A Year 7 students gives his view of the day and how he felt about going on the trip:
Yesterday Mrs Newton took me out of school to Derby to visit a Mosque and a Mandir, I was not looking forward to going. The first thing I said to her was ‘you can’t let me go cos I’ll say something to them, I don’t like them’. Mrs Newton told me to be quiet and that I wouldn’t say anything rude, because she had never heard me be rude and she knew I wouldn’t let her down.

I enjoyed the bus journey with all my friends, we got to sit on the top deck. When we got to Derby we went into the open centre left our bags, covered our heads, I had an itchy scarf. The lady from the centre led us to the mosque it was a really impressive building and I said to Mrs Newton I like all the patterns and things they built on it looks good. India the mosque we took off our shoes and went and sat down, it was massive! Really warm and had a bright red carpet that cost £26000! The lady told us all loads of facts about mosques and answered all our questions.

We then walked through the Asian community past shops, grocers, and the girls all liked the dresses in the windows. We then got to the mandir we again took our shoes off and went inside. The mandir was really colourful with loads of statues of gods and there was a priest reading. Majid, our guide told us all about the mandir, the statues and then let us go and look at them, they had brought all the way from India. On the way out we all went to the priest to say thank you and we got a sweet, as no one ever leaves a mandir without gift.

After dinner Majid and Nasreem talked us through a Muslim wedding ceremony and we dressed up as a bride and groom and then if we wanted we could all have henna tattoos on our hands. This is a natural tattoos that is worn at weddings and celebrations.

I enjoyed the day, it was a lot better than I thought and I didn’t say anything, as the women were really kind and funny and welcoming to us.

From this in July ......

....to this in January

Anyone who has driven down Common Lane or looked up from Shirebrook, will have noticed the fantastic progress that builders Bowmer & Kirkland are making on the the new buildings for the Academy and Stubbin Wood. From a simple steel frame to a ‘real building’ in 6 months. The steel frame is complete and bricklayers have been busy putting up block work and brick walls throughout the building. On our most recent visit, we saw window frames being put in and internal walls marking out the individual rooms in the two schools. The roof is on, and weather proofing continues when the weather allows. It seems to us that the builders carry on despite the poor weather and strong winds we have had recently. When its too windy to work on the roof, work continues ‘indoors’.

Academy Principal Julie Bloor tells the architects what colour she wants the floor to be

Today we have a super learning day for all students on health and well being.  All our Y11 students are paying a vist to West Notts College for taster sessions and careers advice.

Monday saw the Academy turn Italian for the day with Italian food on offer in the diner and a chance for students to learn some Italian at lunch time.

Tuesday was Greek day! At lunchtime, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Kelly led a Greek dancing session which was supported by a strong number of around 60 students and a number of staff members as well! After-school there was a French crepe making session with Miss Staniforth which was attended by 20 students and five further staff members. A fantastic time was had by all, and SLT even had the chance to taste the students’ creations as orders were placed, with Rachel Brewin and Demi Bispham running tirelessly back and forth from T-Block to C-Block!

Wednesday was French day and boasted the showpiece event of the week – French Food Tasting. This event was attended by two professional footballers from Notts County – Hamza Bencherif (French speaker) and Cristian Montaño (Spanish speaker), who took the time to talk to staff and students, pose for photographs and sign around hundereds of autographs, as well as encouraging students to try the French food on offer! Students thoroughly enjoyed this event and the sight of C2B full to the rafters was hugely pleasing!

On Thursday, German was celebrated with some German food on offer in the diner and a chance to learn some basic German at lunchtime. After-school there was a showing of Shrek: The Final Chapter in French with English subtitles, including pain au chocolat and popcorn to add to the atmosphere.

The final day of the week saw the Academy celebrate the Spanish language, with Spanish food on offer in the diner, and a showing of Friends in Spanish and Spanish Food tasting taking place in C2B.

Thanks must go out to all students and staff who took part and helped to make the week a huge success!

Here’s what the students had to say:

Rachel Brewin (Year 8): This week I went to Crepe Making and I really enjoyed it because it was fun and we also had something else to do apart from sitting in the house! We also watched Shrek the movie in French which was different! This week we also met two footballers called Hamza Bencherif and Cristian Montano. We got to take pictures of them and with them! I think that everyone enjoyed this week – I have really enjoyed it as it was something different – I think we should do it again!

Demi Bispham (Year 8): European Languages Week was an amazing idea! People could take part in a range of language classes and meet two famous footballers who spoke Spanish and French, which was a priviledge to do. We also saw a couple of movies and there was also a session giving us the chance to make crepes which was great! Overall it has been an immense week full of unusual but fun things. I would love to do something similar in the future – it was a great way of learning!

Alex Peake (Year 8): In Languages Week I went to every event – learning Italian, Greek dancing, learning German and French and Spanish food tasting. My favourite activity was Greek dancing and French food tasting. My favourite food was the tarte au chocolat (chocolate tart) and the pain au chocolat. We also watched Shrek in French which was awesome, and an episode of Friends in Spanish which was really funny!

Mason is a Year 11 student at Shirebrook Academy who is also a fantastic footballer, athlete and student.
Mason began his footballing career at Shirebrook Rangers, playing in defence. After being snapped up for Derby County when he was 11 it became clear that his best position was as a striker and that is the position he has played in ever since.

In the summer Mason was called up by England U17s to represent his country in a tournament in Iceland. Mason played in all four tournament matches and scored on his full England debut. Mason was called into the Derby County first team squad for Carling Cup match against Shrewsbury at the start of this season but didnt manage to get off the subs bench for that match, if he had he would have broken all records regarding the age of first team players. Considering he only turned 15 in July it’s not bad going for such a young lad! Mason played for Derby County reserves last Tuesday against Leicester and scored, again a fantastic achievement!

Mason is also very talented academically, he took several GCSE examinations a year early and gained two A grades in BTEC Sport, B grades in electronics and mathematics and a C in English Language. Alison Brannick, Vice Principal, said ‘ Mason is a fantastic student, we are really proud of all his achievements. He is very motivated with regards to both his football and his academic achievements. He is a superb role model for young people and it is an absolute pleasure to work with him. We are sure he has a very bright future ahead of him’