Dear Parents and Carers,

We come to the end of the school year and have so much to celebrate that this is another bumper edition! So many wonderful occasions have been recorded in my bulletins this past year - you only have to go back through all the photographs to highlight what an inclusive, happy and safe school for your children this is! Here are the highlights from the last few weeks culminating in a scorcher of a week where ice lollies were the order of the day!

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Inter-house Sports Competition

The PE department have been running this competition all year with their departmental house teams with great success! The tables below show how well each House did with the overall winning team being “Determination” with 970 points!!

TOTALS
Respect	900
Excellence	924
Friendship	945
Determination	970

There were also year winners for groups of both boys and girls, shown in the table below:

YEAR 7		YEAR 8		YEAR 9		YEAR 10
GIRLS		GIRLS		GIRLS		GIRLS
Respect	63	Respect	86	Respect	73	Respect	111
Excellence	76	Excellence	97	Excellence	71	Excellence	125
Friendship	106	Friendship	58	Friendship	92	Friendship	116
Determination	77	Determination	76	Determination	120	Determination	106

BOYS		BOYS		BOYS		BOYS
Respect	104	Respect	66	Respect	108	Respect	87
Excellence	100	Excellence	81	Excellence	95	Excellence	93
Friendship	94	Friendship	107	Friendship	93	Friendship	96
Determination	83	Determination	116	Determination	106	Determination	109

The winning students FROM EACH YEAR GROUP were invited to an extra PE lesson on Wednesday where they could choose to take part in:

• Trampolining with Miss Morley
• Just Dance with Miss Matthews
• Climbing with Mr Stephenson
• Football with Mr Larkin
• Dodgeball with Mr Dennis.

Well done to all our students for doing so well!

And staying with the PE department, we achieved outstanding success this term when we were awarded the School Games Bronze Award! This is a great achievement for our school and the PE department but I would especially like to thank Mr Stephenson for all his hard work in making this happen!

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Albert Kennedy Trust: Diversity Day

After our highly successful Diversity Celebration Day I am delighted to tell you that we raised a marvelous £686.86 for our chosen charity! Thank you to everyone involved in organizing the event (our LGBTQ+SPACE group) and to everyone who made, sold and bought cakes!

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Daryna’s Amazing Work Experience

Work experience whilst at school has the power to change our students’ perception of the world of work very quickly! However, we often see such exciting work experience offers it doesn’t seem like ‘work’ at all! Daryna in Y10 had such a good time at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, that she has written to me about it:

This week was one of the best experiences in my life. I've had a lot of fun meeting new people and learning about different theatre departments and how they work together to create amazing productions. We've had workshops with people who specialised in directing, make up, costume, lighting, sound and much more. This work experience also allowed me to do the Bronze Arts Award which will be beneficial for me in future. Work in theatre week developed my communication and teamwork skills because it encouraged me to work in a team every day. I really enjoyed everything because it was interesting and informative, helping me to expand my horizons.

Well done Daryna – a great ambassador for our school and the Arts! We wish you every success in your future career!

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Erin-Beau Women’s Football interview

Erin-Beau in Y10, who you will know from previous bulletins as an up and coming journalist and footballer, was recently filmed for the BBC about her passion for women’s football and it was aired at the weekend on BBC and iPlayer! Her recording will continue to air through the Women's Euro Coverage.

You too can watch her brilliant film here: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/61993968

Erin’s family is so proud of her and as a school, so are we!! You are a great role model to others Erin – many congratulations on your success, we know you will go far!

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Pediatric First Aid Course

I would like to sincerely thank Martin from “Millie’s Trust” for delivering a pediatric first aid training course for our Year 10 Child Development students.  Everyone found this really beneficial, not only to their studies but also as a life skill. Thank you from Mrs Barr-Brooke and everyone at AC!

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DofE Gold expedition

What an amazing achievement from our Duke of Edinburgh's Award Gold students (Sam, Matthew, Georgia, Sophia & Chloe), who combined their Gold Qualifying AND Practice Expedition into 7 challenging days in the Lake District.

The students reported, "We went to Coniston on a 7-day, 6-night combined expedition, spending 3 nights at Coniston Sports Centre, with an additional 3 nights at Bays Brown Campsite in Great Langdale. This involved country and mountain walks with bird watching as our aim. We learnt key skills such as: teamwork, map reading and developing resilience. It was an overall great experience and we thoroughly recommended it to other students as the scheme is highly valued by universities and employers."

Thank you to Mr Stephenson for all your help and support too!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Careers with Animals Day

Students across Years 7-10 took part in our 'Careers with Animals' day, where we welcomed visitors to school from Pets at Home, the RSPCA (England & Wales), Cats Protection and K9 Deployment. Thank you to all our guests, particularly the furry ones, for delivering such informative and engaging workshops for our students!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Year 12 University Visits

Students in Year 12 visited three university campuses to learn more about higher education and student life. Students attended talks on student finance, applying to university, enjoyed campus and accommodation tours and had the opportunity to speak to academics and current students.  Thank you to the University of Liverpool, Huddersfield University and UA92 for welcoming us onto their campuses!

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AC’s New Intake

It was an absolute pleasure to welcome our new Year 7 and Year 12 intake this half term! At both ends of the educational journey, students had a wonderful time experiencing new lessons, using new equipment, meeting staff and making new friends! The lessons, activities and workshops led by our amazing staff really fired everyone up in readiness for September!

A huge thank you to all parents and carers for their involvement in the welcome evening and in supporting our school by ensuring their new Y7 or Y12 came into school correctly dressed and with all the correct equipment making them Ready, Respectful and Responsible even before they start!

Exciting times ahead!

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Year 11 Prom

Our Year 11 students, having successfully completed all their GCSEs, ended their ‘special year’ with the Prom to end all Proms! I say this because in all my 30 years’ teaching experience, I have never seen Y11 students conduct themselves so impeccably throughout the evening, making this a real celebratory event from start to finish, enjoyed by all!

Well done to every single one of you – I was very proud to be your Headteacher as you represented the school so well at Cottons Hotel. A special thank you to Mr Guy, stepping down as Head of Year this year, for all the time and effort he’s put in with you (oh, and long-suffering Mrs Sherry too!!) – it paid off!

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Year 13 Leavers

As we welcome in our new intake and congratulate Year 11 on reaching the nest stage of their education, we bid farewell to our Year 13 students who are now flying the AC nest to pursue their dreams at university, on an apprenticeship or in employment.

 

 

 

 

 

OOur Catering Team laid on a delicious buffet, there were speeches and awards but most of all, lots of laughter and a few tears! We wish them all every success – please come back and tell us all your news! Congratulations everyone!

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Year 8 Residential

Year 8 had a fabulous time on their PGL residential to Boreatton Park in Shropshire! Finally, post-Covid, the year group could bond further and come together to take part in adventurous activities which were blessed with good weather to make them even more fun!

A huge thank you to all the staff who accompanied the trip and especially to Miss Morley in PE – she organised her first ever trip! What a success!

 

 

 

 

 

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Summer Awards Evening

Last week we recognised the outstanding qualities of our students in our Summer Awards Presentation Evening. The awards are given to students who, in the opinion of staff and their peers, epitomize our school vision:

“Our vision is to nurture well-rounded citizens of the future who are knowledgeable, happy and resilient so that they make a valuable contribution to the world in which they live, and are empowered to make informed and positive life choices.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured here are some of the Headteacher Award Prize-winners. The Headteacher Awards were new this year and represented the history of our school by bringing together the three previous Headteachers on this special occasion!

Ms Earle: Apex Award for going above and beyond - was given to Ashley in Year 12. Ashley works incredibly hard and is involved with everything! Having joined us from Nigeria, she has also been studying for her English, Maths, Physics, Biology and Chemistry GCSEs, alongside her A Levels. She does so much extra work - she never stops. She has been determined to put herself in the best position, ready to move forward after completing her A Level studies. Ashley is a very caring person and has lots of time for other students. She is a good listener and a loyal friend. Ashley is applying to study Medicine at university and also wants to apply for Oxford as one of her university choices. Ashley is a credit to herself and family and we have every confidence she will go on and achieve her ambitions!

Mr Brooks: Award for Resilience was given to Danny in Year 7. Danny has been so resilient throughout year 7, despite some very challenging personal circumstances. He has attended school every day with a smile on his face, putting in 100% effort and just getting on with it after having a very tough last year of primary school. Despite his personal challenges, Danny has continued to give his best at school, working hard and remaining positive and is an example to us all!

Ms Lloyd: Award for Community was given to Fatima in Year 9. Fatima has done a fabulous job on the student council this year including showing respect for democracy and the rule of law. She has shown a willingness to listen, as well as work with and stand up for others. Fatima took an active role in deciding how the school would support charity work this year and led the way in the publicising and running of our main charity event which raised almost £300 for a local charity for homeless people. Fatima is a team player and enjoys working with others and motivating those around her. She is passionate about fairness and supports those less fortunate than herself. Fatima, you are a role model to us all!

Ms Stoller: Award for Performing Arts was given to Millie in Year 11. Millie was outstanding in her role as Tallulah in the school production of Bugsy Malone and has been nominated by her peers as the person with Star Power in the Y11 Leavers’ Assembly as the student most likely to go on and be famous in the future! Millie’s singing and drama performance in her GCSE Drama monologue absolutely wowed the moderator who came in to observe her. Congratulations Millie!

This year was even more special as Ms Stoller is celebrating her 100^th birthday in August! Our band performed and we all sang “Happy Birthday” as Ruth was presented with a cake and bouquet from our school. She was deeply moved by this and said she had a wonderful evening! Ms Stoller served as Headteacher when we were Delaheys’ Girls School, Ms Lloyd when we were Green Lane School and then Altrincham College of Arts, Mr Brooks then took over and we later became Altrincham College just before I took over three and a half years ago. The school has been through many transformations; however, all four Headteachers agreed that  the ethos of our school has never changed – we are about educating the WHOLE person – and we all feel very privileged to have served/be serving the young people of Trafford!

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School Production: Auditions

Our Drama Department did their ‘big reveal’ of the next school production (March 2023) and it is …..

Auditions are taking place on 12^th and 14^th September – please encourage all your budding musicians, actors, singers and dancers to practise their audition pieces over the Summer! And remember - we are also looking for those who can help with sets, costumes, lighting and stage management/props!!

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Kids Eat Free

A number of shops, supermarkets and restaurant chains are offering 'kids eat free' options over the Summer. This may help families keep their children fed over the holidays in these tricky times. Please see a selection below:

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As we head of into the Summer holidays I would like to thank you all for your unstinting support of our school. Altrincham College has had a brilliant year and I know we will go from strength to strength, securing absolutely the best outcomes for all our students!

All students return on MONDAY 5^TH SEPTEMBER 2022 at 8.35am. This will be week 1.

I look forward to welcoming your child then!

Have a wonderful Summer!

Ms K Earle
Headteacher