News
Loss of water supply
South Staffs Water have informed us that there has been a loss of water across Cradley Heath, they are investigating the issue. They are unable to provide us with a timescale of how long we’ll be without water. We are unable to operate the school without water as we cannot flush toilets, cook or provide drinking water.
We have taken the difficult decision to close the school with immediate effect. Students will call home and we will ensure that they are able to leave us safely. We’ll start this process immediately.
If we are unable to reach a parent, our staff will remain at school and supervise any children.
This incident is completely out of our control and we hope that you understand why we are taking this action. We will keep you updated with progress on the water supply. Unless you hear otherwise, please assume that the school is open tomorrow.
End Of Term Newsletter (Dec 2019)
Our end of term newsletter is now available to read. It is also available on EduLunk.
Head Girls give Inaugural Speech at Prize Giving
Ormiston Forge Academy celebrated student achievement at their annual Prize Giving recently, which featured the debut of the two Head Girls for the 2019/2020 academic year.
Emily Baker and Jasneet Kaur delivered their inspiring inaugural speeches as Head Girls to a full house of 800 students, parents and guests at Champions Church in Netherton, Dudley. Both speeches focused on a central theme: Emily spoke on social progress within the local community, and Jasneet spoke on the importance of inclusion in academia.
The Forge Prize Giving evening is held annually every November, to award high-achieving students for their efforts in the previous academic year. The evening features a host of guests presenting a number of subject awards, community awards and sporting awards to our students, including Chair of Governors, Siddique Hussein.
During the evening a dedication was made to the family of former headteacher Mr John Parker who died earlier in 2019. Mr Parker led the predecessor school, Heathfield Technology College, for 27 years. The Academy dedicated the Mountain Centre to his legacy and former teacher, Malcolm Kemble, led the tributes.
There were special performances throughout the evening from music and arts students, including a duet of Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved”, a solo guitar rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” and a group contemporary dance for Remembrance Day.
Over 200 students won prizes this year for their academic attainment, extracurricular achievements, and contributions to school spirit and the community through altruistic endeavour. Students received a complimentary book voucher with their badge, in an effort to encourage reading and improve literacy skills within school.
This year also featured the addition of the All Move Awards, created through a partnership with The Meadows School in Oldbury. The All Move Awards honours participation in the All Move Project, founded by the charity Mencap, to bring together young people with or without disabilities through sport and physical activity. The All Move Awards were presented by Ms Rupe Virk, Headteacher of the Meadows School, and Aneesa Farthing, Project Manager for Mencap.
Dr Lisa Mason, Principal of Ormiston Forge Academy, said:
“I want to send my congratulations to our fantastic students on their prizes. They continue to push the boundaries of what can be achieved. It is wonderful to see so many students excel and show ambition for their future. Our greatest goal is for students to demonstrate our school values of respect, aspiration and resilience, both in and outside of lessons, and Prize Giving is just one way of showing how we are succeeding in this endeavour.”
Key Dates and Info for End of Winter Term/Start of Spring Term
The Academy will be making some adaptations to the school timetable for the final week of the Winter Term (16th-19th December) and the first week of the Spring Term (7th-10th January).
Children in Need Non-Uniform Day Timetable Change
On Thursday 19th December there will be a non-uniform day with proceeds going towards ‘Children in Need’. Students are to donate £1 per family.
Timings of the day:
- Periods 1 & 2 will be lessons as normal
- Break will be extended from 11.05- 11.30am
- Period 3 will be in normal lessons
- 12.15pm finish for all students
Assemblies for Final Week of Term
Our final assembly schedule for the term has been confirmed and will go as follows:
Monday 16th December – Y11
Tuesday 17th December – Y10
Wednesday 18th December – Y9
Thursday 19th December – Y7&8
Students will be informed of the arrangements for assemblies in due time. Assemblies may run into Period 1 lessons, but only by a maximum of 10 minutes.
Food bank collection for the 17th December
Please go to our Facebook and Instagram posts for more information on the food banks. Items we will accept are:
– Toiletries: deodorant, toilet paper, shower gel, shaving gel, shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand wipes
– Household items: laundry liquid detergent, laundry powder, washing up liquid
– Feminine products: sanitary towels and tampons
– Baby supplies: nappies, baby wipes and baby food – but NOT formula milk due to UNICEF regulations.
– Preserves, e.g. jam
– Tea and coffee
– UHT milk
– Fruit juice
– Tinned meat and fish
– Cereal
– Tinned fruit and vegetables (not peas or sweetcorn)
– Pasta sauce
– Custard
– Sponge puddings
– Biscuits
We will be accepting donations at Main Reception.
Beginning of term arrangements – Tuesday 7th January
Students will be in normal lessons.
Assemblies will take place the following week, commencing 13th January – details will be sent nearer the time.
Ofsted confirms Ormiston Forge Academy’s Continued Success
Students and staff at Ormiston Forge Academy are celebrating today after Ofsted has once again rated the academy ‘Good’, recognising its continued success.
Principal of Ormiston Forge Academy, Dr Lisa Mason, said she was “delighted” with this latest Ofsted inspection. The report said that ‘Ormiston Forge Academy is a very caring school’ and that students ‘feel happy and safe here as part of the Forge Family’. The report also highlighted that ‘leaders are ambitious for every pupil and work hard to give them the best possible opportunity’, with teachers at the Academy also setting ‘high expectations’ for students.
Dr Lisa Mason added: “This report is a real testament to our students, staff and our community who have all worked together to make the Forge Family and our Academy a success. They deserve the best and we’ll be relentless in sustaining these high standards and pushing on to the next level, as we work towards becoming an Outstanding Academy.
“I would like to thank Andrew Burns, our previous principal, who laid the foundations for this success and continues to support us as Executive Principal. I am proud to be continuing his work and to serve our community by removing barriers to education and ensure that our students have the very best opportunities available to them.”
The Academy, which is sponsored by Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT), was previously rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted in March 2016. The latest inspection once again confirms the success of the Academy, which continues to be on a strong upward trajectory.
The report highlighted that teachers at the Academy had ‘high expectations’ and that they ‘plan well to get the most out of lessons’. Inspectors also recognised how the Academy’s success centre makes sure students that require additional support get it and can catch up quickly. Forge students told inspectors ‘that they had made a lot of improvement because of this support’.
Progress among sixth form students was attributed to well-planned lessons and ‘pupils working with increasing levels of independence’. Sixth form students were also praised for playing a significant part in Academy life and helping younger students. The report also mentioned the good advice sixth formers were given ‘to help them make the right decisions about further education and career choices’.
Ofsted also noted that students at the oversubscribed Academy on Wrights Lane in Cradley Heath develop ‘a responsible interest in the world around them’, thanks to the high priority given to spiritual, moral and cultural education that is threaded throughout the Academy.
Executive Principal of Ormiston Forge Academy, Andrew Burns said: “Our young people are at the heart of everything we do, we make decisions that will have the biggest positive impact on them and their lives. They’ll leave us culturally and academically richer and I’m delighted that Ofsted has recognised this.”
The report also recognised the positive role of the Academy’s sponsor Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT) and the Academy governors, noting how they both work closely alongside the Academy ‘offering appropriate support and challenge’.
Nick Hudson, Chief Executive Officer at Ormiston Academies Trust said: “We are so pleased that the continued excellence and high quality of education at Ormiston Forge Academy has been confirmed by Ofsted and I would like to congratulate everyone involved. We look forward to continuing to support the academy as it pushes to achieve even greater heights.”
To read the full report, please visit reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/137673
Forge Academy Will Feed Community with £4,000 Award
Ormiston Forge Academy’s Food Technology department are the proud recipients of a £4,000 grant, courtesy of the Tesco Bags Of Help scheme.
The Tesco Bags Of Help scheme is funded by sales of the reusable Bag For Life in Tesco stores nationwide, to encourage shoppers to reduce their consumption of single-use plastic carrier bags. Tesco work with national charity Groundwork to administer the Bags Of Help grants every 3 months to outstanding projects in the UK that contribute to improving local communities. So far, Bags of Help has awarded over £80 million in grants to over 27,000 community projects since launching in October 2015.
Ormiston Forge Academy’s proposal was one of three nominated projects that customers could vote for in local Tesco stores this Summer, with voting closing on 30th June.
The grant will help to fund a special outreach project spearheaded by the Academy that will work with Forge students, local primary schools and the wider community of Cradley Heath. The project will see the Food Technology department provide cookery sessions and promote healthy lifestyles within the area.
Rebecca Potter, Lead Practitioner in Food and Hospitality for Ormiston Forge Academy said:
“I am absolutely delighted that we have received this award. We are incredibly lucky to have such enthusiastic and committed students who are so engaged with Food Technology as a subject, and I am looking forward to sharing this enthusiasm with the wider community. We have already invested part of the grant into brand new equipment and aprons for the project, and we are looking forward to the future.”
Join Us for Our Sixth Form Open Event this December
Ormiston Forge Academy Sixth Form in Cradley Heath is throwing open its doors in December to prospective post-16 students at its annual open event on Wednesday 4th December.
Students who are due to start post-16 studies in September 2020 are invited to visit Forge Sixth Form to get a taster of life and study with us. Students at the Academy achieved another strong set of A level results this Summer, as well as an outstanding record of 100% of leavers going to university, work or apprenticeships.
The doors will be open from 5.00pm–7.00pm on Wednesday 4th December.
Visitors will be able to see the enormous variety and quality of courses Forge has to offer students for study after year 11. A number of universities will be in attendance, as well as The Access Project who help students improve their grades even more and support their applications to top universities. Our groundbreaking Football Academy programme will also be present, which offers scholars the opportunity to combine full-time U19 football with study.
Darren Grimes, Assistant Principal for Key Stage 5, said: “2019 has been a fantastic year for Forge Sixth Form. We sent our first student to Cambridge and another student was accepted to study medicine. Our results have shown that over the last few years, students who study in our sixth form do well. We’ve created an environment where they are able to flourish; it’s a safe place where they have academic and pastoral support, and the result is that they are happy and successful.
“Our Football Academy programme is going from strength to strength and our applied general results are above the national average. We are really looking forward to showing our outcomes to prospective parents and students.“
The event, on Wednesday 4th December, is open to current students at Forge as well as external candidates. Please contact Mrs Yvonne Siviter on 01384 566 598 or email yvonne.siviter@oatforge.co.uk if you have any questions.
You can find the Sixth Form admissions page here: www.ormistonforgeacademy.co.uk/admissions/6th-form
Forge caterers receive award for Academy food
Forge school caterers Educaterers have been awarded accreditation by The Soil Association for the food served at the Academy.
The Soil Association are an organic certification body, that help consumers identify caterers that use locally-sourced ingredients from ethical and sustainable providers, promote healthy eating and prepare freshly cooked meals.
Educaterers were awarded The Bronze Food for Life Served Here accreditation which is given for caterers that meet these criteria:
- Use of free range eggs only
- No genetically modified ingredients
- No undesirable additives or trans fats
- Use of ethical sources that meet animal welfare standards
- No endangered fish
- 75% or over meals are cooked from scratch
- Fully trained staff
- Free drinking water provider
- Nutritional standards for sector met
- Menus suitable for all dietary requirements
- Positive marketing about ingredient sources
- Use and promotion of seasonal ingredients
Accreditation was awarded to Educaterers following a rigorous local inspection that took place over the summer earlier this year. The standards are set by industry experts from a wide range of sectors, created with public health priorities and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in mind.
Students and their families can now be assured of the commitment to Educaterers to providing catering that uses local produce, supports the local economy and protects the environment for the future.
To learn more about The Soil Association, their missions, and the Food For Life Served Here accreditation, please visit https://www.foodforlife.org.uk/catering/food-for-life-served-here.
Updated Extracurricular Activities
We’ve updated our extensive whole school extracurricular programme and added new clubs at Forge. Please download the PDFs below for a weekly plan of our activities. Thank you.
Extracurricular activities – click to download
Odd Socks Day 2019
On Tuesday 12 November, we celebrate Odd Socks Day for Anti-Bullying Week. Following on the success of last year’s Odd Socks Day – which reached almost 4 million students across the country – Forge students are invited to wear odd socks to school – students do not have to make a donation to wear odd socks.
Odd Socks Day celebrates what makes us all unique and highlights the issue of bullying in a fun way. You don’t need to spend money on a costume, simply wear your favourite odd socks to symbolize how we are all different and to encourage children to be themselves, accepting of one another and to celebrate difference.
Anti-Bullying Week, supported by O2, is urging everyone to remember that “Change Starts With Us” underlining how everyday acts like listening to young people, having a conversation, thinking about the impact of our words or stopping before hitting ‘like’ on a hurtful social media post, can all help to reduce bullying.
Anti-Bullying Week is expected to be celebrated in over three-quarters of schools across England between 11 to 15 November and we have a number of activities planned with students across the week.
www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week
