End of Term Letter - December 2025

Dear Parent/Carer,

End of Term Letter

Please be advised that our last day of this term is Friday 19^th December. For the last day students are expected to wear full school uniform. Students will be able to purchase a hot or cold meal at breaktime and will be dismissed from school between 12.20pm and 12.30pm.

We would like to thank you for your support this term. We have had such a fantastic term of events, trips, extra-curricular and community events and we thank you for supporting us in this.

The students have been exceptional this term with assessments and mocks and we are really proud of their commitment to our core values of Amazing Grace, Intentional Excellence, Mutual Respect, Genuine Integrity and Limitless Potential.

Attendance
Once again, we have celebrated maximum attendance this term and it has been so good to see our students continuing to engage with their education. So many of our students have demonstrated Intentional Excellence and have shown that success does not happen by accident but instead through hard work, engagement and determination. Well done to all of those students who received these awards, including those who won prizes during our 15 Days of Excellence! We are already starting to plan enrichment week and have plenty of exciting trips on offer for students who have positive behaviour and attendance throughout the year.

If your child is struggling to attend due to illness, the following information from the Department for Education may be of assistance when deciding whether children should stay at home:

Managing seasonal illness – key information for schools and parents

As we move further into the term, DfE wants to remind everyone of the key guidance available to help manage seasonal illnesses and keep pupils and staff well. 

• Education Hub Blog: Reducing the spread of illness this winter: Seven steps to healthier schools and higher school attendance. 
• NHS Guidance for Parents: Is my child too ill for school? – a useful resource to help parents decide when children should stay at home. 
• Preventing and Controlling Infections Guidance: Includes advice on vaccination, ventilation, and good respiratory hygiene. 
• A–Z of managing Infectious Diseases: Practical guidance on managing specific illnesses. 

Uniform and Equipment
A reminder to parents that when students return in January they will need to have natural hair colour and braids. Jewellery is limited to one stud in each ear and a mechanical watch. Students should have natural nails, no false eyelashes and only natural make-up. Uniform should follow the Uniform Policy – skirts should be pleated and knee length, hanging loose from the waist, worn with black tights.  Trousers should not be legging style or material and should be straight-legged ankle length.  Plain black socks which cover the ankle should be worn with trousers. Shoes should be plain black leather shoes and not trainer style.

Additionally, each student will need to have their Grace Five with them every day: a school bag, planner, pencil case, reading book and water bottle. 

Students will be sanctioned if they are not following our Uniform Policy and expectations.

End of term rewards
Last Friday, we celebrated Christmas as a whole school and were so pleased to see so many students wearing their Christmas jumpers whilst they enjoyed their Christmas lunch and time spent as a form with their tutor. Through the wearing of Christmas jumpers, we also managed to raise a substantial sum of money for Save the Children. All students were also rewarded for their efforts across the term in our rewards assemblies. The following certificates and awards were issued for each year group: Tutor, Head of Year, Assistant Principal, Principal, subject and maximum attendance. We will also issue more student leadership ties to those students consistently showing "The Grace Way".

Ethos update
The Ethos team have been working tirelessly this term to provide students with an outstanding range of experiences, culminating in the Christmas Fayre last Friday which was a fantastic event enjoyed by lots of our students, their families and the community.

Students have been taking part in a range of activities this term. We have spent time supporting those who are less fortunate, including packing shoeboxes at the processing centre for the Samaritan’s “Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box” Appeal.  We also welcomed some of our older members of the local community into the Academy this week for Christmas dinner.  Sixth Form students served the meal whilst some of our Year 7 students chatted with our guests and played some festive games with them.

The Remembrance Service was a particular highlight for lots of our students and some external visitors from Coventry Building Society who happened to be visiting the Academy that day – they were hugely impressed by the students’ respect. 

Our Year 7 and Year 8 students have taken part in a ‘Values day’ where external facilitators led them in interactive workshops looking at how we ‘live out’ the Academy values. Ex-Cathedra also joined us in the Academy for a day of engaging singing workshops.

We have launched work experience with both Year 10 and Year 12 students and can already see some fantastic placement opportunities arranged.

Our Year 11 students took part in our ‘Building Healthy Relationships’ day where external facilitators led the students in sessions where they considered topics such as consent and how we manage healthy relationships.

As part of anti-bullying week, Year 8 took part in interactive workshops as well as a performance looking at anti-bullying.

All students were invited to our very first ‘Made for More’ free youth event in partnership with CLM church. This is something that we look to run again in the future due to its enormous success.

We have now appointed our student leadership team and are thrilled by their excitement for putting student voice at the forefront of everything we do here at Grace.

We are looking forward to all the events planned for next term!

Key Stage 3 Update
The Year 7 students have impressed us with how well they have settled in at Grace having now completed their first full term.  It is so lovely to see them engaged in their learning when walking around the Academy. Years 7, 8 and 9 all completed their first Assessments this term and have really demonstrated their Intentional Excellence by listening to feedback from their teachers and revising their Powerful Knowledge. It has also been great to see so many students taking part in extracurricular activities, from film club to creative writing to crochet club and taking part in our sports teams – they have made new friendships and learned new skills.

Key Stage 4 Update
This was a particularly busy term for our Year 11 students which culminated in their mock examinations.

The Year 11 students worked incredibly hard for these mocks and our ‘Period 6’ after-school interventions were very well supported. Earlier in the term, Year 11 students took part in the Building Healthy Relationships days and it was great to see them engage in this so well. Year 11 and Year 10 have also both been taking part in careers talks, which aim to provide students with the knowledge and skills to be aspirational and successful in their future plans. Year 11 students have completed the GCSE Geography field trips to Carding Mill Valley and Birmingham for field work as a part of their preparation for their summer exams.

Our Year 11 Drama students went to the Phoenix Theatre in London to watch the production of “Stranger Things” as part of their GCSE drama curriculum. The students really enjoyed the opportunity to see a live piece of theatre.

Year 10 have also settled into their GCSE subjects well and completed their first GCSE-style exams and it has been great to see them starting to hone some revision skills and acting on teacher feedback to promote their progress.

Sixth Form Update
This term has been exceptionally busy in the Sixth Form, with students balancing academic demands alongside their extra-curricular commitments. Year 12 have settled really well into Sixth Form and Year 13 students have been working hard to ensure they are on track. Over the last half term, both Year 12 and Year 13 have been focused on preparing for their AP1 assessments. Year 12 completed their assessments in classrooms, while Year 13 undertook their mock examinations in the Sports Hall. Their sustained effort and dedication have been recognised and praised by both staff and parents.

Our collaboration with Coventry Building Society and the Career Ready programme is progressing well. Career Ready students recently took part in a workplace visit to the offices of Segro in London. Year 12 students have been applying for work experience placements which will begin in July 2026, with students having secured placements at organisations such as Coventry University Hospital, Nottingham University Hospital and Maya & Co Solicitors. Year 13 have also continued developing their UCAS applications and planning their next steps as they prepare for life beyond Grace Academy. Sixth Form students recently attended Tutor2U lectures to help support with their revision ahead of their exams. In addition to this, students have also taken part in booster sessions delivered by their teachers to support their upcoming Sport, Business and Health & Social Care examinations.

Finally, we wish the very best of luck to all students preparing for their external exams scheduled for January 2026 and look forward to seeing the parents and carers of our Year 13 students at their Parents’ Evening on Wednesday 7th January 2026 (between 4.30pm and 6pm) as this will allow for productive conversations to take place regarding the students’ next steps ahead of their summer examinations.

Safeguarding and Family Support
As a school, the safety and wellbeing of our pupils and members of the school community is most important to us.

As we break for the Christmas holiday, if you have any immediate concerns for the safety or welfare of a child please contact MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub) on 024 7678 8555.

If you need support for yourself over the holiday period, please contact your local family hub: The Moat Family Hub at https://www.coventry.gov.uk/themoatfamilyhub. Family Hub aim to reach children, young people and families when the need first emerges; and to help and support when we can have the greatest impact.

• Early Help: telephone 0800 8870545 or email earlyhelp@coventry.gov.uk
• Emergency Duty Team: telephone 024 7683 2222 between 5pm–8.30am and during weekends
• Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH): telephone 024 7678 8555

Finally, Coventry Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme are running a range of activities over the holidays. If you would like to find out more about free school holiday clubs, experiences and food this Christmas school holidays for children eligible for free school meals, please take a look at the following link:
https://www.coventry.gov.uk/haf.
Different activities are taking place across Coventry throughout the school Christmas holidays.

Have you heard about the Too Good To Go app? https://toogoodtogo.co.uk/en-gb/consumer This is a partnership between local food venues and the charity to stop unsold food being wasted. Each day you are able to search for unsold food in your local area which you can then collect at a significant discount.

Arrangements for January
We will be open to students again from Tuesday 6^th January 2026 at the normal time.

Please note the Academy office will be closed during the Christmas break.

We hope you enjoy the festive season and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs N Bryan Executive Principal

Mrs E Wheller Associate Principal