Welcome to the July edition of Knutsford News 2024.
As we conclude another successful school year, I am immensely proud of the fantastic achievements of all our students in both their academic studies and extracurricular activities. Their hard work and dedication have shone through in every subject, from impressive results in their end of year assessments to outstanding performances in sports, performing arts, and art and design. Our students have also excelled in the Duke of Edinburgh Award, demonstrating remarkable resilience and commitment. As we look forward to a lovely long summer holiday (which we hope will feature some sunshine!), I hope that all our families have a restful break. We eagerly anticipate welcoming our students back in September, ready to embark on the next chapter of their academic journey with us.
Best wishes
Mrs Key
Chair of Governors
Catriona Millson, our Chair of Governors, is stepping down after almost 30 years of service to the school. During this time, she has worked with several headteachers at the school, playing an instrumental part in our transition to an academy. Catriona has also supported other schools in our trust, and we are incredibly grateful for her hard work and support over the years.
Year 13 and Year 11 leave in style
We have said goodbye and good luck to our year 13 and year 11 students.
After successfully completing their exams throughout May and June, Sixth Formers danced the night away at their Valedictory Ball and year 11 at their Prom Night, both at Mere Court Hotel. They left us in style, and we wish them all the very best for their next steps. We look forward to welcoming most of our year 11 students back into our high performing sixth form in September.
Rewards
Enrichment
Our Stars of the Week rewards programme culminates in an end-of-year prize draw in assembly for each year group. Every time a student is awarded Star of the Week, their name is added into the draw. Huge thanks to our sponsors who generously donate a prize worth £100 every term. Well done to this term’s winners, shown below!
Art Exhibition: GCSE & A Level
The Art Department hosted a wonderful evening, where they exhibited GCSE and A Level student coursework. Click here for an online gallery showcasing some of our students' amazing work.
Enrichment
Year 10 Art
After foraging for spring weeds in the rain, Mrs Curran’s year 10 Art class enjoyed making botanical plaster casts! Their pieces were cast in plaster from clay imprints, cleaned and painted.
Duke of Edinburgh
Oxbridge
Year 12 visit the
Imperial War Museum
A group of year 12 students attended an Oxbridge information event, where they found out more about super-curricular activities, essential application components, and crafting standout personal statements.
Well done to all who attended and good luck with your applications!
Our fearless Bronze D of E teams have completed both their practice and assessed expedition at Linnet Clough near Marple, braving the rain! They all finished with smiles on their faces.
The Silver expeditions also took place this term, in even wetter conditions. Torrential rain didn’t stop our students though! Well done on completing your two-night expedition.
The History department enjoyed a trip to the Imperial War Museum in Manchester with their year 12 students. They visited a temporary exhibition on the troubles in Northern Ireland, which forms a significant part of their studies at A level.
Year 8 French Trip
In June, the Languages Faculty took 40 year 8 students to St Omer in Northern France. Students took part in lots of fun activities including visiting a snail farm and a bakery where they made croissants and baked bread. They visited Boulogne and Le Touquet where they did a town trail, a picnic on the beach and used their French to do some shopping! In the evenings they took part in Archery tag, a disco, a campfire and a games night too. They had a fantastic time and it was a pleasure for the Languages team to watch our year 8 students trying out the French theory had been learning this year in class.
Enrichment Knutsford Academy wins the ‘Debate Mate’ Trust Debating Competition
Our English department, accompanied by Mrs Key, took a group of 16 talented year 9 and 10 students to Cranage Hall for a debating competition, as one of five secondary schools in the trust. The atmosphere was electric as our students showcased their debating skills. They competed against other schools in the trust with impeccable skill and unwavering determination, and we won! Congratulations to our brilliant students.
Biology
Field Trip
A group of year 12 Biology students attended a residential in the Lake District to do three days of field work. They investigated sand-dune succession at the beach, studied fresh water ecology and studied Ramshorn snail populations on Blencathra. They even got to feed lambs on the farm.
STEM Olympics at the Grange
Eight science students represented the school at the STEM Olympics at the Grange and performed brilliantly! While we narrowly missed out on an overall win, we are proud to share that Team "Mr Swan" clinched third place in the Fermi Quiz, an order of magnitude estimation activity and Team "Miss Wright" took first place in an a-maze-ing computer programming activity. Both teams demonstrated outstanding teamwork.
Community
Meet Opal, the Reading Dog
Opal is a very friendly Pets as Therapy dog! She is eight years old and serves as a reading dog, helping students overcome shyness with reading out loud. When she visited one of our year 7 classes she listened beautifully.
Cheshire Community Foundation
Sixth Form Musical Theatre students were delighted to be invited to perform at the Cheshire Community Foundation Awards. The celebration took place at the Lion & Swan in Congleton in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, Lady Alexis Redmond. The Chair of our trust, David Wootton, was also there and he was “blown away” by the standard of performance. Well done to our talented students.
Community Sport
Knutsford students have collaborated with local sports clubs including the Knutsford Harriers, Knutsford Hockey Club, Toft Cricket Club, Knutsford Tennis Club, and our very own Fusion Dance Company to provide taster events in football, hockey, cricket, dance, and multi-skills activities.
Careers
A-Level Philosophy and Ethics
Miss Appleton and Miss Coleman's Sixth Form students were treated to a two- hour workshop with Bob Banks from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Students presented arguments from different government perspectives on ‘Having Nuclear Weapons as a Deterrent.’
Year 7 Careers: Guess the Employer
The aim of this event was to provide students with the opportunity to talk to employers and find out about their organisation and job roles, in a fun and interactive way. It also encouraged students to develop their communication skills and confidence in talking to employers. Year 7 had a great morning and did well in guessing where our mystery employers were from: Manchester Airport, Tatton Farm, Barclays and De Vere Hotels.
Year 10 Sports Leadership
Year 10 students have had the opportunity to gain Level 2 Community Sports Leadership. In working towards this nationally recognised qualification, a group of budding sports leaders helped Miss Whittaker run 17 Primary School events with over 1,100 primary school pupils involved. Well done to all 29 students who have now successfully passed the course.
Our Sixth Form Football Academy is still celebrating winning the double title. Mitch Cameron, Matty Waters, Alex Hall and Ryan Hill have all secured football scholarships with academies in America to commence in September 2024. We wish them, and the entire squad, the very best for the future.
USA Scholarships Manchester United Schools Finals
The year 7 Football Team participated in the Manchester United Schools Finals at Carrington Training Complex after winning their individual competition earlier in the year.
Youth Rowing Regatta
Year 8 rowers headed to Warrington Rowing Club for the end of year competition against over 30 other schools from Northwich, Warrington, Liverpool, Manchester and Runcorn.
Our Open Crew of Kane, Mya, George and Freddie convincingly won their first race but were then beaten by Warrington. Sienna, Phoebe, Eden-Pearl and Eve won the first and second girls’ races, placing them the fastest boat in their division.
Overall, our Open Crew finished 10th out of 32, third overall in the Northwich region. The Girls finished 2nd out of 23 which puts them 1st in the Northwich region. Huge congratulations to all the rowers.
Netball Round-up
The season started with a fantastic mini tour to Condover and continued with 42 competitive matches and six tournaments. Notable achievements include:
Year 7 – Runners-up on the Mid Cheshire Tournament
Year 8 – 3rd position in the Macclesfield & District league
Year 9 – Runners-up in the Macclesfield & District league and winners of the Mid-Cheshire Tournament.
Year 11 – Runners-up in the Macclesfield & District league, joint 3rd in the Mid-Cheshire league, and winners of the Mid Cheshire Tournament.
A Great Year for Rugby
Year 8 have continued to impress us this year with the addition of some students from year 7 to the squad. There have been tough fixtures but they finished the year beating St Joseph’s College in Stoke by 10 tries to 3.
Year 9 have had another excellent season beating several top schools in the North West and finishing 2nd at the Cheshire Rugby 7s tournament.
Two girls’ teams entered the North West Touch Rugby competition. The year 9 girls finished as North West Champions and the year 10 girls finished third.
Hockey Round-up
Our partnership with Knutsford Hockey Club has led to significant growth in our hockey programme, enabling us to field teams in tournaments for years 7, 8, and 9, with notable success against Trafford schools.
The year 7 newcomers have shown impressive growth and secured victories against Trafford schools. Year 8 have improved on last year's performance, consistently winning matches, and excelling in tournaments. Year 9 achieved a significant victory in the Northwest Tournament, defeating grammar schools. We look forward to continued growth and future achievements and extend thanks to Knutsford Hockey Club for providing expert coaching and support.
Performing Arts
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Junior
An amazing cast of 65 students from years 7 to 10 have just finished their four-show run of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, with sell-out performances. Congratulations to all students and staff involved on what is a huge commitment, involving many hours of after-school and weekend rehearsals. It was a fabulous show and we cannot wait to see you at auditions for the senior production next term!
