HOT WEATHER UPDATE
Dear Parents and students
We are following advice provided by the Department for Education, Swindon Borough Council and the Met Office on steps to take to support the wellbeing of students and staff in this extreme weather. Having conducted a risk assessment, we have reluctantly made the decision to close the school for the afternoon on Wednesday and Thursday. Please understand that this is not a decision we have taken lightly, but it is clear that we risk staff/students becoming unwell due to the excessive heat if we do not take these measures on the days of the week where the Met Office red weather alert is in place.
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As a result, GWA will be closed to students from 12:40 on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th June.
Students will register with their tutors at 12:40 and be dismissed from 12:50. This allows us to keep all staff and students safe and well during the hottest hours of the day. Students with free school meals will be provided with lunch as usual and a limited canteen service will operate from 12:50 -13:10 for those wishing to purchase food on site. The usual break time food service will be in operation.
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Year 10 and Y12 exams on the afternoons of Wednesday and Thursday will be re-arranged for next week – further information to follow.
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Students can continue their learning using the shadow curriculum (see attached). This will require an internet enabled device and they can access the many lessons linked from this document in line with the subjects they would ordinarily be studying on Weds/Thurs afternoon.
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There will be onsite provision until 15:10 for any students who are unable to go home at 12:50. Please do let the school office know today if you need your child to remain in school on Weds and/or Thurs afternoon.
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Our planned Y12 transition day on Thursday will still go ahead.
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In addition, from tomorrow (Weds 24th June) students have the option of wearing their PE Kit to school for the remainder of the week should they choose to do so.
Achievement
Welcome to
Great Western Academy
Great Western Academy was built to serve the new community in Tadpole Garden Village and opened in 2018 in brand new, state-of-the-art facilities. The Sixth Form opened in 2019 and continues to welcome students from across North Swindon as well as those who have attended year 7 to 11 at GWA. The school has now grown to capacity with the very first cohort of students progressing to Year 13 in 2024/25.
We believe we provide an exceptional education, instilling in students a humble confidence that will see them thrive beyond the school. Four years of strong A-level results and destinations back this up, including four successful Oxbridge applicants and a huge variety of other university and apprenticeship success. Our first two years of GCSE results show fantastic progress for students, whatever their starting points. Ofsted judged the school as ‘Good’ in January 2023.
Education is about far more than exam results and Ofsted judgements. Our vision centres on three core principles: Achievement, Care and Excellence (ACE) and learners are at the heart of everything we do. We work daily to create a positive environment that allows students to aim high and to reach their goals. We go beyond the ‘standard’ curriculum to do this; our focus on Enterprise Skills, on our Successful Lives programme, our daily reading time, and enrichment activities for all are a few things which set us apart, along with students each having a laptop to support their learning.
We hope our website gives you the chance to explore all of the above and more, and shows how we teach, nurture and develop our students to thrive as active citizens of the 21st century, full of initiative and ready to make a difference in the world.
