Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 179
- November 13, 2026
Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 179
- November 13, 2026
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
As we reach the end of the season of Remembrance this year, I would like to reflect on the meaningful way in which our school community has come together over the past few weeks to honour those who have served and sacrificed for others.
Our magnificent Poppy Waterfall, created with great care, dedication and creativity by students and staff over many months, has been a focal point for reflection throughout this period. The display has provided a powerful reminder of the courage, service and sacrifice of previous generations and has been admired by many visitors to our school.
We were incredibly proud of the students who represented Freddie’s at the Tyldesley Remembrance Parade on Remembrance Sunday, demonstrating the respect and maturity that characterise our young people. This week, our commemorations culminated with a minute’s silence at the eleventh hour, observed impeccably by students and staff alike. The occasion was made even more poignant by the playing of the Last Post by Grace Anderson, whose performance helped create a truly memorable and respectful tribute.
Projects such as the Poppy Waterfall help young people develop a deeper understanding of the service and sacrifices made by others, ensuring that the importance of remembrance continues to be passed on to future generations. The display has been a fitting tribute and a wonderful example of the pride, respect and strong sense of community that we see in our students every day.
This week also saw our Year 7 students return from their residential visit to Winmarleigh Hall last week, which proved to be a tremendous success. With almost the entire year group taking part, the trip provided a fantastic opportunity for students to challenge themselves, develop new friendships and build confidence through a wide range of outdoor and adventure activities. Staff were immensely proud of the enthusiasm, resilience and teamwork shown throughout the visit. Experiences such as these play an important role in helping students settle into secondary school, creating memories and friendships that will last throughout their time at Freddie’s. My thanks go to the staff who gave up their time to support the visit and make it such a memorable experience for our young people.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support. I wish you and your families a peaceful and restful weekend.
Best wishes,
Mr Davies.
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
As we reach the end of the season of Remembrance this year, I would like to reflect on the meaningful way in which our school community has come together over the past few weeks to honour those who have served and sacrificed for others.
Our magnificent Poppy Waterfall, created with great care, dedication and creativity by students and staff over many months, has been a focal point for reflection throughout this period. The display has provided a powerful reminder of the courage, service and sacrifice of previous generations and has been admired by many visitors to our school.
We were incredibly proud of the students who represented Freddie’s at the Tyldesley Remembrance Parade on Remembrance Sunday, demonstrating the respect and maturity that characterise our young people. This week, our commemorations culminated with a minute’s silence at the eleventh hour, observed impeccably by students and staff alike. The occasion was made even more poignant by the playing of the Last Post by Grace Anderson, whose performance helped create a truly memorable and respectful tribute.
Projects such as the Poppy Waterfall help young people develop a deeper understanding of the service and sacrifices made by others, ensuring that the importance of remembrance continues to be passed on to future generations. The display has been a fitting tribute and a wonderful example of the pride, respect and strong sense of community that we see in our students every day.
This week also saw our Year 7 students return from their residential visit to Winmarleigh Hall last week, which proved to be a tremendous success. With almost the entire year group taking part, the trip provided a fantastic opportunity for students to challenge themselves, develop new friendships and build confidence through a wide range of outdoor and adventure activities. Staff were immensely proud of the enthusiasm, resilience and teamwork shown throughout the visit. Experiences such as these play an important role in helping students settle into secondary school, creating memories and friendships that will last throughout their time at Freddie’s. My thanks go to the staff who gave up their time to support the visit and make it such a memorable experience for our young people.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support. I wish you and your families a peaceful and restful weekend.
Best wishes,
Mr Davies.
Things to celebrate
- Our talented musicians entertained guests at the Wigan Business Awards at The Edge last Friday. A wonderful event and an excellent performance.
- On Wednesday 11th, we held our annual Remembrance events to honour the fallen, which included the Last Post beautifully played by Grace Anderson.
- Our Sports Leaders received amazing feedback from the School Games Coordinator for the way the coached a Lacrosse session for several Wigan Primary Schools on Wednesday.
- Thank you to all parents and carers who attended our Year 11 core exams support event on Wednesday evening. It was wonderful to see so many of you there.
- This week we have celebrated our ‘Freddie’s Focus Stars’. This is where teachers give shout outs to students who have excelled in their subject area over the past fortnight.
- An image gallery is now available from last week’s Year 7 Winmarleigh Hall visit. The gallery can be accessed here.
- Sporting Success this week
Another incredible week of extra-curricular PE at Freddie’s has seen our students proudly representing the school across a range of sports and leadership opportunities.
Well done to all students involved for their dedication, enthusiasm and outstanding representation of the school this week. We look forward to hearing about more success in the weeks ahead.
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
Another incredible week of extra-curricular PE at Freddie’s has seen our students proudly representing the school across a range of sports and leadership opportunities.
Well done to all students involved for their dedication, enthusiasm and outstanding representation of the school this week. We look forward to hearing about more success in the weeks ahead.
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
Extra-Curricular Activities
School Reminders
I’m delighted to share that our brand-new Key Stage 3 Self-Directed Study Hub will officially launch on Monday 7th December!
The Hub has been designed to help students in Years 7, 8 and 9 develop independent study habits, build their subject knowledge and become more confident with revision.
Ahead of the launch, I’d love to give parents and carers a sneak peek at the Hub! Please take a few minutes to watch the attached parent guide video, which gives you a tour of the site, explains how it works and shows how you can support your child in using it at home.
Students will be introduced to it in their assemblies, ready to start making the most of this fantastic new resource.
I’m really excited for our KS3 students to get started and hope it becomes a valuable part of their learning journey!
Keep an eye out for the launch on 7th December!
School Reminders
I’m delighted to share that our brand-new Key Stage 3 Self-Directed Study Hub will officially launch on Monday 7th December!
The Hub has been designed to help students in Years 7, 8 and 9 develop independent study habits, build their subject knowledge and become more confident with revision.
Ahead of the launch, I’d love to give parents and carers a sneak peek at the Hub! Please take a few minutes to watch the attached parent guide video, which gives you a tour of the site, explains how it works and shows how you can support your child in using it at home.
Students will be introduced to it in their assemblies, ready to start making the most of this fantastic new resource.
I’m really excited for our KS3 students to get started and hope it becomes a valuable part of their learning journey!
Keep an eye out for the launch on 7th December!
Information for parents of SEND students
We’d like to signpost to parents a new PADLET that has been created by Wigan LA to make parents aware of specific services that are available to support neuro-diverse students.
https://padlet.com/Thrive_in_Wigan/neurodevelopmental-support-n944neepu5gjvosy
This is additional to the other Wigan PADLET which serves as a useful gateway to all the services that support children in the Wigan area. Both PADLETS are regularly updated so it is worthwhile frequently checking-in for current information and updates.
https://padlet.com/WiganCAMHS/wigan-mhst-info-board-nu69chp8ifamla8q
Embrace also offer a range of on-line courses to support parents. Details of these can be found here:
https://www.embracewiganandleigh.org.uk/behaviour-support-workshops/?cn-reloaded=1
The following link provides a useful gateway to all services that support children in the Wigan area. This page is regularly updated so it is worthwhile frequently checking-in for current information and updates.
https://padlet.com/WiganCAMHS/wigan-mhst-info-board-nu69chp8ifamla8q
We can also recommend this website as a source of useful information for the parents of neurodiverse children and teens.
What we do at Freddie's and why we do it
‘Habits accelerate learning’
In lessons and in assemblies here at Freddie’s, we use something called ‘SLANT’ as a way of ensuring that we get full attention from your child. We don’t want any students to miss out on instructions or key pieces of information. Establishing full attention and avoiding distractions are vital in supporting learning. Above is an image that we present in all classrooms so that we can explicitly share what each part of ‘SLANT’ means. We also regularly remind our students why SLANT matters and why it is there to support their learning and success at Freddie’s.
How to support your child to become an independent learner
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.
Please ensure your child speaks to staff of any lessons where they miss work due to absence, this is to mitigate any impact of absence.
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.
