Pathways Blog - 27.2.26

Welcome to the 2nd Spring half term. I hope this blog finds you and your families safe and well.

In the 4 days that the pupils have been back, we’ve packed in so much learning that we need the weekend to process and digest the information in readiness for next week, where pupils recall their prior learning to help them move forward.

Pupils and staff entered Pathways on Tuesday to see the site had been through a makeover, including colour coding identifiers on each floor – thank you to the Site team for getting the building ship shape for our return!

This week, young learners have been “Building Bridges” in Science, attending the JD UP Careers Fair, being entrepreneurs at Dragons Den, touring Rochdale Town Hall, increasing their word count on Reading Plus, and much more.

I was fortunate to accompany the Digi students to the JD Up careers fair at Manchester Central, looking at what careers the retail sector provides. There were special guest speakers from the founders of Montirex and from - arguably the pupils highlight - Angry Ginge and the Bov Boys. They spoke to the 2500 pupils in attendance about their career paths, and gave sound advice about working hard, having focus and that it doesn’t always work out first time. There is more detail about the visit later.

Finally, a big thank you to all our blog contributors, for giving a glimpse into our offer at Pathways.

Enjoy your weekend, stay safe

Mr Southerington

Activ8 – A Fantastic First Week Back!

Activ8 have had a brilliant first week back and have truly hit the ground running. The group have worked incredibly hard across all of their lessons, showing great focus, determination, and a positive attitude throughout.

Yesterday’s session at Mahdlo was a real highlight. The students impressed in both trampolining and badminton, demonstrating a wide range of skills alongside genuine enthusiasm for each activity. Their teamwork, energy, and willingness to challenge themselves were fantastic to see.

In addition, we have continued our BTEC work and successfully completed our boxing topic, covering both the theory and the practical elements. The students produced detailed written work that showed a strong understanding of the sport, and they pushed themselves during the practical sessions to develop and showcase their newly acquired skills.

Well done, Activ8 — a brilliant start to the term. Keep it up!

Mr Wilson

Activ8 (27.2.26)

Activ8 & PE

On returning this week student within Activ8 have been continuing to work on their trampoline skills and routines to support them in gaining their OCR PE qualification.

Also, students have been developing their understanding of serving and rules whilst playing badminton. There was lots of progress made within increased accuracy and the use for different serve types to outwit an opponent.

Mr Hollingworth

Activ8 and PE (27.2.26)

CL1

What a fantastic first week back it has been for CL1! From the moment they walked through the door, every single pupil has shown an amazing attitude toward their learning and routines. They settled back in straight away, approaching each lesson with enthusiasm, focus, and a real determination to do their best.

It has been wonderful to see them working so hard in everything they do—from classroom tasks to personal goals. Their effort, teamwork, and positivity have truly stood out this week, and we are incredibly proud of the way they have returned to school ready to learn.

Well done, CL1!

Mr Fish

CL1 - 27.2.26

CL2

Today in ICT, CL2 continued tuning their ICT skills. They worked more independently in accessing their accounts and files, and opening appropriate applications to write a letter to their friend, inviting them to a party.

They are developing their ability in working independently and showing greater confidence in their typing skills - Well done CL2!

Mrs Palmer

CL2

CL3 - Rochdale Town Hall

CL3 visited Rochdale Town Hall this week as part of our Community Living Pathway.

We travelled on the tram.

Before we ventured inside, students walked around the town’s memorial park.

We were greeted by the very helpful staff inside the Town Hall, they gave us workbooks to fill in on our journey of exploration.

Students looked at different artefacts and saw how the town hall was built.

Some of the students dressed up as the mayor!

We had lunch in the Great Hall. After lunch we found out about different kings of England, trying on robes to see what it felt like to be a king for the day.

The students had a fantastic day.

A big “Thank You” to our cameraman Ethan, he took some brilliant pictures of our visit.

Mrs Hollingworth

CL3 Rochdale Town Hall

CL4 - Oldham Art Gallery

CL4 visited Oldham Art Gallery as part of our Community Living curriculum. We looked at some incredible artwork in lots of different mediums, from oil paintings to clay vases and even taxidermy wildlife! We had a wonderful time.

Mrs Iwaneczko

Exploring Oldham Culture in CL5: A Week of Morris Dancing Magic

This week on the Pathway, CL5 have been diving into the rich and vibrant culture of Oldham and what better way to explore local heritage than through the lively tradition of Morris dancing?

Students began by learning about the long history of Morris dancing, a folk tradition that has been part of English culture for centuries. They discovered how dancers use rhythmic stepping, handkerchiefs, and sticks to bring stories and celebrations to life. We also explored how Morris dancing has been kept alive by communities across Greater Manchester, including groups right here in Oldham.

Inspired by what they learned, our students then worked together to choreograph their very own Morris dance routines. They experimented with patterns, movements, and formations, showing fantastic creativity and teamwork. The classroom was filled with energy, music, and lots of smiles as students proudly performed their finished pieces.

It has been a brilliant week celebrating local culture, movement, and collaboration. Well done, CL5!

Mrs Taylor

CL5

JD Up!

On Wednesday, both Digi 1 and 2 had the privilege of attending the JD Up conference at the MGX Convention Centre. We took part in many different activities across lots of different job roles within retail, from scanning products all the way up to managing shipments and planning social media posts. We listened to some very special people speak on the skills they developed for their roles and the things they had learned from what they do. The most exciting part for the kids was meeting and listening to ‘The Bov Boys’ talk about how they got to where they are and the things they have learned along the way. Overall a fantastic day!

Mr Shewring

Digi - JD UP

Lumenus

Students from the Lumenus Pathway have been working incredibly hard towards their Bronze Arts Award, developing their creativity, leadership skills, and confident through the arts.

As part of the award, learners are required to share an arts skill with others. The students have chosen to deliver an engaging workshop on Physical Theatre to the students at the pathway.

At the moment, students are in the process of developing this workshop which will be delivered next Thursday.

Planning the workshop:-

Student take full ownership of the sessions by :-

Planning warmup activities

Creating movement exercises

Designing sharp performance cast

Thinking about how to demonstrate techniques clearly.

An update of how the workshop went, will be shared in our next blog post.

Miss Pilgrim & Miss Sinclair

Lumenus

Science

This week in Science, students became apprentice architects and competed to create the tallest tower out of just spaghetti and marshmallows! Combining logic with imagination, and prior learning of Forces and Shapes, students were incredibly innovative and surprised themselves with how resilient and resourceful they were. In just 15 minutes some excellent designs were produced which made the Burj Khalifa look small!

Mrs Iwaneczko