As part of the School Games, organised by Co-op Academy Failsworth, we were delighted to take part in our first ever cross country competition. Competing against the other Co-op Academies in Greater Manchester, we had a Y7 girls team and a Y7 boys team.

The School Games removes barriers and gives our students more opportunities to take part in sporting competitions, and it was great for our students to experience their first ever cross country. All of our students showed determination and resilience and it was great to see our Y7 girls team winning third place and receiving bronze medals. Well done to everyone who took part!

Electives

Every student at Belle Vue takes part in a varied and exciting electives programme towards the end of the school day.  Students can choose from a wide variety of sessions ranging from Latin, debating and local studies, through to boxing, coding and entrepreneurship (and everything in between). 

This is a great way for our students to discover talents they never knew they had, develop existing skills and make new friends!

Electives change each half term. Example of electives we have had include:

• Coding
• Boxing
• Science club
• Debating
• Positivity project
• Drama
• Art club
• School food champions
• Football
• Belle Vue Project
• History club
• Creative writing 
• Netball
• Community cares
• Clay modelling
• Latin
• School food champions
• British sign language
• Chess Club

Digital Commitment 

Every student at Belle Vue is given their own Chromebook to help them with their learning.  Students use these in almost every lesson, and teachers upload lesson content and resources so that students can work seamlessly in school or at home. Our whole curriculum and all of our resources are based in the cloud!   We believe that 21st century schools should operate in 21st century ways, and we are committed to being digital in what we do and the way that we do it.  Of course, this also means that we can communicate with students and parents really well and that we can reduce our carbon footprint.

The School Year

We run a slightly different school week, term and year at Belle Vue.  Because all students take part in our exciting elective programme, the school day is slightly longer from Monday to Thursday.  In return, students have longer, two-week half term breaks rather than one.  Our different approach to organising the school year means that Belle Vue students receive an extra 227 hours of structured teaching over the course of the year.  This helps our students to achieve more and succeed in their studies.

Family Dining 

Lunch time is slightly different at Belle Vue too.  Our students sit together in their form groups for lunch time and they are joined by their form tutor, who eats with them and has the chance to get to know them even better. This creates a calm and structured dining experience for everyone.   Of course, students still have their own social time too.