Parent Update
Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope that you are all well.
It has been a pleasure to see so many Year 11s engaging with the revision sessions this week in the last preparations for their exams. The rest of the school have been very supportive and respectful of this time for the examining students. They have the support of the staff too with many staff giving their time to run additional sessions and with quizzing on the gate too.
Well done to all of the students who took part in the Duke of Edinburgh silver trial expedition. This was excellent practice for the assessed expedition on a gloomy weekend. Year 7 girls also went out this week on their first rugby tournament, winning their first game. Congratulations on participating as part of the team.
Assemblies
This week, the theme of assemblies has been standards, expectations and careers. There have been guest speakers from the local community taking part and the Year 10 students have had some additional preparation time for their week of work experience, which starts next week. If you would like to know more about supporting your child(ren) with careers, this website will be a starting point: Careers Advice for Parents
Weekly Focus from Mr Donaldson
Slipover update: Ms Mills will be deciding daily if we are going without slipovers on a hot day. Please bring them every day (even if just carrying them, and you can pop them on at the gates).
Hoop earrings remain a problem, so please remember they are not allowed due to Health and Safety regulations.
Clearing the astro at lunch needs to be speedy when I am giving all students extra time on it. If we slow down (as we have a bit this week) we will have to start clearing it earlier as we used to. Believe me, astro is a great part of the day for everyone, so I don’t want to have to do that!
Safeguarding
We have made an addition to the parent update from this term to provide you with additional safeguarding information. The focus for this half term will be on online and mobile phone safety tips.
Attendance
Many of you have been asking for additional information regarding attendance. We are going to share the information for each year group on a weekly basis with you from this week as part of the parent update:
|
Year 7 |
90.43 |
National Average: 91.3% |
|
Year 8 |
89.17 |
National Average: 91.3% |
|
Year 9 |
89.03 |
National Average: 91.3% |
|
Year 10 |
88.90 |
National Average: 91.3% |
|
Year 11 |
89.63 |
National Average: 91.3% |
Votes for Schools
Each week, the students are given an opportunity to participate in a democratic voting experience as part of their tutor time. We will share the responses of our students with you.
This week, the vote topic asks voters to reflect on the significance of VE Day and whether learning about it should continue for future generations. Students explored the celebrations taking place for this year’s special anniversary.
Question: Is it important for future generations to learn about VE Day?
Wellbeing In Mind Team resources
Key Dates:
Thank you for all of your continued help and support.
Ms Mills
Principal
–
Parent Update
Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope that you have been able to enjoy the warm weather this week.
It has been another busy week. The Year 11 exam season is now in full swing with the completion of the GCSE Art exam and GCSE PE moderation. We welcomed Year 10 parents/carers for the parents’ evening and provided exam revision books for the first formal set of Year 10 exams too.
Assemblies
This week, the theme of assemblies has been getting exam/end point ready. Mrs Hardy led the assembly and shared some of the techniques to support students with this time of year. If you would like to know more about how to support the students in this period, you can access the following website: Exam Stress Help
Weekly Focus from Mr Donaldson
Unfortunately, we have witnessed a significant deterioration in uniform standards this week (this is not a reference to the exceptions offered regarding blazers and slipovers throughout the week). Instead, the wearing of jewellery, false eyelashes, fake nails and hoop earrings has noticeably increased.
Please support us by ensuring your young people are wearing the correct uniform. Challenges regarding uniform generate unnecessary conflict with students, and can set days off to a negative start when a highlight of our day is greeting our young people each morning.
Safeguarding
We have made an addition to the parent update from this term to provide you with additional safeguarding information. The focus for this half term will be on online and mobile phone safety tips.
Attendance
Many of you have been asking for additional information regarding attendance. We are going to share the information for each year group on a weekly basis with you from this week as part of the parent update:
|
Year 7 |
85.76 |
National Average: 91.3% |
|
Year 8 |
86.70 |
National Average: 91.3% |
|
Year 9 |
89.86 |
National Average: 91.3% |
|
Year 10 |
83.72 |
National Average: 91.3% |
|
Year 11 |
87.98 |
National Average: 91.3% |
Votes for Schools
Each week, the students are given an opportunity to participate in a democratic voting experience as part of their tutor time. We will share the responses of our students with you.
This week, we are very fortunate to have teamed up with Barnardo’s once again for this week’s VoteTopic. Barnardo’s have been working with UK Government on its upcoming Child Poverty Strategy and have been highlighting the experiences of children & families today. They will make sure that voters’ voices are heard on this crucial issue.
Question: Should ending child poverty be a top priority for the UK Government?
Wellbeing and coping with stress from the Wellbeing in Mind Team
Key Dates:
Monday 12th May Start of written GCSE examinations
Year 10 Work Experience Week
Thank you for all of your continued help and support.
Ms Mills
Principal
–
Parent Update – Monday 28th April 2025
Dear Parent/Carer,
We welcomed the students back for the start of the summer term. The Year 11 students have now started their formal examination period with the first part of the Art examination taking place this week. It was brilliant to see so many of the students participating in revision sessions over Easter and during the P0 and P6 revision sessions.
We also welcomed our new staff this week: Miss Jackson, Curriculum Leader of English, Mr Meade, Lead Teacher of Maths, and Mrs Cripps, Trust Vice Principal.
Assemblies
This week, the theme of assemblies has been standards and expectations. Students were reminded about the core values of the school (Kindness, Respect and Teamwork) and the key issues that were highlighted to you before Easter as follows:
Weekly Focus from Mr Donaldson
Great to see everyone back. Uniform was good overall (please continue to prevent the wearing of hoop earrings, purely for Health and Safety purposes). A reminder to Y11 that shirts and ties must still be worn under leavers hoodies.
Detention attendance has been good- parents, please remember to check your Edulink messages/SMS for any detention updates. These are sent each night and will have the following message:
Good evening,
We are sorry to inform you (forename) will be in detention tomorrow night. Thank you for your ongoing support.
If the message is a regular detention update, that is from our old Edulink system which is no longer in use but cannot be deactivated until the end of the school year. For this I can only apologise. Detentions run Monday-Wednesday for Behaviour Detentions and Friday for Late to School Detentions.
Message from Mrs Cripps
Dear Parent/Carer,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Trust Vice Principal at Vale of York Academy. I am delighted to be taking on this role and look forward to working with you to ensure we provide your child with the best possible experience during their time with us.
Although I have only been in post here for a few days, I have been warmly welcomed by both students and staff and can see the huge potential of our children, both academically and from a wider curriculum perspective. We are fortunate to have such a considerate student body that is keen to achieve and develop as well rounded citizens.
As part of my role, I will be leading on the quality of education and one of the areas I will focus on this term in homework. I will be collating staff and student voice on this topic and would welcome the views of parents and carers to help shape the future policy. Please keep a look out for a homework survey over the coming weeks to gain perspectives of all stakeholders.
In the meantime, I look forward to working with the students and staff at Vale of York Academy and to meeting parents and carers at any upcoming events.
Emails
Following the announcement regarding the Trust name change at the end of term, pupil email addresses will change from Monday 28th April 2025. Pupils currently log in with their student ID (this will not be changed) followed by @voy.hslt.academy. Once the change is implemented this will become their student ID followed by @voy.hlt.academy
Within schools, Chromebooks that have this prepopulated will also be changed to ease this change taking place within schools.
For pupils / parents – If you experience any difficulties, please contact hello@voy.hlt.academy with subject ‘Email Changeover’.
Safeguarding
We have made an addition to the parent update from this term to provide you with additional safeguarding information. The focus for this half term will be on online and mobile phone safety tips.
Attendance
Many of you have been asking for additional information regarding attendance. We are going to share the information for each year group on a weekly basis with you from this week as part of the parent update:
|
Year 7 |
89.25 |
National Average: 91.5% |
|
Year 8 |
88.00 |
National Average: 91.5% |
|
Year 9 |
91.10 |
National Average: 91.5% |
|
Year 10 |
86.43 |
National Average: 91.5% |
|
Year 11 |
89.53 |
National Average: 91.5% |
Votes for Schools
Each week, the students are given an opportunity to participate in a democratic voting experience as part of their tutor time. We will share the responses of our students with you.
This week, to celebrate longer daylight hours and in anticipation of Earth Day on 22nd April, we are bringing an optimistic twist to your climate classroom conversations by asking voters to consider whether positive headlines about the environment inspire them to take action, or whether they feel more motivated by the cautionary tales they see in the news.
Question: Does positive news inspire you to take climate action?
Key Dates:
– Tuesday 29th April Year 11 Art Exam
– Thursday 1st May Junior Maths Challenge
– Monday 5th May School Closed (May Day)
– Monday 12th May Start of written GCSE examinations
Current Vacancies:
Advanced Teaching Assistant
Thank you for all of your continued help and support.
Ms Mills
Principal