FBA Weekly Update

Last Thursday, we hosted our Prospective Parents' Evening and were delighted to welcome well over 800 visitors to the school. This is always a highly enjoyable event, giving us the opportunity to meet many of our future students and their families.

In the Headteacher’s speech, we spoke about how our students are our greatest asset and the pride we take in them. We invited visitors to observe the way our student guides and helpers conducted themselves—their confidence, communication, and kindness—because we knew they would be impressed. And impressed they certainly were.

We were overwhelmed by the many positive and complimentary comments about our students and the warm welcome they extended. We are incredibly proud of all the students who helped on the evening and thank them sincerely for giving their time.

A special thank you goes to our Head Girl, Diya, for leading the Headteacher’s talk, and to Radhika (Year 8), who delivered a clear, confident, informative, and entertaining speech about her experiences in Year 7.

All the key dates for the year can be found on the school website at:

https://fbaok.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Key-Dates-for-Parents-2025-2026.pdf

Please find below some of the key dates for the first half term

Monday 22nd September - Year 7 Welcome Evening for parents/ carers (18:00)

Tuesday 23rd September - Year 8, 9, 10, 6th form school photos

Wednesday 24th September - Year 12 Welcome Evening for parents/ carers (18:00)

Thursday 25th September - Personal Development Day 1

Thursday 2nd October - Sports Awards evening

Friday 3rd October - School Birthday (119 years). Early finish for staff training

Monday 6th October - Year 12 Settling In assessments start

Thursday 16th October - Year 11 Step Up to Sixth Form Day (Taster Day)

Wednesday 22nd October - Year 11 Parents' Evening

Thursday 23rd October - Black History Month event

Friday 24th October - Last day of half term 1

The Period 6 programme is part of the school day for Year 11. It is designed to support Year 11 students with preparation for GCSE examinations. All Period 6 sessions run from 3.05 to 4.05pm. Attendance to the sessions is compulsory as it is part of their school day. If students do not attend, they will be issued with a 30 minute Yellow detention. Each Period 6 session this term will focus on preparation for Mock examinations where students will complete a Walking Talking Mock.

On Thursday this week, we will be holding the first Personal Development Day of the year. The purpose of the PDD programme is to help students:

• develop the K-RACERs characteristics
• become future ready
• feel empowered
• explore their subjects in a deeper way outside of the classroom

The students will take part in the following themed days

This week’s Health & Fitness challenge comes from our KS3 Sports Captains, who challenge you to try a wall sit at home!

How?

• Warm up briefly before you start.
• Find a wall, slide down until your knees are at a right angle, and hold the position for as long as you can.
• Set a timer on your watch so you can track your ‘hold time’ and challenge yourself to beat your time each week.
• Aim to do this exercise 2–3 times a week for best results.
• Want an extra challenge? Add a weight, like a backpack with books inside!

Our inspirational woman of the week is Princess Diana as nominated by many of you! This is a timely celebration of her life as the 28th anniversary of her passing was not long ago, on August 31st. Often called the "People’s Princess,", she was a member of the British Royal Family and the first wife of King Charles III. She became globally admired for her compassion, humanitarian work, and ability to connect with people from all walks of life. Diana broke royal traditions by openly showing warmth, vulnerability, and empathy, which made her relatable. She championed causes such as AIDS awareness, landmine victims, and children’s welfare, using her platform to highlight overlooked issues. Her courage, kindness, and authenticity continue to inspire young women to lead with compassion, resilience, and a sense of purpose.

IT (Information Technology) is all about using computers and technology to solve problems, create things, and help people work smarter. It plays a part in nearly every job today, from healthcare and education to gaming and entertainment. There are loads of exciting careers in IT for people who enjoy solving problems, being creative, or working with computers.

• IT Support Technician help fix problems with computers, printers, or software. If someone’s computer won’t turn on or the Wi-Fi isn’t working, they’re the one people call. You’ll need to be good at explaining things clearly and staying calm when things go wrong. You can start with a college course or apprenticeship in IT support or digital technology.
• Network Engineer set up the systems that let computers and devices share information. They make sure offices, schools or businesses stay connected to the internet and each other. This job suits people who like working with equipment and solving connection problems. Studying networking, IT or doing a Cisco certification can help get you into this career.

As the weather turns more autumnal, we have been ensuring that our animals and birds are well cared for, so students have been helping with providing them with clean, dry, deep bedding each day. The newest additions to our farm are pygmy goats Alvin, Simon and Theodore.

They have settled in well, and absolutely love visits from students, as they are highly social and interactive. At almost six months old, they will continue to grow until they stand at around 23 inches tall at the shoulder. Pygmy goats are highly intelligent and playful; they figured out how to play on their see-saw almost immediately, and they love leaping and dancing about with each other and with students.

The FBA farm is open every day at break and lunch, and after school on Thursdays until 4pm; all are welcome to come and help look after our animals and birds, or simply to visit and spend some time outdoors.

On the 22nd September 1955, the first ever advertisement on British television was aired. The advert was for Gibbs SR toothpaste – a product described as “tingling fresh”. The advert went out at 8.12pm during a broadcast from London’s Guildhall of a dinner to celebrate the launch of the Independent Television network (ITV). This brought a new dawn to television and broke the monopoly of the BBC. One of the first targets of ITV was the “Toddlers’ Truce” – an established arrangement whereby all television broadcasts were banned between 6pm and 7pm so that parents could more easily put their children to bed. Even back then, screen time was something that was hotly debated.