Our Spring term began with concerning news that there was a new variant of COVID, Omicron, and we all worried that this would see a return to more restrictions.

The Autumn Term saw the return of some of the most  important aspects of Academy life – sports fixtures and training, extra-curricular clubs and the chance to go on trips and visits again.

It has been a fantastic return to school and the students are thriving with some of last year’s restrictions removed. It is wonderful to have a more normal return to school and we all hope that COVID infection remains low so that our students can fully enjoy all the excitement of Manchester Academy.

Manchester Academy's Year 11 students celebrated picking up their GCSE grades this morning.

Our former Executive Principal has received an OBE for services to education in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

It is strange sometimes to remember that the country is in national lockdown as life is so busy at Manchester Academy. I hope we are offering all our students academic challenge and stability during this difficult time and I have been impressed with the way students have responded to schooling in a lockdown.

I hope you are well during this second period of national lockdown? It’s business as usual in Manchester Academy although last week, on Thursday and Friday, we put into operation a slightly changed timetable model to make sure that student bubbles are separated.

England has returned to a national lockdown but there is a key difference this time – schools, including Manchester Academy, remain fully open.

We have made it to the end of a long half-term, and I want to praise our students for their stamina in completing an eight-week half-term after many of them had not been in school for a long time due to lockdown.

This week we have been interviewing for the senior student leaders in Year 11, we had over 60 applications from the year group which is incredible.