Newsletter

Just before October half term 40 GCSE Art students from years 10 and 11, visited London for two days. They had an amazing time, visiting the Tate Modern, the National Gallery, the Royal Academy of Arts and the Victoria and Albert museum. They also did a rather gruesome Jack the Ripper tour in Whitechapel, took part in lots of interactive experiments at the Science Museum Wonderlab and did an all-important shopping trip in Covent Garden.

They experienced the sights of London such as the Gherkin, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and Big Ben and familiarised themselves with the London Underground! They finished their jam packed two days with a graffiti tour in Shoreditch where they saw some big names such as Banksy and Ben Eine but also got to see a live demonstration by a friendly local graffiti artist.

Everyone was exhausted at the end of the trip but it certainly was a worthwhile experience for all, the students are still talking about it and asking when we can go away again!

Mrs Wilken - Head of Art and Personal Development

In order to support conversations at home we wanted to let you know what your students will be covering next half term - commencing January 2023.

Y7

• First week will finish their healthy relationships unit focusing on bullying and abuse.
• British Citizenship
• Smoking and Vaping

Y8

• Drugs and Alcohol, with a focus on caffeine and energy drinks.
• Gaming, Gambling and the dangers behind this

Y9

• Careers and Options
• Finance

Y10

• Misogyny
• RSE: Consent, Pornography, realistic expectations and intimacy, this includes a workshop by Mariposa education.

Y11

• Wealth and Poverty

Personal Development PD Enrich Lessons

We have just had our first half term of PD enrich lessons. Year 7 and 8 will change activities again in January and Year 9 will change after February half term. If you have any ideas or suggestions for these sessions please let us know.

Reactive Resources this Half Term

Andrew Tate

We have been increasingly worried about the potential influence of Andrew Tate on our students due to his misogynistic opinions. We have adapted Personal Development PSHE resources to include material about Andrew Tate and this has been shared with all year groups. We have also spoken to individual students if they have talked about him in school. Please be vigilant of your child potentially viewing materials from Andrew Tate. We are attaching a link to an article from The Guardian if you would like to know more about him.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/06/andrew-tate-violent-misogynistic-world-of-tiktok-new-star

Mrs Inglis and Mrs Wilken - Heads of Personal Development

Year 12 spent the morning of Tuesday 01 November investigating the Human Geography of St. Anns, as part of their Changing Places topic which forms part of their A Level Geography studies. They had completed prior research, analysing census data, newspaper articles and social media representations of this place.

Students then conducted several primary data collection techniques along Robin Hood Chase and by the Valley Centre on Wells Road, including traffic and pedestrian counts, environmental quality surveys, a land use survey, questionnaires, and using new fieldwork equipment to complete other methods such as noise mapping. Students then analysed this data based around a question of their choice.

This was a fantastic opportunity to practise some of the skills and techniques they will need in their coursework later this year! 

Miss Payne - Head of Geography

NFS held the first parental engagement group for this academic year, on a very wet and miserable Monday evening. Dr Simpson and Mr Tomasevic are very grateful to those parents that were able to attend. Dr Simpson shared an overview of our school's purpose and vision, as well as a summary of the parent voice survey results from the summer 2022 term. Parents then had the opportunity to discuss what key themes they would like to discuss in future meetings. The key themes we are working closely with parents on are:

• Communication (frequency of emails home, student homework communication, format of reports home)
• Homework (amount of homework, communication with home, how to help with homework, how to support reading at home)
• Safeguarding (school and community safeguarding, such as traffic safety on Haydn Road)

We will be holding our second parental engagement meeting in the New Year. Again, we welcome parents to become part of this group, to discuss and drive school improvement around these themes. An invitation will be emailed out in January. 

Mr Tomasevic - Assistant Headteacher

On Wednesday 23 November, NFS hosted a meeting to discuss traffic safety on Haydn Road.

In attendance was Councillor Shuguftah Qudoos, Kristan Hopkins (Senior Lecturer in Criminology at NTU), five undergraduate Criminology students from NTU, two Neighbourhood Police Officers, Paul Williams (Principal Officer for Road Safety at NCC), Jacki Dunthorne (NFS Business and Operations Manager), Joel Tomasevic (Assistant Headteacher) and Archie Sheppard (6th Form Student Leader).

It was a very productive meeting, and we are very proud of Archie for describing his experiences as a student walking to school on Haydn Road.  Our next steps, in conjunction with the NTU Criminology students, will be to survey students and parents about traffic and road safety on Haydn Road.

Our Student Leaders will also be considering how we aim to improve pedestrian safety and reduce traffic congestion at peak times.

Watch this space!

Mr Tomasevic - Assistant Headteacher

On Tuesday 4th October, our Year 12 and 13 Maths students took part in the annual Senior Maths Challenge - a 90 minute paper that encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems.

The results came in and the students achieved some fantastic results.  Of the 20 students, 8 received a bronze certificate, 3 achieved a silver certificate and one student, Jaydon, achieved a Gold certificate.  Only the top 11% are awarded with a Gold Certificate.  Jaydon was then invited to take part in the next round, known as the Senior Kangaroo, on 16th November.  The results are in and he was in the top 25% of the top 11%  He has earned a Merit Certificate.  Well done, Jaydon.

Next up is the Intermediate Maths Challenge in February for Year 9 and 10.

Mrs Dudley - Lead Teacher of Maths

Children in Need

Thank you so much for your support with Children in Need. We raised £472.25. A huge thank you to those of you who provided baked goods for this and made contributions on ParentPay.

Reverse Advent Calendars

Our next charity project is the reverse advent calendar. We have asked tutor groups to bring in food bank items in the run up to the Christmas break. These can include dried food items, household cleaning products, toiletries, sanitary products and baby related items such as nappies and wipes.

To add some healthy competition to the initiative, each reverse advent calendar will contribute to the house you’re in and the calendars will be judged on:

• Presentation
• Contents 
• Originality 
• Quantity
• Range of items (food/hygiene items etc.)

We will be taking donations to The Trussell Trust food bank in Daybrook at the end of term.

Mrs Inglis and Mrs Wilken - Heads of Personal Development

On Tuesday 11th October, in celebration of Ada Lovelace Day, fifteen year 9 girls attended a day of activities engaging pupils with science through talks and hands-on activities.  They found the day interesting and engaging, meeting several local female scientists and were credits to the school.

Mrs Barrett - Careers Coordinator

On Tuesday 22 November, a small group of Year 9 students visited the University of Nottingham. 

Split into mixed school groups, students were asked to perform market research for a new restaurant concept for the University's Student Union. 

Our Nottingham Free School pupils were AMAZING; they were kind, hard working and resilient. All of them got chance to present their ideas to the entire group at the end and each of our pupils presented and spoke beautifully.

One of our groups made it all the way to the final; presenting to a panel of judges on the same stage that both Albert Einstein & Mahatma Gandhi had presented from during visits to the university.

The day ended with a quick group shot on the stage at the end so they could all say they have shared the same stage as Einstein & Gandhi.

Mr Baines - Head of Year 9

Year 9 NHS drama performance - November 24th.

This half term we had a visit from a drama group telling year 9 all about the different roles available in the NHS. The trio acted, sang, told jokes and above all, informed.  It was a great performance enjoyed by students and staff alike.

Year 7 maths lesson with quantity surveyors - December 2nd.

Year 7 applied their mathematical skills to the working world in a special lesson led by two quantity surveyors.  All year 7 took part, had fun and broadened their knowledge of this career.

Years 7-10 BBC Share your Careers story - Wednesday 14th December 

A ten-member crew from the BBC will be doing a fun presentation followed by a question-and-answer session about the broad range of careers at the BBC.  They hope to inspire students about careers in storytelling and the creative industries.

Have your say!

If you would like to have your say about the careers provision in school, or would be happy to volunteer at some of our Careers events, then please fill out this form.

https://forms.office.com/r/MxVhQGPgqv

Mrs Barrett - Careers Coordinator

Students have been working really hard preparing for their Christmas Showcase which will take place on Tuesday 13th December, 6pm - 8pm. The showcase will feature performances from Music, Drama, Creative Writing and more. The Baking club will be providing refreshments during the show and the Craft club have been working hard on decorations.

There will also be refreshments to purchase during the interval. Tickets are available from student reception, £2 for a single ticket or £10 for a table of 6. We look forward to seeing some of you there. Well done to all the students who have worked hard on the showcase!

Miss Wilson - Head of Music

It is Christmas Jumper Day on Thursday 8th December. 

We are inviting students to wear a Christmas jumper with their uniform instead of a blazer on this day. A £1 voluntary contribution will be available on ParentPay, in support of the charity Save The Children.

Students are not obliged to participate in Christmas Jumper Day, however they will be expected to be in full school uniform as usual.

Mrs Inglis - Head of Philosophy & Ethics and Personal Development