Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that you are all well and enjoying this festive time. It seems only yesterday that I was celebrating all that we have achieved at the end of the summer term and yet here we are at the end of 2023, where does the time go?!

As an academy we have achieved so much this year, including the purchase of our new building, Milbie House, 33 Pilcher Gate, which will be another amazing addition to Stone Soup Academy. Once we have completed our renovations, it will provide the academy with top quality accommodation for our young people in years 7-11.

Our plans are to include a:

Gym

Classrooms

Media/Music Suite

Cinema room

Art room

Science Lab

Food room/canteen

ICT suite

SEND provision

Outdoor courtyard

Conference suite

Our intention is to move our key stage 3 learners over to Pilcher Gate once all the work has been completed. Already our young people are excited about the opportunities that this move will give them and have enjoyed a visit to their new site during the last week of term. As the new property is much closer to High Pavement it also means that it will be easier to share resources including staff across both sites.

This term is always both very busy but great fun. Throughout this term we have maintained a focus upon work related learning and as a result we have linked with the `Universities, Dreams Workshops, HMRC, Nottingham Police and Nottingham College to give our young people a connection to the future opportunities available to them. Our alumni have also been into the academy and we continue to support them after they have left the academy. 

On the 20th November, our KS3 students attended the launch event of Nottigham’s drive to receive UNICEF’s Child Friendly City status. The students enjoyed taking part in a variety of activities at the town hall such as: boxing, discussions around mental health, poster designing and putting across their ideas about what they require out of their city to make it child friendly. We were incredibly proud to be one of only two secondary schools there and the only alternative provision in attendance. We are looking forward to seeing what more comes out of this process as we continue to strive towards creating unimagined futures for our young people. 

In December, we raised money for a Children in Need with the staff wearing their best Christmas jumper. We also got together, as staff, to sing our best version of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’, which the students will enjoy/endure on the last day of term. We all enjoyed our Christmas dinner together on the 12th of December. This is always a great event and one that both staff and students enjoy. This year the staff at Richmond House cooked their own feast for the young people which everyone enjoyed.

On the 14th of December staff and students raised money for Emmanuel House in Nottingham by selling cakes and hot drinks outside the academy on High Pavement which really got us into the Christmas Spirit before we took all of our young people out to Maysum, a restaurant in Nottingham, for a Christmas team building meal. Although hectic and busy it is also great fun and a joy to be with our young people outside of the classroom.

Attendance and punctuality continues to be a focus and this is a constant challenge both nationally and for ourselves. The reality is that if your children are not in school with us then we cannot keep them safe and we cannot educate them. When students are with us, the facts show that their behaviour improves and their outcomes increase. Please continue to support us to make the greatest difference to the futureS of your children. Remember, school starts at 9 a.m. so please encourage your children to get here on time.

This year ends on Friday 15th of December at 12 noon and all students will return to School at 9 a.m. on Monday 8th of January 2024

I hope that you have a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I will look forward to seeing you again in the new year.

Best wishes

Kerrie Henton

Principal