Dear Families

Can you believe we've reached the end of yet another academic year already?! As always, I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on just how much our students have achieved and experienced over the past 8 weeks.

Building belonging through wider opportunities
We began the term on a high with students from Years 7, 8 and 9 performing as a choir at a leading education conference at Nottingham University. I had the privilege of joining them on the day and couldn’t have been prouder! Their talent and professionalism were inspiring and the positive feedback we received was thoroughly deserved.

Another standout moment was the relaunch event of our Mapperley Sports Village, made possible through our partnership with The Nottingham Hoods Basketball Club. This high profile event saw 30 of our students take part in a training demonstration. We are thrilled to have access to such high quality sports provision for all students during PE lessons and as part of our wider opportunities programme. 

Both our Year 9 and Year 10 basketball teams have also represented the academy with energy and determination, showing real progress and commitment.

Meanwhile, the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition saw Year 9 students exemplify our core value of resilience. They were outstanding throughout, completing a challenging 10km hike before setting up camp for the night in Birchover, Derbyshire.

Resilience was also on full display during our Academy Sports Day at Harvey Hadden Stadium. Despite the torrential rain, students and staff kept going with determination. A great day was had by all!

Students in Year 8 have been participating in a number of exciting outdoor activities, including orienteering in the Peak District, mountain biking and rock climbing. 

Our academy newspaper 'The Wells Chronicle' continues to go from strength to strength, with the second edition now live on our website. A huge well done to all involved in producing such a professional and engaging publication.

A number of students from our book clubs were selected to travel to London for the Carnegie Awards, celebrating children’s literature. They had an inspiring day and were excellent ambassadors for our academy.

Our Year 10 Art students also had the opportunity to visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. This inspiring trip will no doubt serve them well as they begin their coursework next year.

Back at the academy, our newly established Art Ambassadors have been working hard developing their new logo, supporting with the design of curriculum resources, writing drawing prompts and creating exemplar work for our transition days.

Additionally, our Year 7 students had their work published in a science journal for children. We are very proud of their achievement!

Developing character
Beyond academic, sporting and creative success, students have also had fantastic opportunities to develop their character. We were delighted to get out into the local community once again as part of our half termly litter picks.

We were also proud to support our local community with our food rally in the last week of term. It was great to meet families and interact with local residents. 


A particularly special moment this term was Equality Day, where we celebrated diversity and inclusion. Students learnt about the Equality Act and had the chance to come to school in clothes to represent their culture and what makes them unique. Staff joined in too, making it a powerful day of celebration and learning.


Careers
Our Careers Programme continues to thrive, with Year 9 students attending an Apprenticeship Awareness event to explore pathways for the future. We were very grateful to the local companies who joined us to help inform and inspire our students.


Open Classroom Week
This term, all teaching staff were involved in our Open Classroom Week initiative, where we opened our classroom doors to share best practice with colleagues. During the week, hundreds of lessons were visited. It was a powerful reflection of our collective commitment to continuously improving teaching and learning for our students.


Record breaking attendance!
You'll be aware that improving attendance has been a major focus this year and I’m pleased to share that we’ve achieved more record breaking attendance figures. Several days this term have exceeded 96%, with our highest attendance reaching an impressive 96.76%. We aim to hit over 97% attendance in a single day in September, and with your continued support, we know we can get there! Mrs Aveyard and I presented a session to families on the importance of good attendance. If you haven't yet seen it, you can watch it here. It is absolutely critical that all students are 'In School, On Time' every single day in September to start the year positively. 

Recognition and rewards
It has been fabulous to see students recognised within subject areas this term. I was proud to present Sparx badges with Mr Gibson to our students with the highest XP points in Year 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Additionally, we were thrilled to see some of our Year 10 students achieving accolades as part of the Royal Society of Biology Challenge. A special mention must go to all the students that received Commended and Highly Commended and Abraham who achieved Silver!

As always, our Zero to Hero rewards scheme was very popular. A highlight was the arrival of an ice cream van at the academy to celebrate students' achievements!

Similarly, our Bounce Day was a fantastic celebration of a sustained excellent attendance!

Year 8 Jenga Champions
Our hugely popular lunchtime Jenga Championships concluded with our pair of Year 8 winners!


A special well done to our Year 9 leaders who helped run the competition this term!

We were also delighted to select the 5 recipients of scholarship places to attend the Nottingham Hoods Basketball Summer Camp! 


You Said, We Did
As you know, we always listen to our students and respond to their feedback. Our updated summer uniform has been very well received, helping students stay comfortable while continuing to look smart during the hotter weeks of term. I think you'll agree they look fantastic?! Thank you for your support with this.

End of year celebrations
We ended the year in style with a magical Year 11 Prom, attended by students and staff alike. It was a wonderful way to celebrate everything our Year 11s have achieved.


The term concluded with our Academy Awards Evening, recognising consistent effort, academic success and our core values. It was a fitting end to a brilliant term and I’m incredibly proud of every student who received an award.

Return to academy arrangements
As we’ve done in previous years, we are staggering students’ return to the academy. The table below indicates the date and time your child should return.

Copies of our 2025/26 Family Handbook have been sent out in the post with key updates for the new academic year.

We can’t wait to build on the incredible momentum of this year and start the new academic year even stronger.

On behalf of everyone at the academy, I'd like to wish all of our students, families and staff a safe, happy and restful summer break! Thank you for being such an important part of our academy community.

Best wishes

Mr G Coles
Principal