Rewards Days Trips Update
This information applies to students in Years 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 only, as an update to trips postponed in the last academic year. This information is not relevant to students in Years 7 and 12 who will have new opportunities in this academic year.
Since our last update, we’ve liaised with our Student Voice representatives to ensure that we reschedule the Rewards Days in-line with student expectations, as they are after-all a celebration of their achievement in being consistently Ready, Respectful, and Responsible. We explained the challenge of the current national driver shortages and the impact this is having on obtaining coaches for the trips, and also the availability of some trip locations at certain times of the year. Our Student Voice representatives applied a mature and fair approach to plan a solution that works around these challenges which we’re really excited to be able to finally share.
We will offer half of the Rewards Trips in this term, and the other half later in the Spring term. This spreads the trips out nicely across the academic year, giving students something else to look forward to later on, and means that weather-dependent trips can go ahead during warmer times.
This term, we will be running trips for students who had booked to go to Blackpool Pleasure Beach Theme Park, Dudley Zoo, and the London theatre trip. If you or your child is unsure as to which trips they have booked, they can check this with their Personal Tutor.
We listened and took note that students were very keen to get out as soon as possible on these trips. We would have liked to have secured and shared these dates with you much earlier on, but the delays in obtaining coaches and drivers has given us very short notice.
The trips will take place on:
| Friday 15th October | Year 8 students going to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and all students going to Dudley Zoo |
| Monday 18th October | Year 10 students going to Blackpool Pleasure Beach |
| Tuesday 19th October | Year 9 students going to Blackpool Pleasure Beach |
| Wednesday 20th October | All students going to London theatre trip |
| Thursday 21st October | Year 11 and 13 students going to Blackpool Pleasure Beach |
Students who selected to remain in the Academy will have an Activity day and may wear their Sports Kit to the Academy for that day (Year 8 on Friday 15th October, Year 10 on Monday 18th October, and Year 9 on Tuesday 19th October).
Full details regarding the trips along with the answers to common questions has been shared with students in Tutor Time, and a copy of the presentation can be found as an announcement in their ClassCharts student account. A summary of this information for parents/carers is available at the bottom of this post, so that everybody is equally informed.
As these are rescheduled trips rather than the launch of new trips, students are unable to change their selections of trips at this stage, or book on to new trips they hadn’t previously booked.
Thank you again for your ongoing support with the Rewards Trips, rescheduling this number of trips of this size isn’t something we’ve had to do before, and we’re really grateful of the mature and understanding views of our students which have helped shaped this plan.
Answers to Common Questions
| What times are the trips and which coach do students board? |
Students do not enter the Academy building on arrival, they board their allocated coach at the departure time and will be registered on the coach. Their coach number will on the confirmation email they receive ahead of the trip (if they forget this or don’t receive the email, staff will be on hand to advise them before they board a coach). Blackpool Pleasure Beach – students arrive and board coaches at 7:30am, return to the Academy at 7:30pm Dudley Zoo – students arrive and board coaches at 9:30am, return to the Academy at 3:15pm London Theatre trip – students arrive and board coaches at 9:30am, return to the Academy around midnight |
| What do students wear? | Students may wear their own clothes for the trip, but must dress appropriate for the activity and for the weather conditions. |
| What should students bring? | It’s a good idea to bring a water bottle to keep hydrated throughout the day. Students may bring their own packed lunch or money to purchase food and drink at the venue. Students may bring mobile phones with parent/carer permission, but all personal belongings are the responsibility of the student. |
| What about students who normally receive Free School Meals? | Students entitled to FSM, can be provided with a packed lunch to take on the trip. They must order this meal with one of the staff in Quisine by Wednesday 13th October. It will then be available to collect 15 minutes before their coach departure time. It is the responsibility of students to order and collect their meal. |
| What COVID-19 safety measures are in place? |
Attractions have their own restrictions in place which students must continue to follow. We also recommend that students bring a personal hand sanitiser to maintain good hand hygiene. All students should bring a face mask (or exemption card) to wear on the coach, and it’s a good idea to have one to wear in any indoor spaces at each venue. |
| Has this information been shared with students too? | Yes, a presentation has been shared with students, and they can access this through the announcements tab of their ClassCharts student account. If they have further questions then their Personal Tutor will be able to advise or refer them to someone who can help. |
