The academy identifies students with lower than average literacy for a range of intervention strategies. This could be being paired with an older student for paired reading, short term withdrawal from certain lessons to receive literacy sessions in small groups, longer term withdrawal from MFL lessons to build literacy skills, or 1:1 assistance in the Learning Support Department.

As students progress into KS4 the support is tailored to their need through morning sessions, enrichments and in some cases students are timetabled into Learning Support lessons instead of a GCSE option.

Enrichment

All students at Macmillan have access to a wide ranging after school enrichment programme that runs during the week.

The programme offers a mix of enriching activities such as sports, crafts, music, rock climbing, mountain biking, archery, etc. Alongside enrichment, Macmillan also has a wide range of Subject Support sessions that provide extra help for students of all abilities on a drop in basis. The enrichment programme is highly popular with students.

Macmillan Academy is considered to be at the very forefront of both the philosophy and practice in Learning outside the Classroom.

Every year, within every year group, is a portfolio of opportunity for students to participate in traditional educational visits, trips, sporting fixtures, industrial visits, fieldwork, conservation and international visits. In many instances the Academy subsidizes such experiences.

Macmillan Academy was the first school in the UK to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Gold Mark for its work in this area.

Outdoor Learning at Macmillan Academy had been a specialism from 2006 to 2012. Since the starting point in 2006 we have striven to give our students an inclusive and progressive adventure learning curriculum.

Every student in years 7 and 8 is timetabled to take part in a two day intensive programme each year, balanced with three weeks of intensive provision, on residential and during our challenge week programme. In Key Stage 4 & 5 pathways exist for students within PE for specific sport based development.

Global Perspectives

Since 2005 the academy had delivered Learn to Learn and Citizenship courses to students in discrete lessons on the timetable.

In 2015 these courses were replaced with Global Perspectives, a course designed to address elements of Citizenship, PSHE, and SMSC while actively promoting the development of generic learning habits and widening the horizons of students by introducing them to global issues. The course is timetabled for 1 hour per week in KS3 and reinforced through an extended tutorial programme. A regular studio broadcast presented by students complements this course.

The aim to develop an awareness of the issues around sustainability is written into our Mission Statement.

The academy has an active Eco council made up of staff and students who meet regularly to keep this agenda in the minds of all staff and students. For example, in recent years the academy has reduced the use of paper by 1.2 million sheets through the introduction of biometric printing.

The installation of wind turbines and solar panels has reduced the academy’s energy usage. In 2010 the academy was awarded the prestigious green flag award and has held it ever since.