Despite it being such a short 5-week half term, it’s amazing just how much has taken place across the academy! As always, I’m delighted to share some of the highlights with you.

Recognition
A major theme this term has been recognition. As part of our Finish Strong strategy to support our Year 11 students as they approach their examinations, it’s been wonderful to see their determination and commitment. Each week we have celebrated our Year 11 Work of the Week. We’ve been inundated with nominations from teachers and from students themselves and it’s been fantastic to celebrate the hard work of so many of our students.


We have also been celebrating students taking part in our hugely popular Revision Challenge, recognising students who are putting in the effort to prepare for their exams. Next term, we look forward to celebrating students who are showing commitment in our after school intervention sessions.


Recognition has not only been for students! I would also like to acknowledge the incredible commitment of all of our teachers who are going above and beyond by giving up their time in the evenings and even during the Easter holiday to support our students.


It was also a pleasure to write letters to students across all year groups who have consistently demonstrated our Learning Habits throughout the spring term. These students embody our core values of Integrity, Resilience and Ambition so well.


We were delighted to see so many students participate in our Easter Art Competition. The standard of entries was excellent, and it was wonderful to share the winning artwork on our social media on Easter Day.


Leadership
Developing leadership skills in our students is important to us and we provide a wide range of opportunities for students to develop these skills.

This term we launched a new opportunity called our Student Standards Ambassadors. Some of our older students have been supporting the running of our dining hall, helping to maintain the high standards we expect and demonstrating real maturity and responsibility.



We also appointed our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors as part of our wider ambassador programme. These students are helping to promote our strong anti-bullying ethos across the academy.


It was also great to take a group of students into the local community for our usual half-term litter pick as part of our Clean Champions. Our students continue to show pride in their community and demonstrate our core value of integrity so well.


Curriculum
Year 9 enjoyed an unforgettable day when four Humboldt penguins visited the academy! Students spent the day learning about penguins through a series of lessons in science, geography and English. It was such a unique experience that I’m sure the students will remember for years to come!


Year 10 History students took part in an archaeology workshop, working with an archaeologist to explore and learn about Roman coins.


We celebrate books and reading every single day at The Wells Academy but it was great to see so many students participate in our World Book Day activities, including a competition to gather teachers’ favourite reads!


I was delighted to take our GCSE Drama students to Nottingham Theatre Royal to watch The Woman in Black. Several members of the public approached me during the visit to commend the students on their conduct, which made me extremely proud.

As always, our careers programme has also been very active this term. We hosted Balfour Beatty, who worked with Year 9 students in a workshop exploring careers in construction. We also welcomed Rolls-Royce, who delivered an inspiring session with some of our Year 10 girls to highlight the opportunities available for women in STEM careers.

Wider Opportunities
We have seen some fantastic participation and success in sport this term. It was great to see our Year 10 students representing the academy in netball and we also enjoyed a friendly basketball match against our fellow Greenwood Academies Trust school, Nottingham Academy.



Our Year 8 boys achieved a fantastic success by winning the Nottingham Schools Mega Festival, which was a brilliant achievement for the team.


In addition, our students also performed extremely well in dodgeball competitions, showing great teamwork and determination.


Ofsted report
Finally, you will have seen that our Ofsted inspection report has now been published. This represents a fantastic moment for the academy. Of course, as always, we remain focused on continuing to improve and ensuring that we are the very best we can be for our students and our community.


Looking Ahead
A reminder that we return to the academy on Monday 13^th April at the usual times. Breakfast Club will open at 8am, the gates will open at 8.20am and they will close promptly at 8.30am.

I hope all our students, families and staff continue to enjoy a restful break. We are looking forward to an exciting summer term, with many fantastic opportunities and events ahead.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Mr G Coles
Principal