John Cabot Academy’s students and staff have come together to celebrate the broad diversity of nationalities and backgrounds within the school.

During lockdown, students were supported to set up a school Equalities Council to tackle inequality and diversity. Miss Grierson, who helped to organise Culture Day, said: “Students felt that we needed to celebrate the student diversity we have at JCA and educate one another about different cultures that exist at our school.”

Culture Day, held on June 29, was planned and delivered by the Equalities Council and some visiting staff from various organisations. Students from Year 7 to Year 13 participated throughout the day.

The day itself created a range of ways for everyone at John Cabot Academy, including students and staff, to immerse and educate themselves about different cultures.

As part of this, students brought in delicious sweet and savoury foods that are representative of different cultures to feature in food tasting tables at break time. This enabled students to try different foods and talk about what they were eating. In addition, students were encouraged to wear clothing that is linked to their culture or alternatively, the colours of the flag that they associate with.

Students put lots of effort into their clothing and showcased their cultures in doing so. To highlight this, students hosted a Culture Day fashion show in JCA’s main hall, with students gaining entry to be in the audience with a ‘golden ticket’ from the student lottery.

Throughout the day lessons took a different spin, with different subjects delivering lessons about different people, art and cultural traditions from around the world. This was alongside some visiting presentations from South Gloucestershire Music Hub musicians and Creative Youth Network and a live Congolese drumming and vocal group from Bristol Beacon. In addition, there was a cricket coaching session for KS3 students that took place outside, albeit in the rain, with Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation.

John Cabot has plans for Culture Day to occur annually and eventually include the wider community too. A spokesperson for the Equalities Council said: “We would like to expand our culture day into our parent/carer community and get families involved in building our JCA community.”

Following a recent Ofsted inspection, Bristol Metropolitan Academy (BMA) has been deemed overall Good and Outstanding in Leadership and Management.

Inspectors visited the academy in March 2022 and confirmed that the Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes and Personal Development are all Good, meaning BMA has retained its Good overall rating.  Leadership and Management of the Academy was adjudged to be Outstanding.

Principal Cameron Shaw said: “We are of course delighted that Ofsted recognise that on a daily basis the quality of education provided to the students in our Academy is of a high standard.  We will use the feedback received from the inspection team to continue to develop our practice and ensure we are doing the very best for our local community.”

The Ofsted report notes: “Pupils are very proud of their school. They have many opportunities to learn about the wider world. The school’s curriculum inspires pupils’ ambitions for their future lives. Leaders provide tailored careers guidance which helps pupils to decide their next steps.

“Pupils understand what they need to achieve to access further education, apprenticeships and work. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive a good quality of education at Bristol Metropolitan Academy. They learn a range of subjects successfully and this prepares them for life beyond school.

“Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning foreign languages such as French, Spanish and German. They have high aspirations and work hard to achieve well. There is a harmonious learning environment across the school. Pupils behave well both in lessons and around the school. Pupils state that if they have a concern, they can go to a range of adults for help. They feel safe and cared for by staff.”

The report adds: “Leadership of the school is outstanding. Both trust and school leaders are passionate about the role of the curriculum in transforming the lives of pupils. This vision is shared by staff. Leaders have constructed an ambitious curriculum that helps pupils to learn well. They are tenacious in driving improvements in the design of the curriculum and its implementation.

“Leaders are relentless in pursuing the best quality provision for pupils. They provide highly effective professional development for teachers which leads to continuous improvement. Leaders have ensured that pupils develop strong knowledge of a range of subjects.

“Leaders have embedded a whole-school approach to reading for enjoyment. The programme enables all pupils to get to know a range of worthwhile texts. Leaders are rightly focused on ensuring that pupils learn to read well so that they can learn the wider curriculum.”

The Ofsted report also states: “Leaders have established a highly inclusive curriculum. Staff use information about pupils to provide bespoke support enabling pupils to learn with confidence and success. They use assessment information well to check what pupils know and adapt the curriculum accordingly.

“Staff provide strong academic and emotional support for vulnerable pupils. Leaders have designed a very effective careers curriculum.

“Pupils behave well. There is rarely any disruptive behaviour in lessons. Pupils and staff have positive relationships. The vast majority of pupils are respectful and empathetic towards each other.

“Leaders have planned the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum to include what pupils should learn. Pupils learn about different groups in society who might experience discrimination. They are taught about the importance of being able to develop and maintain positive and healthy relationships in their own lives.

“Governance is extremely robust. Directors of the trust and the academy council pose rigorous challenge and support in equal measure. They gather a breadth of information about the school to pose questions of school leaders. Leaders prioritise the well-being of staff, for example they make sure that early career teachers are well supported. Staff agree that leaders help them to manage their workload very effectively.”

CLF Academies have featured in numerous articles the Voice’s Newspapers over the last two months, Bristol Brunel Academy making the front page of the Kingswood Voice! See below to find out more.

Frome Vale Academy and Snowdon Village had a visit from Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman and Regional Director, for the South West James McNeille after Frome Vale Academy’s recent ‘Outstanding’ Judgement from Ofsted in January. This remains the first outstanding judgement in the South West region this academic year.

Davine Jatto, a year 8 student at Bristol Brunel Academy is the first student to achieve all badges in the five strands of the Bristol Brunel Award.

The Brunel Award has been set up to recognise students that excel in all five strands of The Brunel Way. Students can earn badges for their achievements Academically, Professionally, Socially, Personally and within the Community.

Many of our academies across the CLF got involved in Red Nose Day. Bristol Brunel Academy even made the front page!

Hanham Woods Academy Librarian has achieved her dream of landing a book deal. Lis Jardine’s first book has been snapped up by publishers Puffin, with another due out next year.

Hanham Woods Academy will be filled by the smell of rebellion when students and staff present Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR. Based on the beloved book “Matilda” by Roald Dahl and adapted from the award-winning full-length musical, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR tells the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny.

Students from John Cabot Academy had a once in a lifetime opportunity to play at the formidable home of England rugby, Twickenham. One year 10 young leader and twelve Year 7 students took part in six tag rugby matches before the England V Wales game, part of the Six Nations tournament.

John Cabot Academy’s production of Disney’s High School Musical featured in the Kingswood Voice. They performed to over 800 people over 5 nights, this included matinee performances to local primary schools.

If you were offered a training session from three England rugby players during the six nations tournament, you would think somebody was making it up! But, this is exactly what happened to 15 pupils at Summerhill Academy, in St George.

Children at the Nest have been learning about the challenges facing the environment. They planted flowers and seeds out in the garden and picked up litter.

Bristol Brunel and Bristol Met are increasing their intake in Yr 7 to help with the demand for school places. Jon Jones, Principal of BBA and Cameron Shaw, Principal of BMA are both quoted in this article.

The fiercely competitive annual CLF Big Bake is the exciting annual baking battle for CLF students and pupils, in which secondary and primary academy teams prove their prowess and are crowned the CLF’s best bakers.

Held this year at King’s Oak Academy, a team from each CLF school was invited to participate in our second annual baking competition.

Testing the bakers’ creative flair and technical ability, each school team offered one scrumptious cake judged by CLF CEO Steve Taylor and special guest judges Michelin-star chef Josh Eggleton and Junior Bake Off runner-up, Robbie Hedges.

An amazing selection of cakes were blind tasted and bonus points were on offer for a bake linked to the CLF’s HEART values.

While the cake tasting took place, the oven gloves were off in a live technical challenge. Primary school pupils were asked to decorate biscuits and secondary pupils asked to make scones. These again were marked by the judges and added to each academy’s overall score.

Before the winners were announced, judges praised the baking on display and noted the amazing effort both students had put into the competition.

The winning teams were from Bristol Brunel Academy and Summerhill Academy.

Kate Richardson, CLF Executive Principal, said: “It was a fantastic afternoon to show our children that they are a part of something bigger; our Cabot Learning Federation family. We thoroughly enjoyed the baking, talking to the inspiring judges, being together again following the pandemic and of course, tasting the bakes! Congratulations to all of the pupils who took part!”