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It’s Official!»MEA is now in

the top 5% of similar schools in England.

Official National League Tables 29th January 2015.

A fantastic achievement!

MEA – a ‘Top 100 Most Improved School’ – PiXL 2014

» The sky’s the limit! » page 3» New MEA Rugby Kit » page 8 » Fulfilling Pastoral Pledges » page 4

Spring Term April 2015

The programme aims to equip our girls with extra confidence and resilience to be successful in a competitive world. It will introduce key skills such as how to dress for success and have a personal ‘brand’, successful study techniques, exposing them early to business ways of working and helping them maximise their communication skills. We also believe that working alongside successful business role models will raise students’

life aspirations and challenge their current views. We are really excited about this new joint initiative and are confident that it will fuel ambition and aspirations in our students. A huge thank you to Lloyds Bank for their commitment to this programme and to MEA students and staff involved.

Last term we had the great privilege of welcoming Sir Alex Ferguson CBE to MEA to officially open our new all-weather pitches.The atmosphere was electric as Sir Alex walked through the MEA guard of honour and met with students and teachers on the pitches before ‘officially’ cutting the ribbon.

The five new pitches were co-funded by the Premier League through the FA Facilities Fund, and were match funded by Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, which is a co-sponsor of the school. The previous pitches at the school were over 10 years old and in need of refurbishment. The £230,000 funding allowed the sub-structure of the pitches to be repaired alongside laying brand new 3G surfaces. The facility now boasts one seven-a-side pitch and four five-a-side pitches.

During his visit, Sir Alex commented, “It’s great the school having these facilities because I think education is not always about the education itself, it’s about inspiring young kids and I think they’ll get great inspiration from these pitches.”

Principal, James Eldon, believes the pitches have been a great investment. He said, “We are thrilled to be able to offer a first-class facility to our students and the wider community. The pitches are outstanding and we are very excited to see MEA, with support from Manchester United Foundation and Hub Development Officer, Nick Bradshaw, develop into a major centre for football and coaching in the North West.”

Inspiring MEA girls February saw the launch of Female Entrepreneurs, our new mentoringprogramme for Year 9 & 10 girls in partnership with business women from Lloyds Bank.

Newsletter

on MEA’s new pitchesSir Alex cuts the ribbon

NEWS from Manchester Enterprise Academy

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NEWS from Manchester Enterprise Academy

What an experience! Year 13 students who took part in a week’s work experience at Lloyds Bank had a great time, gaining insight into different areas of the business and being able to see first-hand how IT systems and personnel are integral to the success of the organisation. They came away more confident in themselves and considering different options for their futures.

Digital Skills Festival Year 9 and 10 ICT and Business students recently attended the Digital Skills Experience day at Manchester University. Activities included designing and coding their own gaming app, and developing a marketing campaign for a healthy snack. Our students worked really hard and made us very proud. They produced some excellent products throughout the day and immersed themselves into the digital and business sector.

History Hamster

Tony Teddyboy

Last term a special time-travelling History Hamster called in on pupils at Benchill Primary and Ringway Primary courtesy of MEA. History Hamster, created and presented by Gabby Dow, made an appearance in outfits from the 1950s to the present day and led discussions about teenagers over the decades - from favourite foods, fashion, music, dancing and even haircream.

A great way to learn about social history!

The sky’s the limit Our Year 8 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) club had a great day at Jodrell Bank finding out about the universe and the solar eclipse in the inflatable planetarium. Students were able to touch a meteorite, see the giant telescopes and complete a challenge to work out how the Curiosity Rover is landed on Mars. They even got a chance for some fresh air in a hidden park, in spite of a bit of rain!

MEA students — ‘Smart, Articulate and Well-Behaved’

Our SponsorsBy working closely with individuals & organisations who represent the wider community and the world of business, Manchester Enterprise Academy is able to offer young people an exceptional insight into the many opportunities that await them. We are very proud to have these prestigious sponsors on board.

Theodore Agnew, Chair of the Academies Board at the Department for Education

‘Curriculum...meets all students needs and aspirations’ Ofsted 2013

Networking links: There is a familiar phrase that states ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’ and at MEA we want both elements of this to come true for our students. Our ‘Know It’ curriculum in Years 7 and 8 seeks to improve our students’ knowledge base and our networking links hope to bring our students unique opportunities.

Sporting elite: It’s been an amazing time for MEA in terms of the partners we are working with. In sport, our students have met and been praised by Sir Alex Ferguson who opened our new sports facility and, through our partnership with Manchester United Foundation, our students met the United and England players Michael Carrick and Chris Smalling. The Manchester United players discussed how they got on when they were at school and Mrs Kilty’s Maths class were very impressed when Chris Smalling revealed he had Maths A’ level. Inspiring and motivating for everyone involved. We also visited the home of English rugby to pick up our unique Canterbury MEA rugby shirt and our teams now wear this with pride.

Business expertise: In business we are developing a committed and exciting partnership with Lloyds Bank which is offering MEA students a wonderful opportunity to develop business skills and learn from successful business leaders in this huge, multi-national company. Our Female Entrepreneurs programme is innovative and unique within English schools – forty MEA girls being inspired and coached by successful female business leaders from Lloyds Bank. We are also looking to develop a Digital Skills programme with Lloyds Bank’s IT experts who work in Wythenshawe.

Alongside this amazing partnership, we are also working with Accenture - one of the world’s biggest consultancy and IT companies and one of our sponsors.

What does this mean for MEA students? It means they have opportunities to network and learn from some of the most successful businesses in the world and secure training, work and a fantastic future. We are the ‘Enterprise’ Academy – this means we are passionate about opening doors to a range of careers so that MEA students become the entrepreneurs and business leaders of the future.

MEA has the know-how: In addition to having an impressive group of business friends, our excellent academic results have secured MEA’s place in the top 5% of similar schools in England.

We were visited by Ofsted in the middle of March and, although I’m not yet able to share the outcomes, I can say that our students and staff have achieved a wonderful report which I am extremely proud of. Ofsted confirmed that in three and a half years MEA has been transformed. I will be able to let you know more of the details of this in my next report. Thank you to all our parents who offer us such passionate and positive support for all our programmes and during our inspection.

Frozen in Wythenshawe

When our last newsletter went to print many of our students were rehearsing really hard for their Christmas production – ‘Frozen in Wythenshawe’. Whilst this may seem some time ago we couldn’t let this edition go out without mentioning their amazing production which involved a record-breaking number of MEA students.

Huge congratulations to all the MEA cast and teaching staff involved – you went down a storm!

This year was the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and ten Year 9 students took part in the annual Holocaust Memorial Day in Manchester. Our students watched a very moving and powerful film, Nicky’s Children, which tells the story of Sir Nicholas Winton who saved 669, mainly Jewish, children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938-39. All ten students made MEA very proud and two of the students, Chloe and Georja, bravely helped read the declaration against genocide to a large audience at the close of the event. All ten left with an understanding of the horrors of genocide, the power of humanity and a belief in the need to end hatred. Since the event Chloe and Georja have been commended by Tony Lloyd, Police & Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester.

Learning from History

See our next Newsletter for photos from the Fashion Show.

Year 11s on the Runway!Thirteen Year 11 students are taking part in ‘Runway on the Runway’ in March, a fashion show in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, which will be held in the Concorde Hangar at Manchester Airport. Ten of the students went through auditions to secure their places as models for the event and have been working really hard practising their choreography with tips from Boss Model Management and working with stylists from Boohoo, the label which they will be modelling.

Two students have been chosen as make-up artists and attended a make-up master class at Harvey Nichols. Another student has also been chosen as the photographer for the project and all thirteen are organising fundraising for the charity in the lead-up to the show. They have already raised monies from taking part in a Santa Run at Old Trafford, non-uniform days, and are continuing to work with the Student Council to organise future events in school.

A message from MEA’s Principal, James Eldon.

Networking with know-how

NEWS from Manchester Enterprise Academy

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NEWS from Manchester Enterprise Academy

Code ClubLocal primary schools attended an afternoon of coding organised by MEA and Code Club. The aim for the afternoon was to provide an insight into some new technologies and to let the pupils have a hands-on approach. It was an interactive event with some great workshops including coding with tablets, laptops & raspberry pi’s.

Extra bells sounded throughout the school day and both students and staff had to ‘Drop Everything And Read’. There was also a Great Book Swap, World Book Tokens were issued and Year 7s took part in a Books Aloud PJ Party. One of the particular highlights for students was seeing their teachers in costumes - you can just imagine the fun they had! During the week girls from Year 8 had also travelled into Manchester to meet author of the Geek Girl series, Holly Smale.

They were a real credit to MEA and had some excellent questions for the author.

City Year are hereWe are proud to welcome City Year UK to MEA for its official launch into the Manchester area. City Year is a youth and educational charity which recruits 18 – 25 year olds for 6 or 11 months of full-time volunteering, to act as near-peer role models, mentors and tutors in schools. The team of eight enthusiastic young adults who have joined MEA will support us in class or on a one-to-one basis. They will also facilitate and run clubs. City Year volunteers are easily identified in their red uniform.

Pastoral PledgesAs part of our commitment to A Fantastic Future for All we make a pledge to each year group to include activities that will enrich their education and help them develop as caring, responsible and knowledgeable citizens.Many of the activities planned are inspired by an ‘opportunities survey’ which our students complete at the start of the year and identifies things they would like to experience. The activities fall into the five key areas of our SMSC curriculum - Social, Moral, Spiritual, Cultural and Healthy Lifestyles. Examples range from raising money for charity to going to a concert, trying unusual foods (see ‘A Taste of Spain’ below) to flying a kite!

One recent example has been a visit to a Sikh Gurdwara in Cheetham Hill by Year 9 who are studying ‘Our multi-cultural society.’

The visiting students were great ambassadors of MEA and they learnt many new things about the Sikh religion including the tradition of Langar – this involves sitting on the floor to enjoy a meal with others.

‘Students have become proud of their Academy’ – Ofsted 2013 ‘Teachers are passionate about their subjects’ – Ofsted 2013

Congratulations to Claudia and Miki in Year 10 who have produced some outstanding artwork. The students were given images of the homeless in London by photographer Lee Jefferies who works in black and white. They were encouraged to draw the image in white on black paper, breaking it down into tonal areas and stretching themselves by working in a different way. They then drew their image in pencil on white paper.

In February the whole Year 7 group took part in an exciting and interactive Cultural Awareness Day. Students were split into groups and each group was given a country to research. Using ipads and various craft materials they developed marketing materials to promote their country – this included making a TV advert or designing a poster. The feedback from students was excellent and the whole event really encouraged some great team working and innovation whilst helping them learn about other cultures.

Career Paths

Artistic GreatnessA Taste of Spain!

In January Year 8 students thoroughly enjoyed a Tapas tasting event to give students a flavour of authentic Spanish dishes such as chorizo, manchego cheese and quesadilla. A big thank you to our sponsor, Manchester Airport, who literally delivered these treats to our students. The day really encouraged students to be more adventurous and try new flavours and has really motivated them in their lessons since.

Bravo!

Years 8 and 9 recently attended an inspiring careers event A World Away where they had the opportunity to meet a number of role models from a range of businesses and learn about their varied career paths. Our students took part in informal group discussions and then had the opportunity to ask the volunteers questions about their own experiences. The students then took part in an interactive workshop where they had to problem-solve and work as a team. They even had a chance to catch up with a former MEA student who had completed an Apprenticeship and was now studying part-time at university. A great result!

Watch this space too for news of our Barcelona trip . . .

Cultural Awareness

There was an amazing buzz

around the Academy on 5th

March for the 18th World Book Day.

Bringing books to life!

There were also many demonstrations - from 3D printers and a robotic arm to the silly banana piano and toothbrush-bots!Pupils had a great time using the different technologies!

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Manchester United’s first-team players went ‘Back to School’ and took part in activities across the region at Manchester United Foundation’s ten partner schools. Here at MEA the Academy was buzzing with the presence of Michael Carrick and Chris Smalling. Head Boy, Shaun, and Head Girl, Safa, were really excited to escort the players around the Academy with Principal, James Eldon, and their first stop was over at the new all-weather pitches. They took part in a football coaching session and spent time chatting with a number of students, including those who have volunteered with the Foundation and who are taking part in coaching and leadership training.

MEA Sixth Form students have, for the first time, been able to book a package of six half hour lessons for £36 with ‘Awsom Driving School’. The lessons take place on site and a total of 36 students have taken advantage of this excellent initiative and have thoroughly enjoyed their experience.

MEA will be offering this opportunity again next year for new Sixth Form students.

MEA Sixth Form students have recently acquired a new and wonderful life skill – an introduction to Sign Language. Esmail Patel from DEAF, Deaf Education Advocacy Fellowship has really inspired our students with her teaching and many have also chosen to progress to the next level. Manchester United Foundation has also supported this initiative by inviting players from their Deaf Team to speak to our students about disability in sport. They have also offered opportunities for students to go over to The Cliff and Carrington to get involved with classroom-based studies, training sessions and to watch the deaf team play.

The course has been such a success that we will be offering it again next year in the Sixth Form.

Event Managers!Our Sixth Formers worked really hard last term to organise a fantastic Christmas party for Ashgate Specialist Support Primary School with help from MU Foundation. They carried out fundraising for prizes and used their organisational skills to come up with a great itinerary to entertain the children. As you can see it was a great success!

Learning to sign

One for the CV

5 A*– C’s with English and Maths – up 11% since 2013 ‘Sixth form students have raised aspirations’ – Ofsted 2013

United Ambition

United Ambition is a 12 month programme targeted at Year 10 girls who show a dedication, passion and commitment to their own personal development. Two MEA students were selected through an interview process with MU Foundation.

They started in February and will progress through a series of workshops, key speaker seminars and activities to complete a challenge set by the Foundation. At the end of the programme the girls graduate at a celebration event at Old Trafford and 5 members will then be selected for the leadership committee which will help the Foundation coordinate the United Ambition programme for the following 12 months.

Girls FootballLily Cullen, a Sixth Form student, and now a casual member of staff with MU Foundation was keen to develop girls’ football within MEA. She now delivers after-school sessions every Wednesday for Key Stage 4 girls and has a regular turnout of 25-30 girls. The Premier League has also visited one of these girls’ sessions and has been very impressed with Lily’s hard work in developing and supporting girls’ football. As a result of this dedication the MU Foundation’s Girls department are funding Lily to take her FA Module One qualification.

Volunteer 99MEA Sixth Former, Jean Lamb, who has volunteered with MU Foundation for 3 years with Street Reds has now been put forward for Volunteer 99 where he will receive training, gain nationally recognised qualifications and have the opportunity for work experience never to be forgotten. Participants are encouraged to achieve milestones of 33, 66 and 99 hours of volunteering in projects like Street Reds, the Foundation’s flagship community cohesion programme, and Premier League 4 Sport, a national initiative which aims to engage young people in Olympic sports. MU Foundation coaches mentor the volunteers through the three levels, which represent the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League trophies, to emulate the success of having won the Treble.

Volunteering in Primaries

A number of MEA Sixth Formers are doing brilliant work in assisting MU Foundation Hub Development Officer, Nick Bradshaw, every week in the primary schools. Beth Power is doing a great job at Haveley Hey and the girls love her sessions. At Benchill Primary School Tom Morrison, Kyle Kenny, Kenny Shaw and Cameron Judge have also shown real enthusiasm and commitment.

Well done everybody!

Back to School for Carrick and Smalling

Since November four pairs of Sixth Form students have been working with Manchester United Foundation towards the Premier League Enterprise Challenge.

Shortlisted students Daniel and Jean with Samson Owolabi of Bearded Fellows, Prof. Kurt Allman, Salford Business School, David Chapman, Manchester United Foundation and Jonathan Styles Manchester Business School.

Enterprising ChallengeSo many opportunities…

Students from a number of Manchester schools, including MEA, had to come up with an idea to try and get more families to attend match days. They pitched their idea to the judges and had to explain their reasons. All our students were outstanding, showing fantastic confidence and resilience in quite a challenging situation.

One pair of MEA students, Daniel Jones and Jean Lamb, have made it through to the next stage and have undertaken some more detailed research and prepared a business plan for their idea.

A very proud moment.

The project is being led by the WOW Zone at the Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre, part of Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, and they are working closely with Wythenshawe Hall and the Forum where there will be an exhibition and community event on the 5th September. Our students are part of the project team and will get involved in lots of activities including: researching and documenting the history of Wythenshawe, organising dance, music and graffiti art workshops, film-making, photography, a project website and a Wythenshawe Heritage App. The project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund with support from Wythenshawe Forum Trust and Wythenshawe Community Housing Group.

MEA Sixth Formers are helping to deliver a Heritage Youth Project which is called Wythenshawe, Manchester’s Garden City – Bringing our heritage to life.

The next stop was MEA’s Foundation Learning Class where the players took part in a Question & Answer session about inspirational leaders. This was followed by a trip to a Maths lesson and a discussion with our students about the use of data and how it is used to analyse performance after a game. Both students and staff had an amazing day and we hope that Mr Carrick and Mr Smalling enjoyed themselves too – it certainly looked like they did!

Bringing our heritage to life

MEA students visited the National Football Museum where they watched the 2014 British documentary film, ‘Next Goal Wins’. They were able to get an insight into the film making process when they met and interviewed Steve Jamison, one of the films co-directors (pictured on the right).

He gave some great advice on how to put together the film the film being produced as part of the Wythenshawe Heritage Project.

NEWS from Manchester Enterprise Academy

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NEWS from Manchester Enterprise Academy

Junior LifeguardsSeven Year 7, 8 and 9 students recently qualified as Junior Lifeguards after successfully completing a ten-week course at the Forum’s leisure centre. Mr Manifould, Head of PE, commented, “Our students have shown great commitment to what is a very demanding qualification. Their training has included saving the lives of those who can’t swim and learning how to swim effectively whilst dragging a casualty to safety”. Congratulations to all MEA students who qualified, especially to those who have committed to volunteer; it will qualify them to work as lifeguards in the future.

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MEA – ‘A relentless pursuit of excellence’ – Ofsted 2013

Hourly Rates: CommuNity PubliC

Five-a-side pitches £20 £25Seven-a-side pitch £25 £30Sports Hall £25 £30

Sports Facility Hire

Contact:

Open 5pm – 10pm Monday to Friday Enquiries taken for weekends

Billy Armstrong tel: 0161 436 6691 after 3.30pm

To book ring:

On offer are FIVE brand new, state of the art, all-weather pitches and a multi-use sports hall!

Just before the England v Italy RBS Six Nations game, Kara Darlington from MEA unveiled the official new MEA rugby kit. The new kit was the result of a fantastic workshop held by the Canterbury design team with MEA rugby players as part of England Rugby’s ‘All Schools’ programme.

The aim of this programme is to increase the amount of rugby in schools, encourage new players to join local clubs and create a positive legacy for 1 million children through the game and its core values.

A very proud moment!

Year 7 telephone extension 2PSL Mr Taylor a.taylor@meacad.org.ukPM Mr Millar a.millar@meacad.org.uk

Years 8 & 9 telephone extensions 3 & 4PSL Mr Cook m.cook01@meacad.org.uk PM Miss Pelmear m.pelmear@meacad.org.uk

Years 10 & 11 telephone extensions 5 & 6PSL Miss Hall j.hall02@meacad.org.uk

Y10 PM Mrs Wilks v.wilks@meacad.org.uk Y11 PM Mrs Conway j.clarke@meacad.org.uk

Sixth Form telephone extension 7 PSL Miss Thornton h.thornton@meacad.org.uk PM Mr Hampson a.hampson@meacad.org.uk

General MEA email: admin@meacad.org.uk address: Simonsway, Wythenshawe, Manchester M22 9RH

Contact MEA telephone 0161 499 2726

If your child is unable to attend the Academy, please leave a message on our Attendance Hotline 0161 493 1308

MEA recently donated a number of mugs to local community organisations - The Tree of Life Centre, Keystones Charity based at Wythenshawe Sports Club and Acting on Impulse.

Putting the kettle on

The New MEA

Rugby Kit

PSL – Pastoral Strategy Leader PM – Pastoral Manager

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