Heywood Academy Blog - 17.4.26

A Fabulous Start Back After Easter at Heywood Academy

We have had a fabulous start back after the Easter break at Heywood Academy, with a real buzz around the school.

To celebrate World Art Day, our students have been engaging in some wonderful artwork across the curriculum. From creative classroom displays to projects linked to a range of subjects, it has been fabulous to see just how talented and enthusiastic our learners are. We really do have some very creative students at Heywood Academy.

We are pleased to announce that Miss Grace will be opening her new nurture group next week. This is an important and exciting step for our school, as it will allow us to open a new Year 7 classroom, creating much needed additional places for students joining us in Year 7. It has been a really positive start to the term, and we look forward to the exciting weeks ahead.

Ms Crossley’s weekly update

World Art Day Through English

World Art Day provided an excellent opportunity to deepen students’ engagement with key English texts through creative interpretation. Across Key Stage 3, students explored how gothic literature can be reinterpreted visually, strengthening their understanding of character, theme, and narrative voice.

Year 7 students created collages inspired by Miss Havisham, focusing on Dickens’ presentation of character, decay, and emotional trauma. This activity supported close reading, encouraging students to select imagery that reflected symbolism, mood, and setting drawn directly from the text.

Year 8 students produced clay models based on The Monkey’s Paw, translating the story’s central themes of fate, fear, and consequence into three-dimensional form. This task reinforced comprehension of gothic conventions and helped students articulate how writers create tension and unease.

Year 9 students used digital media to Photoshop themselves as Scrooge, exploring character transformation and Victorian context from A Christmas Carol. This activity developed analytical thinking as students justified visual choices using textual evidence and quotations.

Alongside these creative outcomes, all year groups have begun their Gothic Reading Scheme work, embedding core English skills such as inference, vocabulary development, and critical response. The projects enabled students to move confidently between reading, interpretation, and creative response, demonstrating a secure understanding of how meaning is constructed in texts.

We also continue to draw on wider reading and professional insight from Books for Keeps magazine, which celebrates high-quality literature and reading for pleasure. The latest issue (March 2026) can be accessed here: 🔗 https://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BfK-277-March-2026.pdf

Miss Nicholson’s weekly update

Creative Arts Update – A Fresh Start to the Term

It has been an exciting week in Creative Arts as students across the department have begun brand-new topics, setting the tone for a creative and productive term ahead. From historic ship design to architectural inspiration and digital graphics, students are already showing enthusiasm and imagination in their learning.

In Design Technology, our Year 8 students have launched into an ambitious new project: designing their own version of the Mary Rose. Inspired by this iconic Tudor warship, students are exploring historical context, design features, and the challenges of creating a functional vessel. They have started analysing the structure and purpose of the original ship before developing their own innovative designs. This project encourages creativity while also developing problem-solving, research, and technical drawing skills.

Over in Art, Year 7 students have begun a new topic based around architecture. This week, students created mood boards to capture the styles, shapes, textures, and colours found in famous buildings from around the world. Through collage and visual research, students are learning how artists and designers draw inspiration from architecture. The mood boards will act as a foundation for future practical work, helping students refine ideas and build visual confidence.

Meanwhile, in IT, Year 7 students have started studying graphics in preparation for an exciting new project later in the term: designing a game sleeve. This week focused on introducing key graphic design concepts such as layout, imagery, colour choices, and

audience appeal. Students are beginning to understand how visual design is used in the gaming industry to attract and inform users, skills that will be developed further as the project progresses.

Overall, it has been a positive and engaging start to the term across the Creative Arts subjects. Students have embraced new challenges, explored fresh ideas, and are already building the foundations for some fantastic outcomes. We look forward to seeing how these projects develop over the coming weeks.

🎨 World Art Day at Heywood Academy 🎨

We had a fantastic time celebrating World Art Day at Heywood Academy, with creativity taking over classrooms across the school! Students got stuck into a wide range of imaginative activities that showcased just how powerful and cross-curricular art can be. In English, pupils created striking clay monkey paws linked to The Monkey’s Paw, alongside collages inspired by Miss Havisham and Canva designs based on A Christmas Carol.

History lessons bloomed with Tudor Rose designs, while Science explored culture and colour through Day of the Dead–inspired outcomes. In Food Technology, creativity was deliciously on display with fruit faces, and students also experimented with printmaking techniques.

We were also thrilled to welcome Cartwheel Arts, who delivered an engaging Wellbeing Dominoes workshop, encouraging collaboration, reflection and creativity. A brilliant day celebrating expression, learning and imagination—well done everyone! 🌟

Miss Zobenica’s weekly update

We have made a great start to our final term. Year 7 have continued their netball unit this term. In this week’s lesson, students were able to apply their skills in a game situation, including passing, defending and shooting. They showed growing confidence and teamwork while putting these skills into practice during match play. Year 8 have shown great progress throughout their badminton unit. In this week’s lesson, students were able to sustain rallies with their peers, demonstrating improved accuracy and control when using the racket. Year 9 have begun their rounders unit in PE, focusing on developing their fielding skills. Students completed a range of throwing and catching activities and learned about the different fielding positions. They showed good engagement and were able to practise these roles successfully during the lesson.

Year 7 and Year 9 thoroughly enjoyed a trip to Bolton Aquarium this week as part of their Outdoor Education studies. Students had the opportunity to see a wide range of different species and were keen to learn more about aquatic life. Several students asked thoughtful questions to the aquarium staff, helping them to gain a deeper understanding of the fish and their habitats. Year 8 worked hard to create artwork in recognition of World Art Day. They used photographs taken during Outdoor Education lessons as inspiration to design an aquatic-themed collage. The students showed creativity and focus, carefully selecting images and colours to reflect underwater environments.