Months ago, the Leadership Team at R.E.A.L. began the search to increase the capacity at our locations, especially in the Mansfield area.
We are pleased to announce that the Leadership Team have secured a new building next to our existing Concorde House site in Kestrel Way, Mansfield.
Consultation on the design aspects of the building has taken place between the Directors, Leadership Team and school staff and learners. Major refurbishment work has started in readiness for the new building, opening at the beginning of the new academic year 2024- 2025.
Staff and learners should expect modern styling, accessible design and murals that inspire and make you smile!
Our Delta House site heralds a new chapter at R.E.A.L., providing new opportunities in modern facilities, clearly demonstrating that we are following our values and vision: ‘We believe every child has a future.’
The brand new site opens its doors in the Autumn Term 2024. Look out for more news about this development in our forthcoming newsletters.
Learners at our Ilkeston site held their own election day this month.
The learners had fun designing a political rosette and decorating a matching cupcake. Fiona Ryan, Specialist Teaching Assistant said: “They also wrote four pledges, three of them serious and a fun one. One learner suggested that every household should be gifted an electric VW camper van!”
The pledges were then anonymously read out and both staff and learners voted for their favourite. The votes were then counted and verified and a new Prime Minister was announced.
Fiona said: “The learner voted in as Prime Minister then got to choose his cabinet. To complete the democratic process, we then held a cabinet meeting to get ideas for how we can improve our outside space and more importantly how we could raise money to pay for the improvements.”
The day was finished with a prize giving ceremony and awards were given for best rosette, cupcake design, best electoral pledges, being a Member of Cabinet and of course, being elected Prime Minister!
There’s not many people in the world who can say they’ve had a piece of their writing published in an actual book.
Well, learner Erin can now say she’s had not one, but two pieces of work published. This second piece is a poem published in ‘Through Their Eyes: Empathy Unleashed’.
Sarah D’sa, Hub Manager at Square One, R.E.A.L. said: “Every term the learners at Square One take part in the ‘Young Writers’ challenge, and this piece of work based around ‘Empathy Unleashed’ which meant the task was to open your mind and dare to experience the world through others’ lives.
“Erin is an avid reader and this is clearly displayed in her creative writing skills. She was thrilled her hard work was in print for all to see and she thanked the Referral and Intervention team at Square One who supported her through this.”
Amazing work Erin, well done!
One learner recently took advantage of the warmer weather and woodland settings near R.E.A.L. Hinckley, and took their maths class outside.
The learner took part in different outdoor maths activities, including counting the different colours of flowers.
Elizabeth Etchingham, Teacher at R.E.A.L. said: “The learner then produced a tally chart from the flowers and then converted this into a bar chart. The learner loves being outdoors and prefers to learn outside the classroom.”
At R.E.A.L. we pride ourselves on re-thinking engagement and approaches to learning and create individualised pathways to ensure that every young person can fulfil their potential. Our core belief at R.E.A.L. is that every child has a future. Working closely with families and communities, our dedicated team tirelessly seek the best path ahead for the young people we support.
Learners at Hinckley have been using shapes to build buildings, with no bricks and cement needed.
The learners looked at which shapes provide the strongest and most stable structures to engineer their own model buildings.
Kerry Newton, Site Lead Teacher at R.E.A.L. said: “By using a construction kit and exploration of different techniques and discussions, the learners discovered that triangles are more stable than quadrilaterals.”
The learners also looked at the physics behind this and then started looking at how best to make the base of a structure stable.Kerry said: “Once this was understood, learners were able to construct very tall stable buildings and structures that resembled the Empire State building and the Eiffel Tower.”
All learners studying GCSE English Literature at R.E.A.L’s City Hub have seen a livestream of Macbeth at the cinema this month.
The play was filmed live in London and then streamed to Showcase cinemas throughout the UK.
Maria Poyser, Site Lead Teacher at R.E.A.L. said: “With their exams coming up this was a great way of revising the play and placing the scenes in a context that can be much more easily understood. The great thing about it was the learners got to share their thoughts on the screening afterwards with the production team.”
The play had many well known actors, including Ralph Fiennes, Indira Varma and Ewan Black.
Maria said: “The production was great. It was placed in a modern context and opened with burning cars and modern battle scenes with soldiers and all modern equipment. This was difficult for some learners as we’ve spent a lot of time placing the play in its historical context, but it also made it more relatable in many ways.
“The learners enjoyed the experience and it was an important one in terms of cultural capital. Giving students a taste of something, that is, for many, outside of their daily experience.”
Learners at R.E.A.L. Hinckley went to a classical music concert at a local church in May.
The learners visited St Mary’s Church in Hinckley for an organ recital and listened for over an hour and a half to classical music.
Magdalena Moreton, Deputy Headteacher at R.E.A.L. said: “The learners were enthralled by the organ music. They not only listened to the music but also learnt about the life and work of the French composer César Franck and Léon Boëllmann.
“The learners’ behaviour was impeccable and they clearly enjoyed this cultural experience.”
When we say Spudman, do you know who we mean? If you don’t then don’t worry, but it does mean you’re not one of the 3.5 million followers he has on TikTok.
A learner at R.E.A.L. who is one of the 3.5 million followers, has recently shared her love of the Spudman by serving up her very own version at R.E.A.L. Nanpantan…
Spudman posts videos and live streams of his work in his jacket potato van in Tamworth. Before the Easter break, the learner worked hard to earn reward tokens and excitedly exchanged them for a trip to visit the van.
Laurie Akroyd, Senior Deputy Head at R.E.A.L. said: “That’s kind of where the idea started after visiting him. She then spoke with me and her cooking teacher Rachel Mayes to make it happen.”
The learner cooked lunch for everyone at Nanpantan, including taking orders from learners and staff, recreating the same fillings that are available from Spudman, and then dishing up!
Laurie said: “She ensured that everybody formed an orderly queue and even problem solved when we ran out of forks!
“Everybody had a great time and it has actually inspired other learners to want to cook lunch for the whole team in the future.”
A local Police Community Support Officer has visited learners at R.E.A.L. again to present another informative and interactive awareness workshop.
PCSO Delia Farren was this time back at Hinckley to deliver a drugs education session. Other sessions this year have included knife crime and county lines, which all feel like very ‘adult’ topics, yet is something that we know can affect young people.
Inspectors in our latest Ofsted rating at R.E.A.L. Independent School Mansfield said: “The school does not shy away from teaching challenging subject matter in a manner that is appropriate to each pupil’s age and level of maturity.”
If you missed hearing PCSO Delia’s experience of delivering these workshops at R.E.A.L. in last month’s newsletter, you can read this again by clicking here.
Learners at R.E.A.L. Nanpantan had an interesting visit to a local monastery this month and got the chance to speak to some monks.
Mount Saint Bernard Abbey was founded by monks in 1835 and was the first Catholic abbey to be found in England after the Reformation.
Laurie Akroyd, Senior Deputy Head of Schools said: “The learners listened really well to a talk by the monks and asked lots of questions. We then had a look around the church, which is huge, and then the gift shop.”
In 2018 the monks began brewing their own beer which is for sale in the gift shop. Laurie added: “Some of the learners loved the fact that the monks brew their own beer!”
R.E.A.L. Education is committed to providing authentic experiences for your people, to help them understand and appreciate the diversity of faiths and beliefs in the UK.
