HWA Blog - 19.6.26

What a week it has been, busy, busy, busy. I think we all deserve the opportunity this weekend to rest and reset.

The final GCSE exams have taken place this week, and I would like to say a huge well done to our Year 11 students. Your focus, resilience, and determination throughout the exam period have been exceptional. You have done yourselves proud, and I hope you achieve the results you deserve.

It has also been a pleasure to welcome new parents, carers, and families to Hollinwood Academy this week. We held two welcome meetings, and it was lovely to have the opportunity to talk with so many of you. There were lots of thoughtful questions and great conversations, and I am really looking forward to welcoming you all in September.

Sharing the highlights of this week…

Alton Towers

I returned yesterday from an unforgettable two-day residential trip to Alton Towers with our Year 11 students and an incredible team of staff.

Yes, it was tiring, but absolutely brilliant from start to finish. The students had the most amazing time, enjoying moments together, laughing, socialising, and making memories that will stay with them long after they leave us. Our adrenaline seekers were in their element, racing from ride to ride, coming off buzzing with excitement and queuing straight back up to go again. The smiles and laughter were constant.

There were also some very special, more reflective moments. A few tears were shed, happy, emotional ones, as it began to sink in that this may be one of their last opportunities to be together as a year group for a while. Many opened up about how much they will miss school and shared their understandable nerves and excitement about college and the next steps ahead. It was heartening to see them trust staff with those feelings, talk things through, and leave those conversations feeling reassured and supported.

Importantly, these moments only added to the richness of the experience. They didn’t take away from the fun, if anything, they made the trip even more meaningful. The students embraced every opportunity, balanced reflection with thrill-seeking, and had a fantastic time.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this such a successful, memorable, and special trip. It was a privilege to be part of it. Next residential to look forward to is our year 6 residential to Gulliver’s world. I am sure this will be just as successful.

Alton Towers

Well done to Team Hollinwood Academy for achieving 5th place in today’s chess tournament.

This is a fantastic accomplishment, made even more impressive as the team travelled to another school to compete, an experience that can feel quite daunting. Despite this, every player approached the challenge with confidence, focus, and determination.

Their hard work, concentration, and resilience shone throughout the day, and they represented the school with pride.

A huge congratulations to everyone involved, you are a real credit to yourselves and to Hollinwood Academy. We are incredibly proud of you all.

A Fantastic Start to Transition at Hollinwood Academy

Today marked our first transition session at Hollinwood Academy, and it was a wonderful success. We were delighted to welcome many new students who will be joining our school community, and it was fantastic to see them settling in so positively from the start.

Throughout the morning, students had the opportunity to begin building new friendships, meet peers from other schools, and get a real feel for life at Hollinwood Academy. There was a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with staff and students alike helping to ensure everyone felt comfortable and included.

For our current Hollinwood students, the session provided an exciting glimpse into the next stage of their journey. They explored their new secondary classrooms and met their new form tutors, helping to build confidence and familiarity ahead of the new academic year.

We are incredibly proud of how well the day ran and of the positive attitude shown by students.

We are now very much looking forward to our next transition morning and continuing to support all students as they prepare for this exciting new chapter at Hollinwood Academy.

Parents and carers, I understand this can be such a worrying time. As a parent myself, I know how overwhelming transitions can be, and how emotional it is to see your child step into a new chapter of their life. Please be reassured that your children will be fully supported every step of the way. We are committed to building strong relationships with families and look forward to working together to ensure every student feels happy, safe, and ready to succeed.

Let’s see what has been happening in the classroom.

In Miss Nuttall’s class this week…

"This week 8NNL have had a positive week and have engaged well in their learning.

In History, we started a new topic and are learning about the Transatlantic Salve Trade. It was an awful period of history, but the class have engaged well with the topic so far.

In English, we have been studying William Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. The class have become familiar with the plot and the main characters and have completed some analysis of the female protagonist 'Katherina'. They have also enjoyed playing parts and reading the play out loud which has been fantastic to see!

In ICT the class have been completing their health fitness app using Applab, where they design their own app and have been creating icons. They have produced some fantastic work which Mrs Myers has been sharing with staff.

In maths they are learning the probability experiments which they have enjoyed and in art, they created ink jellyfish which was particularly fun as it gave them all the opportunity to get messy.

During outdoor education this week, the class went to visit Mahdlo which was great as it allowed them to find out what activities were available for them to access during the summer holidays. Finally, in EHCP this week, we have been focussing on regulation and our social skills, using tasks like diamond art and playing Uno as a group.

Thanks for a brilliant week NNL - enjoy your weekend."

In Miss Bramley and Miss McDonald’s class this week…

"Explore 3 have had an exciting few weeks of hands-on learning across the curriculum. They’ve just completed their Maths topic on time, exploring hours, minutes and seconds through practical challenges. From moving clock hands to timing activities around the classroom, the children learnt through doing, and their confidence has grown brilliantly.

In Science, the class have been investigating magnets. They explored magnetic forces, predicted which objects would be attracted, and tested materials around the school to see what they could discover. Their curiosity led to thoughtful predictions and some impressive scientific thinking.

Over in History, explore 3 have been travelling back in time to Ancient Egypt. They learnt about pharaohs, daily life and ancient beliefs, and one of the highlights was writing their own names using hieroglyphics, just like ancient scribes.

In English, the class fully immersed themselves in their Ancient Egypt theme. They created their own Egyptian headdresses and necklaces, using patterns, colours and symbols inspired by artefacts from thousands of years ago. This creative work helped bring their writing and storytelling to life, making the topic feel real and exciting – we are exploring persuasive writing in English and currently writing a class letter to persuade our audience to visit the pyramids.

It’s been a wonderful mix of creativity, exploration and hands-on learning. Explore 3 should feel incredibly proud of everything they’ve achieved."

CML GBY

Now to our amazing SUPER STARs and HWA We are We trust each other STARs

Mrs Bailey’s STAR of the Week is Ohud - For a brilliant first transition session to his new class.

Mrs Lerigo’s and Mrs Sutcliffe's STAR of the Week is Leo for a great week trying hard to be a good friend and having kind hands.

Mrs Lerigo’s and Mrs Sutcliffe's HWA We trust each other goes to Alfie for trusting new staff members when transitioning into his new classroom.

Miss Boothroyd’s STAR of the Week goes to All of VBD class for coping so well with our transition session this morning.

Miss Boothroyd’s HWA We trust each other goes to Albie for showing his teachers and friends care and compassion when it has been needed.

Mrs McDonalds’ and Mrs Bramley’s STAR of the Week is Haroon & George Both for trusting in their new teachers for September and having a positive transition.

Mrs Matthews’ STAR of the Week is Ruby for her amazing autobiography.

Mrs Matthews’ We trust each other STAR goes to Toby M for preserving with his autobiography.

Miss Pietraszewska’ s HWA We trust each other goes to Sienna for creating funny ‘duck stories’ during outdoor play. Very creative!

Miss Pietraszewska’ s STAR of the Week goes to Ivy for using good manners throughout the day, saying “thank you,” “please,” and “sorry.” Well done!

Mr Corrigan’s STAR of the Week is William for coping well with change this week.

Mr Corrigan’s WOW moment is Kian & Abu-Bakr for being proud of their friends.

Mr Corrigan’s congratulates Abu-Bakr for showing great independence with his pencil grip this week.

Miss Hulme’s STAR of the Week is Madilyn for her excellent art work.

Miss Hulme’s HWA We trust each other goes to Ariella for helping her friend when they were struggling.

Miss Donbavand’s STAR of the Week goes to Jared for great English work, sharing ideas and learning model text orally.

Miss Donbavand’s HWA We trust each other goes to Derry for communicating to staff how he is feeling.

Mrs Boylan’s STAR of the Week goes to Louis and Kai are our Stars of the week for excellent engagement and behaviour during their first transition lesson

Miss Davies’s STAR of the Week is Oliver for accepting the swing has finished and returning to class when shown the back to class symbol.

Miss Oakley’s STAR of the Week is All of COY are stars this week for an excellent first transition morning, we are so proud of you all!