As we reach the halfway point of the first term this academic year, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what has been a busy and exciting first few weeks.
Our new Year 7 students have made an outstanding start, quickly settling in and embracing secondary school life, with many parents sharing just how well they’ve adapted. Meanwhile, Year 11 students are working diligently towards their final GCSEs, with mock exams approaching in December.
A special mention goes to our new Head Students, Finley and Hemani, who have already made a great impact, by delivering their first public speech at the Open Evening. Their leadership reflects the core values we hold dear here at LHA, which continue to guide all that we do. This newsletter is filled with
stories of students embodying these values, showing respect for others, and engaging actively in the community.
We’re especially proud of Mrs. Lomax and her form 11L, who successfully raised over £500 for Cancer Research through cake sales and the much-loved “soak a teacher” event. It was heartening to see the entire school rally behind this cause.
I also had the honour of presenting the first Bronze certificates for the Duke of Edinburgh Award at a celebratory event this week, recognising the hard work, passion, and commitment of our students.
Additionally, our recent trip to the Liverpool art gallery showcased not only our students’ keen interest in the arts, but also their exemplary manners and good
citizenship, drawing positive remarks from members of the public. Well done to everyone for an excellent start to the term.
Keep up the fantastic work, and enjoy a well-deserved half-term break.
Open Event 2024
Our Open Event took place on Thursday, 25th September, welcoming prospective students and their families. This year’s Head Students, Hemani and Finley, along with our Principal, Mrs. Gorman, delivered inspiring welcome speeches, the theme for this year was ‘Cultural Capital’, with each department creatively linking this theme to their subject areas.
The Art and Photography department invited visitors to contribute to a collaborative masterpiece inspired by Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso. The Food Preparation department showcased local traditional recipes, featuring a delicious lamb hotpot prepared by our current students. Geography offered a taste of foods from around the world, including some adventurous ‘bush tucker trail’ style bugs. Meanwhile, Computing highlighted the achievements of famous women in the industry and engaged visitors with a robotic coding challenge.
Our Science, Maths, English & Media, History, PE and modern sports facilities, Music, Personal Development, BPE, and Engineering departments were also popular, each presenting engaging activities and displays. The energy displayed in the Dance and Drama department was also a highlight. The MFL department added to the fun with their engaging challenges and a piñata.
The very popular Duke of Edinburgh and extra-curricular stand drew significant interest, showcasing the diverse opportunities available to our students.
A big thank you to all our wonderful students who supported the event by volunteering in subject areas, giving tours, and sharing their experiences of our school and teachers. Special thanks also go to our past students who took time out of their busy college schedules to come and support us. We are grateful for their continued involvement and always welcome their knowledge and insights.
COMMITMENT
Year 8 Geography Year 11 Speed Networking Event
Year 8 have been studying infiltration as part of the hydrological cycle in geography. We went out with some tubes (infiltration metres) to see how the ground reacted when water was poured upon it. Students collected data and have written up the experiments in class to see which are the most permeable and impermeable surfaces around school based on their results.
TEAMWORK
National Poetry Day
On Monday 7th October, 15 or so employers generously gave up an hour of their time to take part in the Year 11 Speed Networking Event. They shared key information with students regarding their profession giving them a vital insight into potential future jobs. The afternoon was a great success and thank you to all the parents who gave up their valuable time to take part in this successful event.
On National Poetry Day, students participated in an exciting task to write poems related to the current subjects they were in at the time. The results were fantastic, and the students should be incredibly proud of their efforts.
Poetry is an essential part of our cultural capital. It allows us to express complex emotions, share diverse perspectives, and connect with our heritage. By engaging in poetry, students not only enhance their creativity and language skills but also contribute to the rich tapestry of our cultural identity.
We are excited to announce that our Year 7 Readathon (Read for Good) will run over the next half-term, launching in the first week back. This initiative encourages students to read for pleasure, which offers significant personal and academic benefits. At the same time, students will raise money to help seriously ill children by collecting sponsorship for their reading efforts. They can also earn free book vouchers for our school library.
Read for Good supports children at Alder Hey and Manchester Children’s Hospital by providing books and professional storyteller sessions for inpatients.
Our school has proudly raised over £20,000 for this charity and looks forward to contributing further with this year’s sponsored read. We hope your child will get involved, and we thank everyone for supporting our students in this fantastic challenge! Readathon
Peter Pan the Musical: A Soaring Success!
This month, all the hard work and commitment paid off as we opened the doors to our production of Peter Pan the Musical. Over the past months, staff and students have been tirelessly working week after week, learning lines, creating costumes, and perfecting makeup. Special thanks to the art department and their students for their incredible set design. Kudos to all the backstage students who busily supported our talented cast, and to our dedicated technical team for their expertise with the light and sound desk.
The excitement was electric as we welcomed 160
local primary school children to our first showing at 9:30 AM on October 8th. They thoroughly enjoyed the performance, especially the ice cream during the interval! The show continued with three evening performances, all of which were very well attended.
Thank you to everyone who came, bought tickets, and supported the raffle. Most of all, congratulations to our amazing students, Mrs. Hardacre and Mrs Wexler for producing yet another successful show.
TEAMWORK
TEAMWORK
COMMITMENT
Lancaster University Visit
On Tuesday 17th September, Mrs Williams and Mr Sloan took Y9 students to Lancaster University to participate in an Environmental Sciences day.
Students Played a Decision Making Game about how Countries might spend their carbon budget. If students made poor choices, they might increase the world temperature to critical levels!!
They then had a tour of the campus before entering the labs and deciding what coastal defences would be the most effective to protect our country from sea level rise. The final task was using fluid dynamics of lava (hot wax). Students had time to discover how lava might behave and how countries such as Iceland can use defences to divert the flow of lava for places such as the Raykjanes Peninsula eruption.
TEAMWORK
Streetwise Safety Roadshow
On Friday afternoon, Year 7 students were entertained by the Streetwise programme, designed to alert them to the risks on the roads and teach them how to stay safe. This is especially important at this time of year when the days are shorter and darker. Lancashire County Council uses the power of theatre to help Year 7 students stay safe as they start secondary school and begin travelling independently for the first time.
Careers Fair 2024
nMany &ational local employers
14th November from 11am for students
Year 7 Outdoor Adventure Day at the Anderton Centre
At the beginning of the term, our Year 7 students had the exciting opportunity to participate in an outdoor adventure day at the Anderton Centre. This event was a fantastic chance for them to engage in team-building exercises and fun activities, trying out new experiences both on land and water.
The students displayed a wonderful attitude, worked well in teams, and had a lot of fun. We hope they made lasting memories and new friends. Well done, Year 7! What a fantastic start to your journey here at Lostock Hall Academy.
TEAMWORK
TEAMWORK
Primary School Year 5 Science Lessons
Year 5 students from Lostock Hall Community Primary School are currently taking part in practical Science lessons here at the Academy. They are watching and taking part in a range of experiments and getting a taste of ‘Science at Secondary School’. There has been a buzz of excitement from all of the pupils, with lots of discussions about future jobs in the world of Science. We look forward to seeing you again after half term Year 5.
Year 10 Egg Challenge
Year 10 Food Preparation and Nutrition students have been working on their presentation skills this half term. They took part in the ‘Egg Challenge,’ during which they had to produce a dish that met restaurant standards for presentation, using an egg and a slice of bread. Store cupboard ingredients were also available and the students could produce any dish of their choice. All entries were amazing and it was nice to see such variety in the final dishes. Our top three entries came from . Well done Year 10 – you did an eggcellent job!
Duke of Edinburgh Awards Evening
Over the past 12 months 30 current year 10 and 11 students have been working towards their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.
This has involved them committing to developing a skill, developing a physical skill and to them giving up their time volunteering as well as completing a practice and qualifying expedition.
The students have been brilliant and those who have fully completed the award have been rewarded with their badges and certificates this half term.
Well done to those who have been involved and we look forward to giving this opportunity to the current year 9 students over the next academic year.
TEAMWORK COMMITMENT
Year 11 Charity Fundraisers
Miss Lomax and her tutor group decided to raise money for Cancer Research by organizing some fun events at school for their fellow students to enjoy. The first event took place on Wednesday lunchtime in the gym. Students had been busy the evening before, baking a variety of cakes, flapjacks, muffins, cookies, lemon drizzle, and carrot cakes for the cake sale. Along with the cakes, there were also games to participate in, such as guessing the name of the teddy and the number of sweets in the jar.. The event was very well attended, and the cake stall was a sell-out!
On Thursday afternoon, we saw our brave teachers hoping to beat the sponge-throwing event. All the teachers were good sports and enjoyed the spectacle. The students’ excitement was high-energy fun, with some great shots! Both boys and girls gathered to support their friends.
Well done to 11L, and thank you to all parents and carers for sending money with their children to participate. The total of money raised over the both event was just over £500!!
TEAMWORK
COMMITMENT
CITIZENSHIP CITIZENSHIP
Forest School
Well done to our first group of Year 7 students selected for Forest School this school year. They brought a great attitude and energy every week, making the experience memorable. They learned campfire cooking, tool skills, played games, and relaxed in hammocks.
Walker Art Gallery Visit
Art and Design GCSE students enjoyed their cultural capital art gallery experience at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Students were able to study fine artwork first hand. They have been truly inspired by the historical and contemporary works on display gaining a clear understanding of the history and progression of art over time.
This work will be evidenced in their GCSE portfolio’s.
COMMITMENT
Liverpool Albert Dock GCSE Photoshoot
During their trip to The Walker Art Gallery, our GCSE Year 10 photography students made the most of the rainy conditions to capture some truly atmospheric shots. The students responded maturely to the challenge of incorporating the unique visual elements presented by the weather into their photography. Below are some examples of their impressive work.
COMMITMENT
Attention Year 8 and 9 Students!
The Art Department invites you to participate in the Rotary’s Art and Photography Competition starting after half term.
• Art Competition Introduction: Monday, 5th November, during lunch.
Interested students can sign up on the art notice board. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to showcase your creativity!
Year 7 Cross Country
Well done to all Year 7 students who competed in the inter-form cross country event that took place on Monday. The turnout was fantastic and your behaviour and attitude on the day resulted in a very competitive race.
Results are as follows:
Boys competition
1st Place: S (69 points)
2nd Place: H (54 points)
3rd place: T (36 points)
4th place: C (33 points)
5th place: K (29 points)
6th place: L (24 points)
Girls competition
1st Place: T (66 points)
2nd Place: L & S (58 points) -
Joint Second place
3rd place: C (35 points)
4th place: H (12 points)
5th place: K (8 points)
Overall competition (boys and girls combined)
1st Place: S (127 points)
2nd Place: T (102 points)
3rd place: L (82 points)
4th place: C (68 points)
5th place: H (66 points)
6th place: K (37 points)
Top runners: Boys
1st place: Charlie S
2nd place: Harry T
3rd place: Carson K
COMMITMENT
Girls
1st place: Hallie D
2nd place: Amelie B
3rd place: Jessica F
Thank you once again to all students who participated and to form tutors for helping to organise.
COMMITMENT
Do you have a child starting secondary school in September 2025 and living in Lancashire? lancashire.gov.uk
Closing date: 31 October 2024
You must apply even if a brother or sister is already at the school. Please read the admission criteria for your chosen schools on the website, or get a copy from them.
Apply for a school place now by scanning the QR code or visit lancashire.gov.uk/schools
If travel cost is an important factor in your school preference, please check the guidance on our website, or call 01772 532109.
Have your say
Between 1 October and 31 January schools are consulting with you to make sure admission arrangements meet future needs.
To find out more please visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/schoolplaces and click ‘school admission policies’
JINGLE BELL J G
Sunday 1st December 2024
Arrive from 11.30am • Jog starts 12 noon
Where: UCLAN Sports Arena, Preston Why: To have a blast while raising funds for our Children’s Fund! Just £3 per person
Join us for a fun-filled 1-mile festive jog to support our Children’s Fund! Bring the whole family along for a day of excitement, featuring special guests, including the big man himself – SANTA!
Scan to sign up!
£10 for a family of 4
Don’t forget to wear your best costume because we’ll be awarding prizes for the best fancy dress! Book your tickets today at www.lthcharity.org.uk or contact Lucy Clark at 01772 528500. We can’t wait to see you there!
