Dear Parent/Carer
It’s been a long and busy term, and we have so much to celebrate within the Workington Academy community. We continue to achieve significant sporting successes in a range of sports, with the Year 7 and Year 8 girls unbeaten in the Copeland and Allerdale Netball League. The Year 8 girls were also winners of the Utilita Football Cup. Year 9 and Year 10 boys were runners up in the Northeast and Cumbria Dodgeball finals and will now go on to compete in the national final later next year. Year 9 boys were also winners of the West Coast Basketball competition. Huge congratulations to all our students who regularly take part in sport at Workington Academy.
Year 11 and 13 are working hard to prepare for next summer’s examinations. After school tutoring started in November for Year 11, and Year 13. Attendance at these after school sessions has been excellent. We have also developed a range of resources to support students in preparing for their exams. Year 11 have received a ‘100 days’ homework timetable to build their knowledge and exam skills. This programme aims to fully prepare students for next summer’s exams, and is available for parents on the Academy website.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and contribution towards the excellent attendance of the vast majority of our students over the Autumn Term. As a result of our school community’s continued support with attendance, Workington Academy remains currently above the national average. We take great pride in ensuring the high attendance of our students, giving them the opportunity to achieve the very best outcomes. I ask for your continued support in ensuring that your child is in school every day throughout the Spring Term, to further support their continued progress and achievement of their academic and personal potential.
I am so very proud of the work our staff and students have done in the community this Christmas. We’ve had students raising funds in school so that they can provide hampers, cards and biscuits to residents in local care homes, alongside carol singing, which is always well received. Workington Academy staff have also been working hard to support Mission Christmas which has provided food hampers and gifts for 86 of our students.
Finally, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you all have a restful break and look forward to welcoming students back to the Academy on Monday 6 January at 8.30am. Thank you for your continued support.
Yours faithfully
Mark Bedford
Headteacher
Year 7
We have had an excellent start to Team Year 7 2024-25 during our first Autumn Term at Workington Academy. Our students in starting their secondary school life have built many new friendships, joined many extra-curricular clubs, developed new academic skills and built lasting positive impressions.
We have been so proud of how well our Year 7 have taken on the challenges of our rewards scheme this year. We have had multiple “Sevens Stars of the Week”, “Super Sevens”, “Headteacher’s Recognition Awards” that our students have proven keen to achieve. This is due to fantastic effort, responsibility, resilience and extracurricular achievements. As a result of this high level of engagement, we have many students in our exclusive Elite Club, who will be rewarded in the last week of term.
In October, we enjoyed our annual Team-Building Day at Derwentwater. Students behaved excellently throughout the day and built some strong relationships between our tutors and tutor groups.
Team Year 7 have taken part in a significant number of extracurricular activities. We have had students take part in home-learning club, taking responsibility for their own independent work. We have had students join our Radio Club, who supported with the Christmas Performance. In October, a large number of our students contributed to our Macmillan Coffee Morning, enabling this event to run successfully. Furthermore, we have had a huge number of Year 7 students taking part in a range of performing arts. Many of our students also took part in the Christmas Showcase event in December, which again proved a roaring success. From musical pieces to group dance and solo dance performances alongside some amazing vocal talent. In addition, a group of students in our choir visited care homes in the local area to spread some Christmas cheer!
We have also had impressive sporting success throughout the first term. Our rugby boys did amazingly well in poor conditions. Stand out students were Declan Wood and Reggie Bold. We also had Harrison Cripps, Freddie Brooks, Esme Wilson and Scarlett Dodgson placed in our cross country competitions.
We also had a lovely joint Christmas party with Y8 students in the penultimate week of term, dressed in our festive finest and students had a lovely time celebrating together. Our Learning Support department also enjoyed a great trip to the cinema as a celebration of their first full term.
Overall, our Year 7 cohort have made a strong start to their studies at Workington Academy, and we continue to be (in Miss Lee’s opinion) the best cohort in the school!
Miss Lee
Year 8
It has been a great term full of creativity, learning, and celebration for Year 8. Here is a snapshot of what we have been up to:
Our Year 8 students highlighted their artistic talents and teamwork by participating in our door-decorating competition. Linking to Black History Month, each form group chose a theme that reflected their values and ideas, transforming their classroom doors into vibrant displays of creativity. It was inspiring to see the students working together, sharing ideas, and taking pride in their designs. These decorated doors have truly brightened up our corridors. They also took an active role in celebrating Black History Month further by learning about the incredible contributions of Black individuals throughout history and engaging in activities that deepened their understanding of cultural heritage. From thought-provoking assemblies and class discussions to creative projects, students explored the significance of diversity, resilience, and equality.
Year 8 students have also been dedicated to raising money for local charities, showing immense generosity and enthusiasm. Their efforts included:
- Selling Hot Chocolate – A warm treat for chilly days, with proceeds going to important causes, giving up their lunch times to raise money for a good cause.
- Sponsored Silence – Students displayed impressive self-discipline and focus while raising funds in a fun and unique way. In addition to fundraising, students will be spreading Christmas cheer by visiting local care homes to connect with residents and share their kindness and creativity.
- Raffling a variety of donated gifts.
Year 8 students have also achieved outstanding success in sports this term, particularly our outstanding girls’ football team. Their dedication, teamwork, and skill have led to some impressive results, and we could not be prouder of their achievements. We look forward to seeing even more success from them in the new year.
A new visitor, the Attend-elf, has been bringing festive cheer to Year 8. Each week, the elf has rewarded the forms with the best attendance, inspiring students to prioritise being present. We capped off the term with a Christmas party for Year 7 and Year 8, celebrating attendance and achievements with plenty of fun, awards, and festive spirit. This term has been a wonderful demonstration of Year 8’s talent, generosity, and determination.
Mrs Thompson
Year 9
Year 9 have successfully completed the assessment period for Year 9, The year group team want to express how well the students have conducted themselves during the exam period. We look forward to taking them through the GCSE options process in the New Year. As part of this, Year 9 have been working through some career-based activities in form time.
Several Year 9 students were selected to take part in the Future Pathways Programme run in partnership with Morgan Sindall. The students have developed interview skills, resilience and raised career aspirations. Students said their confidence had grown and they enjoyed doing things they have never done before!
We would like to congratulate students on their sporting/extracurricular achievements in and out of school, with special mentions for those being involved swimming, chess, rugby, cadets, football, dance, darts and cheerleading. Several year 9 students have been selected to take part in Christmas Shows at our local Carnegie Theatre. We wish them luck.
Miss Smith
Year 10
Year 10 students have settled into the new academic year very well. We have seen some excellent individual achievements along the way, both in the classroom and through our extracurricular provision. The students in Year 10 have achieved many reward points for their academic progress and effort, and have responded well to the new challenges of GCSE study. Many of our students have enjoyed being part of the Student Council and have been very proactive in offering ideas and driving forward solutions for whole school improvement.
In preparation for work experience in the summer of 2025, students have written letters of application to local employers and many of our students have now secured placements for the summer term.
Year 10 students are continuing to develop their skills through the Access Project. This programme prepares students for GCSEs, A-levels and then university. Students involved in this have improved their confidence since starting the project and are starting to make future goals.
We have achieved some outstanding results in Sport especially Netball, where the Year 10 girls remain undefeated. Our Dodgeball team were runners up in the Cumbria and North East Championships.
The Year 10 students experienced live theatre in Glasgow with a visit to see ‘Blood Brothers’. The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will benefit from this visit, as it is a key text in their GCSE Literature.
Mr Sewell
Year 11
The year 11 students have all completed their mock exams, showing maturity and a conscientious approach to their work. They have settled into their subjects and are striving to be the best they can be. We have also maintained the study skills programme in form time, whereby students are learning how to revise and to organise their revision and homework. Students have also been involved in post sixteen assemblies involving external agencies; these included BAE, Sellafield and other local employers who discussed exciting career opportunities within Cumbria and further afield. We are also halfway through the year group with career advice interviews, with Inspira offering progression plans post 16. There have also been intervention sessions before and after school to address pupils’ areas for improvement.
Our many notable achievements this term including attendance heroes, sporting and musical accomplishments, which have all been celebrated in assembly and on our social media pages. We hosted an awards evening in October to celebrate our pupils’ successes, which was well attended and enjoyed by all. The Y11 students have shown great resilience in studying for their GCSEs, often having to juggle many aspects of school life. The new rewards system has proved successful, with students striving to do well and gain as many reward points as they can. We will have a rewards trip after Christmas for the leading point scoring students to look forward to alongside the spinning of the Wheel of Wonder.
We are very proud of the start the year 11s have made to their final GCSE year and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you all in the Spring term!
Miss Horsburgh
