Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 156
- March 20, 2026
Freddie's Focus
For Parents & Carers
- Issue 156
- March 20, 2026
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
Work experience is an important milestone in the journey from school to the wider world, and I have been delighted to hear about the many positive experiences our Year 10 students have enjoyed during their recent placements.
Over the course of the week, students represented the school with maturity, enthusiasm and a genuine willingness to learn. Feedback from employers has been extremely encouraging, with many commenting on our students’ reliability, confidence and positive attitude in the workplace. It is always a source of pride to hear such praise and to see our young people making a strong impression beyond the classroom.
Work experience offers students far more than a brief insight into a particular job. It provides a valuable opportunity to develop important life skills such as communication, teamwork, time management and problem solving. Many students returned with a clearer understanding of the expectations of the workplace, and a greater appreciation of the skills and qualifications needed for different career pathways.
Equally important is the boost in confidence that comes from stepping into a professional environment and contributing in a meaningful way. Whether supporting staff in offices, assisting in local businesses, working in healthcare settings or helping in schools and community organisations, our students embraced the challenge and made the most of every opportunity.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the many local employers and organisations who generously gave their time to host our students. Their support plays a vital role in helping young people broaden their horizons and connect their learning in school with future ambitions.
Finally, I would like to congratulate our Year 10 students for the way they approached their placements. Their conduct, curiosity and commitment have made both the school and their families proud. We look forward to seeing how these experiences continue to shape their aspirations and next steps in the year ahead.
Thank you for your continued support.
Mr Davies
Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents & Carers,
Work experience is an important milestone in the journey from school to the wider world, and I have been delighted to hear about the many positive experiences our Year 10 students have enjoyed during their recent placements.
Over the course of the week, students represented the school with maturity, enthusiasm and a genuine willingness to learn. Feedback from employers has been extremely encouraging, with many commenting on our students’ reliability, confidence and positive attitude in the workplace. It is always a source of pride to hear such praise and to see our young people making a strong impression beyond the classroom.
Work experience offers students far more than a brief insight into a particular job. It provides a valuable opportunity to develop important life skills such as communication, teamwork, time management and problem solving. Many students returned with a clearer understanding of the expectations of the workplace, and a greater appreciation of the skills and qualifications needed for different career pathways.
Equally important is the boost in confidence that comes from stepping into a professional environment and contributing in a meaningful way. Whether supporting staff in offices, assisting in local businesses, working in healthcare settings or helping in schools and community organisations, our students embraced the challenge and made the most of every opportunity.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the many local employers and organisations who generously gave their time to host our students. Their support plays a vital role in helping young people broaden their horizons and connect their learning in school with future ambitions.
Finally, I would like to congratulate our Year 10 students for the way they approached their placements. Their conduct, curiosity and commitment have made both the school and their families proud. We look forward to seeing how these experiences continue to shape their aspirations and next steps in the year ahead.
Thank you for your continued support.
Mr Davies
Things to celebrate
- This week our Year 10 students have taken part in our annual work experience. We have been incredibly impressed with the feedback from employers and professionals who have hosted careers experiences for our students.
- A group of Year 8 students attended the Northwest Tech Talent day at AND Manchester on Wednesday. The day gave the students an insight of how businesses are embracing technology.
- It was another busy week in the library, with the highlight being the St Patrick’s Day celebrations on Tuesday.
- Sporting Success this week
Anya has enjoyed a phenomenal start to the 2026 season. She recently produced standout performances at the Egypt Para Badminton International, winning two gold medals – one in the SH6 women’s singles and another in SH6 mixed doubles, partnering fellow European champion Jack Shephard. These victories underline her growing reputation as one of Britain’s most exciting para badminton athletes.
Her strong performances have also boosted her preparation for the upcoming 2026 BWF Para Badminton World Championships in Manama, where she will compete with confidence and momentum behind her. Anya’s development and success show the dedication and resilience she has built over her playing career, inspiring many young athletes coming through our school.
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
Anya has enjoyed a phenomenal start to the 2026 season. She recently produced standout performances at the Egypt Para Badminton International, winning two gold medals – one in the SH6 women’s singles and another in SH6 mixed doubles, partnering fellow European champion Jack Shephard. These victories underline her growing reputation as one of Britain’s most exciting para badminton athletes.
Her strong performances have also boosted her preparation for the upcoming 2026 BWF Para Badminton World Championships in Manama, where she will compete with confidence and momentum behind her. Anya’s development and success show the dedication and resilience she has built over her playing career, inspiring many young athletes coming through our school.
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
Information for parents of SEND students
Embrace 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
On the 23rd April, Embrace will also be in school delivering a workshop on managing sleep issues. Details of this face-to-face event will be emailed out to all parents so that you can sign up.
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.
https://www.healthforteens.co.uk/health/neurodiversity/
After the Easter Holiday the Neurodiversity in Schools Project Team will be offering additional Parent workshops. The details of each session will be confirmed as soon as possible.
What we do at Freddie's and why we do it
During lessons we use the ‘Learning behaviour wheel’ to ensure that all talk in lessons is purposeful and enhances your child’s learning experience. We want our students to be excellent orators and communicators which is why partner and group work is an aspect of our teaching that we encourage where appropriate.
‘Independent silent study’ is a vital part of your child’s learning experience. At key points in lessons teachers will use this for a period of time to allow students to fully focus and apply their understanding to a specific task without any distractions. This is a valuable opportunity for teachers to then circulate and see how well students have understood the work and offer support where necessary.
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
Homework and Independent Learning
Cognitive Load Theory was developed by John Sweller. ‘Cognitive load’ relates to the amount of information that working memory can hold at one time. Sweller said that, since working memory has a limited capacity, instructional methods should avoid overloading it with additional activities that don’t directly contribute to learning. If we overload with too much information all in one go, we risk everything spilling out. Our aim is to get information/knowledge to stick.
With this in mind, here are a few things that we do in class to reduce Cognitive Load for your child:
- We build in periods of independent, silent study time so that students can focus in silence on a piece of work which has previously been scaffolded by the teacher. This allows the teacher to move around the classroom and target any students who may require further support.
- SLANT is what we use to gain full attention when it is required. This means that students are encouraged to sit up, get everything out of their hands and track (follow) their teacher. We use this to reduce additional distractions and to ensure that information and instructions are heard and understood by all.
- We break information and instructions down into smaller chunks in a guided ‘step-by step’ way rather than bombarding with too much information all at once.
- We provide modelled examples of work that we are building towards and explain how to get there so that students are clear about the end goal and are gradually guided to get there.
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.
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.