My name is Mr Gummery and I am the Principal of your new school, Ercall Wood Academy.
Over the last few weeks, the world around us has changed so much and we have all been forced to live our lives very differently. I am sure that you are missing your friends and being at school, likewise, I am sure that your teacher is missing you.
At this time of the year, we would normally be coming to visit you in your primary school and holding parent meetings to tell you what life at Ercall Wood is like. Due to the coronavirus we can’t do that, so I am writing to you to say please don’t worry about September, everything will be fine.
If schools open again this academic year, we will do everything we can to make sure we come and see you at your primary school to talk about your new school, Ercall Wood Academy. We will hold open days where you and your family can meet your new teachers and get to know the building. Above all, we will still run transition days when you can be an Ercall Wood student in a fully working school.
However, if that doesn’t happen because we are all still isolating, please do not worry as this situation will be the same for every year 6 in the country. When we are told that we can return to school we can organise lots of events so that you feel happy to start at Ercall Wood Academy. In the coming weeks, you will receive a pack of information that will tell you more!
All you need to know for now is that we are looking forward to having you as one of our pupils and we are desperate to meet you and make sure you love life at your new school.
Should you have any concerns over the coming days and weeks please contact our Transition Coordinator:
This section of our website is for you to gain an understanding of your new year 7 life at EWA. You will be able to virtually meet the staff that will be working with you and even have the opportunity to impress us with some project work before you start!
I can’t wait to meet you all.
Mr R Gummery
Principal
Ercall Wood Academy
Mrs Rutter - Student Support Manager |
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Hi to all the current year 6s. My name is Mrs Rutter and I am going to be your student support manager when you start at Ercall Wood Academy in September. I suspect you are all feeling a little unsettled, nervous and probably a bit excited about the transition to secondary school. My job is to support you during your time here at Ercall Wood. So if you have any worries or questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Currently we are working on some new and exciting ways to help you settle into school in September and will be in touch soon to tell you a bit more about that. I'm really looking forward to meeting you all. So for now goodbye, keep safe and well. |
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Miss Brodie - Key Stage 3 Pastoral Leader |
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Hi Year 6! My name is Miss Brodie and I will be your Key Stage 3 Pastoral Leader here at Ercall Wood Academy. I will be working alongside Mrs Rutter, your Student Support Manager throughout Key Stage 3 to ensure that your time with us is successful and rewarding and that you are happy and healthy. I am sorry I’m not able to meet you all face-to-face but I hope we’ll get that opportunity very soon. |
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Mrs Warrington - Transition co-ordinator |
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Hello, my name is Miss Warrington and my role is Transition Coordinator and Learning Mentor. I will be able to support you with any worries you may have, or I am here if you just need a chat. I am a very kind and patient person and I love helping others. I love family time, love sunshine and love smiling 😊 I have been chatting to your teachers from your primary school and now I cannot wait to meet you all. |
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Meet your form tutors |
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| Form | 7R | 70 | 7Y | 7B | |||
| Form tutor | Mr Smithson | Miss Hayman | Mr Torr | Mrs Dymond | |||
| Form Room | PE Class Room | A2 | HUMS -7 | HUMS-4 | |||
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| Message from you form tutor | My name is Mr Smithson and I’ve been at Ercall Wood Academy nearly 11 years. I’m the Head of PE and have been in this position for the last 8 years which I thoroughly enjoy. Outside of school I’m the U15 Football Manager for Shropshire and a keen sports fan. For my sins I’m a Newcastle United fan and also follow Shrewsbury Town. I really look forward to seeing you all in September. | Hi, I am Miss Hayman, I am Head of Arts at Ercall Wood Academy. I have been teaching Art at Ercall Wood for 10 years! I love drawing, painting and creating things. I also enjoy PE and trying to keep fit. I have three tortoises and a kitten from the RSPCA. like lots of colour and I am usually wearing something colourful. I look forward to meeting you all, as soon as we can, especially the best form 7Orange 😊 | My name is Mr Torr and I am PE teacher at Ercall Wood Academy. I specialize in Rugby and Football. Outside of school I represent Bridgnorth Rugby Club and I also coach U15 Shropshire Football County Squad. I am really looking forward to meeting you all. Stay safe. | Mrs Dymond was born and raised in Shropshire. She left the area for some time to explore the world and to pursue a career using foreign languages within the legal profession. In 2009 Mrs Dymond returned to the home county that she loved to teach German and French, a job which Mrs Dymond loves very much! In her spare time, Mrs Dymond likes to play the flute and recorder and to spend time in the outdoors with her family. She has two cats who are also important members of the family! | |||
| Form | 7G | 7P | 7T | ||||
| Form tutor | Mrs Bastow | Mrs Jones | Miss Rickerby | ||||
| Form Room | HUMS-5 | DTPD | HUMS -2 | ||||
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| Message from you form tutor | Mrs Bastow was born and raised in Slovakia (a small country in Central Europe bordering with Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Hungary). She left her country for some time to firstly explore the world; she has lived for about 4 years in Germany and started her career using foreign languages as an interpreter/translator in the fashion industry. In her spare time, Mrs Bastow (or Frau Bastow as her students call her) likes to read and to spend time travelling, exploring different cultures and countries with her family and her friends from around Europe! She has also an 11 year old son who is also staring year 7 in September! | My name is Mrs Jones and I am a design and technology teacher. I love anything practical and being outdoors. I grew up on a family farm and I still have my own animals including pigs and chickens. I also enjoy baking at home.I look forward to meeting you all soon. | I am a Geography teacher and love anything to do with nature and the world. Some of my favourite things to do are hiking up mountains, exploring new places and spending time with my friends and family. I am really excited to meet you all soon! 😊 |
We are proud of our curriculum, which is broad, balanced and ensures that every student has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. Moving from primary to secondary school can be a daunting prospect for children and for their parents! Excellent links with our partner primary schools and our enhanced transition and pastoral care programme ensure this journey is smooth and stress-free. Many of your children will already know many of us. There are many opportunities for year 5 and year 6 students to visit us for taster sessions, lessons and extracurricular activities. In year 7, all our students are assigned a Form Tutor who will very quickly get to know your child as an individual.
Here at Ercall Wood Academy we are committed to supporting your children through the transition process right from year 5 through to year 7. Our Transition Coordinator provides ‘in school’ support helping children to overcome anxieties and other concerns that they have during their transition. Taster lessons provide the opportunity to develop an awareness of different surroundings, adults, routines and equipment.
We offer intake days which have been very successful as the children are able to experience a more varied timetable which is heavily supported by our Peer Mentors. Ercall Wood Academy has a nationally recognised Peer Mentoring Programme which provides students in older year groups as mentors and friends to year 7 pupils. We understand that there are large differences between the Primary and Secondary phases and we pride ourselves in reaching out to all the needs of our young people.
Here is an example timetable
Information Leaflet
Parent Guide Moving to Secondary School
Meet your sports team and what they specialise in
| Mr Smithson | Mrs Morris | |
| Boys Football, Badminton, Swimming and Softball | Netball, Trampolining, Rounders and Girls Football | |
| Mr Torr | Mrs Hasenauer | Mr Hickman | ||
| Boys and Girls Rugby, Cricket, Dodgeball | Netball, Handball, Athletics | Boys and Girls Football, Athletics |
Meet your Performing arts team and what they specialise in
| Mrs Bowater | Miss Edwards | Mr Sayce |
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| Drama | Dance | Music |
Games clubs and other activities
| Mr Syson | ||
| Games Club |
Introduction to the Technology Department
| Mr Newton | Mrs Newton | |
| Introduction D&T | Introduction ICT |
The change from Year 6 to Year 7 can be huge and is a big jump for many children.
Here are some questions and answers that we feel will make the move easier for you.
It normally takes no more than three to four weeks to get your bearings. There will be lots of people willing to help you in Year 7 because they know what it feels like when you join the academy. The most important thing is to try and keep as calm as possible and ask when you are not sure about something, however silly you think it might seem.
In the first term you will get to meet lots of students with similar interests and the same sense of humour as you. It does not take long for friendship groups to join up and before you know it your circle of friends gets bigger and bigger.
The teachers and staff at Ercall Wood Academy will be more than happy to help you if you need some extra explanation about something you are studying. It is important that you speak to your subject teacher or tutor if you are worried about any aspect of your learning. If it is homework that is causing you to worry, then ask your parents/carers to contact the academy by writing in your student planner or to contact us via the school email address. You can also attend homework club after school which runs from 3.00pm until 4.00pm and there are staff there who will help you if you are stuck.
There is a wide selection of options available in the canteen. We serve breakfast from 8.30am each day: bacon/sausage baps, croissants, hot drinks. At lunch time you will find hot and cold options; you can make a sub roll of your choice or choose pizza, fried chicken, salad pots, pasta pots. There is a daily hot meal and pudding and these vary each day. Fish and chips are always a favourite! Hot and cold drinks are also available and slushy drinks are popular during the summer months.
All students are asked to be in their form room at 8.50am ready for morning registration with their form tutor. It’s important to be on time as this is when lots of announcements are made explaining what’s happening around the school. If you arrive after 8.50am you have to sign in at the late gate where you are given a late pass; you then have to pay back however minutes you were late at first break in the main hall. If you don’t pay back your minutes you will be issued with a 30 minute after school detention. Punctuality is important so make sure you arrive for school on time.
The school has a total ban on mobile phones on the school site. If you are seen with a mobile phone by any staff member you will be asked to hand it over and you can collect it from reception at the end of the day or your parents/carers may be asked to come into school and collect it for you. Please don’t bring mobile phones onto the school site.
There are many trips that happen at school. They range from day trips to week-long residential trips. In previous years these have included skiing trips in Austria, city trips to New York and Germany. Different departments within school run educational trips to theatres and museums. The English department run a trip to Harry Potter studios as well. At the end of each academic year we have end of year trips for positive behaviour these can be to theme parks, swimming, bowling, and paint ball and there is a reward trip at the end of each term; this may be to the cinema, ice-skating or another fun activity.
Each student is allocated a locker for which you can keep your coat bag and books in. They are usually in the area close to your form room, so everything is at hand when you need it at the beginning of the day. You pay a £5.00 refundable deposit which is retuned to you at the end of Year 11.
You will have been given a timetable explaining what lessons you have each day, so hopefully you will be ready and prepared. However if you do forget your PE kit, just speak to a member of the PE staff and they will find you some clean kit that you can borrow for the lesson. It’s always a good idea to bring your kit and leave it in your locker on a Monday and take it home with you to get washed on a Friday.
We deal with bullying seriously at Ercall Wood Academy. Every school has some children that are unkind to others and at Ercall Wood we want you to tell a member of staff, Peer Mentor or your parents if anything upsets you. We believe that if we deal with it right at the start, it stops it from getting a big worry that may upset you even more. Always remember to be kind and treat other people how you would like to be treated yourselves. We always deal with bullying and we will always listen and support.
We hope that these questions and answers have helped you. Always remember, it is ok to ask any staff member or Peer Mentor at Ercall Wood Academy for help.
We have put together the workbook below for you to complete alongside your parent/carers. You will need to download the file and save it onto your computer to be able to fill in the text boxes and upload images to it. Once completed be sure to save it ready to send to us.
We have also created a Google Form in order for you to be able to upload the completed workbook so we can review it at Ercall Wood. Please use the link below to access the form (Please note - you will need a Google Account in order to use the form)
Maps of the School
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| Level 1 full image | Level 2 full image | Level 3 full image |