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A Message from Principal, Mr Martin
Next week the Year 11 students receive their reports which will include a wealth of information on how they can improve over the coming months in preparation for their next set of mocks in March. This is an incredibly important time of year for these students who should hopefully already have a detailed revision timetable for the next few weeks as their revision continues.
This year Professor Hubbard and I are leading a project, along with Kimberley College, funded by the Connelly Foundation. The project, which includes working with nearly all Sixth Forms in our county, is focusing on raising the aspirations of over 5000 students currently studying in Year 12 and Year 13. We are working in partnership with Oxford, Cambridge, Cranfield, Bedford, MK:U and The University of Hertfordshire. We are also working with employers such as National Rail. Several meetings with the heads of Sixth Form have taken place, but last week it was the turn of the students. A group of SWA students from The Society led a conference for over 80 students from 14 schools. Activities were all planned and delivered by our students and included taking the delegates through the process of setting up their own Society in their schools. Prof Hubbard was incredibly proud of all the students and the event was a huge success.
We have started the year with some early silverware: the U15 girls basketball team were crowned county champions! The U16 boys’ football teams are still in the nationals with wins last week. Last Friday evening, the U14, 15, 17 and 1st XV rugby teams played St Joseph’s of Ipswich at the Bedford Athletic ground. It was a fantastic night of rugby, please see below for results. This should be excellent preparation for the upcoming matches in the national vase in March. Thank you to all supporters who braved the cold conditions and supported our boys.
You will be aware that the National Education Union announced that its members will be taking industrial action on four occasions over the coming months. We will be writing to you today with the plan for the first strike day on Wednesday 1st February.
Finally, last week we heard the sad news that Sir Samuel Whitbread had passed away peacefully. He was a keen supporter of the academy and the land the school is built upon was donated by the family over 50 years ago. As Principal of SWA, I had the pleasure of meeting him on a number of occasions, when he came to the school to present the ‘Sir Samuel Whitbread House Cup’ at our annual awards evenings. He was always genuinely interested in the students’ achievements and keen to hear about their future plans and aspirations. We send our heartfelt condolences to the family at this difficult time.
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Messages From Heads of Year
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Year 10 have been enjoying another busy month, preparing for key assessment points in lessons and participating in a wide range of extra-curricular activities. We were especially pleased to see so many of our Year 10 students in attendance at our High Attainers evening, learning all about future pathways and the opportunities available at Samuel Whitbread Academy.
As we draw ever closer to the formal Year 10 mock exams in the Summer term, we are beginning to focus on revision and study skills as part of our sessions during registration. These registration sessions with tutors are now more important than ever, so please do contact your child's tutor if you have any questions about content.
Finally, a reminder from the year team to continue sharing your child's success with us. We have been so pleased to be able to celebrate some incredible achievements from outside of school and would love to continue!
We have sent 143 UCAS applications! It has been a massive effort by the students, tutors and Sixth Form team. I would like to thank everyone for their help, support and guidance throughout this time, and I know many guardians have been a driving force in getting students ready with these applications. This represents 63% of the year group.
On Friday 27th January, Mr Huckle is running a period 4 session in the theatre outlining what these students should do next, including student finance. This session is on the students’ timetables therefore it is important that any student who has applied for University attends. Those students who have not applied can use the hour to research and prepare for their next steps.
To help those students who are seeking alternative routes, other than University, our careers team are running a session on Friday 3rd February period 3 in the Sixth Form study centre. This session will focus on the other routes that are available as well as guidance on how to find and source these opportunities. We understand that some students have already secured apprenticeships or have clear plans, so the students who wish to attend need to let their tutor know so we can add them to our register, and authorise any lesson that may be missed. If a student has applied for university, they can of course still attend this session. The careers team will use this time to also book a one to one appointment with students, there will also be a follow up session. Students attending can help shape this with areas they want to cover, at present we plan to focus on interview skills and CV writing. Please do encourage our Year 13s to attend and engage to make these sessions as productive as possible.
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PATERNAL STAFF PRAISE NOMINATIONS
We are pleased to be continuing our guardian / staff praise nomination initiative where you have the opportunity to send a postcard to a member of teaching or support staff (or even a department) of your choice.
Please use the form below to nominate your chosen staff or department, we will then print and deliver the postcard on your behalf.
This is a quick note of thanks to teachers and support staff for their support, time or effort. We have prepopulated some options, but please feel free to design your own comments.
This will take one minute to complete and we really appreciate your time; it'll make such a difference to our school community.
Click here for the google form.
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READING DISPLAY
At SWA, we prioritise reading to ensure every student can read confidently for both pleasure and progress. We are proud to share with you our 'Reading' display which details our current approach to supporting reading in all subjects across the academy.
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READING NEWSLETTER – SPRING TERM 1
New Year, new reading inspiration!
Reading Newsletter Spring term one, includes a new segment, KS5 book recommendations from three staff members. Click on the image below to read this month’s edition.
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SOCIETY CONFERENCE
Friday saw the leadership team for the Society take their expertise to 15 of the other Sixth Forms in Bedfordshire, hosting the Society Conference at Kimberly College. Student delegates were introduced to all the work that SWA’s Society do through the academy and shown the ideas behind the Philosophy of the Society. A number of workshops took place where our leaders guided students in setting up their own Society structures, running the Tutorial System and managing Lectures and Events within their Schools and Colleges.
The Conference was organised by the Raising Aspirations Project, currently supporting 16 Sixth Forms within Bedfordshire. All schools reported they found the event and presentations from the SWA’s Society Leadership Team Inspirational. We look forward to the second Bedfordshire Society Conference in the summer.
 
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SENIOR YOUTH THEATRE GROUP
Click on the poster below to purchase your tickets.
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SUMMER MUSICAL
This summer the school musical will be ‘Les Misérables’. Auditions for this will be on Monday 20th February 4:00pm -6:00pm.
Any student wanting to be involved are invited to a meeting and song learning workshop on Monday 30th January 4:00 - 6:00pm.
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A LEVEL DANCE
Last week our A Level dance students spent the day at the University of Bedfordshire. Our students were true professionals; they worked hard and received lots of compliments from the University of Bedfordshire dance department. Needless to say, they had an amazing experience, thank you.
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BIGGLESWADE SWIMMING CLUB
Biggleswade Swimming Club are looking for new members and they are keen to encourage young people to keep active. If you’re interested in joining Biggleswade swimming club please see poster below for more information.
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U19 NETBALL
Our U19 netball team are through to the next round of the Sister N Sport competition after 44-27 win against Tutor Hall. Well done all.
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U15 NETBALL
Well done to our U15B Netball team! Another win for the team and more importantly a great performance.
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BOYS’ RUGBY
Last Friday, under the lights, all age groups for boys’ rugby played against St Josephs’ College at Bedford Athletics Rugby Club. A massive thank you to all the supporters who came along and cheered the teams on, and thank you to St Joseph’s College for joining us. Both sides across all the age groups played brilliantly.
Here are the results…
U14: draw 17-17
U15: lost 5-12
U17: won 22-20
U18: won 24-12
An amazing evening, thank you for the staff who organised the event and to Bedford Athletic Rugby Club for hosting the evening.
 
 
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GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Last week our U16 girls’ basketball team were crowned county champions for the second year in a row! We are so proud of this squad, this is very much deserved due to their hard work and dedication to the sport. Player of the match went to Rosa. Onwards and upwards to regionals!
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U15 BOYS’ QUARTER FINALIST
Congratulations to our U15 boys' rugby team, who are through to the National Vase quarter finals. The team won 17-0 against a strong and physical St Albans School. A massive well done to all involved.
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WHITBREAD FOOTBALL UPDATE
It has been another successful National Cup season for our football teams this year with three of our sides still fighting for a place in a National Final. Our U15B boys, U16A boys and U16B boys are all into the quarter finals or the last 16 phase of the competitions.
Our U15Bs successfully overcome Northampton School for Boys, with a 2-0 win to book their place in the quarter finals, where they will travel to Thomas Telford School in what will be an extremely close match.
The U16Bs also cemented their place in the quarter final with a victory over Brooke House College, the game however did go to extra time and then penalties following a 1-1 draw, with Goalkeeper Owen A the hero of the hour during the shoot-out.
Finally, it was the turn of our U16A team who travelled to Caroline Chisholm School in Northampton, and after a hard-fought match they came away with a 1-0 victory to move into the last 16, where we will host Thomas Telford School or Sandwell Academy.
Despite not all our teams still partaking in the National Competition, all of our sides are now fully into the District and County Football season, with games coming thick and fast across the age groups. Training remains on a Tuesday after school for our younger groups and then on a Thursday for our girls only sessions and our Year 11 teams. Please keep checking on our School Sport Website and on our Twitter feed for all the latest fixtures for the coming weeks.
As always, we would like to place a huge thanks to our Football sponsors RARUK Automation, who continually support our Football programme and help our staff to provide all of the fantastic opportunities that are on offer each and every term.
 
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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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