Newsletter December 2023

ALL THE LATEST NEWS FROM KNUTSFORD ACADEMY AND CHESHIRE STUDIO SCHOOL

December 2023 - Issue 7

Knutsford News Welcome to the December edition of Knutsford News 2023.

As it comes to the end of my second term as Headteacher, I continue to be delighted by the outstanding achievements of our students and the ongoing dedication of our staff to deliver the highest quality education. I hope that you enjoy reading about all the exciting trips, visits and opportunities that our students have been involved with this term. May I take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Mrs Karen Key - Headteacher

Performing Arts This year’s winter production, Chicago, took to the stage last week with a cast of 50 students performing across five sell-out nights. It broke new ground for the school by using immersive theatre and seating part of the audience in the performance space! It was a high energy show portraying the glitz, glamour, crime and jazz music of 1920s Chicago.

Everyone involved has worked incredibly hard since September, mastering some iconic songs and challenging choreography.

Chicago

Congratulations to the Performing Arts staff and cast, and thank you to our invaluable volunteers!

Photo credit: Sarah Jane King Photography

Student Leadership Student Council

Congratulations to everyone who was elected by their year group to represent them on the Student Council. As part of this role, they will support fundraising events and meet to discuss topics relevant to their year groups at school:

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Sixth Form

Parliament Elections Elections have been taking place across the school to elect a new School Parliament and all students have the opportunity to vote. The photographs show Sixth Form students casting their ballots in a mock polling station. Thank you to the Sixth Form Student Council for their help in organising this.

The School Parliament includes members from Years 7-13 and meets regularly to ensure that the student voice of all year groups is heard in relation to important school issues such as the system of rewards and the extra-curricular opportunities available. As a member of the School Parliament, elected students take on a position of responsibility, are able to demonstrate leadership qualities and develop their communication skills.

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Enrichment Business Studies trip to Alton Towers In September, 51 of our year 11 GCSE Business Studies students visited Alton Towers to learn more about their marketing strategies. They learned about pricing strategies, advertising and prolonging the Alton Towers product lifecycle.

Despite the rainy weather the students had a great day and enjoyed seeing theory in context and learning beyond the classroom.

A Level Art students in London A group of A-Level Art and Design students enjoyed a fantastic trip to London in September to explore starting points and artist inspiration for their personal projects. They had an amazing time visiting the Design Museum, the V&A and Tate Modern.

Geography students visit Llandudno In September, a group of Year 11 students visited Llandudno in North Wales to collect data as part of their Geography GCSE course. They looked at the impact of Coastal Protection methods with field sketches and interviewed members of the public on the promenade (as well as dodging seagulls!) and studied the local environment and the impact of tourism.

Spanish Guests Students from our new exchange school in Malaga visited us before half term. A huge thank you to all host families (and teachers!) for making it such a great week for our visitors, which included a rounders match, an English cream tea and a tour of historic Knutsford. We look forward to our return visit to Spain in February.

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Liverpool Art trip Year 10 Art groups have visited The World Museum and The Walker Gallery in Liverpool, to source information for their Natural Form and Portrait projects.

Community Sixth Form Community A big ‘well done’ to our incredible Sixth Form team and students for organising ‘Pyjama Day’ last month.

It was all for a great cause Children in Need. Together, they raised an impressive £115.66, and we couldn't be prouder of their generosity and spirit!

Mental Health: Student Ambassadors A large group of our Sixth Form students have taken part in a Mental Health First Aid course.

They were amazing, engaged fully with all aspects of the course and will make fantastic mental health ambassadors.

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Community Town Centre Window Display 60 King Street in Knutsford (formerly Belle Epoque) has a special window display celebrating ‘Child’s play at Christmas’ featuring every school in the town. Matilda Webb and Susie Gratton-King helped to create the display, and it includes a Knutsford Academy blazer and tie!

Remembrance Day Parade

Photo: Knutsfo

Our school proudly took part in Knutsford’s Remembrance Day parade.

This year it was impeccably led by Fiona Armstrong in Year 11. Mr Fung represented the school, as did Sam Ackroyd from the Sixth Form Student Council. Sam had the honour of laying a wreath on behalf of all Knutsford Academy and Cheshire Studio School students.

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Rewards Our Star of the Week rewards initiative has run since September and this term’s prizes will be presented to one lucky winner from each year group in the last week of term. Students who have been Star of the Week this term are entered into a draw and a winning name is picked during the end of year assemblies. The winning students receive an amazing prize, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors.

Here are some of our Stars of the Week from across the term:

Performing Arts Fusion Dance Company Audition

BTEC Musical Theatre Showcase

It was a fabulous turnout at the start of term from Year 7-9 and the standard of performances for the auditions was very high. An especially big ‘well done’ to students in Year 7, fantastic effort and commitment was shown from all involved.

Sixth Form students performed their October Showcase for a very supportive audience amid Storm Babet! It was a wonderful display of their performance skills and a great start to the year.

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Cheshire Studio School For students following the CSS pathway from Year 10, Cheshire Studio School offers vocational qualifications and employability skills, in addition to core GCSE subjects.

At Sixth Form, it offers vocational subjects at BTEC and Level 3 qualifications.

Insights into Agriculture at Tatton Park Cheshire Studio School students from the Year 10 Work Experience group visited Tatton Park Farm in October and gained insights into some of the opportunities available within the agricultural industry.

Mr Trippett and Mr Williams accompanied the students and everyone enjoyed an outstanding experience, with hands-on activities caring for, feeding and strolling with the animals! Thank you to all staff at Tatton Park Farm for such a great day.

Opportunities in the Social Housing Sector Studio students were given fantastic insights from staff at Great Places Housing in October.

Our students delved into the world of social housing, learning about potential apprenticeships and future job opportunities.

Sport Netball Residential at Condover Hall The Year 11 and 9 Netball Teams went to a netball residential at Condover Hall for a weekend in September.

The girls were outstanding ambassadors for the school, performing well both on and off the court! The Year 9 A Team came 3rd overall and the Year 11 A Team came 2nd overall. Well done girls and thank you to the members of staff who supported this.

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Sport Year 9 Football Our Year 9 Football squad had the wonderful opportunity of taking part in the Manchester United Emerging Talent Programme at Littleton Road Training Ground in September. The players put in outstanding effort and should be proud of themselves, finishing 4th out of 8 squads.

Cross Country: Qualifiers & Regional Final Congratulations to all our cross-country runners who took part in the English Schools competition.

There were qualifying races at Walton Gardens, where the Junior Girls team finished in first place and progressed to the final. Bee, Rosalie, Kate and Rosie then travelled to Bromsgrove to the Regional Final. They were fantastic - well done girls!

Sixth Form Football Academy Captains Congratulations to Matty Waters and Mitch Cameron, who have been named our Football Academy Captain and Vice-Captain respectively for the 2023-24 season.

Thank you to McHale & Co Solicitors who are sponsoring the Football Academy again this season.

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