Information for Students

All appointments such as doctors or dentist appointments, should be made out of school time. If you have an unavoidable appointment such as at the hospital, you must bring in a note from a parent and a copy of the medical letter.

All notes must be signed by your Head of Learning, prior to signing out at reception. A parent or carer must collect you from school and sign you out. You are expected to be in school before and after the appointment, allowing for travelling time.

Assemblies take place every week. They focus on our key values and ‘The Big Question’. Assemblies are delivered by the Head of Learning, a member of the Leadership Group and occasionally an external speaker is invited to deliver a particular topic.

Students are expected to sit using ‘SLANT’. This is a quiet time for reflection and participation. Learning and other personal achievements are celebrated at the end of term with individual student awards.

You are expected to be present in school every day. You should only be off school if you are very ill. If you are ill, it should be a rare occurrence.  Anyone who takes a lot of time off school misses out on learning and it affects their grades and life chances.

Phone calls must be made to the absence line each and every day you are absent from school. A parent who does not make sure their child has good attendance is referred to the Local Authority and faces fines and can possibly be taken to court. Holidays are not permitted in school time.

The following items are banned in school and will be confiscated if seen:

• excessive items of unhealthy food, drink as defined by the Headteacher
• chewing gum
• lighters and matches
• make up, cosmetic and beauty products including flavoured and scented lip balms
• metal hair combs
• items that are non-school uniform such as hoodies, sunglasses, trainers, caps
• items that are the wrong colour such as socks, hats, scarves, gloves, PE Kit, hair accessories mobile phones and other electronic devices (including smart watches) that are seen or heard, or when a student has been involved in inappropriate messaging or social media activity
• air pods, earphones, headphones
• non essential items that are a distraction or possible danger found on the student’s person

From time to time, certain items not listed here may be deemed to be banned by the headteacher if they reasonably pose a threat to the safety and wellbeing of students or the good order of the school.

All confiscated items will be returned after one week from the date of confiscation. Each time an item is confiscated you will receive a detention. If you refuse to hand it over or pretend it is not yours, you will be referred to the Behaviour Improvement Room as well as receiving the detention.

The following items are prohibited:

• knives or weapons
• drugs and alcohol
• stolen items
• tobacco and cigarette papers
• e-cigarettes and vaping devices
• fireworks
• pornographic images
• any article that has been or is likely to be used to commit an offence, cause personal injury or damage to property.

These items will be confiscated and will not be returned.

In the case of confiscation of a weapon or other illegal items, the police will be informed and the item released only to them. Possession of these items can lead to permanent exclusion.

We expect our students to behave well.

We expect students to:

• arrive on time to school and lessons
• be in correct uniform and be smartly presented, which includes having your shirt tucked in, tie done up properly and wearing your blazer
• follow instructions first time, every time
• engage in lessons fully
• engage with DPR
• try to complete classwork, assignments and Non-Examination Assessments (NEA)
• treat other students and all of the school community with respect
• be helpful, polite and honest
• show care and compassion to others
• walk on the left, in single file and remain quiet in the corridors
• adopt the SLANT position when requested to demonstrate active engagement
• engage with SHAPE and STEPS
• be clear of the local area that surrounds the school within 30 minutes after the school day ends.

Do you know what you want to do when you leave school?

Most people need help and guidance with this and, at The Excelsior Academy, we have a dedicated careers and aspirations manager on hand to help. You will receive information and advice about colleges, universities, and jobs when all students receive a careers interview and have the opportunity to do careers activities and workshops.

A wise person once said, ‘If you can change a classroom, you can change a community’.

Think about how your classroom looks and feels. How are you contributing to it? You should make sure classrooms and learning spaces are orderly and tidy. If you would like to change something about the classroom, please email the student council. If you would like to change something about learning, talk to your teacher.

All students have a computer account and access to computers. When using the computers, you agree to abide by the school’s Acceptable Use of IT (Student) Policy. Never share your password with anyone or leave your computer logged on. If you do so, you will be responsible for any activity on your account including any emails that are sent. Students who do not use the computers responsibly may have their computer access taken away from them.

You should move around the corridors quietly and without fuss, following the corridor rules.

Unacceptable behaviour in corridors:

On the rare occasion that some students decide not to follow safe corridor rules, they will receive a slip which gives notice of a detention. You will receive a positive slip for behaviours such as holding doors open, letting people through and picking up litter.

Thank you for being polite and courteous. It really makes for a pleasant environment.

Sometimes students are given detentions. They are obligatory to attend - this means you MUST attend. If you have been given a detention, your parent/carer will be informed by email notifying them of the date, time, and reason for the detention so they know where you are after school hours. You will also need to make a note of the date, time, and location for your detention. It is your responsibility to be present and on time. Failure to attend a detention will result in a further sanction.

Successful students come to school ready to learn. It is expected that you will have with you:

• x 2 black pens
• a green pen
• a pencil
• a ruler
• highlighter
• mathematics set
• calculator
• reading book
• your books for the subjects you have that day
• your PE kit on PE days.

Equipment can be bought locally.

In-class feedback:

You will be provided with feedback regularly by your teacher. Live marking is used in all subjects. Most subjects use target codes to focus your efforts on areas to improve. Make sure you know what these target codes mean. After you have received feedback, you should improve it using a green pen. Make sure you act on your teacher’s feedback for improvement and try to achieve the target you have been assigned. Often you will be required to peer assess someone else’s work. Think carefully about your feedback and the important role you have in helping your peer or yourself to improve.

DPR feedback:

Your DPR is updated by your teachers and you should check the progress of your learning regularly. You may upload pieces of work as evidence for your teacher to consider so that you can move from ‘Emerging’ to ‘Secured’. Your teacher may provide feedback on your DPR; you should respond to this feedback so that you are engaging in developing specific key learning objectives. Feedback may be provided through the collaboration tool or through the voice functions; you need to check these and respond. You need to be logging on at least once every day.

Your form tutor is there to help you with day to day problems and to listen to you. You must find them if you need to tell them something. They would love to hear your good news too.

All staff and students have access to a free breakfast Monday to Friday from 7:45am - 8:15am in the refectory.

Golden tickets are awarded by subject teachers to students who demonstrate outstanding effort and commitment during lessons. 

Golden tickets are also used as currency to apply for different types of rewards; these are given to students at the end of term reward assemblies.

What you can do with your Golden Ticket

The school offers healthy and nutritious hot and cold food daily. To pay for food, your ParentPay account should be topped up with credit online. Details of how to do this are available from student reception. If you think you may be entitled to free school meals, ask your parent or carer to apply online. All students and staff clear their own plates, making it a friendly and clean environment for everyone. If you have comments or suggestions about how to improve the refectory, please email the student council.

All homework and assignments will be set by your teachers on the DPR. You can log on to the DPR through the school website. All assignments and homework should be submitted as requested by your teacher on the DPR on or before the deadline. All assignments and homework will be linked to a key objective as identified on your DPR. You will be set different types of homework by your teachers. These are:

• 'Flipped Learning’:  homework that will require you to complete specific learning tasks at home, ahead of the topic or skill being covered in class. This will help you to become more independent in your learning as well as helping you to consolidate your learning more rapidly in class.

• 'Exam Skills’: Homework that is in the form of a practice exam question to help you develop your exam skills.

• 'Consolidating’: homework that is an extension of something you have covered in class, to help you consolidate your learning.

• 'Closing gaps in learning’: homework that allows you to complete any work that may not have been completed in class.

All students will receive some form of extra intervention while they are at school. Sometimes it is during the school day and often it is after school. When you are in Year 11 you will be expected to attend after school most evenings for targeted support with your work. This is a privilege and something that would cost a lot of money if you had a private tutor. It will help you get a better job in the future. Thankfully in school it is free. It is your responsibility to make sure you arrive on time and prepared. Make sure you have reminded everyone at home where you will be and what time you will be finished.

This is the reason why we are here. If there is anything that is affecting your learning, please speak to your Form Tutor, Student Manager or Head of Learning.

The library is open before school Tuesday to Friday from 7:50am to 8:20am. At lunchtime, the following timetable is in operation:

• Monday - Y7 and Y8
• Tuesday - Y9, Y10 and Y11
• Wednesday - Y7 and Y8
• Thursday - Y9, Y10 and Y11
• Friday - Y7 and Y8

The library is also open after school for 15 minutes to give students another opportunity to exchange their books.

Students can borrow up to three books once they have become an established library user. We have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books in stock, including an extensive Manga, comic, and graphic novel collection. Lost or damaged books incur a fine.

To minimise corridor congestion, students line up in the main playground at the start of the day as well as at the end of break and lunch. When the first bell goes, students make their way to their designated line-up areas and line up quietly and wait for their teacher who will escort them into the building in silence.

Lost property should be taken to student reception. If you have lost anything, please go to student reception first. To avoid misplacing items, please make sure all uniform has been marked with your name. All unclaimed lost property will be displayed at the end of each term. Any items remaining by the holidays will be donated to charity.

If you have medical needs, please make sure your parent or carer has informed the school. Any medication that you have to take during the school day should be given to the First Aider in a sealed, named bag. Your medical condition will be discussed with your parents. A care plan may be needed, and a school nurse referral will be made.

If you hurt yourself or fall ill during the school day, you should tell a member of staff. Your teacher or other staff member will call for the First AIder to come and assess the situation.Most of the time the ailment can be treated in school and you can carry on with learning. 

If you are really hurt or ill, your parents or carers may be called to accompany you home. Please make sure all phone numbers on the school system are up to date and there are at least two contacts available.

Mobile phones are not permitted to be seen in school. If a member of staff sees, or hears, a mobile phone at any time on school premises, it will be confiscated and you will receive a detention. Your phone will only be returned to a parent or carer and this will be done at a time convenient for the school.

This is the school’s cashless payment system. All students must have a ParentPay account set up to enable them to access school meals and for the purchase of other school items.

We expect all our students to engage positively with peers, teachers, and visitors to the school. Polite, respectful, and helpful behaviour is rewarded through the issuing of a corridor slip and/or logging a positive merit on the Behaviour Watch system.

Neat work is really important. It shows that you have taken care and given the right amount of attention to the task at hand. It also helps your teacher to read and understand what you have written. Please make sure you follow guidance from your teachers.

You must be in school before line up each morning at 8:25am. If you arrive after this time, you will be marked as being late for school. This will have an impact on your learning and will result in a one hour detention for you at lunchtime.

Be on time!

We always find opportunities to recognise and reward the efforts and hard work of all of our students. This happens inside the classroom with engagement in learning which could be for outstanding extended writing tasks, responding to feedback using green pens to ‘fix mistakes’, or using Oracy to SHAPE sentences. This could also occur outside of the classroom during break or lunchtime for conduct in the form of ‘positive slips’ which count as individual merits.

There are many different types of rewards that students can earn such as single, double, and super merits (5 merits), as well as the prized ‘Golden Ticket’ which is awarded to one student at the end of the lesson for truly outstanding efforts and progress with their learning (see the section on Golden Tickets). During year group assemblies, students with the most merits or golden tickets for that particular week are given a shout out and are celebrated in front of their year group with an ‘Excelsior clap’.

At the end of each term, we hold end of term reward assemblies for each year group where we give recognition to those students with outstanding behaviour, attendance, academic progress, and our ‘Always students’. 

Certificates, badges, trophies and Amazon vouchers are given to selected students and winners for different categories of prizes, for example, those students in each year group with 100% attendance are entered into a prize draw to win a £50 Amazon voucher.

We aim to encourage our students to excel at everything they do. We are proud of our students and want them to be successful in school and beyond.

School trips happen throughout the year.

If you are selected for or informed that you will be going on a school trip, you must make sure that you return a permission slip signed by your parent/carer and any money required in plenty of time.

3-2-1 SLANT is a strategy used by teachers to bring the class together and ensure all students are focused on learning.

It stands for:

S - sit/stand up straight

L - listen carefully

A - ask/answer questions

N - never interrupt

T - track the teacher

You can keep up to date with what’s going on at The Excelsior Academy by following our social media pages on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.

At The Excelsior Academy, we offer a range of sports as part of the curriculum and even more in our extracurricular clubs. For more information, see our Clubs Noticeboard, or speak to your PE teacher about what’s on offer.

The student council is run by the students for the students. It is a place for students to have their voices heard. Be the change you want to see!

Personal presentation is really important in the world of work beyond school life. We want to make sure that every student at The Excelsior Academy develops a sense of pride in how they look. We expect students to be in the correct uniform. Students who choose to disobey the uniform expectations will be sanctioned for deliberate defiance of school rules. The school may confiscate items of clothing worn to school in defiance of these expectations. In some cases, the school may provide an alternative or send the student home to rectify the problem. The parent/carer will be informed if the item is confiscated and that the item is not permitted in school. It will only be returned to a parent/carer.

Please see the uniform page on our website for more information about acceptable items.