Sent to parents and carers on 18/07/2025
Weekly Bulletin for Friday 18 July 2025
We have seen a wide range of events this week which highlight the many positive things which regularly take place at Westbourne. On Tuesday, many staff attended a parade with our CCF as Mr Pashler handed over the reins of our contingent to Mr Farinos. Thank you to Mr Carr in particular for his work in organising the event.
On Wednesday, we saw students from Years 7-10 competing in sports day. There was some intense competition between the Houses and we are eagerly awaiting the results which will be announced on Tuesday in our end of term assembly. Thank you to Miss Annandale and the PE team for their efforts in organising the day.
And finally, on Thursday our Year 10 battlefields trip departed in the wee small hours of the morning for France and Belgium, thank you to Mr Archer and the history team for leading the trip!
I would like to wish everyone a restful break. I hope you manage to switch off and have a well-deserved rest over the summer. We look forward to seeing everyone in September. There will be a separate communication sent to parents and carers about our arrangements for the start of term.
Year 10 History Trip
Mr Day, Mr Archer, Mr Gowing and Miss Bell have taken a group of forty Year 10 historians to visit the Battlefields of France and Belgium. You can read an account of their visit on our website here:
Message from Mr Day re Y10 Battlefields Trip 2025 – Westbourne Academy
This 3-day residential trip is planned to take place again for Year 10 history students in July 2026 and Mr Archer will communicate more details in the autumn term.
Hot Chocolate Winners
- Year 7 – Kuda M for being a student who modestly hides his plethora of talents under a bushel and who always acts with consideration for others
- Year 8 – Kazhwan A for being an excellent student his only focus being his learning
- Year 9 – Jasper Gould for his incredible effort in school
- Year 10 – Oliver Nadrowski for never putting a foot wrong and being an excellent role model to others
Shrek the Musical Update
On Monday 15 July, we held acting and singing auditions for Shrek the Musical. We were blown away by the preparation that the students had invested which shone through in some phenomenal performances.
We are thrilled to announce Harvey T as Shrek, Grace T as Fiona, Logan M as Donkey and Connor F as Lord Farquaad. With these fantastic students at the helm and a support cast of talented, passionate performers it is sure to be an amazing show.
We will keep you posted with updates about the play which are planned for mid-February 2026 and we continue to welcome staff involvement to support with the smooth running of such a big event.
Sports News from Mr Compton
This year, the U15 boys made it to the final of the South Suffolk Cup which was played on home turf, in front of a large crowd. The boys gave it a really good effort, but came up against a very good Chantry side, who won the game 3-0. The boys will be looking to gain revenge in their final year and win the cup next year!”
Year 8 student Phoebe L won a dancing award for the WHOLE of Great Britain! She competed in the street dance national final on Sunday and qualified through 6 regionals, before making it to the national final in Watford on Sunday 13 July. Phoebe did amazingly and won! This means she is the champion of street dancing for the whole of Great Britain. Phoebe also came 2nd in her dance group called Elementrix, whilst also finishing 4th in the duo category for her age. This is an amazing achievement, one that everyone at Westbourne should all be proud of, well done Phoebe!
End of Term Arrangements
On 15 July, parents and carers received a separate email about the arrangements for the last day of term on Tuesday 22 July. The academy will close early and students will be dismissed at 13:10 after a whole school virtual assembly during Period 4. A copy of the communication sent can be found here on our website news page:
Arrangements for the End of Term – Summer 2025 – Westbourne Academy
Student Absence
Please ensure if your child is absent from the academy, that you have notified the attendance office at the earliest opportunity on each day they are not going to be in school, in order to prevent the automated text messages being sent or absence calls being made to parents/carers – these commence from 8.35am each day.
The ways in which you can contact the academy to inform us of student absence can be found on our website here.
Attendance Matters
“Attend today, achieve tomorrow. Education is your passport to the future. Good attendance is the stamp that gets you there.”
Attendance Focus for w/c: 7/7/25
- academy attendance across years 7-10 for the year to date is 87.6%
- academy attendance across years 7-10 last week was 85.1%
- Year 7 – 86.0% / Year 8 – 81.0% / Year 9 – 88.3% / Year 10 – 84.8% attendance to school last week
- 513 students across the academy had 100% attendance to school last week
- Year 7 – 136 students / Year 8 – 108 students / Year 9 – 142 students / Year 10 – 127 students had 100% attendance to school last week
- the best year group attendance was Year 9 with 88.3%
- the best tutor groups for attendance last week were Year 7 – 7W – 93.2% / Year 8 – 8 O – 89.2% / Year 9 – 9T – 94.2% / Year 10 – 10T – 93.2%
- 525 students did not receive a single late mark last week
- 266 students did not receive a single late mark to lessons or tutor time and had 100% attendance last week
- Year 7 – 7 O / Year 8 – 8W / Year 9 – 9T / Year 10 – 10N were the tutor groups in each year with the best punctuality last week
- the best year group overall for punctuality to school and lessons was Year 10
- the best year group for 100% attendance and 100% punctuality to school last week was Year 10
- 47 students currently have 100% attendance to school this academic year – this is an excellent achievement
- 637 students received positive points during last week in their lessons for exemplary work, behaviour or attendance.
- 9,175 positive points were awarded to students during last week
Exam and Assessment Timetable 2025-2026
Whilst this summer’s exams only finished in June, our Exams Officer Mrs Fulcher is now busy planning and preparing for next year’s exams and assessments. You can find a copy of the latest timetable on our website here:
Exams Information – Westbourne Academy
Mr Hawkes will be contacting Year 11 parents in September about the combined Parent/Carer Evening and Success Fayre taking place on Thursday 16 October.
Post-16 Open Evenings for 2025-26
Our Careers Coordinator, Mr Payne, will begin sharing details with parents, carers and current Year 10 students about the range of post-16 open evenings that are take place next year. The first of these is at Copleston Sixth Form – details are here:
Y10 Open Evening Advert Coplestone 6F
MMR Vaccination Awareness
NHS England have asked schools to share the following information within their communities:
You may be aware that there has been a recent tragic death of a child due to measles in the UK, which serves as a stark reminder of how serious and potentially life-threatening this disease can be.
NHS England are working hard to raise awareness across the community and ensure that all children are up to date with their vaccinations, particularly the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella.
If parents or cares have any concerns or believe their child may have missed a dose, they should be encouraged to contact their GP practice to arrange catch-up vaccinations.
Suffolk Parent Carer Forum
Please see below the link to the summer 2025 edition of our SPCF newsletter:
This edition has updates from SPCF, information on upcoming focus groups and helpful information for SEND families over the summer break. For your information, SPCF will be closed from Wednesday 23 July and return on Wednesday 3 September. Please refer to their newsletter for available support services.
WA Community Hub
The dates for next year’s Community Hub events are now released and can be found here on our website:
WA Community Hub Diary Dates for 2025-2026 – Westbourne Academy
Food Hall Menus
The menu on offer next week in our Food Hall next week can be found here: Catering & Food Hall – Westbourne Academy:
- 21 July – menu 2
Please note that due to the early close on the last day of term there will be no lunchtime service and food and drink will only be available at morning break, including for those who are eligible for Free School Meals.
New menus are being introduced for September and we will share details of them with you at the start of term.
Appling for Free School Meals
You can apply for free school meals online direct with Suffolk County Council. You will get an immediate response and confirmation email after you have completed your application. You will not be able to apply over the phone because you need to provide an email address, password and sign the declaration stating that you have parental responsibility. Follow the link below which will take you to the SCC website:
The Department for Education (DfE) has updated the Free School Meals (FSM) guidance to confirm that all households in receipt of Universal Credit will be entitled to receive FSM from the start of the 2026/2027 school year. They have also extended transitional protections until the end of the 2025/2026 school year.
Contact: freeschoolmeals@suffolk.gov.uk
Family First Fun Day
Schools have been asked to share details of the fun day being hosted by Family First on 18 August:
Suffolk Adult Learning Service
The Suffolk Adult Learning Service is led by Suffolk County Council and provides a range of free Health & Wellbeing, IT, Learning in Families, ESOL, English and Maths courses (up to Level 2 -GCSE equivalent) for adults 19 + living in Suffolk.
The service particularly targets those adults who have missed out on previous educational opportunities or come from groups with the highest level of need. Many of learners start from low very low educational levels, often overcoming many barriers to achieve success.
MyChildAtSchool (MCAS)
If you have not yet registered, please do so at your earliest convenience to ensure you have access to all the academy’s communications and services. We recommend that parents and carers use the website version of MCAS rather than the app as the website offers greater functionality that the app.
A copy of the email and instructions sent to parents and carers can be found here on our website latest news page:
Cashless System – Westbourne Academy
Key Dates 2025-26
Tuesday 22 July – Last day of term/early close at 13:10 for students
Thursday 21 August – Y11 exam results collection (10:00-13:00)
Monday 1 September – Staff PD Day (closed to students)
Tuesday 2 September – Staff PD Day (closed to students)
Wednesday 3 September – 1st day of autumn term for Year 7 students
Thursday 4 September – 1st day of autumn term for Years 8, 9, 10 & 11 students
Wednesday 10 September – Parent/Carer Forum 16:00-17:00
Monday 22 September – Y11 Geo field trip (information to follow)
Tuesday 23 September – Y11 Geo field trip (information to follow)
Monday 29 September – 15:15-16:00 WA Community Hub
Thursday 2 October – 16:00-18:30 Year 6 Open Evening
Friday 26 September – Whole school photos
Monday 6 October – Y7-8-9 flu vaccinations (information to follow)
Monday 13 October – Y10-11 flu vaccinations (information to follow)
Thursday 16 October – Year 11 Parent/Carer evening & Success Fayre (info to follow)
Monday 27 – Friday 31 Oct – Half term holiday
Monday 3 November – Staff PD day (school is closed)
Monday 15 December – Flu vaccination mop-ups
We will be sharing the dates and times of various year group Parent/Carer Evenings with you in September. We will also begin hosting monthly Parent/Carer Forums on the last Wednesday in the month between 16:00-15:00 in the main hall. The dates of these meetings will be shared with you at the start of term together with instructions on how to sign-up for them.
You can view our academy events calendar together with term dates and PD days on our website here: Academy Calendar and Term Dates – Westbourne Academy
Kind regards
Mr M Higgon
Principal
Academy vision: Westbourne is an inclusive academy. We support all students, regardless of starting point, to achieve their potential and develop the skills necessary for employment and life.
Academy values: Be Safe, Be Thoughtful, Be Accountable and Be Respectful.
General queries to: wes-office@attrust.org.uk or 01473 742315
Attendance or Absence queries to: wes-attendance@attrust.org.uk
Exam queries to: anna.fulcher@attrust.org.uk
Lettings queries to wes-lettings@attrust.org.uk
MCAS, online payments and data information queries to: wes-data@attrust.org.uk
Safeguarding queries to wes-safe@attrust.org.uk
SEND queries to: opal.degville@attrust.org.uk