House Competitions
Voices for humanity: Inspiring change through compassion and action
We are excited for the house oracy final on Tuesday 21st October. Students have been participating in the competition during form time to write a persuasive speech to inspire change via humanitarian causes and celebrate some of the brilliant work that has been done across the world. There has been some excellent work produced! Each house has a different humanitarian theme to write about:
The final will be held on Tuesday 21st October from 3.15-4.00pm. Please encourage your child to attend to support their house!
Students are excitedly preparing their House Oracy entries this week ready for the final on Tuesday 21st October 3-4pm. We will be in touch if your child is in the final to invite you to come and watch.
Our mini-house competition this half-term is all about working beyond our school walls to improve our local community. Each House will be litter-picking in the local area to support this. Wednesday this week was our first litter pick - Civitas house. They filled a fantastic 12 bin bags and members of the public were delighted to see them outside of school.
Next Wednesday is the turn of Auxilium! Please do encourage your child to take part.
Black History Month Showcase
October is Black History Month in the UK and we celebrate this annually at MEA Central. This year's theme is "standing firm in power and pride".
It’s a theme that recognises the strength, resilience, and influence of Black people throughout history — and today.
Power means the courage to create change, to lead movements, and to open doors for others.
Pride means celebrating identity, heritage, and culture — knowing where we come from and walking boldly into the future.
This year also marks important anniversaries: the 60th anniversary of the Race Relations Act, which made discrimination illegal in the UK; the Bristol Bus Boycott, led by Paul Stephenson, which challenged racial inequality in the 1960s and the anniversary of Malcolm X’s death, a reminder of the global struggle for justice and equality.
At MEA Central, our Back History Month celebrations include assemblies and form time sessions. The culmination of this month's celebration is on Wednesday 22nd October between 3-4pm in the theatre. Parents are welcome to attend.
Mr. Walker will be returning to MEA Central to host the event which will include:
We look forward to seeing you there!
Careers
Key Stage 4
Attention all aspiring medics: following our recent data collection, we understand many of our scholars aspire to pursue a career in medicine, as a result we have found this offer for students 14+ : Medicine Careers Day Live UK | Online Work Experience Course
Please note – all sessions will be recorded and will be available for on-demand viewing.
Year 11 - College Applications
A reminder that college open days are happening (see below). Please visit college websites to register your child. College applications are also live; remind your child to share evidence of their application with their form tutor.
Live TEAMs Event 13th November 5:15pm - 5:45pm (link : College Application Support | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams )
Confirm attendance here : https://forms.office.com/e/u8veqVMu3t
Year 10 - Work Experience
Supporting events
Live TEAMs Event 15th October 5pm - 5:30pm (link :Work Experience Session | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams )
Confirm attendance here: https://forms.office.com/e/YLBqrymMpp
As always, if you have any questions or require further support regarding careers, work experience or post-16 options, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Skyline
If your child has additional needs or is accessing an intervention in school, they are supported by the Skyline Team. For more information, please read our SEN Information Report, which is in the Key Information section of our website: SEND-Information-Report-2025-26.pdf
There will be lots of opportunities to meet the team in the next academic year; we attend all key parent events, so please come and say hello!
Please contact the Skyline team directly if you have any questions, or would like to book a meeting with Ms. Earle, the SENCo: skylineadmin@meacentral.org.uk
If you require help and support for you child over the summer break, please access Manchester’s Local Offer website: Manchester Local Offer
The Local Offer is an information directory which outlines the support and services available to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in their local area. It features a range of activities that can be accessed for free over summer.
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Head of Year Messages |
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Year 7 – Ms. S Bryan This week marks an exciting and meaningful time at school as we launch Black History Month, celebrating the richness of Black culture and all it has to offer. Throughout the month, students will explore the achievements, creativity, and contributions of Black individuals, past and present, reflecting on how these continue to shape our society today. Alongside this, we are proud to introduce our new Resilience Positive Point. This will be awarded to students who demonstrate determination, perseverance and a willingness to take on challenges. This directly supports our school value of Achievement — “we take deep satisfaction from doing things that are difficult.” We look forward to recognising and celebrating those who continue to show this important quality in their learning and behaviour. Our Heads of House are also thrilled to be launching a mini house competition this week, focusing on the following themes:
This competition will encourage students to collaborate, communicate effectively and show empathy while deepening their understanding of both global and local humanitarian efforts. It promises to be a rewarding experience that brings out the very best of our students’ creativity and teamwork. Finally, today we completed our CAP count, celebrating the achievements and efforts of our Year 7s so far this half term. It has been wonderful to see so many students earning points for Citizenship, Achievement, and Participation. We can’t wait to celebrate these successes in our upcoming Rewards Assembly. Thank you, as always, for your continued support in helping our students thrive. |
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Year 8 – Ms. C Gates
Year 8 have had a busy and enriching week, engaging in a wide range of co-curricular activities that support both academic and personal development. We’ve continued our focus on speaking kindly and it’s been wonderful to see students using respectful and inclusive language across the school. This week also marked the beginning of our Black History Month celebrations, with a powerful assembly and form time sessions exploring key themes and voices. Scholars have also been preparing for the upcoming House Oracy Competition, and I’ve been so impressed by the thoughtful ideas and passionate discussions taking place in form time.
In addition, students completed a survey, giving them the opportunity to raise their voice and share their views. It’s important that our scholars feel heard, and we’re proud to continue building a culture of student leadership and participation. As we approach the end of the half term, our focus now turns to excellent attendance. These are key weeks for our scholars to be in school, engaging fully in lessons and preparing for Big Test 1 Week, which begins on 3rd November. Please continue to encourage your child to attend every day and finish the half term strong.
Ms Gates
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Year 9 – Mx Umpierrez A huge congratulations to all Year 9 students completing their Big Tests this week! We finished our week with a theatre assembly where we discussed what the next two weeks will look like for our cohort.
Just for your information, the plan is as follows: Week beginning 13th October (Review Week): students will be given feedback on areas for improvement following teachers marking their Big Tests. You can expect teachers’ notes in your child’s planner (page 7) written by the end of the week. Please ensure your child brings their planner to school every day, alongside all their other equipment.
Week beginning 20th October (Reflect Week): students will be given their final reports to take home with them. They will then complete their reflections on how their Big Tests went during two form time sessions and set themselves targets for the year ahead.
This week during form time sessions Year 9 have been working on their House Competition speeches, covering different topics connected to humanitarian work, with Civitas focusing on ‘Citizenship and Justice”, Auxilium on ‘Aid and Relief’ and Simul on ‘Unity and Solidarity’.
It’s been great to see some of the work our students have produced so far; we will share some celebrations with all of you soon. |
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Year 10 – Mr C Blackburn What a week it has been. Parents Evening was a fantastic success, and we just want to thank you so much for attending. It was a real pleasure to share so many achievements and moments of pride with you. Year 10 have made an outstanding start to their GCSE journey. Their focus, effort and commitment have been clear to see. This week, students have been completing self-reflection forms during form time, alongside reviewing their Scholarly Habits grades. We kindly ask that you take some time to go through these with your child. This will help set clear and focused targets for the term ahead. Students should aim to make positive changes, turning all grade 2s into 1s, and all grade 3s into 2s. These improvements will have a direct and positive impact on their overall results. It is important that students show resilience and make thoughtful adaptions to their learning to strengthen their scholarly habits. We look forward to the rest of the year with great ambition for our scholars. Thank you again for your continued support, it truly makes a difference. Warm regards Mr Blackburn and Miss Kreszentia |
Year 11 – Mr J Roper
As we gradually approach the half-term break, we want to take a moment to celebrate the fantastic start Year 11 have made to the academic year. Their mature and focused approach has been evident in so many ways — from their excellent attendance at Period 6 sessions to their consistent engagement with revision and homework tasks.
With Progress Exams beginning on Monday 3rd November, (the first day back after the half term break), it’s been encouraging to see students taking real ownership of their learning and preparing thoroughly. This growing sense of independence is exactly what we hope to see in our year 11 students and it’s been a pleasure to witness.
We’d also like to extend a massive thank you to the Y11 Geography cohort, for their outstanding effort and attitude during the recent Geography field trip to Formby. Despite some very challenging weather conditions, students remained positive, engaged and represented the school brilliantly throughout the day. Both Mr Allon and I were incredibly proud of the year group!
Finally, with exams approaching if you have any questions or queries regarding the Progress Exams, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Ms Renshaw. The Skyline team will also be assisting with access arrangements and wellbeing around the exam period.
Please get in touch with them if you feel that your child may need any additional support. skylineadmin@meacentral.org.uk
Have a great weekend.
Mr Roper & Ms Renshaw