autumn newsletter macbeth performance in july, numerous students auditioned to take part in the...
TRANSCRIPT
Autumn Newsletter
Winter 2017
@OasisSilvertown
Dear Parents and Carers,
It is my pleasure to present our bumper winter newsletter. We have reached the end of a hugely successful term
for our students, full of activities and opportunities. Our Year 10 students have made a successful start to their
new courses, and our newly appointed student leaders are already having a positive impact on the whole academy
community. Our students have been working hard and have completed their end of term assessments. We look
forward to celebrating their achievements at our winter awards assembly on 21st December.
Highlights
We are extremely proud of our students’ success in reaching the final of the Pinsent Mason Debating Competition
on Friday 8th June. Our students were commended for their performance and were awarded second place in the
competition. Performing Arts continues to go from strength to strength at the academy: our Shakespeare Schools
Company gave an excellent performance of "Macbeth" at Shoreditch Town hall in November, and our choir have
performed at a number of high profile events including the OCL awards at Birmingham ICC, the Oasis Regional
Conference and the Ferry Festival. Amongst our other highlights this term have been our STEM and Cookery
Enrichment events, our winter showcase and our student leader interviews with visiting professionals in October.
Project Rousseau
We were privileged to be awarded a place by Project
Rousseau at a summer "Boot Camp" at for US
university entrance examinations at University College
London from 24th-28th July 2017. Precious Nalder,
Year 10, took part in this prestigious opportunity to work
with top students from the UK and US. As well as
receiving intensive 1:1 coaching for the challenging
entrance exams, Precious was able to hone her skills
at some practice questions.
Principal’s Message
New Roles
We say farewell to three valued members of our staff at the academy this term: Mr Hussain, Mr Roufi and
Ms Martin. We thank them for all their hard work and wish them every success in the future. We also wish
Mrs Waisome all the very best as she begins her maternity leave in January 2017. Ms Boxer will take up the
role of Deputy Principal from 3rd January. Mr Gordon will take up the role of Assistant Principal. Mrs Forster
will now move to a part time role supporting the leadership team after Christmas. We thank her for all her
work as Deputy Principal. We welcome to the Oasis Silvertown team this term Ms Jordan - Acting Curriculum
Leader for Art and Design, Ms Mukasa - Teacher of Geography and Ms Charles - Graduate Teacher Intern.
Reminders
We look forward to welcoming parents into the academy for our Parents' Afternoon on 11th January
from 2:15pm-6:30pm.
As the weather turns colder, please ensure you have read our adverse weather policy on our website.
You can find this in the “news” area on our home page. Please also ensure your child is dressed for the
weather according to our uniform policy. You can find this in the Home Academy Agreement in the
information section of our website.
I wrote to you on Monday 11th December about the end of term arrangements and start of next academic
year. Please ensure you have read the letter carefully. If you have any questions, please contact us at
I wrote to parents on Monday 14th December about arrangements for my upcoming maternity leave in
February. I am delighted Mr Alex Lewis has been appointed as Acting Principal for the period of my
maternity leave. You can read more about this in my letter.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a Happy Christmas and peaceful New Year.
I look forward to welcoming our students back for the Spring Term on Thursday 4th January at 8:30am.
Best wishes
Johanna Thompson
Principal
Ferry Festival
On 23rd September, our choir performed at the
popular local Ferry Festival in North Woolwich. The
choir began the musical performances at the event,
while other art and drama students took part in a silent
protest. Several of our students' protest statements
were chosen to be displayed on placards at the event.
The choir sang brilliantly, starting the musical performances
on the day.
Some of our students took part in a silent protest march. Their
protest statements were displayed at the exhibition!
Shakespeare Schools
Foundation Macbeth
Performance
In July, numerous students auditioned to take part in
the highly acclaimed Shakespeare Schools Festival
event. Thirteen were successful and were given parts
in Macbeth which they spent their summers learning.
Throughout September and October, students worked
very hard to learn their lines, understand characters
and begin working as a team. The final performance
was a huge success with many audience members
surprised at the maturity, confidence and conviction of
our students on stage.
Shakespeare Schools Foundation Macbeth Performance
The company on stage at Shoreditch Town Hall.
Girls’ Sports Round Up
The girls Year 7-9 football team took part in a fixture against Cumberland school earlier in the term. They put in a very skilled and hard fought effort with the match ending in a very entertaining 5-4 defeat. There were some excellent performances in this game and we are hoping to build on that in our next fixture against Royal Docks Community School. It has also been great to see the attendance at our extra-curricular clubs. We have just started a Hip Hop dancing club on a Tuesday, football and table tennis on a Thursday and basketball on Fridays. It would be great to see even more girls attending these clubs after the New Year.
Silvertown News
Boys’ Sports Round Up
The boys have had a successful start to the year in
PE. The stand out performance of the term was the
Year 9 boys’ basketball team’s victory against School
21. The boys scored 5 points in the last 40 seconds to
win, with some excellent defensive and offensive
efforts towards the end. The highlight for the Year 7
and 8/9 football teams was competing in a 6-a-side
competition at West Ham Academy. This was a great
evening with some great play and goals scored.
Regular football training at Newham Leisure Centre
has started on a Tuesday evening, so results and
performances should only improve. The attitude and
discipline to attend training has been great to see and
we are excited for this to keep improving. Hopefully
the boys’ hard work pays off in our upcoming fixtures.
Y8/9 Basketball Match V School 21
Y7 at West Ham Academy 6 a side competition
Jack Petchey Awards
Ceremony
In September the 2016-2017 Jack Petchey award
winners attended a very special award ceremony at
the O2 Cineworld where they formally received their
Jack Petchey awards along with all the other Newham
school winners. Parents and staff members who
attended the event were extremely proud to see our
students being recognised for their achievements.
The first 2017- 2018 Jack Petchey awards
have been awarded to Laura Londono Duque (Y10),
Rion Shahini (Y10) and Fanta Kebe (Y9). Further
awards will be taking place in the New Year.
Jack Petchey Awards Ceremony
Languages Trip to Köln
On 14th December our Year 10s boarded a coach to
Germany! This was the beginning of the academy's
first ever foreign exchange where the students
travelled through the night to reach a school in Köln in
time for breakfast! OAS students met German
students, talked in German, experienced a German
school and then visited the German Christmas
markets for a real German experience! It was a
fantastic experience for everyone involved.
Our students practising their language skills at a German
School
Silvertown News
A spot of sightseeing in Köln
Student Leaders
appointment and training
We were amazed at the number of applications for our
leadership roles. Over 230 applications were received
for the roles of Prefect, Ambassador, Mentor,
Coaching group representative, Librarian, Sport and
Subject leaders. All applicants had to submit a formal
applications with a reference and then they were
finally interviewed by volunteers from local businesses
and other education establishments. The volunteers
were very impressed with our students' confidence
and commitment to serving the school community. It
was a difficult task to choose our group of leaders this
year. The successful candidates have now received
training in their new roles. Ambassadors and Prefects
were given the opportunity to receive leadership
training at the Normura Offices on the Southbank. We
were given security passes and were led to a
conference room on the top floor overlooking the
River Thames, the London Eye and Parliament. It was
an impressive view. During their training session our
student leaders learned about different leadership
types and the skills needed to lead others effectively.
At the end of the day the different groups had to make
a professional presentation of what they had learned.
I could be prouder of our confident and professional
students and their team working abilities. Once again
our students were complimented on their attitudes
and behaviour.
Student leader candidates having their professional 1:1
leadership interviews with guests from businesses and
industry
FOAS (Friends’ of Oasis
Parent Group)
The Friends of Oasis have met twice this term to
decide on a programme of events for this academic
year. Thank you to all the parents who attended and
offered their support. We will be supporting the end of
term Art showcase and will be arranging a Summer
Fair at the end of the year. We would like to hold an
auction in the spring term of items we no longer use.
Do you have any old phones, children's bicycles,
unwanted and unused gifts we can auction? Can you
offer any services to other parents? Please contact
Mrs Todd or Ms Carter if you have any items you may
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be able to donate so we can make this event a great
success.
Monday Enrichment this
term
On Mondays all students remain at the academy until
4:15pm. All Year 7, 8 and 9 students attend an
enrichment activity of their choice. The students can
choose from workshops focussed around career
pathways such as law, teaching, forensic science,
sports leadership and caring professions.
Testing of samples in Forensic Science Enrichment
Presenting a case to a real life lawyer in law enrichment
After School Clubs
Highlights
This term the number of extra curricular clubs on offer has increased! Particularly popular are the new Year 7 choir, kickboxing, football training at Newham leisure centre and table tennis. Do encourage your child to attend a club if they are not already doing so!
Our students practising their kick boxing skills with Barry at
our Friday club
Our Tuesday sewing club, led by Ms Carter. Some amazing
handiwork produced each wee
Flip Out Trip
Year 8 and Year 9 students were treated
to an extra special PE trip at Flip Out adventure park.
The trip planned and paid for by two of our Jack
Petchey winners, Tegan Joseph and Maximillian
Genov. A student in Year 8 said, “The best thing
about the day was when everyone went down the 30ft
Ninja Slide and we were all cheering each other on!”
Safeguarding Update
This term, both staff and students have received
presentations from the Safer Schools Police Officers
on 'Keeping Safe' with a focus on keeping safe online
and personal safety. During the parents’ Meet the
Principal evening, parents received a presentation on
how to keep your children safe online. The
presentation is available on the Academy website
here:
Silvertown News
http://www.oasisacademysilvertown.org/content/safeg
uarding-parent-info
Students and parents having an information presentation on
“Staying Safe Online” from Mrs Forster, Designated
Safeguarding Lead
Peri Lessons highlights
Students at the academy are now offered a choice of
piano, singing, guitar or drumming lessons. Student
attend their lesson for 20 minutes each week and are
given music to practice independently to support their
progress. We have been so pleased that many
students have taken up this opportunity to develop
instrumental skills. Catch them performing at an
academy performance coming up soon!
Winter Showcase
Each term, our showcase events highlight the
achievements of our students across the academy,
but particularly in the arts. This term we were thrilled
to see our Year 7 singers perform for the first time,
listen to our GCSE music class drumming, watch the
theatre company performing extracts from Macbeth
and enjoy wonderful hosting by two of our confident
students! Come along next term if you missed out this
time!
Our Shakespeare Schools Drama Group performing an extract
from Macbeth
Our Year 7 Singers getting us all in the Christmas spirit in our
Winter Showcase
Road safety Workshop
The Riot Act Theatre company visited the school on 24th November to present a play on Road Safety awareness. The performance combined a mixture of drama and video clips to tell the story of three school friends and how their lack of awareness led to a serious accident with life changing repercussions. Following the play our students had a question and answer session where they discussed what they can do to keep safe on the way to and from school. The theatre company complimented our students on their excellent behaviour and their participation.
“The Riot Act” theatre group gave a thought provoking
performance about avoiding distractions and staying safe on
the roads
STEM Enrichment day
On Tuesday 17th October your child experienced
STEM day. The Science and Maths departments
organised a day of enrichment activities in which your
child was able to engage in experiences linked to
STEM careers. Sixty of our Year 7, 8 and 9 students
were given the opportunity to visit London Zoo in
Regents Park. They were able to appreciate how we
use Zoos for conservation and how animals in
captivity can be used in breeding programmes. They
were also able to observe some animals that they
wouldn't normally observe in the United Kingdom. A
large group of students were given the opportunity to
visit The Natural History Museum and Science
Museum. They explored exhibits on the human body,
space, materials, dinosaurs and mammals. Some
students were given the opportunity to visit the Design
museum. They took part in two workshops on how
manmade objects are designed for ergonomic use
and aesthetic properties. A small group of students
were able to visit the cosmetic retailer Lush. They took
part in a workshop in the ethics of cosmetics and how
Lush produce cosmetics with animal welfare in mind.
Kings College London visited the academy to deliver a
workshop for students considering careers in
Medicine. This was attended only by Year 10 students
who were able to engage in this highly interactive and
informative session. Some students took part in
workshops relating to the application of Mathematics.
These workshops included how stocks and shares are
traded in companies and how knowledge of Maths
aids anyone pursuing a career in finance. Additionally
some students were shown how maths plays a part in
everyday activities and how our knowledge of maths
can provide us with opportunities we were unaware of.
Finally NG Bailey, an engineering company, visited
the academy to deliver workshops on how
engineering is an exciting career pathway to
investigate. Students were able to apply their skills to
solve an engineering problem in teams.
STEM Day with NG Bailey: The winning spaghetti structure
connected with marshmallows stood 1m high and supported
the weight of an orange
STEM Day : An authentic replica of a spacesuit used by NASA
for the Apollo missions to the moon
STEM Day: Students observing the Lions and discussing how
the Zoo has made efforts to contribute towards animal
conservation
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STEM day: Students enjoying the medicine session run by
Kings College London
STEM Day: Students experiencing the exhibit of the history of
design at the Design Museum
STEM Day: Year 10 students hard at work in the “stocks and
shares” finance enrichment session
Pantomime Trip Year 7
Every year the English and Drama department take Year 7 to see a pantomime at Stratford East Theatre Royal. This always proves to be an incredibly enjoyable and festive experience for the children and lets the students experience a different style of theatre from what they experience via usual theatre and media. As well as being an experience of British Culture, watching a pantomime also assists with students’ understanding of how Shakespeare’s plays were performed and received by the audience, because many theatrical elements are the same, and we find, therefore, that this visit supports students’ study of “The Tempest” in the new year too.
International day of
Languages
On the international day of languages our students and staff shared their love of languages! It was impressive hearing so many different languages spoken in the assembly led by students and great to see so many students taking up the languages challenge at lunch time. Well done everyone!
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Our students with their languages stickers from international
day of languages
Coffee and catch up with
the Principal
On 19th October, we welcomed parents into the academy for our termly coffee and catch up with the Principal. On this occasion, parents were given a talk focusing on "Staying Safe Online" by Mrs Forster, Designated Safeguarding Lead. Mrs Forster's powerpoint, full of information on online safety and tips for parents and students, is available on our website.
Students and parents having an information presentation on
“Staying Safe Online” from Mrs Forster, Designated
Safeguarding Lead
Newham Headstart
We are very fortunate to introduce Headstart a Mental Health Programme in the academy. Delivered in partnership with the London Borough of Newham and funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund, the HeadStart programme is a preventative early help service working with 10-16 year olds with emerging mental health difficulties. Students from
Year 8-10 are working alongside Headstart staff to introduce ways to reduce mental health disorders in the academy.
Jekyll and Hyde Trips
Year 10 had a fantastic time on their English trip to see Jekyll and Hyde, the 19th Century novella they are studying for their GCSE English Literature. The modern twist to the adapted novella made it really exciting to watch and made a strong link to our own society which some students said made the original novel's messages appear more interesting and significant. Many students particularly liked the female focus of this adaptation which helped students to better understand the political and social issues affecting women at the time the novella was written, allowing students to be more critical of Stevenson, the novella's author, from a feminist perspective. All in all, it was certainly an educational, inspirational and entertaining experience!
ASDAN Trip (Essential
Living)
On Monday 4th December, our Year 10 students
visited Essential Living a company that constructs
premium apartments in London. They visited as part
of their ASDAN short course in construction. The
students learnt about health and safety on a
construction site and enjoyed the tour around the
Creekside project in Greenwich.
Year 10 students completing the ASDAN construction course
visited Essential Living- Creekside Project
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ASDAN Healthy Lifestyles
Trip to TESCO
Our students enthusiastically toured the shelves of
this mega supermarket with clipboards and their own
individual list for a healthy weekly diet. Within the
space of 1 hour, they had found all their items and put
a price to everything. Quite an achievement in a huge
shop that none of us had visited before.
When asked about the trip, one cheerful young
shopper said that “I enjoyed the shopping but I didn’t
like the prices”. Well, I am sure most of us know that
feeling! Another said, “I will need to buy a car to get it
all home.” Having written the lists in class, some
found things they had left off their lists which they
added (the impulse buyers) and all of them were
enthusiastic about making choices between quality
items and lower price options. This is part of an
independent living task for their ASDAN course to
produce a budget for a whole year including all living
expenses. They are now working on using excel data
spreadsheets to find out exactly how much this is all
going to cost them over the course of one year.
Four year 10 students hit Tesco’s Extra, Woolwich Arsenal last
week to budget and price up a weekly shopping list
Staff Students Fundraiser
Football Match East End
Community Foundation
On 3rd November our staff and students took part in a
charity football match to raise money for East End
Community Foundation. We were pleased to see so
many of our students and staff participate and
support. We were even more pleased to see Dave
Mann, chair of our Academy council, showcase his
skills in goal!
Staff and students showing off their skills in our charity
football match for East End Community Foundation
City Pitch Project in the
community
Our City Pitch team, having successfully pitched to a panel from the Lord Mayor's fund for London before the summer, began their community project for young people this term. In November, they arranged for Jimmy Tibbs, the famous boxing trainer and Christian to speak to Britannia Village Youth Club. We look forward to continuing to see them continue to transform our community with their work.
Britannia Village Youth Club enjoying a talk arranged by our
City Pitch Students
OCL Awards- 13th
December
On Wednesday 13th December a very special group
of students travelled to Birmingham International
Convention Centre for the Oasis Community Learning
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National Student Awards. The student award
nominees also enjoyed entertainment and a three
course lunch. Also performing at the event, and
nominated for the John Williams Team Award were
our academy choir. Our choir have demonstrated real
teamwork and resilience since their formation last
year, and are well known throughout the trust. We
were also proud to nominate the following students for
awards: Matthew Pease (Nominated for the Founders'
Award for embodying the Oasis ethos), Giselle
Fenteng (Nominated for the arts and Culture Award,
for her contribution to the arts at the academy),
Samira Mustafa (Nominated for the Achievement
Award, for meeting all her targets and exceeding
many of them), Zayne Hoang (Nominated for the
Sodexho Hub Community Award, for his hard work
with community projects like the local food bank) and
Chyan Poleon (Nominated for the Sports Award, for
her contribution to and leadership of sports at the
academy.)
Members of our choir enjoying the celebrations at the National
Oasis Student Awards
Our choir performing at Birmingham ICC at the high profile
OCL National Student Awards. Our choir were also nominated
for the prestigious John Williams Award
Our student award winners Matthew, Samira and Zayne at the
OCL National Student Awards
Aviation Trip 10th
November
On Friday 10th November a group of students who
have shown interest in STEM related career pathways
were invited to complete a STEM in Aviation
Challenge Day at the ExCEL in conjunction with City
Airport. Students were given the opportunity to
compete against other schools in various STEM
based challenges such as a redesign of City Airport's
infrastructure leading up to their renovation and use of
new technologies/apps to solve problems.
Students using VR headset to understand the applications of
augmented reality at ExCEL Centre
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Newham Debating
Competition
On Friday 8th December a group of students travelled to Pinsent Mason Offices at Liverpool Street to compete in the East London Business Alliance (ELBA) debating competition. Having received expert training from Pinsent Mason professionals, our students debated the motion "School web filters should be less restrictive" and reached the final of the competition, having won their heat successfully. Our students were commended for their efforts in the final and secured overall second place.
Our Pinsent Mason Debating Finalists; we are very proud of
them!
Brilliant Club
We continue our strong partnership with the Brilliant
Club. This term a group of Year 9 students had the
privilege of having a series of university style
seminars from a visiting PhD student on the topic “The
Portrayal of Slavery in Modern Museums.” These
students, after successful completion of their
university thesis, will visit a Russell Group University
in January.
Our Year 9 Students at the launch of this years “Brilliant Club”
Year 7 Residential
Each year we take our Year 7 students on an action packed residential in Kingswood early in September. We find that this is a fantastic opportunity for the students to get to know one another and make new friends in a relaxed and exciting setting. They developed their team building skills climbing Jacobs Ladder, shelter building and even making their own beds! Some of the students overcame their fear of heights on the climbing wall. Other activities included Lazer tag and “Nightline” which were thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Year 7 students “hanging out” at the Kingswood Residential
Trip
The teambuilding activities are an excellent way to make new
friendships and build trust
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Food Academy Cooking
Workshops
All Year 7, 8 and 9 students attended a Food Academy cooking workshop at Newham Leisure centre this term. The students watched a demonstration then worked in small groups to prepare a healthy meal. After cooking, all the food was judged by a taste tester! Winning teams had the best presentation, team work and taste! Students have been given the recipes to try to cook again at home, so look forward to being served frittata, fish cakes or vegetable curry soon by one of our students!
Oasis Silvertown Students cooking up a storm at the Food
Academy
Anti-Bullying Week 2017
Our Anti-Bullying Week 2017 was a great success.
This year's theme was "All different, all equal." Our
students enjoyed a thought provoking assembly led by
coaching group Jobs A, and completed activities on
this theme in learning coaching time. We are
extremely proud of our peer mentors who began their
duties during this week, are always on hand to help
students solve any issues. One of the highlights of the
week was this amazing “kindness pledges” tree
display produced by the students.
Our amazing display of kindness pledges for anti-bullying
week. Thanks to our student leaders for putting this together
Girls Science Trip -
Stemettes
On October the 19th, 10 Year 10 students were taken
to Stratford East to participate in an event organised
by the Stemettes in association with Monster
confidence. Students met women in STEM
professions and participated in Q and A sessions with
guest speakers. Students also attended a number of
workshops on building confidence, and applying for
opportunities in the workplace. Students also
participated in a mentoring session, where they were
able to network with professionals and gain valuable
advice about their future career paths. This was a very
enjoyable day, which helped students’ think of
professions which link to STEM subjects that they
may not have previously considered.
Year 10 female students at the Stemettes event, held in
association with Monster Confidence. Great to see our female
budding scientists!
Silvertown News
A new piano for the
academy!
The academy recently acquired a piano through the
Pianos for Good Causes scheme offered by AnyVan.
We are thrilled with it!
We are so pleased with our new piano!
Remembrance Sunday
Service at Brick Lane Music
Hall
On Remembrance Sunday some of our students joined with Britannia Village Primary students to sing at a very special service. This is an annual tradition for the academy and one we value greatly.
Oasis Academy Silvertown singing with Britannia Village
Primary students
Brick Lane Music Hall Memorial Service
Old Vic Schools' Club
Our students are now fortunate enough to be a part of
the Old Vic Schools' club. 18 of our Year 9 students
take part in regular drama workshops and attend
performances at the Old Vic.
Theatre practitioners from the Old Vic visited the academy to
run a Year 9 workshop
Students considered the characters and themes in A
Christmas Carol
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Rewards - Breakfast and
Hot Chocolate with the
Principal
Every week, we come together as an academy to appreciate all the wonderful things students are doing in their lessons. This term we have introduced a cup of hot chocolate and breakfast with the Principal during Tuesday morning coaching time for those students who are working hard and receiving top merits for that particular week.
Students with the top merits enjoy weekly breakfast with the
Principal
Christmas Lunch
On Wednesday 6th December the whole academy
came together for our annual Christmas lunch. We
enjoyed Christmas crackers, music, decorations and
special treats. Many thanks to Mrs Todd, Ms Perry
and our student leaders for organising such a lovely
event.
Our students enjoying a very festive celebration at our annual
Christmas lunch
Art Highlights
Our art department continue to go from strength to
strength. We love to showcase their incredible work in
our newsletter.
Here are some highlights from our recent GCSE art
mock exam. Our Year 10 students sat a full day
GCSE exam experience.
Year 10 GCSE Mock Exam Art Work
Silvertown News
The art department also held a competition for the
poster for out annual Winter Showcase. You can see
the winning entry and runners up below.
Hasiya Ahmed (Year 8)’s entry which was the winning entry
Giselle Fenteng (Year 8)’s entry which was awarded runner up
Food Bank
At Oasis Silvertown we are committed to supporting our local community. One of the ways we do this is through collecting for our local foodbank. As with last year, we were overwhelmed by the generosity of our students and their families. We really hope this makes a difference.
Our academy’s generous donations to our local foodbank in
October
We were delighted to receive this note of thanks from Bonny
Downs
Home Learning and GCSE
Study Tips
Our students are becoming increasingly
independent using Show My Homework daily to check
their home learning schedules and GCSE pod to
revise topics for assessments. Please remember that
study club runs for one hour after school from
Tuesday to Friday where students can receive
additional support and resources to complete their
home learning.
Silvertown News
Cashless System
From 4th January 2018 we shall no longer be
accepting cash from students or parents for lunch
money, as we are becoming a cashless academy.
This will enable us to continue to serve students
quickly at lunch times as the academy grows in size.
Please visit our website for more information.
Learn more about the cashless system at this page on our
website
Silvertown News