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The John Madejski Academy's Christmas performance of an adaptation of Kes was roaring success! An energising performance it made the audience laugh it made them cry. The cast, including staff and students gave it their all and pulled off a brilliant erformance.
The next school production will be Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, anyone who wishes to help or take part should contact Mr Robinson.
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The John Madejski Academy has won a 2007 Education Business Award, in the 'Academy Development Award' category. This award recognised a recently completed Academy project that has demonstrated sound project management and procurement skills in order to complete development on time and to budget. The award also recognised educational achievements including improvements in truancy. Massive congratulations to the whole Academy staff and project team for a well deserved award
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In top charitable spirit we pulled out all the stops and organised lots of activities to raise money on Children in Need day. During house time on Friday we ran a Beat the Teacher Penalty Shootout as well as other activities such as How Many Sweets in the Jar, Name the Jaguar and Treasure Hunt. Emma Godfrey from Lions house made Pudsey biscuits, cakes and sweetie bags which she sold with friends. Students paid 50p to come to school in non-uniform to support Children In Need. Jessica Taylor, Emma Godfrey and Jedina Pocock from Yearr 8 were sponsored to wear pyjamas all day and managed to raise just over £120. Students from Tiger house washed staff cars all week, in all weathers during break and house time and raised nearly £100. Other students stayed behind after school with Mrs Tuck and Mrs Rawlinson to bake and ice cakes to sell on the day. Panther house held a party before half term proceeds from this added towards a whopping total of £1097.26!!
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This month saw an intrepid trip by Lynne Carter (Vice Principal) and Nicole Abley (Advanced Skills Teacher) to make first contact with Steynville Secondary School in South Africa's Western Cape. The partnership, between The John Madejski Academy and Steynville is supported by The British Council and Sports Trust and it aims to develop leadership through sport, as well as create links between the schools, teachers and their students. The week began with a two day conference in Johannesberg, before the JMA teachers could visit the school. Here teachers shared and learnt about one anothers' cultures, as well as breaking down stereotype views. After this, the Lynne and Nicole observed lessons and chatted to the staff and students at SSS. Nicole said, "It really opened my eyes to the similarities between children around the world. The students in Africa face many of the same issues and celebrations that ours do. I cannot wait for them to meet our stduents!" In March 2008, the link teachers from South Africa will be making a return visit to the Academy to learn about British education. Following this, there will be student exchanges between the schools. |
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With the help of some business coaching by Levi Roots of Reggae Reggae Source and Academy Governor Martin Salter MP students from the John Madejski Academy took part in Lion's Lair, a 'Dragon's Den' style activity with the aim of persuading local bsuiness men to invest in the Whitley Arts Festival. Students pitched their ideas in a boardroom setup at the Verizon Business Park to the 'Lions' who were sat beside piles of money, waiting to be convinced to invest it.
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Students in Year 10 received top pudding-making tips from Michelin-starred Alan Murchison of L’Ortolan restaurant when he hosted a cookery demonstration as part of South Reading’s the Family Learning Week. Alan said: “I had first-hand experience as a teenage tearaway so I was delighted to be involved in an event that encourages local youngsters to think about their future and the opportunities open to them.” He is now considering offering two apprenticeships to students from the Academy to work in the restaurant. Academy principle Catherine Shaw hopes the apprenticeships will start when the teenagers are in Year 11.
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Headlining in the TES magazine's article about new learning environments was Lead Media teacher Nicole Abley, talking about her new Media Centre at the Academy and the positive effect the new build is having on student behaviour and learning. ''Nicole and her students have been working in bright , airy splendour. The Academy's new, two-level media centre has white walls, proper ventilation and sound insulation, underfloor heating and a suite of 20 iMACS" Read the entire article here
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Podcasts in Lessons 19 December 2006 In a new initiative students at the John Madejski Academy will be using their mp3 players to access homestudy and lesson content. The A-level media class, pictured here with Lead Media teacher Ms Abley, were the first to use podcasting for this purpose, which will be used throughout the Academy next year. Students are allowed to download educational resources and create them during lessons as well as listen to lessons again whenever they need to. Ms Abley explains that 'the Academy is looking to encourage students to engage with educational resources using new technologies.' Podcasting will allow students access to an educational support network 24/7.
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History was made at the end of September as a time capsule filled with items chosen to reflect the spirit of the Academy and the news of the day was buried under the Agora walkway just outside what will be the reception area of the new Academy building. A special ceremony, attended by students and staff of the Academy, the Sponsor, John Madejski and members of the project and building teams was held to mark the occasion. Packed inside the lead capsule were an Academy tie and a Academy Sport T-shirt, the five Academy house cat badges, a Guardian newspaper of the day, a specially commisioned silver friendship challice, a poster showing the Reading Football team, two current cd chart singles from Shakira and DJ Shadow, a bar of Galaxy chocolate and a packet of Wrigleys peppermint chewing gum. Also inside was a DVD made by students on the A-Level Media course, interviewing staff and students about what they thought the Academy would be like in a hundred years time. This DVD was played for the press at the event and the Media students were invited to attend. The lid was closed by the Sponsor John Madejski and students from the Academy helped to lower the capsule into the ground.
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In readiness for the launch of the Academy in September we have given the old Thamesbridge site buildings, which are to house the Academy temporarily until the start of 2007, a face lift. We have commissioned a special semi-opaque wrap that has been carefully hung to cover the length of the dining hall. Its striking design really creates an impact and shows a labelled diagram of the new Academy buildings.
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There was much excitement in the hall at Thamesbridge on Thursday morning as students from current years 7 - 10 caught the first glimpse of the newly designed Academy uniform. Modelled here by Martyn Jarvis and Sophie Brawn are the new American baseball-style fleece jackets in black with a blue lining and sleeve dart, and the blue Oxford cotton, short-sleeved shirts and blouses, which have the Academy initials embroidered on the sleeve. There will also be a black tie, with a small cream lion motif in the bottom left hand corner, for all boys. The students showed unanimous enthusiasm for the new uniform as they were measured up and everyone agreed that it looked very smart. The Governors of the Academy are paying for a jacket and two shirts/blouses for each student and a tie for all boys. The rest of the uniform will consist of black trousers/skirt and black shoes which will need to be provided by parents/carers. As was detailed in a letter to parents, additional shirts can be ordered and bought at a cost of approximately £11.
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The sun was shining on the bright new future for secondary education in south Reading as the turf cutting ceremony for the new John Madejski Academy took place. Sponsor John Madejski, Principal Catherine Shaw, Councillor Jon Hartley, Jeremy Eavis (Regional Director, Costain) and some lucky students from Thamesbridge College all gathered on the Hartland Road end of the site to officially start the building programme. John Madejski showed great humour as he leapt into the driving seat of the JCB with Alisha Bartolomeo, Tara McCully, Bradley Lee, Liam Pyne, Leah Millard, Charlie Wood, Terri Trimby and Tyron Whale from years 7 and 8. The local press and BBC Radio Berkshire were also at the event and captured the children asking questions about the new Academy and sharing their thoughts for the future.
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Catherine Shaw began her post as the new Principal of the John Madejski Academy on 1st September 2005. “This Academy is an amazing opportunity for the young people of Reading,” she said. “They deserve to have something very special. I feel extremely privileged to be part of this new sports Academy as sport is one of my passions. My aim, with the commitment of the whole community, staff, students and parents is to make the John Madejski Academy an outstanding school; a school that serves its community. The task ahead is both challenging and awesome.” Catherine comes from Rossmore Community College in Poole where she proved herself to be a catalyst for change. She re-energised a whole community and created a place where young people and adults could learn at the same facilities. As a true leader and innovator, Catherine believes in bringing together a wide variety of agencies to create a fantastic and vibrant centre for education. Catherine’s vision is to make the John Madejski Academy the heart of the community, a place where all individuals in it are valued and nurtured, and that applies to her staff too. John Madejski is delighted to welcome Catherine to the Academy. “She brings with her a wealth of experience,” he said. “She truly believes in promoting excellence in all aspects of school life. The Academy can only excel under her leadership and guidance.”
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During the building work, in collaboration with Costain our building contractors, we have produced a number of newsletters. You can download a pdf of these from the links below: May 2006 (510 kb pdf) Clipping from Building Services Journal (1mb pdf) |
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New Principal for the Academy (36 kb pdf)
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Find out about our special
celebration here
We are currently looking for:
Teacher of Design Technology
Teacher of Maths
Teacher of Science
Visit the staff vacancies page
for more information.
Fair Processing Notice
Occasionally we are required to
share personal data about our
students. For full information
download a pdf of our
Fair Processing Notice
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