Loving the Compass

The Compass is one of Bosworth Academy’s many excellent resources. Here, pupils from all years can access information, work with their peers and seek advice from Mrs Griffiths, our Librarian, It is also a place where pupils both discover and develop their love of reading. In this lovely environment they can quite literally curl up with a good book. This Year 8 class visits The Compass on a regular basis, it has become an important part of our Literacy work and is an eagerly anticipated part of their studies.

Women’s World Day of Prayer 2018

On Wednesday 7th March a group of Year 8 students took part in a Women’s World Day of Prayer services at St Martins Church, Desford. The service was written by ladies in Suriname and focused on reflecting on what humans are doing to God’s beautiful world.

It was a pleasure to be invited by the Church, and the student thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to dress up in costumes reflective of cultures around the would and retell the stories of these women with elements of dramatic expression.

The student brought a level of vibrancy to the service, and articulated the experiences of women internationally with a high level of maturity.

Year 11 Mock Interviews

On Wednesday 7th February, Bosworth Academy organised a Mock Interview Day for our Year 11 cohort. 12 representatives from a variety of local and national businesses came to the Academy and conducted job interviews with our students. As holders of the Careers Mark Award, we take preparing our young people for the world of work extremely seriously and this event was part of our overall careers education provision. The day was a big success, our students conducted themselves impeccably and the feedback we got from employers was overwhelmingly positive.

Some of the things they said about our young people were:
  • ‘Very enthusiastic about chosen career path’
  • ‘Obvious team player’
  • ‘Came across as very confident’
  • ‘Good listening skills’
  • ‘Came across as a lovely, bright and interesting person’
  • ‘The passion on what he wants to do shone through’
  • ‘Smiled throughout the interview, a very people friendly and  sociable person’

Our young people will soon get their individual feedback via their tutors.

Marie DelĂąge-Martin
PSHE and Careers Education Coordinator

Bosworth remembers the Holocaust

Holocaust Memorial Day is a time when we remember when six million Jews were murdered by the Nazi regime. We also remember the millions of other lives taken in other acts of genocide. The theme this year was, ‘The power of words’, exploring how words can make a difference – both for good and evil. Specialist assemblies were delivered to all year groups, and this was followed up in Religious Studies lessons with Year 8.

Students in Year 8 explored the story of Renie Inow, a survivor of the Holocaust. They discussed how she escaped, felt about the loss of her family, and how she is now reaching future generations. The students all wrote a personal message to Renie on postcards. The atmosphere in the lessons was emotional, as nearly all the students wrote touching messages, thereby using their words for good. The postcards have been sent to Renie and we are hopeful of a response.

Open Hands Appeal 2017

Our fifth annual Open Hands Christmas Charity appeal took place this month, where all tutor groups in the Academy were given the opportunity to collect as many food and toiletries hampers for the city’s most vulnerable people.

Despite this being our fifth appeal, it was the first time we have launched it in collaboration with our colleagues at The Winstanley School. To gain a greater insight in to how the Charity operates, five year 10 students from Bosworth and five year 7 students from The Winstanley School went to the Open Hands Compassion Centre to find out more. They then delivered an assembly to their respective student bodies and informed them of what items students could bring in to support the cause. Compassion for those less fortunate and a desire to improve the world around us are core to our values across the LiFE Multi-Academy Trust, and the teamship and comradery demonstrated throughout the collection was awe-inspiring. At Bosworth we managed to raise a total of 1,425 items which is a fantastic effort and clearly shows, once again, that compassion for those less fortunate is something we are passionate about. A massive thank you to all who contributed. The people at Open Hands are incredibly grateful and those items will go a long way in ensuring that more people have a Merry Christmas this festive season.

Students work with comedian Rik Carranza

Year 9 GCSE Drama students have been working with professional comedian Rik Carranza to help him develop and improve his one man stand up show ‘I’m a fan’.

12 students are part of a focus group that meet with Rik after school to share their experiences of growing up in the era of social media and through a range of interactive tasks explore themes such as bullying, identity and Star Trek! The sessions are recorded by Rik to help him write and develop the material for his show. Because the students are taking part in this project they are also going to aim for their Bronze Artsaward which is a qualification being newly piloted at the Academy!

Icelandic Adventure

At the beginning of the summer, a group of 11 students and 2 teachers went on a once in a lifetime trip.  Ask anyone who went on the World Challenge trip to Iceland, and they will agree that it was an incredible experience. For some of us, the trip was like nothing we had ever seen before: a brand new country with a whole host of exciting activities and memories to be made. With a diverse group ranging from Year 8 to Year 13, it was a completely inclusive week, testing our comfort zones and social skills as well as our fitness and outdoor skills. One thing is for sure, without the specific group of people who signed up to the trip, Iceland wouldn’t have been seen in the same light.

Right from the start, people in our group were experiencing new situations, as some people had never been on a plane. It seems that there was something particularly exciting about being in an airport with two excellent members of staff and a group of fellow students. Everyone was filled with anticipation of what was to come. What would the food be like? Would we cope with the strenuous walks? Luckily, every aspect of the trip fitted together to create a memorable week for all thirteen of us.

One detail that made the trip seem risky and exciting was camping. For most nights, we slept in our two or three man tents, a little cold and often exhausted. On the penultimate night we encountered a harsh storm that nearly blew our tents away. As a precaution we found huge stones to hold down the pegs. This ensured our tents stayed in place throughout the night.

In Iceland we had to cook our own meals every day but the first and last. On our second day we got up bright and early so we could go to the supermarket and buy our food supplies that would last us the whole week. We made sure that we had a balance of food, catering to everyone’s preferences with a variety of meals. When we went out for our hikes we made our own sandwiches and at night different people attempted cooking which was rewarding for everyone as people learnt valuable skills and everyone got to eat a nice meal (except for the first night when Joe put too much garlic in his pasta!).

For our rest and relaxation day most of us chose to go to the blue lagoon, there were a few complications with this involving finance and transport, but we came together as a group to resolve those issues. Going to the blue lagoon was one of the best experiences we did, it was a perfect way to end what had already been such a good week. Going into the geothermal pool and warming ourselves up after spending a week camping was especially good. Throughout the week the bonds between us kept growing (Mostly thanks to Mr Palmer’s legendary werewolf card game!), we had all become so close and were so sad to leave each other at the end of the week.

Written by Tess Grewcock, Izzy Cornish and Logan Lidbetter-Smith.

Geography Students Meet John Prescott

As part of their recent GCSE Geography fieldwork visit to Hull, Year 10 and 11 students asked local residents for their views on Quality of Life in the city. They received a surprise when they met former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott! He kindly gave them twenty minutes and lots of great information for their studies! Students were a credit to the Academy and proved how well fieldwork create deep learning beyond the classroom!

Dr Korczak’s Example

Students of the Bosworth Theatre Company performed David Greig’s play ‘Dr Korczak’s Example’ on 25th and 26th of May. The play is set in an orphanage in a ghetto in Poland.

The action takes place shortly before the mass deportation of Jews to concentration camps and focuses on the real life pediatrician of Dr Korczak. The subjects of humanity, tolerance and acceptance in the face of fear and brutality were particularly resonant and important to explore in light of recent national and world events. Students learnt about life in the ghettos and the experiences that people faced at that time.

They explored the different viewpoints on how to resist oppression and how there are no easy answers to this. The students performed as an ensemble with the whole cast multi-rolling different parts.

Students also learnt and performed a song in Hebrew called ‘Hine Ma Tov.’ This literally translates to ‘It is a beautiful thing when brothers stand together in unity’. Students were involved in set design, costume and marketing as well as acting.

Together, the Bosworth Theatre Company produced a wonderful example of beautiful work and ensured that the first year of our Company was a tremendous success. Parents thoroughly enjoyed the play and were very moved by the performances given.

Échange et Voyage Linguistique

This year, 33 students from Bosworth Academy went to visit our twin School in Rouen “Le Collùge Jean Delacour”. Students were involved in a busy activity programme which gave them an opportunity to discover more about the culture and history of France. Students went to visit the memorial of Caen and one of the D-Day beaches where French and British troops fought together.

Students visited Rouen with their French classmates. They learnt about the great Viking ‘Rollo’ who was a common ancestor for both countries. They experienced shopping in town using what they had learnt in class to buy souvenirs, or order food and drink. Finally, they spent one day at the Collùge Jean Delacour and took part in different lessons such as PE, Maths, Music and Art in full immersion.

In June, the French students came and visited us. They visited Leicester with a group of our year 10 students and spent a whole day at Bosworth Academy. This exchange has been taking place for three years and it has enabled students to develop strong links with each other. True friendship has developed among the students from the two schools, and they still communicate actively with each other.