Dear Families,
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in the best of health. We have hit the ground running at the start of Half Term with our Year 11 settling back into their mock examination period. We have enjoyed Year Group assemblies with Mr Malik refreshing our collective understanding of our high expectations, the link to employability and celebrating the successes we are seeing from students across the academy. Alongside this, we have hosted a number of visitors and employers as is becoming commonplace now.
There are some very important updates in the final notes section this week that I will urge all families to read.
Move from Parent Pay to Arbor Pay
After the Easter Break we will be moving from Parent Pay to Arbor Pay for all school payments. On Monday the 16th of March you will all receive logon details to the Arbor Pay system. The last day for the use of Parent Pay system will be Friday the 27th March as the changes to Arbor Pay will be completed over the Easter Break.
More information on this change will be provided in the coming weeks.
Key Stage 3 Update
It’s great to have our KS3 students back in school, ready for the second half of the academic year. We are now officially halfway through, and we are incredibly proud of how hard students have been working across all their lessons so far.
All students have now received their Progress Report for the first term. If you haven’t yet had the chance to look through it, please take some time to review your child’s achievements and targets. You can also watch our short overview video here: https://youtu.be/mhRMg7yVZ_M
If you have any questions about the report or would like further support, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Year 7 Update
We are delighted to introduce Miss Marvill, our new Year 7 Manager, who joined us last week. She is already settling in brilliantly and is really looking forward to getting to know all the students. Her focus will be on supporting Year 7 to make the most of their time at Derby Moor—both academically and personally.
Year 9 Update
Parents’ Evening – We are pleased to announce that our Year 9 Parents’ Evening will take place on Wednesday 11th March 2026. This is an important opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and options for the year ahead. Appointments can be booked via School Cloud, and we encourage early booking to secure your preferred times. We look forward to welcoming you to the academy that evening and supporting your child’s continued success.
Future Skills Questionnaire – Over the next two weeks our Year 9 students will be completing the Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ) during their IT lessons. This will help us evaluate the school’s careers programme, plan future careers activities and target learners who may need additional support. Students complete the 15-minute questionnaire which asks questions on their career related knowledge and skills. This should be an enjoyable activity and encourage them to begin thinking about future careers and next steps. We use a third-party tool called Compass+ to administer the questionnaire. All learner data is processed in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Rolls Royce Opportunity for Year 10
Rolls‑Royce has opened applications for its Discover: Behind‑the‑Scenes work experience programme, a four‑day in‑person opportunity offering students a rare insight into the engineering and business operations of one of the UK’s most iconic companies. The current opportunity is open to Year 10 students and will run in Derby from Tuesday 26th to Friday 29th May. This experience is ideal for those considering future pathways in engineering or business, and it provides an excellent chance to build employability skills and career confidence. Students can find further details and apply via the Rolls‑Royce Work Experience portal, with additional dates and year‑group opportunities to be released soon. More information will be emailed to Year 10 parents.
Year 11 Update
We have had a fantastic start to this second round of mocks, we would like to thank our Year 11 students for being so resilient and understand as we have made last minute changes to the timetable and trialled new initiatives. Our mocks continue into next week, before our Year 11 teachers mark and input the data ahead of our parents evening taking place on Wednesday 25th March: as always, you will receive information through email around booking your appointments with your child’s class teacher for parents evening in due course.
Post 16 Update
On Tuesday, we were delighted to welcome a range of local employers and Higher Education providers to our Next Steps Networking Event. It was fantastic to see our Year 12 students confidently applying their learning about networking skills to having professional conversations. Students gained valuable insight into post-18 pathways and some even secured work experience opportunities. We are incredibly proud of the maturity and communication skills they demonstrated. We would love to encourage them to continue these conversations at home and with the Sixth Form team as they explore their next steps, including arranging work experience placements and beginning their UCAS applications in the summer term.
Library Update
World Book Day – 5th March is all about celebrating stories. Some staff members will be dressing up as famous literary figures and students can take part in a treasure hunt on the day. More details on this from our student leaders below.
Book fair – The book fair is back for two dates this year, the first is from 11th -16th March when students can purchase exciting titles and journals. Please remember that this is cash only.
Year 11 students are welcome to access the library every Wednesday lunchtime for revision.
Sports Update
Please see here the PEAA extra-curricular timetable for the next half term
Student Leadership Update: World Book Day
World Book Day is nearly here, and we are excited to celebrate on Thursday 5th March.
This annual event is all about promoting a love of reading, celebrating stories from around the world, and reminding us of the power that books have to inspire, challenge and entertain us.
Book Character Treasure Hunt
This year, our staff will be getting involved by dressing up as famous book characters. From timeless classics to modern favourites, some are even the book themselves, you can expect to see some familiar faces from the world of literature walking through our corridors!
Students are invited to take part in our Book Character Treasure Hunt. Your challenge is simple:
- Identify which book character each member of staff is dressed as
- Write down both the character name and the title of the book
- Submit your completed entry for the chance to be recognised as one of our top literary detectives!
Keep your eyes open throughout the day — you never know who you might spot around the school.
Launch of Our Book Fair – Week Beginning 8th March
We are also delighted to announce the launch of our upcoming Book Fair, which will be held in the Learning Hub during the week beginning 8th March.
The Book Fair is a fantastic opportunity to:
- Discover new authors and genres
- Purchase exciting new reads
- Support reading across our Academy community
Whether you’re into mystery, fantasy, adventure, graphic novels or non-fiction, there will be something for everyone.
Why World Book Day Matters
World Book Day is more than just dressing up — it’s about celebrating imagination, creativity and the joy of reading. Books help us explore new worlds, understand different perspectives, and develop the confidence to express ourselves.
As student leaders, we encourage everyone to get involved, take part in the treasure hunt, and visit the Book Fair. Let’s make this World Book Day one to remember.
Happy reading!
Careers Update
This week’s job of the week is a “E-Sports Coach”.
Derby Moor Dispatch: The Dispatch is emailed to the students’ school email address, so it is important that they check this regularly. 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.
Final notes
Many of our community began a period of fasting over the half term break as they observe the holy month of Ramadan. Aas always, there will be some adjustments to lunchtime arrangements in line with previous years to accommodate those young people who are fasting. I hope this month brings a period of spiritual growth and self-reflection to those who are observing and that it inspires them to practice kindness and generosity.
On a less positive note, I need to make you aware of two concerning instances that will require your attention and vigilance.
Firstly, we have recently been informed by Nottinghamshire Police of a heightened risk across the region with regards to online grooming and subsequent child sexual exploitation. As such, I felt it was important to write to you to outline what we do as a school to protect against this and how you can support as a parent. You can read that letter here.
Secondly, we have been monitoring the prevalence on an online trend on Tik-Tok that is designed to incite violence between groups of young people from different schools. The profile ‘gamifies’ this and is encouraging the use of weapons. We are deeply concerned by this as we are aware of incidents taking place in London and the South-East and have had unconfirmed reports of related incident in the Midlands. We will continue to monitor the situation but ask that you routinely check what your child is accessing on their devices, particularly Tik-Tok and have conversations about the very real danger that activities such as this can pose to them. Safety is paramount to us and working in partnership to educate our children around online and offline safety is critical in this digital age. Together We Succeed.
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend,
Scott Doyle
Principal