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South Leeds Life | August 2021
10 School Life
Tracey retires after Summer 28 years teaching C in Beeston schools ockburn John Charles Academy and Cockburn School staff are excited to welcome students moving from Year 6 into Year 7 in attending their heavily subscribed summer school events. Cockburn John Charles Academy will work closely in partnership with staff from Skelton Grange Environment Centre to deliver outdoor educational activities alongside a planned curriculum of lessons designed to enable students to make accelerated progress in English and Maths, while also giving valuable opportunities to develop new friendships and build positive
Tracey Cunningham
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racey Cunningham, 56, has retired on Friday 23 July after 28 years working in Beeston, first at Greenwood Primary, then at New Bewerley Community School. She says she has enjoyed every minute of it and met some amazing pupils, families and colleagues. Tracey had always wanted to be a teacher from being 5 years old and went back to study at the age of 24. She spent her first year in Leeds 16, then got a job at Greenwood. She then worked at New Bewerley with the new headteacher, Patrick Wilkins, then the current headteacher, Gary German. We asked Tracey about her career in Beeston: “I have so many great memories – having my own class when I first started teaching in reception, I was so happy; getting a permanent job at Greenwood in year 1; then the joining of two schools (Greenwood and Hillside) to create New Bewerley; arranging school trips – to Filey, the Great Yorkshire Show and going with year 6 to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at West Yorkshire Playhouse.
“I have seen a lot of changes, the biggest being the diversity and different cultures we have now – which is amazing. It makes our school a great place to be, and encourages community harmony and understanding of each other. “I would say my biggest achievements have been becoming Assistant Headteacher; surviving Ofsted inspections; and watching children develop and reach their academic potential. The challenges – apart from Ofsted – have been ensuring all children have equal opportunities; and this year dealing with Covid, lockdowns and shielding. “Whilst I’m retiring as a teacher I’m not leaving education just yet. I have a new job in Bradford working in a school but as a support assistant. I can still help children learn but without all the paperwork a teacher must do. But before term starts again I will be catching up with family and friends after the lockdown, and a holiday to Ayr in August.” We wish Tracey all the best for the future.
Extra-curricular table tennis at Cockburn John Charles Academy
schools relationships with their new teachers. Government funding has allowed a wide range of academically focused activities to be planned around the theme of ‘sustainability’. Cockburn School is running two themed weeks. The first will have an animal focus and conclude with a trip to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park. The second week will have a magical theme and conclude with a magical carnival on site at the school. Both weeks will blend classroom based and practical learning that will also focus on supporting the students with their English and Maths progression. These follow on from
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transition events at all three Cockburn secondary schools, including the new Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy. The schools have welcomed Year 6 pupils to transition events over the last few weeks. They have also welcomed parents and carers to evening
presentations. Despite the difficulty caused by the pandemic, all of these events have been excellent and everyone involved is looking forward to welcoming the new Year 7 pupils to the next stage of their education in September.
Outdoor cooking at Skelton Grange Environment Centre
Performing arts and sporting success at Cockburn schools
Performing on stage at Cockburn’s MADDFest
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he reactivation of sporting activity at Cockburn John Charles Academy is in full swing with a wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer. Numbers are now higher than ever with pupils from across all year groups attending after-school clubs that include football, table tennis, trampolining and access to the new school gym facilities. In recent years sport has flourished at the school; winning the inter-competition ‘Cockburn MAT Cup’ in 2018 and 2019 with the year 11 football team winning both South Leeds and Central league and 7-a-side tournament in 2020. Despite a setback to extra-curricular activities over the Covid-19 pandemic, pupils have shown great resilience and commitment to help the sporting programme return better than ever. Engaging in a wider range of
extracurricular sports is likely to instil confidence and discipline within students as well as help with their physical and mental well-being. When pupils achieve success, they have a raise in self-esteem; creating a relaxed environment where learning new skills is fun and with some elements of competition. Students from across all year groups recently competed in a rowing event with Row Leeds, where the team were successful in achieving one gold and two silver medals. Cockburn School, in line with their Artsmark Platinum status in recognition of the school’s commitment to, and excellence in, arts education, staged their first MADDFest show since before the Covid-19 pandemic began. MADDFest, which featured Music, Art, Drama and Dance, showcased work from students across Years 7 to 10. Year 8 drama students created their
own piece based on the Black Lives Matter theme. Live bands performed songs from a wide range of artists including Amy Winehouse and The White Stripes. There was also an excellent Cockburn John Charles Academy band performing. One student in Year 7 said “It was amazing to perform on
stage at Cockburn for the first time. Being with all of the older students was brilliant”. Cockburn School has recently held auditions for their annual school production in December which will be Sister Act The Musical. Rehearsals will begin in September for what promises to be a show to remember!
Learning boxing skills at Cockburn John Charles Academy
