Dear Families
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in the very best of health. I write to you at the end of half term one following what has been a really positive start to the academic year.
Happy Diwali
Diwali will take place during this half term break so I will take this opportunity to wish all of our community who are celebrating, a very Happy Diwali filled with joy and light.
Inclusion Building Opening
We are due to open our Centre of Excellence for Inclusion the first week after the half term break. Out site team will be busy putting the final touches to the internal finishes over the break so that the building is ready for use after it’s opening ceremony on Thursday 7th November. We are looking forward to welcoming our local MP, Baggy Shanker and our former student and now local councillor, Gurkiran Kaur who will unveil the building alongside colleagues from our wider Trust.
Year 11 Update
Year 11 have made a great start to their studies and their attitude and commitment bodes well for this summer’s public GCSE examinations. For the last four weeks we have been running a competition with year 11 to encourage them to attend as many intervention sessions as possible. There has been lots of interest in this and last week we identified three winners who will be sent a family sized pizza home to share with their family. The winners are AR, KL and GT. These students have been made aware so please congratulate them on their efforts.
During the week commencing Monday 4 November, all Year 11 students will begin a fortnight of mock examinations. Students have been given a personalised timetable for these weeks which outlines the date and timing of each exam that they will sit. This has also been emailed to families. This mock period is crucial for checking on your child’s attainment, aiding teacher projections, but more importantly assessing what further support and intervention your child may need over the coming months. Given the importance of these assessments we expect our students to be thoroughly prepared in advance of the mock fortnight.
Revision material will be available on Class Charts for students to access over Half term; staff have been working diligently in lessons and in running after school intervention sessions to ensure that students have the knowledge, skills and material to practise in preparation for the 4th November. Please can we ask for your support in ensuring that your child engages with these resources as part of their revision programme.
Students will be formally handed their mock examinations results at the Parents’ evening on 4th December, and this will provide you with an opportunity to discuss their performance with their class teacher and to agree strategies to support them going forward. Appointments will go live from the week commencing 18th November.
English Update
Sparx Reader – Year 7: Students in year 7 have now been on-boarded to the Sparx Reader app, a digital library designed to support progress with reading. Starting this week, students will complete weekly reading assignments on Sparx Reader, with homework due each Monday and progress monitored by their English teacher.
Sparx Reader offers a range of ebooks tailored to each student’s reading level, incorporating questions to encourage careful reading and reward points for tracking progress. Consistent, careful readers may unlock “Gold Reader,” allowing them to log any paper book from the library or home by scanning its barcode.
Students log in at sparxreader.com with their Sparx Maths details, and they can access Sparx Reader on any internet-enabled device. To support your child’s progress, please encourage them to discuss what they’re reading and provide a quiet space for homework. For additional insights into their progress, you can access the Parent Portal via the Sparx Maths email. Students can also login to Sparx Reader at Homework Club, which is available on the Learning Hub Mondays through Thursdays after school, and Fridays until 3:45pm. For questions, please email our Sparx Reader Leader, Ms. Bowker.
Derby Moor’s Got Talent – Auditions
Auditions have taken place this week for performers to participate in Derby Moor’s Got Talent. A wide range of skills were displayed including dance, gymnastics, singing and comedy, and all students did really well to perform in front of the audition panel. Names of the successful acts will be released following the half term break, when preparations will then begin to refine their pieces for the performance in the spring term. More information will follow in due course.
Spencer Superstars
The deadline has now passed for this round of applications for Spencer Superstars. If you feel your child could be eligible, please contact the Year Team ahead of the next round of applications.
Sports update
This week in PE we have been competing in interhouse competitions across both KS3/4. Girls have been participating in netball and boys in basketball. All year groups have been participating and leading in officiating when possible. These weeks allow us to come together and celebrate competing against other houses for sports day points. Points are still to be tallied up but the PE team have been really impressed with the Y7 and Y8 classes who have displayed excellent listening, teamwork, communication and officiating skills throughout the week.
Extra-curricular this week has been really successful with over 26 students attending netball and the Y7 and Y9 football teams participating in fixtures across the city. The Year 7 boys team took to their final tournament held at John Port and came away undefeated with 3 wins and a draw! A fantastic display from all the students and a great way to start of their campaign. The Year 9 team were on a 2-match winning streak and continued this with a demanding 7-2 win against Leesbrook. TH, who captained the team for the first time scored 2 goals, finishing his total tally of 9 goals in 5 matches, MG scored 2, JG took it round the keeper for a wonderful goal, YM scored on his debut for the team and OP finished off a great team goal. The team have looked really strong and have done tremendously well to come together against challenges. Well done to all those involved.
After half term, football for the boys slows down but football for the girls’ league starts up with tournaments coming in November. We are also looking to represent the school in badminton and netball fixtures. I am also pleased to confirm that following the successful impact boxing had last year that we will be offering boxing after school again. More information regarding the club will follow in the first week of half term from the PEEA team.
Cross Country: On Monday our younger team members travelled to West Park to participate in the inter-school relays. There was lots of excitement and enthusiastic support as team members completed their laps in closely contended races. On Wednesday it was City Championships at Moorways, so once again we relied on our runners to dig deep and show resilience to try to secure places in the Derby City team at County Championships. Congratulations to EM Yr7, JG Yr9, KO Yr10, JC Yr12, DR Yr10 who have definite places and KT Yr9, JT Yr7, AM Yr7, SR Yr8, HR Yr11 who are first reserves. Competition was strong and we are really proud of the tremendous effort put in by all our runners on the day as well as the brilliant team spirit and enthusiastic support that encourages whoever is running in each race.
A special mention from the PE team needs to go to JG in Y9. Not only is he one of the politest and respectable young men we have at the school, but he is also an exceptional athlete. On Wednesday he represented the school in cross country at Moorways coming 3rd in the city, he then was able to make it back to school to participate and score in the football fixture and then he went on to rugby training later that evening. He is a credit to the school and an absolute pleasure to teach and take to fixtures. Well done JG!
A final reminder to all parents that the weather will be getting colder as we return and layers are important for their PE lessons. Please see the school website for more details regarding PE Kit.
Careers update
This week’s job of the week is a ‘Sports Coach.’
JCB apprenticeship programmes 2025: On Tuesday, Neil Fowkes (HR Manager for JCB) brought a number of apprentices to Derby Moor to share their journey from school to JCB with a good number of our Year 13 students. Neil outlined the wide range of apprenticeship programmes offered by JCB from engineering to business and marketing and the apprentices talked about their personal experience of the business. Students also learnt about the range of apprenticeship levels up to and including degree apprenticeships as well as the entry requirements and skills required. To learn more about careers with JCB click here.
Derby Moor Dispatch: The Derby Moor Dispatch goes out weekly to all students in Year 11, 12 and 13. The Dispatch contains a wide range of opportunities for work experience, summer schools, careers related webinars and so on. Please do have a look at the latest edition. The Dispatch is emailed to the students’ school email address, so it is important that they check this regularly on a Monday. You can also view the Dispatch via the Careers page of the Derby Moor website. Please take a look at the website as there is a wealth of useful information including a specific page for parents.
Luminate Careers: Our independent and impartial Careers Advisers from Luminate Careers have an excellent website with a wealth of useful information Please have a look at these links designed for parents/carers about careers conversation starters and Post 16 Options. All Year 11 students will be receiving a helpful booklet produced by Luminate Careers about Post 16 Options shortly.
Final thoughts
Half term one ends, and we look forward to reconnecting with our community after the break. On reflection, it’s been busy as usual at the academy the half term but with some different things taking our focus compared to this half term in previous years. Notably, that would be our inclusion build coming to fruition but also projects like our student run coffee shop which we’re hoping to have up and running next half term. We have spent some time recruiting in the last week or so too for new, additional posts to add capacity to our teams so we can move some of our embedded practice on to exceptionality. Looking ahead to next half term we have some key events including Derby Moor’s Got Talent, the Year 7 Settling In Evening, the Year 11 mock examinations, two school closure days (29th November and 1st December), Year 13 mock examinations, Year 11 Parents Evening and our Annual Awards Evening. Lots to look forward to.
Wishing you a wonderful half term break,
Scott Doyle
Principal