Weekly Parent BulletinWeek of 21 July (Week A)

~ 21st July 2025 ~

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Welcome to our Weekly Parent Bulletin. Please see below for our weekly update of all things NFS. You will find some lovely success stories and a few useful updates. What a very busy week.

Huge thanks to Mrs Barrett (Head of Careers at NFS), for organising a fantastic Careers Carousel for Year 7 and 8 students. One student commented, "Thank you, Mrs Barrett, for finding the time to organise the event. I loved speaking to so many people from different careers and now feel I have more options to think about for my future." A truly transformational experience for our children. 

Furthermore, sincere thanks to Mrs Beveridge (Head of Geography at NFS) for organising and leading the Year 10 GCSE field trip to Hornsea. Students were very engaged in the process of collecting research on coastal erosion and defences. Some of our students were visiting a seaside town for the very first time and were massively appreciative of Mrs Beveridge for organising such a great visit. 

We also welcomed over 45 Year 11s back into the building for Sixth Form Taster Day. Students were very appreciative of the taster lessons and complimentary canteen lunch. Many were quick to comment on how they feel so reassured to be coming back to NFS in September, with support and guidance from our wonderful staff. 

We now approach our final week of the summer term. Please check below regarding the arrangements for next Friday (last day of the summer term). 

Thanks as always for your continued support of our school.

Yours faithfully, 

Dr J Simpson

  • First day back for Year 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13 students  - TUESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER!
  • First day back for NEW Year 7 and 12 students - MONDAY 1 SEPTEMBER! 

YEAR 7/8 Children

YEAR 9/10/12 Children

Year 12 Physics  - students demonstrating stationary waves by applying varying frequencies to a string. This links to the physics used in lasers, mechanical structures and musical instruments.

Years 7 and 8 Careers Carousel, with students asking a variety of employers and employees about what their job role/career entails. 

Year 10 GCSE Geography fieldwork at Hornsea ( seaside town in the East Riding of Yorkshire) - 87 Year 10 students completed their physical geography enquiry assessing whether the groynes are effective at stopping longshore drift in Hornsea, on the fastest eroding coastline in Europe. They carried out a range of methods including a longshore drift survey, beach profile and groyne profile to collect data to test their hypothesis. They will present, analyse and evaluate their findings over the next couple of lessons, and will be tested on this in their Paper 3 exam in Year 11. They enjoyed a day on the beach in lovely weather, had fish and chips for lunch and donuts or ice cream to finish off!

Sixth Form Taster Sessions (English Literature and Maths) for current Year 11 students:

Practical Surgical Skills Workshop for Year 12 students, lead by Dr Sanya Kurmani (NFS Governor):

 

Attendance:

  • We have reached the final week of the half term and for many students this is when they feel the most tired as the end of the year is in sight.  It is important to stress that we are still preparing students for the next academic year and that learning and enrichment opportunities are still taking place.  Please ensure your child attends every day.
  • We wanted to give you some context regarding attendance; current national attendance is 91.3% and we are currently 94.6% at Nottingham Free School.  We are in the top 10% of schools nationally for our attendance and we are the second highest achieving school in the city.  Attendance and achievement are directly related. 

Why is it important that your child has +98% attendance each school year?

At Nottingham Free School last year, a Year 11 child whose attendance was:

  • below 95% (7.5 days absence) achieved 1 grade lower, compared to those with attendance of +95%
  • below 90% (19+ days absence) achieved 2 grades lower, compared to those with attendance of +95%
  • below 80% (34 days absence) achieved 3 grades lower, compared to those with attendance of +95%

Our students say they feel safe and that they belong to NFS.  We are always here to support you and your child to ensure they are able to attend everyday.  For children who have missed more than 10 days this academic year, the pastoral team will be in touch before we break up to find if any further support is needed for next academic year.  Thank you to all parents/carers who have ensured that their child attends every day where possible.

Ethos of Excellence:

Achievement assemblies will be taking place on the following days next week:

  • Year 9 - Wednesday 23rd p2
  • Year 10 - Friday 25th p1
  • Year 7 - Friday 25th p2
  • Year 8 - Friday 25th p3
  •  

We love these assemblies as it is a celebration of success and improvements made.  If your child has been successful outside of school, please email your Head of year with a photo and a summary of what they have achieved.

Uniform:

  • We have included a link to our uniform section to highlight expectations when purchasing new uniform over the summer.  
  • This includes hair colour too plus any piercings need to be done at the start of the summer holidays to ensure they are healed by the time they come back to school in September.   
  • If you are unsure of our uniform requirements then please contact your child's Head of Year. 
  • We do want to remind parents/carers that skirts should be knee length and if this is not the case in September that their tutor will be in contact on the first day.

https://www.nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk/page.php?p=uniform