Summerhill Academy, based in the heart of St George, has won a national green award for the way it encourages pupils to commute to school in a sustainable way to improve the health and well-being of children and young people.

Modeshift STARS is the national school’s awards scheme that has been established to recognise schools which have demonstrated excellence in supporting cycling, walking and other forms of sustainable travel. The scheme encourages schools across the country to join in a major effort to increase levels of sustainable and active travel. Every school in England (outside of London) can participate in Modeshift STARS for free. On completion of an application for Modeshift STARS, schools will automatically have a brand new national standard school travel plan.

In addition to earning the award, Summerhill Academy came second in Bristol during the recent Big Walk and Wheel competition, encouraging even more families to use active, environmentally-friendly travel for their school commute. The school’s Eco-Committee is also working towards a Green Flag Award ‘Merit’ certificate, re-planting hedgerows on the school grounds and appointing energy monitors in every class.

Davinia Varela Lindley, Summerhill teacher and Active Travel Lead, said: “As a school we encourage greener, healthier ways to get to school. Working with the Modeshift team has helped us to provide assemblies on cleaner air, workshops and competitions such as the Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel. It’s great as we help the environment while also supporting children to be fit and healthy.

“We looked at the school site and made sure that we had everything in place, such as bike sheds, safe crossings, and sustainable ways to get to school safely. In addition to this, we merged learning in science to reinforce the message. But we are not stopping there – we have big plans for the future!”

What should have been an amazing trip of a lifetime for a group of students at Hans Price Academy nearly ended in cancellation, which would have left students, staff, and parents extremely disappointed.

107 students and 15 members of staff were due to spend a week skiing on the stunning slopes of the Italian ski resort of Bardonecchia but at 3.30pm on the Thursday, two days before the party were due to leave on the Saturday, the travel company phoned to say they had not booked the coaches planned for the journey. The company did promise a flight at this point and staff were informed full details would be shared the following day.

But when the day came, Charli Dale, Year 10 Raising Standards Leader at Hans Price, spoke to the company only to be informed disappointingly the trip was being cancelled as the travel company had no way to get staff and students to Italy. The firm instead offered full refunds, plus 50% of the cost for the disruption caused.

The offered refund was rejected, as Charli and Principal Tony Searle stressed to the travel company it was unacceptable as the school had more than 100 students desperate to go on the planned trip.

After much debate, the company eventually agreed it did have a flight ready to go but needed time to sort coaches. So, at 4pm on Friday afternoon, the company managed to organise coaches for both legs of the journey from Hans Price to the airport and travel the other side in Italy. The trip eventually departed on Sunday on an 8.30am flight from Stansted Airport, a day later than the planned departure date.

The trip returned earlier on the Saturday morning at 3.30am rather than the planned 8.30pm arrival, meaning the group lost half a day skiing because of the extra travel time and the need to catch the return flight – but students were still thrilled their adventure had been salvaged.

Trip organiser Charli Dale said: “Despite the chaos in the final 48 hours in the lead-up to departure, the trip was a huge success. The beginner skiers made incredible progress, we were blessed with plenty of sunshine and enough snow for the end of the winter season.

“It is the biggest school trip to date to run from Hans Price and all pupils were superb from start to finish.

“It was down to perseverance from the academy to make this happen and the support from lovely colleagues within Hans Price. I would also like to thank our parents for their kindness and support during what was an unpredictable time whilst the trip was taken out of our control.”

ENDS

Eight! CLF academies, all featured in the April edition of the Voice Newspapers. Scroll down the page to find out more.

Staff at King’s Oak Academy dressed up for World Book day, their picture featured on the front page!

Bristol Metropolitan Academy’s cheerleading team Hurricanes have just been crowned national champions in their division at the national finals. Not only that, another team from Bristol Metropolitan Academy, Tornados came second in their division missing out on the top spot by only three points. What makes this even more remarkable the teams were only formed last October.

John Cabot Academy’s main hall was packed to capacity with stalls and stands for the Cabot Learning Federation’s (CLF) Post 16 Careers Fair. Read more below.

The smash hit West End musical and 2003 Jack Black movie School of Rock was performed by a talented cast of students at Bristol Brunel Academy.

Staff and pupils across the Federation dressed up for World Book Day. Here are some pupils from Frome Vale Academy and Minerva Academy.

One of the most loved Broadway musicals was brought to life for an 800-strong audience, over five shows, in the main auditorium at John Cabot Academy.

The Cabot Learning Federation has appointed its first Wellbeing Coordinator – who takes up her post with the ambition of helping the CLF to lead the education sector in its wellbeing and mental health support.

The trust – which runs 22 schools across Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset – has named wellbeing of staff and students as one of seven key pillars in its strategic ambitions between now and 2030.

That emphasis on staff and student health includes pledges to offer day-to-day support, while also making help available for people who may be struggling with their physical or mental health.

That has led to the creation of a new role to oversee the trust’s offering and guide staff to the help which is available.

Helen Hetherington is based at Uphill Village Academy in Weston-super-Mare, where she juggles a number of roles including HLTA, learning mentor, parent support, safeguarding and mental health lead.

She has now added another job to the list, after successfully interviewing for the CLF-wide role of Wellbeing Coordinator.

Helen – who has worked in education for nearly 30 years and at Uphill for 18 – is looking forward to getting stuck in to a role which she believes has taken on even greater importance as people’s wellbeing focus has shifted irrevocably in the wake of the pandemic.

Helen said: “Wellbeing has always been at the heart of my ethos for supporting children, young people, and colleagues. I passionately believe that we can only achieve and be our best person if we are healthy, both physically and mentally. By taking on this role I will be at the forefront of ensuring that CLF gives the same level of attention to mental health and wellbeing as physical health.

“I want to create a workplace where everyone’s wellbeing matters, where people feel comfortable to be themselves and confident to seek help and support when they need it, where we can all talk freely about our individual wellbeing. My ultimate aim would be for each academy within the Trust to be proficient in providing the highest standard of wellbeing support to staff and children alike.

“I would like to see CLF leading the way in providing wellbeing and mental health support within our trust and the education sector.

“My vision is to see CLF lead the way in providing first-class wellbeing and mental health support, not only internally, but to the wider educational sector and the communities that we support.

“As an instructor I want to share my passion, help people understand what mental health and mental health illness is and discuss openly ways in which we can support each other. I want to ensure that we all have the skills to be supportive and listen, to reassure and make people feel that things are going to be ok and to encourage and signpost people to seek the help that they need.”

ENDS

Based on the original Broadway production that ran for over thirteen years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, and the Academy Award-winning motion picture, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast JR. is a fantastic adaptation of the story of transformation and tolerance. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast JR. features some of the most popular songs ever written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice.

Staged across two sell-out shows, the successful production saw a cast and crew of more than 70 students from Years 7-11 taking part.

With Abigail Dyson Year 8 & Ella Reed Year 9 as Belle, and Adrian Korczak Year 8 and Ben Jenkins Year 9 as Beast this classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end, and he will be transformed to his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

With many fun supporting roles allowing students to play objects inside the castle, this “tale as old as time” is filled with spectacular costume and set.

This was a student led production with pupils taking on the roles of Assistant director, Stage manager, Lighting & Sound technician, and Publicity and Marketing.

Mrs Nicola Hurrell, Subject Leader for Drama & Director said, “I am so impressed with the level of hard work, commitment and resilience students have shown throughout this production. Student leaders have really stepped up and responded to the challenge of producing a fantastic production. I am so proud of you all and I already looking forward to the next show.”

One of Bristol’s most improved schools has appointed a new Principal to lead the next stage of its journey ‘to exceptional and beyond’.

Kerry Coote will take over as Principal at Evergreen Primary Academy – part of the Cabot Learning Federation – in September.

She will be stepping up from her role as Senior Vice Principal, in which she has supported Principal Jan Saunders to drive the improvements which earned a recent Ofsted rating of ‘good, with outstanding leadership and pupil development’.

Kerry – who began her career at St Stephen’s Junior School in Kingswood, before moving to Summerhill Academy and on to Evergreen in 2021 – secured the position after impressing the interview panel with her passion for the role, commitment to the Evergreen community, and her understanding of strong leadership within a trust.

She now says she is looking forward to leading the Evergreen team to build on recent progress, further improving teaching and raising pupil aspirations and outcomes – all while juggling the challenges presented by working in a diverse community where deprivation levels are high and only one in eight pupils (12%) speak English as a first language.

Kerry Coote, incoming Principal at Evergreen Primary Academy, said:

“Evergreen is a unique and diverse school with a warm community feel. Many families here suffer some form of deprivation or vulnerability and therefore the school works tirelessly to support both children and their families.

“At the heart of Evergreen are strong relationships. We take time to get to know our children as individuals and ensure they have what they need to perform their best academically.

“At Evergreen there is a strong sense of belonging. There is a place here for everyone. Everyone here is valued and respected.

“Expectations have risen over recent years, both for the staff team and the children. This has driven the school to improve in all areas and we will continue to drive the school to further improve to become an exceptional school in the next three years.

“The next steps for the academy include the continuing drive to improve teaching and learning, the continuation of the building of relationships with the community to support our parents to feel empowered and to raise aspirations for our children and teaching them the power of their voice.

“I feel honoured to be part of the Evergreen team as they all work exceptionally hard to support all children both academically and emotionally. I look forward to leading the team to continue to raise standards and improve life chances for the Evergreen children.”

Kate Richardson, Executive Principal at the Cabot Learning Federation, said:

“Kerry impressed throughout the recruitment process with her passion for the role and her understanding of strong leadership within a trust. Kerry has a deep understanding of the school and its community and has exciting plans for the future.

“We are looking forward to working with her to build on our recent Ofsted success and take Evergreen to exceptional and beyond.”

Jan Saunders, Acting Principal at Evergreen Primary Academy, said:

“The improvement journey of Evergreen Primary Academy has been in the hands of many people within our trust, and I have been lucky enough to be part of that this year.

“I am delighted that Kerry Coote will be continuing this journey in September along with the great team and community of Evergreen.”