Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 151
- February 6, 2026
Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 151
- February 6, 2026
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
Whilst I consider myself to be reasonably proficient in the use of technology, I learnt a new word this week – padlet. If like me, you are unaware, a padlet is an easy-to-use web-based notice board which allows for the easy sharing of information! The MHST team who work with many of our students have created a padlet for our parents which should allow you to find and access support and services. The link to this can be found here. I hope that it is useful to you.
I want to make parents aware that on Thursday 26th February, we will be hosting in school a second coffee morning for parents of neuro-diverse children. An email will be sent out to all parents with the full details of this event in due course. If you were unable to make the last coffee morning, you are more than welcome to attend this one.
A reminder that next week, on Thursday 12th February, we will be holding our Year 9 Parents’ Evening. This is a particularly important event as it will mark the formal start of the Options Process for students in Year 9. We hope to see as many parents there as possible. Assemblies have taken place every day this week for Year 9. During these assemblies, subject leaders have been providing information to students about the various courses that will be on offer next year. Given the importance of options, it is important that students make an informed choice.
We have sent out a Student Survey to all of our students this week. We are gathering their feedback about key aspects of our provision, which also includes gathering student voice about the impact of YONDR pouches.
I’d like to wish good luck to all of our students taking part in the charity sponsored walks next week which is in aid of Christie’s.
And finally – a huge well done to all of the students who have taken part in our production of Oliver! either on stage or back-stage. At the time of writing this, I have not yet seen the production, I will have that pleasure on the final night; however, reviews from earlier this week have described it as nothing short of spectacular! Well done to all.
Thank-you for your continued support.
Mr Davies
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
Whilst I consider myself to be reasonably proficient in the use of technology, I learnt a new word this week – padlet. If like me, you are unaware, a padlet is an easy-to-use web-based notice board which allows for the easy sharing of information! The MHST team who work with many of our students have created a padlet for our parents which should allow you to find and access support and services. The link to this can be found here. I hope that it is useful to you.
I want to make parents aware that on Thursday 26th February, we will be hosting in school a second coffee morning for parents of neuro-diverse children. An email will be sent out to all parents with the full details of this event in due course. If you were unable to make the last coffee morning, you are more than welcome to attend this one.
A reminder that next week, on Thursday 12th February, we will be holding our Year 9 Parents’ Evening. This is a particularly important event as it will mark the formal start of the Options Process for students in Year 9. We hope to see as many parents there as possible. Assemblies have taken place every day this week for Year 9. During these assemblies, subject leaders have been providing information to students about the various courses that will be on offer next year. Given the importance of options, it is important that students make an informed choice.
We have sent out a Student Survey to all of our students this week. We are gathering their feedback about key aspects of our provision, which also includes gathering student voice about the impact of YONDR pouches.
I’d like to wish good luck to all of our students taking part in the charity sponsored walks next week which is in aid of Christie’s.
And finally – a huge well done to all of the students who have taken part in our production of Oliver! either on stage or back-stage. At the time of writing this, I have not yet seen the production, I will have that pleasure on the final night; however, reviews from earlier this week have described it as nothing short of spectacular! Well done to all.
Thank-you for your continued support.
Mr Davies
Things to celebrate
- This week has been our school show week. Our incredibly talented students have performed ‘Oliver’ to sell-out audiences Tuesday to Friday night and to primary schools on Tuesday afternoon. Students have taken part as performers, backstage crew and technical support. This production has also involved ex-students who have returned to help, and staff who have dedicated a huge amount of time to making it such a success. A superb event.
- On Friday after school our Year 11 students were treated to a fun event to give them the opportunity to let off steam as we near the end of a busy half term. A great evening was had by all.
- Sporting Success this week
We are always excited to learn of any sporting successes outside of school so we can celebrate the student’s achievements. Please email Mr Gregory with any information so we can share with everyone on Freddie’s Focus – gregoryi@flhs.wigan.sch.uk
Sporting Success this week
We are always excited to learn of any sporting successes outside of school so we can celebrate the student’s achievements. Please email Mr Gregory with any information so we can share with everyone on Freddie’s Focus – gregoryi@flhs.wigan.sch.uk
What we do at Freddie's and why we do it
During the final week of this half term, four students from every form will receive a BEST Award. This is because they have demonstrated one or more of our character values seen above. We do this to highlight the importance of good character and to make sure that our students know that their positive contribution to our school is valued. Each award winner will receive five positive points and a certificate from their Form Tutor.
At Freddie’s, celebration, praise and reward are at the heart of all that we do. We want all of our students to strive for excellence.
Year 7 to Year 10
100 HoY Mug/Earphones/Water Bottle/Skip the queue pass
175 MTA Power Bank/Skip the queue pass/Calculator/£5 Amazon voucher
250 MTA £10 Amazon voucher/Skip the queue pass
350 PDA £15 Amazon voucher/Skip the queue pass
Year 11
100 HoY £5 Amazon voucher/£5 off Prom
150 MTA £10 Amazon voucher/£10 off Prom
200 PDA £15 Amazon voucher/£15 off Prom
How to support your child to become an independent learner
O.S.C.A.R
Organisation, Selection, Creativity, Association, Repetition
The ‘OSCAR’ model is something that we are promoting at Freddie’s in order to support your child with independent/self-directed study at home.
The ‘C’ stands for creativity. We know that learning happens when we have to think hard and actively do something with the information that we are trying to learn (and store in our long-term memory).
To support your child with this, the following tasks may be useful:
- Creating a set of flashcards (there could be key questions or vocabulary on one side and the answers or definitions on the other);
- Creating graphic organisers – this is a method of capturing information in a visual way. For example:
- Creating their own mini quizzes based on a topic so that they can self-test.
- Capturing information as images alongside words (this technique is called Dual Coding). For example:
Applications that we use for learning
The following applications are used by our students during their time at FLHS to aid their learning. You can learn more about them below.
Microsoft Office
Did you know that your child can access Microsoft Office at home for free? As a student at Fred Longworth High School, your child is allowed to download a fully working free copy of Microsoft Office 365 to use on their computer, smartphone and tablet whilst they are a student at our school. Click on the button below to learn more.
Satchel:One
Satchel:One is the school online learning platform for students and is the parental portal for all information related to your child’s overall progress within school. You can keep track of your child’s homework using Satchel:One. It is advisable to remind your child to get into the habit of checking their homework on Satchel:One regularly. Relying upon notifications is not the right approach and we advise students to turn off notifications so that they are not disturbed by them.
GCSEPod
GCSEPod is an online study platform and is the perfect resource to help your child learn, retain and recall all the information they need to achieve their GCSE goals. GCSEPod provides 3-5 minute bursts of audio-visual, teacher written learning which can help to reinforce and consolidate key GCSE topics covered in lessons. Experts read and explain everything clearly including all the right facts, quotes, keywords, dates and diagrams on screen. GCSEPod is only available to students in Year 10 and Year 11.
Homework Club
Please remind your child that homework club is available to all students Monday to Thursday where they can complete work in a quiet environment with staff on hand to support them, and computers for online quizzes and research.
Homework Intervention
If your child is not meeting deadlines or completing homework to the best of their ability, their teachers and/or Head of Year will refer them to our homework intervention group. Parents/ carers will receive a letter notifying you and to explain the night that your child will be required and for how long. This is a supportive intervention which is used to get students back on track with homework if they are struggling in this area.
Attendance
We want to do all we can to support your child to be in school every day and ask that you support this important message from home, encouraging your child to avoid missing curriculum content through absence. Here is a breakdown of the absences for the following attendance percentages:
Thank you for your continued support with attendance.
Please encourage your child to be in school every day.
Can we please remind all our parents and carers to use the correct channels of communication should they wish to raise a concern or question. Your continued support is invaluable to us.
Belonging, Engaging, Succeeding Together.
Can we please remind all our parents and carers to use the correct channels of communication should they wish to raise a concern or question. Your continued support is invaluable to us.