classic Dickens story A
Christmas Carol. This was a fantastic opportunity for
students to see this novel come to life as they have been
studying the text as part of their GCSE Literature course this
half term. The students were brilliant and represented
themselves and our academy well despite the immense
volume of Christmas shoppers and other schools in
attendance at the theatre. Well done Year 10. Thank you to
all students who attended both visits; you are a credit to our
academy. We wish you a very Merry Christmas.
Mrs J Overbury, Second in English
Need someone to talk to?
Speak to one of our lovely
peer mentors on Tuesday or
Thursday (Break 1) in G10,
or email:
[email protected]
Remembrance Day
Every
year
the
academy
contribute to Remembrance Day
tributes through the selling of
poppies and observation of two
minutes silence at 11am. As is
now customary, Mr Williams and
Mrs
Haffie-Hobday
also
accompanied a group of Sixth
Formers
to
pay
respects
alongside local residents and
primary school pupils at the
Hednesford memorial service. In
addition, following the unveiling
of
Chadsmoor's
War
Memorial, Mr Andrews and Miss
Brittle attended the first, of what
will become an annual, memorial
service with Year 11 students.
Mrs A Haffie-Hobday
Netball Research Project
The Sport, Health and Well Being Department has recently
worked in partnership with Staffordshire University to
research the physiological characteristics of female
adolescent players and the impact of fatigue on their
performance. State of the art equipment was used to assess
the power, speed, agility and body composition of each
student. The students performed well throughout all of the
tests and received a detailed report of their own fitness
levels. The data collected will eventually be used to help to
create training programmes which improve the key fitness
characteristic required by female adolescent netball players,
whilst decreasing the risk of injury. Well done to all of the
students who participated!
Miss K Davis
Saturday School
To support Year 11 students additional sessions have been
running every Saturday morning this half term. These
sessions provide students with a valuable opportunity to
prepare for their examinations and have been well attended
with 75% of Year 11 attending. Saturday School will be
running once again during the next half term on the following
dates from 10am to 12 noon:
7th January
Sport , Health and Social Care
Dancing Star!
14th January
English Language
It gives me great pleasure to let you all know that Victoria
Bailey 9 Green has got through an audition to star in a dance
show in London. Only 10 dancers from Dance Fusion made it
through and our very own Victoria Bailey made it! Well done
Victoria!
21st January
Maths
28th January
Art
11th February
English Language, Spanish
18th February
Art
Student Attendance
Student Safety
We consider attendance at the academy very important as
there are evidenced direct links from attendance to
attainment. The long and the short of it is, if you want your
child to do well, then they need to attend school, especially
now for Year 10 and 11 as the hard climb towards their
GCSEs continues. The academy target for attendance is set
at 96%.
Having had a particularly difficult term for
absences due to illness, a massive well done to the following
tutor groups who are holding top position!
7 Yellow
–
97.6%
8 Yellow
–
98.1%
9 Yellow
–
97.3%
10 Red
–
95.9%
11 Yellow –
96.3%
We will continue to reward students who maintain 100%
attendance in the achievement assemblies at the end of
each term with new certificates and star badges: Bronze for
this term. Our congratulations go to those students. This is
in addition to the tutor rewards awarded on a weekly basis
for maintaining good tutor attendance.
If your child’s attendance is considered to be low, a letter will
automatically be sent home at the end of every half term to
highlight this. Whilst you may have some specific reason for
absence, it will not change their attendance figure but please
contact me if you would like any further explanation. I work
directly with families where difficulties are identified in order
to support good attendance, so if you are struggling or would
benefit from some extra help then please contact me. I am
always happy to listen and help with ways in which we can
work together to support and improve a situation.
I hope that you all have a very relaxing Christmas break and
recharge your batteries in readiness for the year ahead.
Mrs K Bridger, Attendance Manager
The academy endeavours to ensure the safety of all
students at all times, including before and after school. Road
safety is particularly important during these busy periods and
due to increased traffic on and around the academy, we
have implemented some additional health and safety
measures to reduce any risks. We have closed the barrier to
the Marston Road car park from Monday 12th December
2016 at the start and end of the academy day. We request
your support for the drop off and collection of students during
the mornings and afternoons from the academy. In order to
support alternative parking for student drop offs and
collections, an agreement has been reached with the Belt
Road Victoria Working Men’s Club (opposite the Marston
Road entrance). Their car park can be used by parents/
carers each day. We hope that you will be able to support us
with this matter to keep our students safe.
The academy would also ask drivers to be mindful of its
neighbours on Marston Road who require ease of access to
their properties and driveways.
Ms H Kirkham, Estates Coordinator
SUA Fundstars’ Table Top Sale
Saturday 28th January 2017 SUA Fundstars are hosting a
table top sale. This will give you the opportunity to sell
unwanted goods or come and have a look for a bargain with
your friends and family. Tables are £5.00 to hire and all
proceeds from hire will go to SUA Fundstars. If you would
like to hire a table then please contact Jackie Thomson on
01543 512415 or email: [email protected]. More
details to follow in the new year!
Key Dates:
Mock Exams
A huge congratulations to Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 for
completing a successful mock examination fortnight.
Results were handed out on the morning of 15th December
from 8.20am in the main hall.
Timetables will be distributed to students taking external
examinations in January 2017 for Health and Social Care and
Sport. Any issues with timetables see:
Mrs J Reynolds, Examinations Manager
Uniform
Recently a number of students have been wearing
inappropriate footwear to the academy. For clarity, we need
to reiterate that footwear is required to be of the following:
Female: Flat shoes or ankle boots: plain black leather,
imitation leather, suede or patent. No strapless or backless
shoes. No sequins, beads, chains, studs or contrasting
stitching.
Male: Shoes or ankle boots: plain black leather, imitation
leather, suede or patent.
No trainers are allowed at all. Shoes that look like
trainers will be challenged and consequences issued.
16th December
Last day of term 12pm close
3rd January 2017
Inset Day: staff only
Year 11 Residential
4th January 2017
Students return to the academy
As part of our Year 11 revision support programme we are
inviting students to attend a forthcoming residential visit prior
to their mock examinations in March 2017. The residential
will take place from Wednesday 1st to Friday 3rd February
2017 at Whitemoor Lakes Action Centre in Lichfield. Please
can all reply slips, consent forms and deposits be returned
as soon as possible to Ms Pearson.
th
10 January 2017
Year 11 Parents’ Evening
13th January 2017
“Bright Sparks” University Assembly
22nd January 2017
Disneyland Paris visit
28th January 2017
SUA Fundstars’ Table Top sale
th
Year 11 catering exams
th
9 February 2017
Year 8 Parents’ Evening
14th February 2017
Careers Fair
6 February 2017
th
20 February 2017
Break up for half term 2:55pm
27th February 2017
Inset Day: staff only
th
28 February 2017
Students return to the academy
New Academy Telephone Number
SUA reception telephone number will
change with effect from 30th December
2016. The new number will be:
01543 224 700