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A Message from Principal, Mr Martin
It has been a busy month in our cluster with regards to the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme. We will be sending out a letter with more information detailing the recent developments as soon as we have had an update from the local authority.
Our students have been incredibly focused during the Year 11 and Year 13 mock weeks and conducted themselves exceptionally. Exam boards have communicated all the changes to the examinations this summer and our departments are ensuring this is used to focus student revision and preparation. Our staff have been fantastic in offering to work after school, at lunchtime or during their Easter break to help our students prepare for their exams.
COVID guidance changes as of 1st April and students who test positive for COVID should isolate at home for three days, then providing they are well enough, they can return to the Academy. Whilst our confirmed positive cases have dramatically reduced over the past two months, we do currently have 22 confirmed cases in the Academy and ask all in the community to be mindful that many people continue to feel a little anxious.
As always, Samuel Whitbread continues to be an incredibly popular upper school in the local area and we are pleased to have offered 420 places to students in Year 8. Transition communications have started to be sent and we look forward to welcoming the students and their parents to our site in the coming months.
It has been a busy extra-curricular half term for our students who have participated in the incredibly successful Spring Concert and Dance Show, as well as 120 students who went away for their Duke of Edinburgh award last weekend. We have also had tree planting, international debates online, a visit to Bedford observatory and numerous online events for our Sixth Formers as they prepare for the next stage of their lives.
Our amazing national cup run in football has finally come to an end this term with teams finishing in the last 32, 16, quarter and semi-finals: our best ever season for football for the academy! A big well done to Mr Goldman and all of the students from Year 9 to Year 13 who should be really proud of themselves. Other Sports results have included finishing U18 boys’ hockey team finishing second to Bedford Modern and hosting three Rugby 7s tournaments. Finally, we had several teams at the Rosslyn Park 7s competition and I'm delighted to announce that it was the U18 girls who came away with the silverware, winning the prestigious Bowl – an unbelievable performance!
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Messages From Heads of Year
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Year 9 have enjoyed a lovely Spring term, with plenty to celebrate including a fantastic rewards trip to the Milton Keynes Escape Room, charity bake sales, a wonderful display of talent at our dance evening and some stunning performances on the sports field. Please do continue to share your children's successes from outside school with us too, as we love to be able to celebrate them at school.
As we move into the warmer weather, please can you continue to ensure your child has the correct uniform. Coats and jackets are no longer permitted in classrooms. Blazers are a mandatory part of our uniform and must be worn, whilst trainers must not be worn. Skirts should be of a reasonable length and have the Samuel Whitbread logo. Logos can be purchased from our reception. Key information about our uniform can be found on our website.
The deadline for submitting options choices has now passed, so the team are busy working on the mammoth task of subject allocations for the next academic year. A huge thank you to those of you who have been so kind and understanding as we work through a few tweaks to ensure that every student has an outcome they are happy with. If you or your child have any questions about options, please contact their tutor in the first instance.
Finally, we would like to wish you and your families a wonderful Easter break from everyone here in the Year 9 pastoral team.
On Thursday, all Year 10s attended a production and workshop from Solomon Theatre Company called- The Power of Love. This explored important themes around healthy and unhealthy relationships, grooming and sexual exploitation. I hope that students found the production informative and useful to understand these issues which are important to understand as they negotiate adolescence and early adulthood. If you have any questions about the production, please speak to your child and I am happy to also answer any questions you may have.
Year 10s have their first mock exams two weeks after we return from Easter – starting on Tuesday 3rd May for a week. All core subjects (English, maths and science) as well as EBACC subjects (geography, history and languages) will be assessed. This is the first time they have been in this environment and therefore it is understandable that there may be some nerves! On Friday during tutor time, tutors went through tips for revision, revision timetables and a brief outline of the mocks themselves. In the first week after Easter, time will be used in the morning to help them evaluate their areas of strength and weakness in these subjects in order to focus their revision and efforts. Lots of Information and revision help can be found on our website for each of the subject areas as well as the mock timetable which can be found here.
Can I finally ask you to please resolve any uniform issues over the Easter break so students come back for their final term in Year 10 looking immaculate! Thank you for your support as always, I wish you a happy Easter!
We have made it to the end of another term here at Samuel Whitbread. The students have had a really successful half term with the mocks taking place and receiving their results back. We are continuing to see students take taking their time in lessons more and more seriously in the approach to their exams. As always, we do recommend revising at home, but if this hasn't already started, we suggest they start starting as soon as possible. However, students - please remember to take some time for yourselves and to spend some time with your family.
Have a lovely Easter and we will see you when you get back.
We have had a very busy term in Year 12 and I am sure the break is welcomed by students, staff and parents. We have just completed our first online Progress Review Evening for Year 12. We hope parents and students found this useful and that better progress can now be made. It is important that our Year 12 students are taking ownership of their learning and are fully aware of what they must do to improve. We will be looking for our new Head Students from our Year 12 cohort. This process will be taking place after Easter with a deadline of Friday 22nd for letters of interest to be submitted. There will be a team of Head Students who form part of a wider body, so anyone not elected to the main roles will still have a part to play. I hope all of you have a restful break, and we look forward to an exciting term ahead.
It has been an incredibly busy, challenging and rewarding term for our Year 13 students. We have seen students tackle apprenticeship applications and interviews, university offers, concerts and performances, driving tests and their IPEs. Easter holidays should give our students a chance to refresh, recharge and revise. When the new term arrives we will be well into the planning for our Year 13 Prom and Leavers celebration (Friday 8th July) – please do make the prom payment on ParentMail. Hoodies and yearbooks will also be available for ordering after the Easter holidays. We wish all of our Year 13 students a rewarding and renewing Easter break.
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EASTER DANCE SHOW
The dance department’s Easter Dance Show was back after two years. It was a fantastic show; showcasing the best of the GCSE exam work and extracurricular work. The show went very smoothly despite a dress rehearsal injury, but it didn’t stop our determined dancer! I would like to thank all the dancers for working so hard and performing so beautifully. I would also like to thank Anna, our Sixth Form subject ambassador who helped the Year 9 dance group during rehearsals.
 
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SPRING MUSIC CONCERT
Last week Samuel Whitbread music department performed their Spring concert, to celebrate all the wonderful talent and hard work of the students. This concert would be the last for many of the students, as they are finishing Year 11 and 13 later on this academic year. The performances were excellent with the department having a variety of different performances including wind, string, percussion, and singing. We look forward to our next performances which will be at the Summer Arts Festival.
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UKRAINE BAKE SALE
Last week, Year 9 tutor classes K and L, were involved in the baking and selling of cakes. Students made a Babka Honey Cake which was decorated with the Ukrainian flag. The students managed to raise £72 for the Ukrainian support fund, set up by the school. Thank you to all the students and staff who helped to bake cakes and to those who brought cakes in to sell.
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THE ASTRONOMY CLUB
One evening last week, the astronomy club visited the Bedford Observatory and were treated to a special planetarium show with fantastic views through their telescopes. Massive thank you to Linton Guise and team. We even got to see the international space station fly by twice!
 
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CHUMS CHARITY PARTY IN THE PARK
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ECO-FASHION SHOW
After the Easter holidays, the eco-fashion show will take place. The committee has been working incredibly hard preparing for the show. If, over the holidays, you decide to have a clear -out and have any unwanted clothes, please could they be donated to the eco-committee. All the repurposed clothes will be sold at the end of the show, the money raised will go towards the tree planting trip that took place earlier in the term.
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GO-KARTING
Last weekend, Year 10 student Olivia competed in the first Go-Karting event of the season, the Spring Cup. Despite competing in a heavily male dominated event, she raced superbly and was crowned champion.
Olivia trains hard and is always working on the kart alongside her head mechanic. She is now working even harder as she attempts to win the British Championship this summer. Last year Olivia finished 8th in the big event as is looking to improve this coming summer. Good luck this season!
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U15 HANDBALL
Both the U15 girls and boys Handball team travelled to Cambridge University to compete in the Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire divisional tournament of the national Handball competition.
The U15 girls entered the Handball tournament with high spirits. They began the day with a tough fought loss over a strong Sandringham, conceding in the last few seconds to lose 3-2. Two more tough games followed with two narrow losses, not the start we were looking for. However, the girls showed great character and resilience and bounced back to win the final two games. As the day drew to a close, Samuel Whitbread U15 girls finished third in the group and narrowly missed out on qualification to the semi-finals by two points. A great day of handball at the fantastic facility of Cambridge University Sports Centre, well done girls!
The U15 boys were hopeful of a good run in the tournament but it was very much unexpected how well they would do. The squad of 12 played in five group matches against Redborne, Sandringham, Trumpington, John Warner and Townsend school. The boys won four of them convincingly and drew one match meaning they found themselves in the final at the end of the day against Impington College. A close first half of the game with three minutes left Whitbread 2-1. With seven minutes remaining of the second half, this seemed to revitalise a tired Whitbread side into action and within minutes we had taken control of the contest and found ourselves 4-2 ahead. Two final scores from Kemp and Matthews sealed the victory and a place in the London Regionals in May. The boys are now one step away from the National Handball finals.
Squad: Jack, Albie, Josh, Harry, Tom, Olly, Dan, Oscar, Harley, Callum, Jack, Alfie.
Player of the Tournament – Albie
 
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YEAR 9 TO 11 NETBALL KIT
After many requests, I am very happy to announce we will be opening up the ability to purchase netball kit for our Year 9 to 11s! We will require, at a minimum, all girls to buy their own netball dress as we can only provide netball dresses to the new Year 9 cohort from next year.
Our kit provider is Mizuno and there is about an eight week turn around (potentially longer with the dresses) so I would like to get a large kit order in as soon as possible after the Easter term break so we are ready to go come September. I am expecting a number of medium size dresses to arrive after the break, and will gather some of the other kit which we have sizes for, for the girls to try on.
You will be ordering via MDH Sportswear and information on how to do this will follow once we have completed the sizing day.
The netball kit we currently offer is pictured below. We do not expect you to purchase all kit at all, just the kit you feel your daughter will benefit from.
 
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RUGBY SEVENS TOURNAMENT
Towards the end of the week, we took our U16 Boys, U18 Boys and U18 girls Rugby Sevens team to Rosslyn Park to compete in their Rugby Sevens National School Competition. The U16s were first up on Wednesday, the team had some incredibly tough games. Despite not processing further in the competition, they walked away proud of their performance, as they held their own against some very strong teams.
On Thursday, it was the turn of the U18 boys, in what was labelled the "toughest group in the competition" a mix of wins and losses meant the boys narrowly lost out on going through to the next stages, by a point’s difference. It was an incredible experience for the players who for a large majority of the squad had never competed in the Rosslyn Park 7s before. Wins against Warwick School and Hartpury College really showed that we can compete with some of the best schools in the country.
The last team of the week was the U18 girls, the girls had a brilliant day out and made it through to the final in the Bowl tournament. They won 17-5. Incredible performances from all, but the player of the tournament was Matilda! What a way to finish a fantastic week of Rugby 7s!
  
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SAMUEL WHITBREAD RUGBY SEVENS COMPETITION
Last week, Samuel Whitbread hosted three schools' rugby 7s competitions, inviting teams for Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas. On Monday was the U14 Boys, Tuesday the U15 Boys and Friday the U15 Girls. All competitions were incredibly competitive, with the boys winning both the U14 and U15 competitions. On Friday we had 24 Girls representing the school, many of whom playing competitive rugby for the first time. Although they didn't win the competition, there was a huge amount of learning and some great new friendships being formed.
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JACK COLLISON SOCCER SCHOOL
Our partner Jack Collison Soccer School (JCSS) is launching MONDAY NIGHT ELITE (MNE) weekly football coaching sessions for children aged 13-15!
MNE offers high-quality, professional and fun football coaching and will be led by highly experienced coaches / footballers, including former student Matt Clark (ex-England Schoolboy / Loughborough University / USA NCAA Div 1 footballer).
Sessions start Monday 25th April after Easter Half Term, are 19:00-20:00 every week (excluding bank holidays) and will take place at Raynsford Academy, Henlow.
More importantly and to celebrate the launch, the first block is 50% OFF! (only £5 per session, discount already applied at checkout)
All students at SWA are welcome to attend, especially those who already represent any of the school football teams or football teams outside of school.
So, if your child plays football and you want them to receive coaching from the some best coaches in the area, be challenged, be active, develop, compete and above all else enjoy their football, then book their place now, click here.
If you have any questions, please contact Jack and the team at contact@jackcollisonsoccerschool.com
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This term we say goodbye to a few members of staff. We are so thankful for all their hard work and commitment, so they will be truly missed by their fellow staff. Thank you and the best of luck with your future endeavours to Miss Butler (Sixth Form administrator), Mrs Kaye (second in charge of PE), and Miss Frazer (science teacher), and Miss Andrews (learning support).
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MISS BUTLER
Miss Butler has been absolutely fantastic since she joined us 4 years ago. There are some key words the Sixth Form team would use to describe her:
Proactive – always sees something coming before I do and has often done a job before I ask her.
Dedicated – she sure is!! Works hard and goes above and beyond.
Transformational – she really is and has transformed some of the ways we do things in the Sixth Form to bring us into the 21st century e.g. no more paper applications!
Approachable – nothing is too much trouble. She is one of those people that us in the Sixth Form team now class as a friend and she will be dearly missed.
Organised – you won’t find anyone more organised – She can always be relied upon to do a top-notch job.
Miss Butler will be missed more than people know amongst the Sixth Form student body, staff and especially within the Sixth Form team. We wish her all the very best in her new position at OCR and look forward to hearing how she is doing. I don’t think it will be long before she rises to fame at OCR – who knows, she may be in charge in a few years’ time.
A sad day! But a great future is ahead for Miss Butler
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MRS KAYE
Mrs Kaye has been an incredibly valued member of the PE department since her arrival 6 years ago. She has been a fantastic 2nd in department and can often be described as the “glue” holding everything together. Her organisational skills and ability to get tasks done will leave a huge hole in PE. Away from the curriculum and everything PE based, Emily is also an outstanding cook and her sausage roll making ability will without doubt be the biggest loss to SWA! We wish Emily every success in her new role and have no doubt that she will be a huge success.
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Samuel Whitbread Academy E-Newsletter
You are receiving this because you are a Student,
Parent, Carer, Governor or Member of Staff at SWA.
Samuel Whitbread Academy
Shefford Road, Clifton, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5QS
Tel: 01462 629900 • Fax: 01462 629901
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