Exploring Our Local Heritage

Our Key Stage 3 students have been diving deep into Barnsley’s rich mining history, focusing on the poignant story of the Husker Pit disaster. To truly capture the atmosphere for their descriptive writing, pupils built their own mine shafts in the classroom.

Listening to the sounds of a brewing storm from within their structures, students gained a unique perspective on the conditions faced by miners. This immersive experience has sparked some truly wonderful, emotive writing. We are incredibly proud of the empathy and creativity our students have shown while exploring our local heritage.

Level Up: Our Into Games Workshop!

Last Friday, our Year 7–9 pupils enjoyed a fantastic, hands-on careers workshop hosted by Into Games. This free, interactive session was led by a local industry professional, giving students a unique look into the world of game development—without needing a single computer!

Everyone received a 50-page careers workbook to keep, exploring how school subjects link to real-world roles. From teamwork to designing their own game concepts, our students showed incredible creativity. Many are now inspired to enter the BAFTA Young Game Designer competition. It was a brilliant day of discovery and professional insight!

Mythical Emotions in Key Stage 3

Mythical Emotions in Key Stage 3

Our Key Stage 3 students have been diving deep into the captivating world of Norse Mythology. To bring these ancient tales to life, we combined literacy with emotional intelligence by using the Zones of Regulation.

Students enjoyed categorising legendary characters into different colour zones, helping them empathise with how Thor or Loki might feel during their magical adventures. This creative approach allowed our pupils to explore complex emotions while celebrating heritage and storytelling. It was fantastic to see such thoughtful engagement and vibrant character analysis. Well done to all our young historians for their brilliant insights.

A Sun-Drenched Success on the Pitch!

The sun was out and the goals were flying in during our fantastic inter-school football match! We were delighted to welcome Key Stage 2 pupils from Joseph Norton to Springwell for a morning of brilliant competition.

Our pupils demonstrated exceptional community spirit, offering a warm welcome to our visitors and maintaining a respectful, sporting attitude throughout the game. It was wonderful to see such teamwork and enthusiasm on display. Well done to everyone involved for representing our school so brilliantly. We are already looking forward to the next fixture!

Celebrating Success: Our Pupils in the Community

We are incredibly proud of our Key Stage 4 pupils who continue to impress at their work experience placements. The feedback we received has been outstanding, highlighting hard work and professionalism.

A huge thank you to these local businesses for providing such valuable opportunities and supporting our young people as they explore their future careers. To our pupils: well done! Your conduct and dedication continue to make us proud. You are fantastic ambassadors for our school community.

Latest News: A Spectacular World Book Day!

What a brilliant World Book Day we had at Springwell! It was wonderful to see our corridors filled with such creative and imaginative costumes; the effort from our pupils was truly outstanding.

The excitement continued throughout the day with a variety of engaging literary activities and spirited competitions that brought our favourite stories to life. A huge thank you to everyone who participated and made the event so memorable. While we certainly love a fancy dress day, seeing our community’s passion for reading is what truly makes these days special!

Authoring Our Own Stories

Springwell was delighted to welcome visitors from Huddersfield University, Barnsley Youth Project, and poet Mark Abbott for our ‘Authoring our own stories’ project.

Students across KS3 and KS4 worked brilliantly to compose original poems reflecting their personal experiences and local community. It was a fantastic experience for everyone involved, and our guests were truly blown away by the talent and maturity on display.

We are always immensely proud of our pupils and their creative achievements. Please enjoy these wonderful examples of their finished work below. Well done, team!

Empowering Future Electricians: Trade Takeover

We were delighted to welcome Ash from Nu-lec Solutions to our school this week as part of our ‘Trade Takeover’ careers programme. Our pupils enjoyed a fantastic first-hand look into the life of an electrician, exploring the essential tools of the trade and the various pathways into the sector.

Ash shared invaluable insights into gaining qualifications and the rewards of starting a business. His engaging examples truly brought the industry to life, sparking great curiosity among our students. A huge thank you to Ash for inspiring the next generation of skilled professionals!

Celebrating Safer Internet Day

Our pupils had a fantastic time participating in Safer Internet Day this week! To mark the occasion, classes tuned into an engaging BBC Live Lesson, which provided invaluable tips on staying secure and kind online.

It was wonderful to see our students discussing digital citizenship and learning how to navigate the internet responsibly. These interactive sessions help empower our young learners to make the most of technology while keeping themselves and others safe. A huge well done to everyone for their contributions during this event!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/live-lessons/articles/zcbhdnb

Difference Makers

This year our school celebrated 10 years as part of Wellspring Academy Trust. You can read more on page 16 in the latest edition of Difference Makers.

Attendance Matters

It has been fantastic to see our classrooms filled with such energy and enthusiasm throughout January. We are particularly delighted to share that our ongoing focus on attendance is having positive results and we would like to extend our thanks to all our parents and carers for your unwavering support in this area.

We understand that the darker mornings and colder weather can occasionally make the journey to school more challenging, but this brilliant start sets the tone for the terms ahead.

By working together to ensure our pupils are present and engaged, we are giving them the best possible opportunity to achieve their full potential.

We look forward to continuing this momentum throughout the rest of the spring term.

Dojo Shop Success!

Our new Key Stage 2 Dojo shop is a resounding success! It is wonderful to see our pupils’ hard work and positive behaviour rewarded as they eagerly trade their points for prizes.

Every Friday, Miss Ball takes the prize trolley around the classrooms, and it has quickly become a true highlight of the week. We are especially proud of our youngest pupils, who are demonstrating fantastic commitment to our school values. A huge well done to everyone for their enthusiasm; keep up the brilliant effort and enjoy those well-deserved rewards!

Friday Treats at the Key Stage Kitchen

Our staff enjoyed a fantastic treat this week: delicious sausage butties prepared by our talented Key Stage 4 pupils! This initiative sees our students running a Friday pop-up café, providing them with invaluable hands-on work experience.

By managing the kitchen, pupils are mastering essential life skills, including planning, budgeting, and food preparation. The results were professional and tasty, leaving everyone impressed. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and cannot wait to see what the menu holds as this brilliant project continues to grow!

Festive Fun at Springwell Special Academy

We were absolutely thrilled to welcome so many families and friends to our school this Friday. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our pupils' hard work and showcase their fantastic achievements from the past term.

The atmosphere was truly magical, made even more special by visits from our local councillor, some cheeky elves, and even Santa himself! Thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us for these festive activities.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from everyone here at Springwell Special Academy!

Festive Teamwork in the Creation Lab

Creativity has been blooming in the Creation Lab this week! Every student has crafted their own individual tree. In a wonderful display of teamwork, these have been positioned together to create a beautiful collective Christmas tree for each class.

These collaborative Christmas Trees are now proudly on display in the classrooms. All the classes have absolutely loved working on this festive project. It is a brilliant way to celebrate the season together!

🤖 Curiosity Pupils' Amazing Recycled Robots!

Take a look at the incredible robot creations built by our pupils in Curiosity!

The children successfully applied their design skills, creatively using a range of recycled materials. They carefully selected items based on properties like strength and texture to construct their frames and features.

From initial design to final detailing with paints and glitter, the pupils showed fantastic ingenuity. The aim to 'Use a range of materials creatively' was wonderfully achieved. Well done to everyone for producing such imaginative and eco-friendly robots!

Welcoming Barnsley FC for Mental Fitness

We were thrilled to welcome Barnsley Football Club to school to deliver the Movember ‘Ahead of the Game’ programme. This expert-backed initiative teaches young people how to understand mental health and build mental fitness. It empowers our students to know exactly who they can talk to when facing challenges in sport and life. A huge thank you to Barnsley FC for visiting us and showing our young players that their community truly has their back!

🎨Kendray Pupils' Creative Aztec Journey!

We are delighted to showcase the impressive work from our pupils at the Kendray site!

Their recent project has been a deep dive into ancient history, focusing on Aztec sunstones and the meaning of their intricate symbols. The children also dedicated time to studying beautiful Aztec patterns. They explored these designs brilliantly, using our tuff tray as a creative canvas with vibrant paint and chalk.

We are incredibly proud of their focused effort and hands-on approach to learning. Excellent job, everyone!

🌟 Pupil Voice on Anti-Bullying Week! 🌟

It was wonderful to see so much positive engagement from our pupils throughout Anti-Bullying Week! The energy and participation in all the activities were truly fantastic.

We recently gathered feedback from pupils on this important topic, and we are absolutely delighted with the results. A brilliant 95% of pupils that responded confirmed they know exactly where to find support within school if they are feeling upset or worried about bullying.

This is a powerful testament to our whole-school commitment to creating a safe, caring, and supportive environment for everyone. Well done, team!

Meeting a Legend: Ed Clancy Inspires Staff and Pupils

We were incredibly lucky to welcome Olympic Gold Medal Cyclist Ed Clancy to our school! Ed visited to sign the artwork in the Pride Key Stage, which depicts him cycling to honour his achievements as a fellow Barnsley lad.

Staff and pupils were captivated by his advice and stories of success. It was amazing to see his track bike, and we even had the privilege of holding his Olympic medals. It was a truly inspiring experience, and Ed has definitely gained a few more fans!