Heywood Academy weekly update 23.10.26

As we reach the end of our first half term of the academic year, it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what has been an amazing few weeks at Heywood Academy.

This term has seen our school continue to grow, with both staff and student numbers increasing. Despite this growth, the magic that makes Heywood Academy such a special place has not been diluted. Every day, our staff team and students continue to create a welcoming and supportive learning environment where everyone can thrive.

We are ending the half term with two special events. Firstly, our Year 12 student, Luke, has been working hard alongside our staff team to organise a Macmillan Coffee Afternoon for students and staff.

Following this, we will be holding our Youth Speaking Competition. I have been so impressed by the effort that our students put in while preparing their presentations. I am certain the competition will be a fabulous end to what has already been a successful half term.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the Rotary Club of Middleton and to Mr Partridge, one of our school governors, for their sponsorship and support of these events.

As we break for half term, I would like to thank our students, families and staff for all their hard work and support throughout the start of this academic year. I hope everyone has a restful and enjoyable break, and I look forward to welcoming you all back next half term, refreshed and ready to do it all again!

Mrs. Mcmanus

Ms. Nicholson's weekly update

World Food Day Celebration

This week, students across the school enjoyed a range of activities to celebrate World Food Day and explore food from different cultures around the world. In Year 7 PE, students got active by creating poses inspired by the shapes of different fruits and vegetables, combining fitness with creativity. In Year 9 Art, students explored the world of Pop Art, photographing a selection of fruit, sweets, and soup cans before using their iPads to create colourful repetitive photo prints inspired by famous pop art techniques.

During EHCP sessions, students in Years 9 and 10 had the opportunity to taste foods from around the world. The sessions were filled with conversation, cultural music, and plenty of new flavours as students celebrated and appreciated the diversity of global food cultures. It was fantastic to see students engaging creatively, socially, and culturally while celebrating the importance of food and its connections to communities around the world.

Art & Food Technology Update

Students have been busy developing their practical and creative skills across both Food Technology and Art this week.

In Year 7 Food Technology, students made spooky pizzas, practicing safe knife skills and food preparation techniques while creating imaginative Halloween-themed designs.

Year 9 Food Technology students prepared a traditional Manchester Tart, focusing on the skills required to make a smooth, sweet custard and assemble the finished dessert successfully.

In Year 10 BTEC Home Cooking, students cooked sausage, mash and peas, building their confidence in preparing and serving a balanced main meal while developing their independent cooking skills.

In Art, Year 7 students continued refining their wax resist jellyfish outcomes, exploring colour, pattern and line to create vibrant final pieces inspired by ocean life.

Meanwhile, Year 8 students have begun developing artwork based on their object photography, taking inspiration from the work of Michael Craig-Martin. They are experimenting with bold colours and strong outlines to transform everyday objects into striking contemporary artworks.

It has been wonderful to see students demonstrating creativity, resilience and growing confidence in their practical skills across both subjects.

Ms. Nicholson

Miss Zobenica's weekly update

This week in PE, students completed their final sessions in their current sports units. To assess their learning, students were asked questions about the rules, techniques, and key skills they have developed over the past few weeks, allowing staff to gauge their understanding and progress. It has been fantastic to see how much confidence, knowledge and ability students have gained, particularly when taking part in sports that were new to them. Students should be very proud of the progress they have made throughout the unit, and we look forward to seeing them apply these skills in future activities.

This week in Outdoor Education, some classes visited Bury Market to further develop their independence and community awareness. Students safely navigated the busy market environment alongside members of the public, showing excellent consideration for others and demonstrating sensible behaviour throughout the visit. Many students chose to make a purchase in a local café, where they successfully applied their money-handling and maths skills. It was fantastic to see them using polite manners and appropriate transactional language when speaking with staff, helping to build their confidence in everyday social situations.

Year 9 students took a walk to Heywood Civic Centre, where they learnt about the wide range of events and activities available within the local community. Students explored both cultural and educational opportunities on offer, including upcoming events, community projects and information services. The visit helped to increase their awareness of local resources while encouraging independence and community engagement. They also had the opportunity to make a purchase, whilst there. They were able to budget appropriately and apply their maths skills.

Our Year 10s visited a gym, where they were introduced to a variety of fitness equipment and learnt about the different youth programmes available within the local community. Students were shown how to use gym equipment safely and responsibly, gaining a greater understanding of how to exercise effectively while prioritising their own health and wellbeing.

Miss Zobenica

Miss Grace's Weekly Update

🧁 Community Engagement

This week, 8G visited Morrisons with a shopping list to purchase cakes and treats for students and parents to enjoy at the Macmillan Bake Sale. The students represented the school brilliantly and showed great independence while out in the community.

🔨 Design Technology

Students have also been working incredibly hard in DT, developing their practical skills and demonstrating growing confidence when using a range of tools and drills safely and effectively.

Miss Grace

Ms. Thomas' weekly update

Forest School and Design & Technology

What a fantastic half term we have had in Forest School! From den building to learning how to safely use tools, our students have enjoyed a wide range of exciting activities. They have developed their knowledge of minibeasts, learned how to follow instructions, and strengthened their teamwork skills through hands-on learning and play.

Our Year 10 Environment Leaders have truly excelled this term. They have created videos and promotional materials that showcase their excellent leadership skills, while engaging younger students in activities that benefit our school environment. Their work has helped to protect local habitats and attract a variety of wildlife to our Forest School area.

Year 7 students proudly brought home their first completed projects this week: felt monsters designed to represent different emotions. Using a range of textile techniques, they have worked creatively and independently to produce unique and imaginative creations, of which they are extremely proud.

Students in Years 8 and 9 have been busy collaborating on group projects that have encouraged communication, problem-solving, and the identification of individual strengths within a team. We are looking forward to installing the bird boxes and wildlife shelters they have created in our Forest School area after the Christmas break.

Year 8 students have enjoyed a particularly hands-on project, learning how to safely use a variety of hand and power tools while developing their practical skills and confidence. Meanwhile, Year 9 students have been busy designing and engineering innovative solutions to challenges, and they will begin exciting carpentry projects in the new year.

As the weather becomes colder, please ensure that students come to Forest School sessions dressed appropriately for outdoor learning. While we have a selection of wellington boots and waterproof clothing available, warm layers such as woolly socks, hats, gloves, and scarves will help keep children comfortable and ready to enjoy their time outside.

We look forward to another exciting term of outdoor learning after the break!

Ms. Thomas

Ms. Thompson's weekly update

Today we are presenting our finished cell models to members of staff within school. We will be explaining what each part of the cell does and why it is important. Please see attached photos!

In Maths we have been deepening our understanding learning about how to simplify expressions. We have worked really hard on this are doing fantastically well.

Our description writing has now come to an end and we will be publishing the final results in class today. The literary devices we have used have been very ambitious and we have engaged well with the editing side of writing which is just as important as any other aspect as we can always improve!

Geography has seen us working out may symbols and what they might represent.

I hope everyone has a lovely half term. Stay safe and I look forward to seeing you after the break. Enjoy a well-deserved rest!

Ms. Thompson

Mrs Kaysor’s Science Blog

Year 7 Science

7A Students consolidated their understanding of forces while also developing important scientific enquiry skills. They learned how to identify variables in investigations and recognise sources of error, helping them build the critical thinking skills used by scientists.

7T Students worked extremely hard this week as they reviewed and consolidated their learning in preparation for, and completion of, their assessment. They should be proud of the focus and effort they demonstrated.

Year 8 Science

8K Students began an exciting new topic on blood and circulation. They explored the different components of blood and learned about the structure and functions of arteries, veins, and capillaries, gaining a deeper understanding of how the body transports essential substances.

8G Students continued their learning about the digestive system, tracing the journey food takes through the digestive tract and discovering how the body breaks down and absorbs nutrients needed for growth and energy.

Year 9 Science

This week, Year 9 students explored the valuable resources obtained from the Earth's crust. They learned about the differences between finite and renewable resources and discussed the importance of using Earth's resources responsibly for a sustainable future.

Year 10 Science

Year 10 students have been developing their physics skills by learning how to calculate kinetic energy and elastic potential energy. They have been applying mathematical equations to real-world situations, strengthening both their scientific understanding and problem-solving abilities.

Mrs. Kaysor

Mr. Adams’ Weekly Update – 23.10.26

KS3

Years 7-9 Computing

To finish the half-term, students in Years 7-9 have been exploring BBC micro:bits, introducing them to practical programming and physical computing.

Students experimented with creating simple programs to display messages, symbols and images using the micro:bit’s LED display. They also explored how buttons A, B and A+B can be programmed to trigger different actions, introducing the concept of inputs and outputs.

These activities provided an opportunity to apply computational thinking skills and explore how programming instructions can be used to control electronic devices.

KS4

Year 10 Creative iMedia

Year 10 have continued working towards their OCR Cambridge National in Creative iMedia, moving on to the design development stage of their A5 promotional leaflet.

This week, students began producing between two and four hand-drawn design concepts, exploring different approaches to layout, typography, imagery and the organisation of information.

The activity focused on developing alternative design ideas that respond to the client brief, considering how visual elements can be arranged to communicate information effectively and appeal to the intended target audience.

Year 10 Employability

There was no BTEC Employability lesson this week due to the Year 10 English Language mock examination.

Year 10 Personal Growth & Wellbeing

There was no BTEC Personal Growth & Wellbeing lesson this week due to the Year 10 Mathematics mock examination.

KS5

Year 12 Esports

Year 12 have continued studying Unit 1: Introduction to Esports as part of their BTEC Level 3 qualification, focusing on Learning Aim A4: Global organisations and bodies involved in esports.

Students continued exploring the involvement of major global companies in the esports industry, including technology companies, games publishers and organisations responsible for competitive gaming platforms.

They also began investigating the role of international bodies involved in esports, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC), Global Esports Federation (GEF) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

This introduced students to the importance of governance, competitive integrity, regulation and fair play within the global esports industry.

Year 12 Enterprise

Year 12 have continued putting their enterprise skills into practice by preparing for Friday’s Macmillan fundraising tea afternoon, taking place on 23 October at Heywood Academy.

This week, the focus has been on the final stages of event planning, including considering the organisation of the afternoon, the resources required and arrangements for welcoming staff and students.

The activity provides a practical opportunity to explore key enterprise skills, including planning, organisation, communication and problem-solving, while contributing to a fundraising event in support of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mr. Adams

Ms. Taylor's Weekly Update

7A have completed their unit on Expressions and Equations by solving two-step equations, including those involving fractions. They tackled this challenge brilliantly and demonstrated excellent mathematical understanding throughout. They then completed their end-of-unit assessment, and the results were absolutely fantastic. I am incredibly proud of the effort and progress they have made. Our next unit is Number, where we will focus on place value and positioning numbers within intervals on a number line.

8K have been working on Algebraic Manipulation, focusing on simplifying algebraic expressions and applying their knowledge of directed numbers. I have been massively impressed with their resilience and determination when tackling increasingly challenging problems. They have approached each lesson positively and continued to develop their confidence with algebra.

9N have completed their work on Area and Volume, with a particular focus on finding the volume of prisms. They now understand what a cross-section is and can calculate its area to help determine the volume of a prism. Our next unit is Solving Equations. We have spent time recapping basic equation-solving techniques from previous years, ensuring everyone has a secure foundation and is ready to access the new skills that will be introduced.

10C have completed their first GCSE Mathematics mock paper and approached it with maturity, determination and a fantastic attitude. This is an excellent start, and I would like to wish them good luck with the remaining two papers, which they will complete after the half-term break. Alongside this, they have continued their work on factorising and solving quadratic expressions. They have found some aspects challenging, particularly when dealing with negative numbers, but they have shown excellent perseverance and a willingness to challenge themselves. This has been a great week of mathematics, and they should be very proud of their efforts.

Ms. Taylor