Friday 22nd March 2024
Dear Parents/Carers,
We end our Spring term on a high, with blue skies and spring flowers bursting forth! The students have been a credit to you today; lots of well-wishes for the break, lots of thanks, lots of card and present-giving!
The whole school assembly this morning saw many prizes and certificates given out, the cast of “School of Rock” sang and played brilliantly too! At the end, we wished Mrs Nash, our Lollipop Lady, a healthy and happy retirement as she will be soon saying farewell to her bright orange lollipop after 38 years! Mrs Nash was very touched by the send off and the 1000+ faces wishing her well.
School Expansion plans: We would be most grateful if you and your child could add your comments to the online consultation on our expansion, which we are very excited about! Please follow the link below:
https://trafford.citizenspace.com/children/altrincham-college-expansion-proposal-consultation
Inclusive:
AC Culture and Diversity Day 2024
On Tuesday 5th March we held our second consecutive ‘culture and diversity day’ which was a fantastic opportunity for students to celebrate their cultures and express who they are through food, music and dance. Congratulations to Juri and her team of Year 12 students who organised the event and helped to make it such a success!
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In the same week, Year 12 student Juri travelled to London to attend a very special event as part of her role on the British Youth Council’s Youth Select Committee. The committee met to officially launch their report on the impact of the cost of living crisis on young people. Juri said, ‘in this report, we included recommendations for the government to help to improve living standards. It was a huge learning experience for me, and I am grateful to have played a part in such an impactful event.’ A copy of the report can be found here: https://www.byc.org.uk/uk/youth-select-committee/reports
Well done Juri!
World Book Day
We had a huge amount of fun celebrating World Book Day! At Altrincham College we are a reading school and, as such, we look for any and every opportunity to promote reading and advocate a love of reading for pleasure, and this was a brilliant way to celebrate. Children took part in lots of book-themed activities throughout the week. Activities ranged from staff and student book swaps; The ‘Whose bookshelf is this’ quiz and the annual 'staff dress up as a character' competition.
Congratulations to 11.1 who won the bookshelf quiz and Ms Coleman who won the fancy dress.
It was lovely to see such imagination as the staff came to school dressed as their favourite book characters. Thank you for all the effort made. All students were sent home with a £1 book token which can be spent in any book store. They left with lots of book recommendations! To top off the week, we even had a new release from our very own masked rapper – MC Grammar!
– Mrs Casey.
Ambition:
Students in Years 12 and 13 enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the Houses of Parliament during a trip to London last month! The tour included a visit to the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Palace of Westminster, where students witnessed history being made first-hand. Following the tour, students participated in a workshop where they learnt the process of making laws at UK Parliament. They also enhanced their debating skills during an active debate about university tuition fees.
Thank you to Mrs Khan, Head of Law, for arranging this event.
Aspiration:
It has been a very busy term for the Careers team! We have celebrated National Apprenticeship Week and National Careers Week, along with a vast array of activities and events.
To raise the profile of careers, staff were asked to complete ‘career profile sheets’ about their education, previous jobs and their greatest achievements, which are displayed around the school. Students took part in a treasure hunt quiz to highlight some interesting facts about their teachers and staff. Congratulations to the 3 students in 11.4 and 7.6, who got all the answers correct!
This term’s career events:
- Morrisons degree apprenticeships talk, CV & Linked In workshop (Year 12)
- YipiYap Gap Year assembly (Year 13)
- Jacobs Engineering: our ex-student Ria K returned to talk to students about her degree apprenticeship in Project Management – (Years 12/13)
- SES – ‘Careers in Construction’ virtual assembly (Years 10/11)
- Elevated Knowledge Engineering apprenticeships assemblies (Years 9/10/11)
- Trafford College assemblies (Years 7/8/9/11)
- Open Reach assembly (Years 7/8)
- Barclays LifeSkills CV writing workshop (Year 10)
- 'Learn to Earn' Young Enterprise assembly and workshop (funded and supported by employees from the Money Wellness Group) (Year 9)
- University Academy 92 virtual assembly (Years 10/11)
- Damar Training virtual assembly (training provider of business and professional apprenticeships) - Years 9/10/11
Upcoming career events:
- UA92 virtual assembly (Years 7/8/9)
- UA92 motivation workshop (Year 11)
- Growth Company assembly (Years 10/11)
- Work Experience: 15th & 16th April (Year 12)
- University of Oxford talk: 26th April (Year 12)
- Careers Fair: 29th April (Years 9,10,11)
- Work Experience: 13th & 14th May (Year 10)
- Rise Workshop: 14th May (Year 10)
- Post-18 Dropdown Day: 24th May (Year 12)
- Barclays LifeSkills Interview workshop: 12th July (Year 10)
- Practice Interviews: 12th July (Years 10/12)
Year 13: University Offers
We are extremely proud of our Year 13 students, who have been busy this term submitting portfolios, attending interviews and making important decisions about their future. Here is a taste of just some of the university offers that have been received recently:
- Sam: University of Bristol, Economics and Politics
- Oliver T: University of Sheffield, Aerospace Engineering
- Noah: University of Durham, Psychology
- Hawra: MMU, Accounting and Finance
- Amelie: University of Leeds, Mathematics
- Nils: University of Glasgow, Immunology
- Ben T: University of Liverpool, Architecture
Well done to all our students who have received offers from universities, or have been accepted onto degree apprenticeship programmes. Hard work really does pay off!
Belief:
Sport
Netball:
30 netballers visited Belle Vue recently to watch a top-level netball match between Manchester Thunder and Surrey Storm, with Manchester Thunder securing the win! It was a great opportunity for the students to watch professional netball and to bond as a squad. They had a great time and are already looking forward to visiting again!
Netball Results:
Our Year 7A Netball team competed in the Trafford end of season tour manor alongside 14 local schools. They played 4 games: Won against North Cestrian 5-2, Drew against Urmston Grammar 1-1, Lost against Wellington 5-0 and against Loreto 8-0.
Overall it was a great first season for the team, finishing 3rd in the league!
The Year 7B Netball team competed in the same tournament: Won against Sale Grammar (4-3) and Urmston Grammar (6-2), Drew against AOM (2-2) and Lost to Wellington (5-0), Loreto (10-0) and AGGS.
Well done to everyone who took part. The teams are looking forward to celebrating at their end of season bowling night next month.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme:
Mr Stephenson would like to congratulate the Year 10 students who took part in a challenging mountain bike ride to Sale and Chorlton Water park recently. The students are preparing for their summer DofE expedition in the Peaks on 22nd May.
Congratulations also to Zak and Daniel who completed their volunteering section by participating at the Sale Water Park 5K run last weekend! They are a credit to the school and the local community.
Football – Year 7 boys
The year 7s have had a very successful week, winning a cup game against Hazel Grove on Monday, and a league game the following night against Wellington. Monday was a thrilling game and which resulted in us winning on penalties, with Alfie E getting the winner. POTM: Mason.
Tuesday’s home match against Wellington, who historically have lots of success in the local competitions, turned out to be a thrilling game, which we won 8-7! Joint POTM: Louie and Albie L.
Further congratulations go to Ethan S, Alfie E, Alfie S and Albie and Louie L who have been put forward to the next round of Trafford District Schools trials, which take place this Saturday. Good luck from everyone at AC!
Football – Year 8 boys
After several cancelled games, AC were finally able to play their final game of the league season vs Stretford High. Having already won 4 from 4 games, including victories over Ashton on Mersey, Lostock, Urmston & Broadoak, the year 8s were desperate to be crowned division champions.
With a full squad of players and supporters pitch side, AC were ready and raring to go, however, the game got off to a scrappy start with AC maintaining most of the possession and Stretford showing some threat on the counter attack. Having piled forward looking for the opening goal AC were caught out as a well delivered ball between Alex and the centre backs was finished off by a close-range finish by Stretford.
Heads started to drop but good work from Ethan and Jamie led to a free kick midway in the Stretford half. Ethan knocked a ball to the back post which was finished off on the volley by Ryan but this was given offside by Mr White with much consternation from the team and its supporters. A quick turnaround at half time, with a couple of changes made and AC having some stern words with themselves led to a much-improved performance in the 2nd half.
AC continued to pile on the pressure with wave after wave of attacks, which eventually led to a corner, which was finished from close range by Renars who had returned to his normal CB position after stepping in as GK earlier in the week.
The chances kept flowing with efforts from Jack C, Wilson and Gabriel going close to extend the lead. Our best chance of the 2nd half fell to Ethan after a poor challenge from Stretford was given as a penalty. The pitch didn't do Ethan many favours as he searched for the penalty spot but his well struck low effort was well saved by the SH keeper. With only 5 minutes left to play AC & SH both threw bodies forward looking to equalise/finish the game off.
Our keeper Alex, who returned from injury, made a couple of crucial saves to keep AC ahead and with just a minute remaining Malik finished the game off in style with a rocket half volley from inside the box which thundered in off the stanchion.
The year 8s showed great spirit to come back from behind and seal the division title. All are looking forward to stepping up next season and showing Trafford what AC can do! Thank you to all students, staff and parents/carers for all their support this season.
Altrincham College 3 - 1 Stretford High
POTM: Jamie W
An opportunity for female students, aged 14+:
On Thursday 4th- Friday 5th April, England Football are hosting a two-day event at City Football Academy between 10am-4:30pm. YOUR GAME is the chance for participants to connect with their football future! This event is for 14-24 years old who would like to learnabout roles in football outside of playing. Participants will have the opportunity to meet experts from all levels of the game and try roles such as refereeing, coaching, club administration, youth leadership as well as much more!
This event is free to attend and those who are there, will be provided with England Football kit tops and free lunch. Students who are interested in this event can sign up HERE.
Rugby:
Year 8 Trafford Rugby Finalists:
Year 8s headed to Trafford Metrovicks for the final time this season with a strong 15-man squad looking to go out with a bang. They took on a tough opposition in BTH (eventual champions), Wellington, Sale Grammar & Stretford High. AC got off to a tough start against BTH while picking up an injury to Jack, which unfortunately ruled him out for the rest of the competition.
AC bounced back with a top performance against Sale Grammar, with Renars running over the line with a couple of tries and Skye with the other, while Carlos put in a string of key tackles. It was more of the same in the next game vs Wellington whose significant size had some of the lads fearful, but a couple of quick fire tries for AC soon put those doubts aside. Will C nimbly sidestepped a number of players while Frank continued to take down front rowers twice his size. Our final encounter against Stretford High was tightly fought, with Aniket and Clement working well together to bring their prop to ground and Ryan continuing to order the team forward. At full time there were lots of bruised and battered bodies but even more smiles.
Dance:
Earlier this month, our Year 10 GCSE dance cohort took part in a workshop, Q&A and watched a performance of 'Shadows' led by Phoenix Dance Theatre at the Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds. Miss Matthews was extremely impressed with the students’ focus and maturity on the trip. She says “they were genuinely fantastic and worked really hard in the practical session – I couldn’t be prouder.”
Community:
School of Rock
Congratulations to all students and staff involved in this week’s sell-out performances of School of Rock! The feedback from our audiences was fantastic, including from our primary school visitors who enjoyed a special performance on Wednesday morning. There is no doubt that we have some real stars in the making!
Special thanks go to Mrs Mrozinski, Mr Madden, Mr Wilson and Miss Matthews, and all other staff who helped and supported.
We look forward to sharing more photos in the next bulletin.
Year 7 Trip – The Hallé Orchestra
On Thursday 7th March, Year 7 students enjoyed a trip to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester to watch the Halle’s annual concert for schools. This year’s theme was ‘cities of the world,’ which blended music from Manchester to New York, across to Beijing and beyond.
This was a great opportunity for our students, for many of whom it was their first experience of listening to a live symphony orchestra.
Art Exhibition
On Tuesday 12th March, over 200 students across years 7-10 were entered into the Lloyd Art Exhibition for their outstanding art work. The exhibition was sponsored by ex headteacher Margaret Lloyd and judged by former Head of Art, Ralph Miranda. Work included textured drawings from Y7, detailed portraits and masks inspired by Pablo Picasso from Y8, sweet treat paintings and drawings from Y9 and a variety of mixed media work based on the theme ‘Autobiographical’ by Y10.
The evening was enjoyed by all. We had lots of positive comments about the high standard of work and the students loved seeing their pieces up on display.
- Year 7 Best Piece Award – Lily
- Year 7 Amazing Effort Award – Lucy
- Year 8 Best Piece Award – Jerome
- Year 8 Amazing Effort Award – Redmond
- Year 9 Best Piece Award – Chloe
- Year 9 Amazing Effort Award – Alex
- Year 10 Best Piece Award – Harvey
- Year 10 Amazing Effort Award – Phoebe
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ACTV
The ACTV team have been busy again this term; this time reporting on the School of Rock production and life in our sixth form!
Watch their latest videos here: Altrincham College - ACTV
Safeguarding
What I have learnt this term:
Sixth Form: Ahmed, Year 12: I study A Level Psychology and I attended an event at the University of Manchester this week called, ‘What do Psychological Scientists do?’ We attended lectures and joined in interactive sessions where we took part in scientific experiments. One of the most interesting lectures was about how psychologists could help to prevent climate change, in a relatively new field of psychology called environmental psychology.
Year 7 – Jasmine S: I really enjoyed my trip to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester where we watched a concert by the Halle Orchestra. They played pieces of music from all around the world. We were also taught about the different instruments within an orchestra, which will help me to identify the sounds of instruments in my music lessons.
Student Stars of the Month
Student Star of the Month nominations were for going over and above chosen by members of staff. This half-term they were:
- Year 7: Gana A
- Year 8: Adrika K
- Year 9: Faith W
- Year 10: Sasha B
- Year 11: Dana N
- Year 12: Macey S
- Year 13: Harry B
All of these students were highly commended for their attendance, their hard work, their politeness, respectfulness and commitment to being the best they can be! Well done everyone!
And finally…
Dates for your diary
Start of term: Monday 8th April
Year 10 Parents’ Evening Thursday 11th April
Year 12 Work Experience Monday 15th & Tuesday 16th April
Year 8 Parents’ Evening Thursday 25th April
Careers Fair Monday 29th April
Dance Showcase (6-7pm) Thursday 2nd May
May Bank Holiday Monday 6th May
Year 10 Work Experience Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th May
Year 12 Post-18 Options Day Friday 24th May
End of Term Friday 24th May
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support this term and I wish you and your families a very Happy Easter!
Ms K Earle
Headteacher and CEO of the South Manchester Learning Trust
