Dixons Unity Academy

Dear families,

Cycle 3 assessments are now over, and staff are working hard to ensure exams are all marked, with feedback coming to students as soon as possible and class sets being allocated for next year. Well done to our students for working hard over this period.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind all families of the vital importance of excellent attendance. Despite the recent challenging weather conditions, we have remained open to ensure continuity of education for your children, even when some other schools were unable to do so. While this has presented challenges, I hope it demonstrates our unwavering commitment to providing every student with access to a first-class education, every single day. This commitment underpins our ongoing drive to ensure that all students are in school each day, making the most of every learning opportunity. To support families during the recent conditions, we temporarily relaxed our uniform expectations from Thursday onwards. However, I would like to remind all families that our usual high standards will return from Monday, and we greatly appreciate your continued support in upholding these expectations. This week has included a number of important examinations, alongside targeted interventions and high-quality lessons. Missing school, even for a short period, places students at a clear disadvantage. There is a direct link between strong attendance and academic success; every lesson builds essential knowledge, skills, and resilience. Each day in school matters, particularly as students prepare for the demands of their GCSEs. Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support in ensuring that your child attends regularly and is fully prepared to succeed.

This week we have seen the culmination of the Spark! Book Awards. After reading the four shortlisted books, taking part in library lessons and even a teacher debate in Morning Meeting, students cast their vote overwhelmingly for I Dare You by Tamsin Winter. At the award ceremony viewing party, students were thrilled to discover that their pick had won the national award as well. I was delighted to see such high engagement with reading for pleasure among our students.

I want to congratulate those students that have been appointed to our new Drivers Board. After applying and interviewing, students delivered speeches to their year groups laying out their understanding of our drivers of Mastery, Autonomy and Purpose, and how they will help to embed these drivers across school. I am so impressed with the motivation and integrity of these students, and I look forward to seeing what kind of lasting change they will make in our academy and community.

We also said a final goodbye to Year 11 at prom last night. Ms Parmar and her team did an incredibly job of arranging an unforgettable night for this cohort. I look forward to seeing them all again on results day!

Next week, we will welcome our incoming cohort on our Year 6 transition days. They will spend two days getting to know our academy and staff, and familiarising themselves with life at Dixons Unity.

Enjoy the weekend, and I'm sure we are all looking forward to some cooler weather next week.

James Inman
Principal

Our Year 6 transition days are coming up!

We can't wait to meet our new Year 7 students on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 July.

Here's what to expect:

- Students should arrive at the academy by 8:40am each day. The transition day will finish at 2:20pm.
- Students may attend in either their current primary school uniform, or their PE kit
- Students should bring a reusable water bottle
- We will provide break-time snack and lunch for all students on both days, free of charge.

See you soon!

10 of our students had an incredible opportunity to take part in a Sharp Response programme at Leeds Fire Station yesterday, working with the incredible firefighter Jonny, trainee firefighter Cole and youth intervention officers Charlie and Claire. The students got hands on experience of on street first aid as well as enjoying some of the day to day roles of a firefighter, Thank you to the Youth Intervention Team at WYFS,

Due to the weather forecast showing temperatures to be high, students will not be required to wear their jumpers / blazers in school for the remainder of this week.

Please also ensure that your child is wearing sufficient sun cream and they have their water bottle with them each day and are filling this up during social times to ensure they are hydrated.