Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope this letter finds you and your families well.

The students have settled into the first two weeks of this half-term with an enthusiasm to learn. Our Year 7 students have their Assessment week starting on 16th March. In addition, Year 11 Core Mock Exams are ongoing for the remainder of this term with the GCSE preparations well underway.

Year 10 Parents Evening

It is the Year 10 parents evening between 4 pm–6 pm on Tuesday 17th March. If you haven’t already booked an appointment, then it’s not too late, you can use the link below to book appointments up until 10am on 15th March:

SchoolCloud - Callerton Academy

Y10 Apprenticeship Insight Event - 25th March 2.30pm to 4.00pm

There are several apprenticeship providers coming to Callerton Academy on 25th March to speak to our Y10 students. Students will work with four providers between 2.30–3.30pm. Additionally, parents are invited to attend with their child from 3.30–4.00pm to speak to any providers of their choice. A list of providers is included below:

• Tyneside Training Services
• Newcastle Council
• Lomax Training
• Responsive Engineering
• Arnold Clark
• Trained Up
• DWP
• MPCT
• Seta
• Police
• N/land National Park
• Quora Group
• Egger (UK)
• Siemens Energy

Northumbria University – Parental Survey

As part of our wider work in the education sector, the Gosforth Group has a longstanding relationship with Northumbria University’s Business School. Within this work, we regularly provide business undergraduates with the opportunity to undertake a piece of consultancy work for our Trust as part of their final year studies. This is done through the university’s Business Clinic and over the years has provided valuable insights for the Trust as well as supported several university students.

One of our projects this year involves four final-year students undertaking an evaluative study focused on our sixth form provisions based at Gosforth Academy and Jesmond Park Academy. The university requires primary research to be undertaken as part of the project and the students have asked if we can share a link to a very brief parental survey. If you have 2 minutes spare to support this work, then please scan the attached QR code to access the survey. The survey is completely anonymous, and the results will inform the students’ final consultation piece. If you have any queries about this work then please email admin@gosforthgroup.org.uk with the subject heading ‘Northumbria GFY’. If you’d like to know more about the Northumbria University Business Clinic, then visit this link.

School Meal Vouchers – Easter Holidays

Vouchers for the Easter holiday are confirmed. Same eligibility as usual. £15 per week per child. We’re hoping that we can get the same for the May and the summer breaks, but I’ll let you know nearer the time.

As usual you will receive the voucher via email and you can select which supermarket to use it at, whichever is best for you. At Callerton Academy, we use a company called Wonde to provide these vouchers for parents and carers. Here is a Youtube video that walks you through what you should receive. The system is easy to use with clear instructions in the email.

School Meal – Price Increase

Newcastle City Council, who provides catering to schools within the Gosforth Group, will be increasing their prices to provide a school meal from £3.00 to £3.10 from 20th April 2026 following the Eater holiday. This has no impact on free school meal provision. Please ensure there are sufficient funds on your child's accounts to cover this change.

Free School Meals – Important Information for Parents and Carers

We would like to remind you that your child may be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). Applying is quick and simple. You can apply online here. Alternatively, you can call our Main Reception, where the staff would be happy to provide you with a paper copy and assist with completing it.

'Early pass' system review

Some students need to move around school at quieter times. We regularly review the use of support strategies in school and, as part of this, we have seen that the 'early pass' system can still be successful when students leave 2 mins early rather than 5 minutes early, thus allowing them to remain in the room whilst the lesson is summed up and understanding checked.

From Monday 23rd March all students with a 5-minute early pass will be directed to reduce this to a 2-minute early pass. We are encouraging students to start this immediately so they can practise this. Students who would usually use their early pass to leave school before the end of the school day (3.30pm) will instead stay back 2 mins to allow the corridors to clear. They will be allowed to leave at 3.32pm.

If you would like to discuss this further, please contact the school office.

Attendance

Attendance to school is critical to a young person’s future and students and families must strive for 100% attendance. Sometimes, families are unsure if students are too poorly to attend school, and this guide from the NHS should help with decision making.

We are delighted to share that there has been a really encouraging increase in the number of students who have achieved the 100% attendance award this half term. Please continue to reinforce with your child how important regular attendance is so they can fully access their lessons, enjoy extra‑curricular opportunities and spend valuable time with their friends. If you have any concerns about anything that may affect your child’s attendance, please contact the pastoral team so we can work together to support them.

Breakfast Club

As a reminder, we have a Breakfast Club from 8.00 to 8.25am every morning. All students are welcome to come along to have food, socialise and to get any support they need before the school day starts. Students can enter the building via the Main Reception.

Parking and Road Safety

A polite reminder to families who drop off or pick up their children from school that we should be respectful of our residents. Please do not park in front of residents’ drives. Additionally, we have had a few concerned members of the public contacting us about a minority of students behaving unsafely on the roads. We continue to raise road safety with students in assembly and ask that you please also do so at home.

Facebook

At Callerton Academy, we have a Facebook page administered by the school, called ‘Callerton Academy’. Here we post information about school life, news stories about our extracurricular activities (7Up), school curriculum, reading, trips, etc. We use this Facebook page as a tool for current families, prospective families and other stakeholders to get an insight into what it’s like being a Callerton Academy student and family.

We are proud of and grateful for the incredible relationships with our students, parents and carers. When home and school work together, students thrive.

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs Innes

Principal

Callerton Academy