The Farnley Academy

🎉 The PD trips are now live on Parent Pay! 🎉

We are excited for our biggest reward of the year for fantastic behaviour!

Please get in touch if you need any support with the cost of the trips.

Y9 Elliott Hudson Trip

This week, a letter has been sent home to Y9 students about an upcoming trip to Elliott Hudson College. The aim of this visit to give students a real sense of college life and inspire their future learning journey.

The deadline to sign up is Tuesday 9 June, at which point students will be allocated a bus. We hope your child takes up this opportunity to gain exposure into college life :)

Welcome back to the final half term!

Pretty soon we will be saying goodbye to our year 11s who will have finished their GCSEs, and our year 10s will have their first round of mock GCSE exams to focus on. We also have lots of fun stuff coming up, keep your eye on this space and form tutor notices!

Reminder that with the hot weather students do not need to wear their jumpers, and ties and top buttons must be done up and shirts tucked in.

Our Y10 Drama students had the opportunity to watch Teechers by John Godber today, giving them valuable insight into live performance, physical theatre, and the play’s themes of education and school life. Hopefully inspiring them ahead of their practical exam in Y11. Well done for being a fantastic audience!

Tomorrow is non-uniform day for all students who have attended school on time (and stayed all day) this week. Letters have been handed out to all eligible students, please ensure these are brought with you tomorrow to show at the student gate.

Please also be reminded of our non-uniform rules including:
• No shorts or skirts above the mid-thigh
• No midriff on show.
• No ripped jeans.
• No items with offensive slogans or logos on.
• No hats.
• The usual rules remain in place regarding jewellery, false eyelashes and nails.
• Shoes (including crocs) must have backs.
• Jackets and coats to be removed when inside.
Any student who arrives in inappropriate clothing or in non-uniform when not eligible for the reward will be required to change or borrow school uniform. Failure to do so may result in isolation.

Please note that all Year 11 students are able to come in non-uniform, as part of their examinations reward event.

Costa Rica Day 7 🇨🇷

Today gave us a slightly slower start after a huge rainstorm overnight, which meant we woke this morning to a power outage at camp. Despite the unexpected start to the day, we headed off to a local organic farm, where we were reunited with the owner of the chocolate farm we visited earlier in the week. He spoke to the students about sustainability and how his organic farm operates, before giving us a tour of the vanilla pod orchard. The students then had the opportunity to hand-pick pineapples for tasting, enjoying fresh pineapple straight from the plant and cooling off with delicious fresh pineapple juice in the middle of the fields. After our final lunch at Tirimbina Lodge, we made a quick stop at a local supermarket to stock up on party supplies for the evening ahead. Our final night in Costa Rica was celebrated in style with a special Costa Rica 2026 awards ceremony, where students received certificates and personal awards to remember an unforgettable expedition. Tomorrow brings an early start as we visit an active volcano before travelling back to San José airport for our journey home.

Costa Rica Day 6🇨🇷

Today began with a 7am start and a delicious breakfast before we headed to a local snake farm for a fascinating morning. Students took part in an informative lecture about biodiversity in Costa Rica, followed by a guided tour where they saw a variety of incredible reptiles, including eyelash vipers, boa constrictors and the impressive bushmaster snake. We also met tortoises of all sizes and learnt how the farm cares for and protects them. After lunch back at Tirimbina Biological Reserve, students headed into the rainforest for a competitive bug hunt. Despite the rain, spirits stayed high as teams explored the jungle and later enjoyed looking back through the brilliant photos they captured along the way. After dinner, students had the opportunity to hear all about Chris Knowles’ incredible adventures across the world and learn about his career as a zoologist, travelling to different countries to study and work with wildlife. Tomorrow is our final full day in country — it’s hard to believe how quickly this unforgettable trip has flown by!

Careers Greggs workplace visit trip!🎉🥯

Year 10 students interested in hospitality and catering had the opportunity to visit the Greggs factory in Bramley to see first hand how their patisserie and confectionary products are made. They learnt about all the different job roles that are required to keep the factory running and were lucky enough to sample some of the finished products!

Costa Rica Day 5🇨🇷

Today was another unforgettable day in Costa Rica, beginning with a visit to the incredible La Selva Biological Station. We split into groups to explore the rainforest, discovering a variety of fascinating plants and wildlife, including poison dart frogs, land crabs and wild pigs. After a delicious lunch, we headed to a nearby butterfly farm where staff gave us an insightful tour and explained the butterfly life cycle. We also entered a beautiful butterfly enclosure filled with different species, with many butterflies landing on students as they walked through. Students and staff then had the opportunity to hold a range of insects such as stick insects, giant cockroaches and caterpillars. The highlight for many was the chance to hold a cobra snake and observe white bats in their natural habitat. We finished the afternoon with a refreshing swim in the river and some bat trapping led by our fantastic guide, Julio. Another action-packed day filled with amazing experiences and even more fantastic memories made together.

Costa Rica Day 4 🇨🇷

After an early breakfast at camp, we headed into the rainforest with two expert guides, exploring the incredible wildlife and plant life along the way. One highlight was watching a long line of hardworking leaf cutter ants carrying pieces of leaves through the forest floor. Following a delicious lunch at Tirimbina Biological Reserve, the group set off for an unforgettable white water rafting adventure through the rainforest. Halfway down the river, we stopped to enjoy an amazing selection of fresh fruit served on the bottom of one of the rafts. There were plenty of laughs as students swam in the river, jumped from the riverbanks and created memories they will never forget. The evening ended with some fun ‘Traitors’-inspired challenges before settling down to complete work in their Costa Rica work packs.