Ofsted Inspection

Castle Manor Academy will welcome a team of Ofsted Inspectors on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th June. Ofsted Inspections are a regular part of running an academy and help us to know that we are providing the very best for our students, parents and staff. Lessons will not be impacted by the inspection and student events will continue as normal.

It would be useful if parents could give their feedback on our academy using the Ofsted Parentview website, which can be accessed below. The website allows you to complete a short survey to tell Ofsted what your experience of our academy is. There is also a letter below, which gives you details of the inspection and a short guide for parents.

Ofsted Parentview

Letter from Ofsted

Parents Guide to Ofsted Inspections

Kelly-Jean Celebrates Showjumping Success

Castle Manor Academy student, Kelly-Jean Wecke, has had an eventful half term competing in four separate horse-riding competitions. Kelly (Aged 12, from Haverhill) competed at schools competitions in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Suffolk on two ponies - Cherokee Lass and Smudge.

Kelly won 2 classes in the first competition in Buckinghamshire. In the second competition she won the qualifying round, beating 30 other competitors to win a place in the October Schools Final. In her final two competitions Kelly won five first places, a 2nd and 3rd place in various classes.

To date Kelly has been the youngest rider in each of the classes she has competed in. She is supported by Penny Ballard who provides the horses for Kelly to ride and is grateful for the opportunity.

Kelly reflected on her success, "It's fun to ride, but hard work training. It's been a tough half term, but I'm really grateful for the opportunities to ride all over the country." Kelly rides alongside competitors usually aged 14-18 years, but she isn't phased. "It does feel like there's no playtime at the moment, just riding and hard work! I wouldn't give it up though!"

Head of School Appears on BBC Radio

The Head of School, Vanessa Whitcombe appeared on BBC Radio Suffolk on Wednesday 5^th June to talk about the importance of vocational qualifications for some learners.

The original interview was completed live at 6am, over the telephone. PResenter Terry Baxter spoke to Mrs Whitcombe about the variety of courses Castle Manor Academy offers and about the importance of Vocational Qualifications. The piece was prompted by the publication of a report by local MP Matthew Hancock, who was himself extolling the virtues of vocational qualifications.

You can here the original interview in full here. Snippets were played throughout the morning, highlighting the good work of the Castle Partnership Academy Trust.

Download MP3 (7Mb)

Partnership Staff Complete Charity Challenge

A group of eleven Staff and Directors from the Castle Partnership Academy Trust have completed the Moonriders London to Cambridge Challenge to raise fund for charity. The challenge was to cycle from Hackney Marsh, London, to Long Road, Cambridge... Overnight! The group was led to action by Andrew Barratt, Team Leader for PE, who pulled staff together to support the event. The Castle Partnership Moonriders, as they became known, were prompted by personal experiences to raise money for various charities that support causes close to their hearts.

Initially the group comprised of teachers and staff at the academy, but a chance conversation with a member of the Castle Partnership Academy Trust Board of Directors prompted two directors to become involved as well. The group gathered regularly to train, supporting and encouraging each other along the way. A small group of them also entered a 38 miles training ride to help hone their skills in March of this year.

On the night of the event the team met at the Academy for a carb-loaded meal to prepare them for the challenge, prepared by the Catering Teacher. They drove to London ahead of the 10pm start time to get themselves ready for the challenge ahead. They left Hackney Marsh around 10pm, winding their way through the busy streets of North London. The route became hilly as they left London and headed towards their first rest stop at Nazeing. From there they headed to Roydon and on to Little Haddam for a well earned hot meal. The route headed mostly downhill after this point for a sunrise rest at Great Chesterford, before heading off for a tour of Cambridge and eventually finish at 7:30am at Long Road Sixth Form.

The Moonriders were a mixed bunch of all physical abilities, who all faced the challenge with determination and drive. The group consisted of Duncan Ainge (Teacher), Jason André (Communications Manager), Andrew Barratt (Team Leader for PE), Quinn Cox (Assistant Principal), Paul Donno (Director), Jane Farrow (Teacher), Lisa Freds (Attendance Officer), Michelle Kempen (Teacher), John Mayhew (Director), David Ramsey (Head of House) and Georgina Saragent (Team Leader for Maths).
The team have raised over £4,000 between them, which will be split between Breakthrough Breast Cancer, East Anglian Children’s Hospice, Macmillan Cancer and Prostate Cancer UK. They were supported in their preparation for the ride by Aerocycles and Chapmans with equipment and support and, former Castle Manor Student, Katie Ditchman with sports massage.

In addition to being a successful fundraising effort the challenge provided a fantastic opportunity for team members to pull together and learn more about one another. John Mayhew, Partnership Director, is relatively new to the partnership and commented on the experience “Preparing for the event was a strange mixture of dread and excitement, but it was a wonderful experience and I think our simultaneous passing through the Finishing Line was a fine example of team spirit. It was a great night for the Castle Partnership Academy Trust!”

Lisa Freds, Attendance Officer at Castle Manor Academy, was also full of excitement and pride for having completed the challenge “The Moon Ride experience was definitely a ‘landmark’ for me. The camaraderie of our team and the fact that other riders wanted to join us was amazing.”

Partnership Principal, Madeleine Vigar, had been following the event via twitter throughout the night and was there to welcome the team as they arrived back to Castle Manor Academy. “Watching their progress was fascinating and I could see in the pictures from along the route that everyone had put their all into the challenge! We’re all extremely proud of their efforts and raising over £4,000 is a fantastic achievement! The team were supported by many around them and we know they couldn’t have done it without them. Well done!”

The Moonriders are still accepting donations via their JustGiving page (http://www.justgiving.com/teams/CMAMoonriders) or at the Castle Manor Academy Reception on Eastern Avenue.

Sixth Form Students Volunteer

A pair of Sixth Form students from Castle Manor Academy are raising funds to spend a month in Ghana volunteering in a nursery and helping with a local construction project. The students, Bethany Franks and Emily Roberts, both 18 from Haverhill, have already used their savings to pay for the flights and now need to raise £1000 to go towards the cost of accommodation and injections.

They've already received support from Haverbury Housing and Rev Canon Ian Finn at St Mary's towards this goal, but would now like to galvanise the support of the community. Bethany Franks is excited about the opportunity "We really wanted to use the time after our A-levels to do something constructive. We think this is an excellent opportunity to help those less fortunate than ourselves. We've been overwhelmed with the offers of support so far, but we still need more to meet our ambitious fundraising targets."

Bethany and Emily have been raising funds through the Bags2School scheme, which rewards them for collecting bags of unwanted materials, such as clothes and bed linen. You can help their cause, either by donating money or by donating unwanted clothing. Monetary donations can be given to Castle Manor Academy, cheques made payable to Castle Manor Academy and clearly marked for the Original Volunteers project. If you have bags of textiles that you'd like to donate these can also be brought in to the academy.

Bethany and Emily need to raise their funds by the 21st July and will be leaving Haverhill on the 7th August for the trip. They're hopeful that they will be able to share their experience with members of the local community.

BBC School Report

Students have been working hard today to file their very own news reports. Students in Media have joined others up and down the country in creating their very own news. Why not visit the page and see for yourself the full selection of reports?

BBC Schools Report

Pupil Premium and Free School Meals

Parents should have received a letter today from their child's tutor at Academic Tutoring Day. The letter gives information about how eligible parents can save money by receiving Free School Meals. This has no affect on any other benefits you may receive and has the added benefit of making the school eligible to receive Pupil Premium, which is worth £600 to the academy each year.

The letter is available below along with the application form which can be sent direct to Suffolk or handed in at the SAGC.

FSM Letter (1Mb)
FSM Form (1Mb)

You can see a full summary of how we spend the Pupil Premium by visiting the Pupil Premium section.

Lights, Camera, Action

Students were asked to star in a special film as part of Suffolk's Raising The Bar campaign this week. A small film crew came ot film students in 8N during their history lesson with Mrs Jones.

The film crew also took time out to give a live demonstration to a Year 11 Media class who saw the techniques they are being taught in action.