NewsletterAutumn Term

This has been a busy half term in school with the arrival of students into Year 12 and Year 7 along with others into other year groups. It is rewarding to see how quickly students settle at NUAST. We have also welcomed new staff to the school in September. These staff have quickly built relationships with students and are adding strength to the teaching body. NUAST has a diverse cultural character and I am truly proud to lead the school and to be part of its community.

We welcomed OFSTED to the school at the end of September and I will soon be able to share the final report with you. We are not allowed to release the details until the official report is published.  However the inspection team have asked that I share their thanks and appreciation with you regarding your response to questionnaires and your children’s interaction with them.

Results in the summer were good at both GCSE and Post 16, particularly when considering the impact of the COVID lockdowns. I look forward to seeing our current examination groups flourish over the next year as they move towards examinations. I would like to take this opportunity to stress to you the importance of good attendance as it is absolutely clear that poor attendance leads to poor results. We target achievement in all year groups of 96% or better. It is the school’s policy not to authorise absence for family holidays during term time.

Parking

We continue to receive complaints from residents and the PDSA regarding the parking of parents around the school site. The movement of vehicles creates a significant hazard to students as they leave school and there have been some minor vehicle accidents as parents manoeuvre their cars. There is a day of planned community action around parking coming up that will involve police and traffic wardens as well as local councillors. Could I please ask you to consider using public transport or parking away from the school and walking to collect your children.

 

Mr White

 

Over the course of the last year our very own Ana Golban has participated in a research project investigating galactic winds produced by black holes. Over the course of a year Ana, in collaboration with students from across the country along with researchers at University College London (UCL), developed her skills in X-Ray Spectroscopy and Gaussian modelling to determine the speed and direction of the winds produced by nine different black holes.

Not only has this pioneering research enhanced our confidence in our understanding of black holes but it has also demonstrated a viable approach for Universities looking to engage aspiring scientists in genuine research.   Ana’s professionalism and insight during the project were remarked upon by the University researchers and we are tremendously proud of how she has represented NUAST in achieving her success. Well done!

Did you know that 2022 had a rare palindromic date on 22/02/2022?

2022 has already seen the NUAST mathematics department celebrating lots of achievements from students across all key stages, so many looking forward to a promising future in a huge variety of chosen pathways. We have seen more A level maths students than ever go to university to study Mechanical Engineering – a highly prestigious qualification in a shortage area. We have also seen a growing number of students going on to university to continue their study of Mathematics, as well as successful Medicine applicants and a diverse range of degree level apprenticeships.  

We have seen our students building their resilience as mathematicians, preparing effectively for external exams with some exceptional performances at both GCSE and A level. For the first time a group of 11 students sat the AQA Level 2 Further Maths GCSE with great success, 4 of them achieving grade 9. This qualification allows students to study beyond the maths GCSE specification and is ideal preparation for going on to study A level in Maths and Further Maths. Our STEM specialism attracts students from across Nottingham and beyond to join our sixth form with 99 of our new year 12 students studying A level maths this year. We are delighted to have our highest recorded uptake of 25 students from our 2022 GCSE classes staying with us at NUAST to study A level maths. 65% of our year 11 students achieved grade 5 or higher at GCSE. 

NUAST has it biggest ever year group now in year 13 and 2022 saw the largest A level Maths entry to date with 86 NUAST students sitting A level maths. No surprise then that we also achieved our highest number of A and A* grades in maths and further maths with 37 and 11 grade A+ performances respectively. We can’t wait to see if our class of 2023 can beat this record.

September 2022 has begun with a brand new course being taught in English.  Students in Key Stage 3 now learn Drama in a lesson every fortnight, building on  the fantastic workshops our younger students enjoyed at the Nottingham Playhouse in the summer term.  Highlights included beat-boxing and stage-fighting.  The skills developed in Drama are widely transferable, ranging from working effectively in teams to confidently using their voices and bodies to communicate.   

 

Students have the opportunity to get involved in a range of extra-curricular activities after school.  As well as all the usual sports' training and fixtures, students have enjoyed learning how to knit for premature babies at the QMC Hospital, working together to create a school newspaper, playing the guitar and doing board games.  If your child hasn't yet signed up for an activity, please do encourage them to get involved!

Year 9 students have organised a cake sale to support the DEC Emergency Appeal for those suffering in Pakistan.  With the help of students and staff buying all their yummy cakes, they managed to raise over £60.  Well done, girls!

 

For the first time ever, we have collected for our local Food Bank.  If you forgot to bring something in this time round, we are hoping to make this a regular part of our community's charitable response.

A level students have been working with researchers at the University of Nottingham to study how wearing face masks can reduce viral infections.  As a 'thank you', we were treated to an inspirational talk by Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, who is probably best known for the press conferences he led during the COVID Pandemic as Deputy Chief Medical Officer.    

At NUAST, we believe that reading is the foundation of all learning.   We encourage our students to read in a variety of ways.  All students read a book together in tutor groups once a week on Read Aloud Tuesdays.  It is exciting to see how well students are taking on the challenge of reading aloud an entire book together.  Over 60 A level students have teamed up with Year 7s and Year 8s to read together once a week in tutor time.  It has been fantastic to see our older students supporting our younger students in this way.  Year 7 and 8 have also received a free book of their choice with the Book Buzz initiative.  We hope they will enjoy reading these books over the half-term break!