Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 152
- February 13, 2026
Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 152
- February 13, 2026
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
As we come to the end of this half term, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the many positives we have seen across the school over the last few weeks and to thank you for your continued support. Attendance has been strong overall, with many students demonstrating a real commitment to being in school and ready to learn each day. Good attendance plays a vital role in academic progress and wellbeing, and it has been encouraging to see this positive trend continue.
We have also been very pleased with the high standards of behaviour shown by our students. Classrooms have been calm and purposeful, and students have consistently demonstrated respect for one another and for staff. This has helped to create a positive learning environment where everyone can thrive.
In addition, engagement in extra-curricular activities has been excellent. Students have shown enthusiasm and dedication across the wide range of enrichment opportunities we offer here at Freddie’s helping to build confidence, teamwork, and a strong sense of school community.
As we look ahead, we would like to remind parents and carers of the important role you play in supporting your child’s wellbeing, particularly in relation to mobile phone use. Managing screen time, ensuring age-appropriate access, and encouraging healthy routines — especially around sleep — can have a significant impact on students’ focus, behaviour, and overall wellbeing in school. Your support in this area is greatly appreciated. One of the questions in our recent student survey asked the following question:
Do your parents put restriction on the use of your mobile phone at home? For example, you are not allowed your phone after a certain time in the evening.
Thank you once again for your ongoing partnership with the school. We are proud of the progress our students have made and look forward to building on this success in the coming half-term.
Mr Davies
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
As we come to the end of this half term, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the many positives we have seen across the school over the last few weeks and to thank you for your continued support. Attendance has been strong overall, with many students demonstrating a real commitment to being in school and ready to learn each day. Good attendance plays a vital role in academic progress and wellbeing, and it has been encouraging to see this positive trend continue.
We have also been very pleased with the high standards of behaviour shown by our students. Classrooms have been calm and purposeful, and students have consistently demonstrated respect for one another and for staff. This has helped to create a positive learning environment where everyone can thrive.
As we look ahead, we would like to remind parents and carers of the important role you play in supporting your child’s wellbeing, particularly in relation to mobile phone use. Managing screen time, ensuring age-appropriate access, and encouraging healthy routines — especially around sleep — can have a significant impact on students’ focus, behaviour, and overall wellbeing in school. Your support in this area is greatly appreciated. One of the questions in our recent student survey asked the following question:
Do your parents put restriction on the use of your mobile phone at home? For example, you are not allowed your phone after a certain time in the evening.
Thank you once again for your ongoing partnership with the school. We are proud of the progress our students have made and look forward to building on this success in the coming half-term.
Mr Davies
Things to celebrate
- On Thursday we welcomed parents and carers of Year 9 to school for our Parents’ Evening and options talks. We were delighted to see so many of you in school for this event.
- On Tuesday a group of our Year 9 students went to the Hope Mill Theatre Tour and heard talks from industry professionals about careers within the Arts.
- This week has been our BEST Awards week. These Awards go to students who have demonstrated one or more of our FLHS character values. We are incredibly proud of all of our winners.
- Sporting Success this week
From the very first step on the route, our students showed enthusiasm, resilience, and teamwork. Whether walking, jogging, or power‑walking their way along the course, pupils across all year groups embraced the challenge with real positivity. Staff members joined them every step of the way—encouraging, motivating, and modelling the kindness and community values our school is so proud of.
The atmosphere throughout the week was exceptional. Smiles were everywhere, and the sense of togetherness was unmistakable. It was a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when a school unites behind a shared purpose.
Thanks to the outstanding efforts of everyone involved, Fred Longworth High School has raised a significant sum of money for The Christie, one of the UK’s leading cancer centres. Every pound donated will help support life‑saving research, specialist treatment, and vital care for patients and families across Manchester and beyond.
We are immensely proud of our school community for stepping up and contributing to such a meaningful cause. Your kindness will have a real and lasting impact.
We extend our sincere thanks to:
- Students, for their energy, commitment, and fantastic behaviour throughout the event.
- Staff, for organising, supervising, encouraging, and ensuring the walk ran smoothly from start to finish.
- Parents, carers, and families, for your generous donations and ongoing support.
- Everyone who played a part—big or small—in making the sponsored walk such a success.
Your efforts this week have shown exactly what Fred Longworth High School stands for: community, compassion, and making a difference.
Well done, and thank you to everyone involved!
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
From the very first step on the route, our students showed enthusiasm, resilience, and teamwork. Whether walking, jogging, or power‑walking their way along the course, pupils across all year groups embraced the challenge with real positivity. Staff members joined them every step of the way—encouraging, motivating, and modelling the kindness and community values our school is so proud of.
The atmosphere throughout the week was exceptional. Smiles were everywhere, and the sense of togetherness was unmistakable. It was a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when a school unites behind a shared purpose.
Thanks to the outstanding efforts of everyone involved, Fred Longworth High School has raised a significant sum of money for The Christie, one of the UK’s leading cancer centres. Every pound donated will help support life‑saving research, specialist treatment, and vital care for patients and families across Manchester and beyond.
We are immensely proud of our school community for stepping up and contributing to such a meaningful cause. Your kindness will have a real and lasting impact.
We extend our sincere thanks to:
- Students, for their energy, commitment, and fantastic behaviour throughout the event.
- Staff, for organising, supervising, encouraging, and ensuring the walk ran smoothly from start to finish.
- Parents, carers, and families, for your generous donations and ongoing support.
- Everyone who played a part—big or small—in making the sponsored walk such a success.
Your efforts this week have shown exactly what Fred Longworth High School stands for: community, compassion, and making a difference.
Well done, and thank you to everyone involved!
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
This week, 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
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 ‘A’ stands for area.
Ask your child to consider if the space where they are choosing to complete homework is the most appropriate. Distractions, such as the TV or mobile phones, won’t help them to focus and really think hard about the work they’re producing. Mobile phones (unless being used for the homework) need to be out of sight to avoid distraction or procrastinating.
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.