Alde Valley Academy staff and students have, as usual, been busy this term with many activities in addition to teaching and learning. This newsletter highlights some of the amazing opportunities that our students have at school and how well they grasp them.

We are very pleased to announce that Waveney Valley Academies Trust has been approved as the new sponsor of Alde Valley Academy. We all feel that this is a fabulous opportunity for students, parents and staff. We see this as a very positive and exciting move forward enabling us to continue on our strong journey of improvement.

Year 11 students have just completed their ‘mock’ examinations and we have identified and addressed their stengths and weaknesses in all subjects. We have set challenging targets and we hope to fulfil the potential of all of our students.

We are proud that Alde Valley Academy raises a large amount for charity. We are currently supporting Team GB athlete Ryan Crouch through ‘Inspired Through Sport’. The growth mind set for the physical and mental well-being of all our students was reinforced by Ryan through his own shared experiences of his life through sport when he visited us on 18th October 2018. Our students raised £2421 through sponsored exercise so ‘thank you’ to all that took part and to all of the friends and family who sponsored them.

‘Children in Need on Friday 16th November saw the Alde Valley community coming together once again to raise money for a great cause. A total of £525 was collected throughout the day. A huge thank you to all involved; this was a fantastic result!

I would like to thank you once again for your support in helping us to maintain high standards with regard to uniform and appearance. There has been a huge improvement in the overall appearance of our students over the past couple of years. We now thankfully see very few students wearing jewellery, hooded tops, incorrect footwear or in possession of mobile phones. If you need to check uniform rules, information is available on our website. I would like to remind all parents that students are not allowed piercings apart from one small stud in each ear lobe. Hair styles and colours should not be extreme. Acrylic nails are not suitable for school activities. Mobile phones should be switched off and kept out of sight throughout the day. Students must also wear black polished shoes.

Students are often commended by teachers for excellent academic work, improvement or progress in work or an outstanding contribution to the school or local community. The commendation is given via posters displayed around the school. Headteacher awards are also presented to a number of students throughout the school year. I would like to congratulate all of our students on their achievements this term.

After an amazing Open Evening in September, where we were overwhelmed by the amount of attendees eager to see the school in action, I am delighted
to report that the popularity of Alde valley Academy continues to grow. This is reflected in the fact that we have had 23 students start ‘new’ at the school since the beginning of September with the vast majority of parents and visitors to the school complimenting us on what a ‘calm and nurturing environment’ there is at Alde Valley Academy. Any new prospective parents and students are very welcome to join me for a tour of the school. In addition, the DfE and Ofsted provisional school performance data was released in October, and from that I am again delighted to inform you that Alde valley Academy continues to perform extremely well in terms of the Progress 8, which measures students’ progress across all subjects.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas and look forward to welcoming all of our students’ back on Thursday 3rd January 2019.