Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 116
- March 14, 2025
Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 116
- March 14, 2025
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
I think it is important to inform parents and carers periodically about some of the work we do with our students around their personal development and some of the topical issues that we address with them, and specifically in our assemblies. The last two weeks are particularly pertinent. Last week’s assemblies were focused on the poem that you see below, this is inscribed on a plaque that is in our reception. The poem was written in 1963 as the then Tyldesley County Girls School prepared to transition into the new Fred Longworth County Secondary School for Girls which, as you are aware, opened in 1964. I was drawn to the line many hearts make a school.
Although some of the language in the poem may seem archaic now, the poem’s central message nevertheless shows how from its outset, Freddie’s has taught young people the value of inclusivity and tolerance and this is as relevant to our students today as it was in 1963.
Our school needs to stand firm in a world that is plagued with anger, hatred and intolerance – and we do this by fostering a community which values and recognises that, regardless of race, colour, creed, gender and sexual orientation, it is always many hearts that make a school. Mr Whalley’s assemblies this week continued this theme. He spoke to the students about the harmful impact of social media and specifically how computer algorithms can, if we are not careful, lead young people to see and then engage with harmful content. In recent years there has been a rise in misogynistic attitudes and a trend towards toxic masculinity which has been promulgated by influencers like Andrew Tate who have a particularly large following amongst young men. We all have to be guarded against this to make sure that our school remains a safe and inclusive community for all, as was always intended from its inception.
Thank-you for your continued support.
Mr Davies.
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
I think it is important to inform parents and carers periodically about some of the work we do with our students around their personal development and some of the topical issues that we address with them, and specifically in our assemblies. The last two weeks are particularly pertinent. Last week’s assemblies were focused on the poem that you see below, this is inscribed on a plaque that is in our reception. The poem was written in 1963 as the then Tyldesley County Girls School prepared to transition into the new Fred Longworth County Secondary School for Girls which, as you are aware, opened in 1964. I was drawn to the line many hearts make a school.
Although some of the language in the poem may seem archaic now, the poem’s central message nevertheless shows how from its outset, Freddie’s has taught young people the value of inclusivity and tolerance and this is as relevant to our students today as it was in 1963.
Our school needs to stand firm in a world that is plagued with anger, hatred and intolerance – and we do this by fostering a community which values and recognises that, regardless of race, colour, creed, gender and sexual orientation, it is always many hearts that make a school. Mr Whalley’s assemblies this week continued this theme. He spoke to the students about the harmful impact of social media and specifically how computer algorithms can, if we are not careful, lead young people to see and then engage with harmful content. In recent years there has been a rise in misogynistic attitudes and a trend towards toxic masculinity which has been promulgated by influencers like Andrew Tate who have a particularly large following amongst young men. We all have to be guarded against this to make sure that our school remains a safe and inclusive community for all, as was always intended from its inception.
Thank-you for your continued support.
Mr Davies.
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
I think it is important to inform parents and carers periodically about some of the work we do with our students around their personal development and some of the topical issues that we address with them, and specifically in our assemblies. The last two weeks are particularly pertinent. Last week’s assemblies were focused on the poem that you see below, this is inscribed on a plaque that is in our reception. The poem was written in 1963 as the then Tyldesley County Girls School prepared to transition into the new Fred Longworth County Secondary School for Girls which, as you are aware, opened in 1964. I was drawn to the line many hearts make a school.
Although some of the language in the poem may seem archaic now, the poem’s central message nevertheless shows how from its outset, Freddie’s has taught young people the value of inclusivity and tolerance and this is as relevant to our students today as it was in 1963.
Our school needs to stand firm in a world that is plagued with anger, hatred and intolerance – and we do this by fostering a community which values and recognises that, regardless of race, colour, creed, gender and sexual orientation, it is always many hearts that make a school. Mr Whalley’s assemblies this week continued this theme. He spoke to the students about the harmful impact of social media and specifically how computer algorithms can, if we are not careful, lead young people to see and then engage with harmful content. In recent years there has been a rise in misogynistic attitudes and a trend towards toxic masculinity which has been promulgated by influencers like Andrew Tate who have a particularly large following amongst young men. We all have to be guarded against this to make sure that our school remains a safe and inclusive community for all, as was always intended from its inception.
Thank-you for your continued support.
Mr Davies.
Things to celebrate
- This week we have hosted our ‘Evening of Dance’. Yet again, our students put on an incredible show and displayed outstanding talent and commitment.
- The Anne Frank Trust returned to school this week to deliver some anti-racism workshops to our Year 8 students who have been studying Slavery this term.
- This week we have celebrated ‘Freddie’s Focus on the Stars’. Please ask your child if they were given a shout out from one of their subject teachers for superb effort over the past fortnight.
- Members of the ‘Debate Club’ from Year 9, 10 and 11 visited Parliament on Friday.
Wider cultural experiences at Freddie's
At Freddie’s our staff offer a wide range of clubs, activities, trips and events for our students. Here is a selection of what is on this term, in addition to the range of clubs and activities.
At Freddie’s we offer our students a wide range of other extra-curricular activities. For further details, click here.
- 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 can parents 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 can parents email Mr Gregory with any information so we can share with everyone on Freddie’s Focus – gregoryi@flhs.wigan.sch.uk
School Reminders
Did you know that you can read previous editions of Freddie’s Focus from this Academic Year? To do so, click here.
School Reminders
Did you know that you can read previous editions of Freddie’s Focus from this Academic Year? To do so, click here.
What we do at Freddie's and why we do it
At Freddie’s we want our students to develop as excellent learners who ultimately achieve the very best from their time at school. Below are the FLHS BEST Standards.
We want there to be no learning time lost!
These standards are displayed in all classrooms and referred to as a constant reminder of the positive learning habits that we want all students to display:
‘Habits accelerate learning’
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 JWY Power Bank/Skip the queue pass/Calculator/£5 Amazon voucher
250 JWY £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 JWY £10 Amazon voucher/£10 off Prom
200 PDA £15 Amazon voucher/£15 off Prom
Homework and Independent Learning
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-Thursday in the Library (apart from Monday week B) where support and IT equipment is is available.
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.