Headteacher's Weekly Review

Dear Parents/Carers,

Thank you to all parents and students for supporting our new mobile phone policy.  Students have been extremely sensible and have adhered well during this first week.  It has been lovely to see students playing games at break and chatting in groups at lunchtimes.

Last weekend, 84 Year 9 students participated in a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh practice to the Surrey Hills. Also, 43 students from Year 9 RIDG accompanied by 5 members of staff, headed to Flanders for the first of the Battlefields visits of 2019. When they arrived, time was spent in Northern France at Vimy Ridge, where the changing nature of warfare was discussed as well as the strategic importance of the area throughout the war. On the second day they visited a number of different cemeteries and battlefields in the Ypres Salient. Students were fortunate to see the outcome of a soldiers rededication.  Captain William Miles Kington DSO, had been buried as an unknown soldier, but recent research has enabled his identification and students could view his new headstone and discuss the incredible work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Other sites visited focussed upon the personal stories of those buried or remembered, such as Nurse Nelly Spindler at Lijssenthoek, Sapper Wiliam Scholtz at the Ramparts Cemetery and Private Frederick George Dancox VC at Langemark. The final day was spent in the award winning In Flanders Fields museum in Ypres as well as stocking up on chocolates and Belgian waffles prior to the journey home.

Meanwhile, Rhys Conlon in Year 7 was in winning form at Harrow.  He triumphed in the British U14 Bouldering championship – his first national title, so we send hearty congratulations to him.

On Tuesday, Brooklands College held their first Brooklands Experience morning. Eleven Year 10s accompanied by Mrs Jarman, joined with other local schools to experience pre-chosen taster subjects. Woking High students selected a mixture of IT, Media & Construction sessions.  The Construction students took part in practical activities, learning both carpentry and brick laying skills and all the students gained a valuable understanding of different post 16 pathways.

Year 11 celebrated their National Records of Achievement on Wednesday afternoon.  A packed hall of parents, governors, local councillors, community members and staff enjoyed a wonderful awards ceremony.  The whole Year 11 cohort have been a superb year group.  Especial congratulations go to the following students who were awarded prizes.

Hannah Green – Liz Kyriacou Technology Award

Alana Lynch – Public Speaking Award

April Ippolito – Police Shield

Amy Szarvas – Governors’ Award for Excellence

Beau-Hanni Souter-Houghton – Attendance Award

Ashlin James – Excellence in Performing Arts Award

Abiel Natnael and Asher Goosen – PE Award

Dominic Ariyo-Francis and Gideon Jansen – PE Trophy

Madeleine McClements – Services to Musical Performance Award

Head Boy/Head Girl members – Student Services Award

Whilst Year 11s were celebrating, a group of 14 Year 10 students, accompanied by Mrs Gallagher and Mrs Street, attended The Big Bang South East Show in Haywards Heath. This show is designed to inspire students to consider possible career opportunities in STEM related subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and provided an excellent opportunity for them to meet and question representatives from a wide variety of companies including environmental scientists, nuclear engineers, physicists, astronomers, software engineers, product designers and microbiologists, about possible careers and education pathways open to them. The highlight of the day was the microbiology workshop, where the students were taught various sampling techniques, testing regimes and identification of microbes by ThermoFisher Scientific, who supply identification instruments and sampling equipment to many hospitals and research labs.

Tonight we are looking forward to the Year 11 prom – the final Woking High School event for the 2014-2019 year group.  Look out for photos of their suits and dresses and modes of arrival, in next week’s review.

Finally, a reminder that tomorrow is the last Inset day for the 2018/19 academic year.  Students are not expected in school, but will return on Monday 1st July for an 8.55 a.m. start.

Best wishes,

Jane Abbott

Headteacher

Headteacher's Weekly Review

Dear Parents/Carers,

There was much excitement and some consternation when a swarm of bees settled in one of the rowan trees at the front of the school on Monday evening.  After cordoning off the area and seeking advice, local apiarist Mr Steve Bone arrived in school to take the swarm away. He estimated that there were around 3,000 bees! 

Year 11s have finished their marathon of GCSE Examinations, with the final paper sat on Tuesday. We look forward to welcoming them back in school for the last time before their results are due (22nd August) next Wednesday (26th June) for their NRA awards.

On Saturday three of our students (Dominic Ariyo-Francis, Toby Webb and Edward Gannon) represented Surrey in an intercounties match against Kent, Sussex, Middlesex and Hampshire. Dominic finished second in the Inter Boys 200m and Teddy Gannon third in the Junior Boys Discus. Both Teddy and Dominic have been selected to represent Surrey in the English Schools competition in Birmingham in mid-July.

On Monday, 27 of our students competed in the South East athletics B Final in Crawley. Our Junior Girls finished fifth and our Junior Boys sixth. There were some exceptional individual performances with Year 7 Jiyah Kapotwe, once again breaking his own 800m school record. We now look forward to the Key Stage 3 District Championships on Thursday.

On Tuesday evening we held two Behaviour and Discipline Policy review briefings for parents and carers. This was an opportunity to gain further information from Mr Crowley about our proposed changes for the next academic year. The main focus was on our commitment to restorative practice, celebrating achievements and the changes to our Mobile Devices Policy. Mr Crowley shared our thinking and research behind these changes and gave those that attended, the chance to share ideas and ask further questions. Involving parents and carers in these decisions is incredibly important and we would like to thank those that attended for their valuable input.

84 Year 9s participated in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze practice expedition to the Surrey Hills yesterday and today.  Tomorrow, 43 Year 9s (RIDG) leave for a three day visit to the WWI battlefields led by Mr Jones and accompanied by Mr Eaden, Miss Paton, Mrs Durbridge and Mrs Mills. We wish them a safe, enjoyable and enriching tour.

Congratulations to Ellen Yates in Year 9, who took part in a mixed foursomes golf competition at Windlesham on Monday evening and achieved a hole in one! See photo attached. She is also representing Woking High School in the Surrey Schools team, that are part of the South England Schools team, in the National Finals in Nottingham next week.

Congratulations also go to Jack Edwards, accomplished bell ringer and musician. Jack recently rang the bells at Westminster Cathedral to celebrate the Queen’s official birthday and Trooping of the Colour on 8th June.

Please see attached competition entry forms, regarding Horsell Village Show, which is taking place on 27th July.

Finally, don’t forget the Horsell Garden Safari this weekend.  With all the recent rain, let’s hope the plants and flowers have recovered enough to put on a good show.

Best wishes,

Jane Abbott

Headteacher

Headteacher's Weekly Review

Dear Parents/Carers,

 

On one of the wettest June days on record, our intrepid Year 7s (RIDG) embarked on the annual Curriculum Challenge. In keeping with the theme of “challenge”, Year 7s took the weather in their stride. The purpose of the camp was to challenge the students physically, mentally and socially through completing a number of problem-solving and team building activities, for which points were awarded. Students developed many of the Woking High character traits including resilience and responsibility. All of the students rose to the challenges offered and didn’t seem to mind the early morning starts, washing up or getting wet and muddy!! They also experienced the forest at night, where night hikes were combined with the teachers’ favourite ghost stories! All the staff involved agreed that it was a pleasure to take such an enthusiastic and committed group of students.

 

Wednesday saw the penultimate Day 11 of 2018/19 with many Year 7 on camp, those in school took part in a variety of different school based activities. Year 8s focused on code breaking – some visiting Bletchley Park, others working in Maths gained an insight into World War 2 code breaking and the work of Alan Turing and his colleagues to crack the German Enigma machine. Across two sessions, students solved problems involving Caesar shifts, Keyword and Vigenere ciphers before putting all of their skills into practice with a “Murder Mystery” activity in the Maths department. Yet more ‘code breaking’ language translations took place with students helping to dub Disney films!  In the afternoon there was a Drama visit to see Annie at the New Victoria Theatre. Our Year 9 ASDAN group spent the day at Wisley, whilst the majority of the year group spent half of Day 11 in Science, where they found out about the challenging conditions an astronaut might encounter on Mars.  They then designed and carried out an experiment to identify the best material to use to make the astronaut’s spacesuit. The other half of the day was spent on PE activities. Year 10 statistics students had immersion sessions prior to their GCSE on Thursday.  All others seized the chance to participate in an intensive study day on their Shakespeare text, Romeo and Juliet.  Of course, Year 11s are continuing with their final GCSE exams. We wish them continued good luck for the remainder and then look forward to the NRA on 26th June and the Prom on the 27th June.

 

As always, I am delighted that Woking High School has such great links with, and support from, the community.  Please may I remind you of the Horsell Garden safari which is to take place next weekend (22nd/23rd June).  On a related note, the school roll is absolutely full (1200 students) and we have waiting lists for places in every year group.  It would really help the school, and those families who wish to secure a place here, if you would contact the Admissions Registrar on admissions@wokinghigh.surrey.sch.uk if you know you are moving at the end of this academic year.  Sometimes, with all that has to be done when a move takes place, telling the school falls off the list! Many thanks in advance.

 

St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, is hosting a community open day on Saturday 6th July. Not only is this a great opportunity to see behind the scenes at the hospital, it’s a great place to talk to HR people about careers in the NHS.  Please see attached for more information.

 

Congratulations go to Eleanor Verrier and Harry Davies in Year 10 who have formed a duo called Taylor's House - they write together and then Eleanor sings and creates the album covers and art work while Harry plays the instruments and produces the songs. Their first album, called Mixture of Emotion, is available on iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, and other music streaming services.  

 

Finally, please see attached information from the Friends of Woking High School Flash Fundraiser. The school is creating a new outdoor space for the students to socialise and eat outside regardless of the weather and the Friends require help to purchase four heavy duty recycled plastic picnic benches. Many thanks as always for your support.

 

Best wishes,

 

Jane Abbott

Headteacher

 

 

 

Headteacher's Weekly Review

Dear Parents/Carers,

As we prepare for another May bank holiday and half term, there are a number of exciting events on which to report.

Last weekend, 26 students successfully completed their Silver DofE Assessed Expedition on the South Downs. They covered a distance of approximately 55 kilometres carrying all of their equipment in rucksacks on their backs.  Their assessors were very complimentary and mentioned how well prepared they were and how well they worked within their teams. Much to Dr Ashton’s delight, there was also time to work on Scientific equations at one of the checkpoints. Well done to all who took part and many thanks to all of the staff, without whom this expedition could not have taken place.

Saturday, 18^th May, saw the Magistrates’ Mock Trial team travelled to the South East Regional Finals in Chelmsford, Essex.  Having won the Surrey Heat, Woking High students, along with 7 other teams, met at the Crown Courts to compete for a place at the National Finals.  The case centred on an alleged assault of a taxi driver and Lily Hallam and Tatiana Neeson successfully defended ‘Charlie Smith’ (aka Ollie Strong) in the first round, supported by Amelie Wilson-Rivers as defence witness.  Josh Ford, our court usher, ensured the smooth running of the case.  When Amnah Dar and Lily Harris led the case for the prosecution, evidence given by Erin Fitzgibbon (the aggrieved taxi driver) and Lidewine Saris convinced all seven magistrates that the defendant was indeed guilty.  Our magistrates, Anya Treat, Alex Heeney and Joni Dervishi, were given guidance on the points of law by Tom Heggberg, the legal advisor.  Copies of Adam Ahmed’s court report and Eva Beeharry’s sketches (court artist) will be sent to Young Citizens, the education charity that runs this competition.  Although we did not win this heat, everyone in the team gave an excellent performance and should be congratulated for their achievement.

Also the Thai fund raising night organized by the Friends of Woking High School, on Saturday 18th, raised a total of £746. This was thanks to Malai Campbell, a Year 8 parent, who tirelessly organised the event at the Somkid Thai restaurant in Weybridge. 

Thanks are also due to the following generous companies who donated raffle prizes

Capelli Studio Hairdressers
Deli Class, Horsell
Italian Inspiration Hairdressing
Juliet Feeney - www.kettlercisechertsey.uk
Ladda BBQ
Language Learners
Patches, Horsell
Steve Keywood's Personal Training
Tuberose Beauty
Two Ducks, St Johns

The next Friends of Woking High School meeting is at the school on Wednesday 5th June at 7pm.
Please come along and be part of the active Friends community. It’s a great way to be involved with the school.  We look forward to seeing you there.  Don’t worry you won’t end up running a summer fair if you turn up!

Under 14 Girls’ Football District Cup Final:

On Tuesday morning, the Year 8/9 girls’ football team played in the district final versus Winston Churchill at Woking FC. They secured their spot in the final having beaten Fullbrook 2 – 0 in the semi-final a few weeks back in a very tight game, which went to extra time. The girls were very nervous, as expected going into a district final, but even more so as the under dogs as they lost to Winston earlier in the season. Our girls made a fantastic start and took the lead with a superb goal from Humnah Mahmood. For much of the first half we looked to be the better side and at half time we were 2-1 up. Our second goal was skillfully scored by Jess Connors. Despite some outstanding performances from many of our girls, Winston upped their game in the second half and scored two goals and the final score was 3-2 to them. Other key players for Woking were Maya Newsam in goal who made some outstanding saves and Meghan Amin, who was awarded woman of the match. Maddie Grainger, Amy Loader and Jess Manly were also superb in defence.

Arete Athletics:

On Tuesday after school 60 of our students competed in the Arete Athletics competition at Gordon’s. The competition was extremely closely contested. Gordons won overall, thanks largely to greater numbers. Woking High actually won 18 of the 32 individual events. Please see team and individual results below:

Team scores:

Gordon's 227

Woking High 189

Individual winners :

Year 7 Boys Joseph Walters 100m and 200m

Year 7 Boys Jiyah Kapotwe 300m and 800m

Year 7 Girls Laura Kersley 100m and 200m

Year 7 Girls Bella Hornzee 800m

Year 8 Girls Hayley McLoughlin 100m

Year 8 Girls Lizzie Chapman 200m and 300m

Year 8 Boys Teddy Gannon 200m and 300m

Year 10 Girls Poppy Hargreaves 100m

Year 10 Girls Emma Harris 800m

Year 10 Boys Matthew King 100m and 200m

Year 10 Boys Charlie Terry 300m

Year 10 Boys Chris Baker 800m

Sports Results:

Under 14 Girls District Final

Lost 2 - 3 v Winston Churchill

Year 8 Boys Cricket

Won by 9 wickets v SJB

SJB 51 - 7

Woking High 52 -1 (Joseph Robertson 27)

Year 8 Boys Cricket

Won by 7 wickets v Heathside

Heathside 54 - 7

Woking High 56 - 3

Year 9/10 Girls Tennis

Won 8 - 4 v Manor House

Lost 0 - 12 v Tormead

Year 7/8 Girls Tennis

Lost 2 - 10 v Tormead

Our annual House Fun Run took place after school on Wednesday. The 64 students who took part in this wonderful event to raise money for Woking Hospice seemed to really enjoy themselves and have lots of fun. Some of the fancy dress costumes were great and it was so lovely to see the huge effort all the students put in. As tomorrow is deadline for sponsorship forms to be returned, we are not yet sure which of the 4 houses raised the most money or how much money was raised overall. Currently I’ts £800 approx!

We can tell you the results for the best dressed and those who crossed the finish line first:

Race Winners:

1^st – Daniel Baldwin  &  Dylan Campbell 8A (Faraday)

2^nd  – Sarah Griffin & Larissa Andrade Calheiros 9R(Brunel)

3^rd– Amy Theunissen 8R  & Antonia Thackwell Jenkins 8G ( Brunel/Stephenson)

Best Fancy Dress:

1^st – Alice Claxton 8G & Jemima Atkins 8I

2^nd- Zac Silverton & Arthur Savory 7W

3^rd- Martha Wood & Jenna Culshaw 10I

The Year 10 Consultation Evening took place last night and was very well attended at 90%.  Thank you to all who attended. Parents and students had the opportunity to meet with representatives from our local post-16 education providers from Woking, Brooklands, Guildford, Farnborough, and Fulbrook, as well as their teachers..

Today, Mr Goosen and nine members of staff, left on the annual Year 8 Watersports visit to Newquay. Over the next four days, the students will be participating in activities such as surfing, bodyboarding and stand up paddle boarding. They will be developing their team work skills whilst building a raft to take out into the sea and building their own catapult. They will also be taken out of their comfort zone by taking part in coasteering and climbing.

At the beginning of the month, two of our Year 10 students went head to head against Gordon’s School debaters in the annual Arete Debating Competition.  The motion this year was: 'Monuments to controversial historic figures should remain', and Charlotte Joos and Abigail Shameen gave some excellent arguments in opposition.  The judge commented that the Woking High School students were particularly strong in their rebuttal skills and that their exploration of the topic was done with a level of detail that went far beyond what she would expect from GCSE students. Unfortunately, we lost by a few points; however, congratulations to both Abigail and Charlotte for their enthusiasm, hard work and effort.

Congratulations to Year 8 student Sana Sahul Hameed for her recent success in the national 'Young Writers' competition.   Not only has she been awarded a merit for her 'talent for writing', two of her pieces were also selected for publication.

Andries Verhaeghe, 11E, is playing bass guitar and rhythm guitar with local Woking band, Sour Kix, (Louis, Ollie and Amelie Thacker, Ed Fisher). They are creating quite a few waves and you can check them out on all social media and listen to them on Spotify and others. They are gigging all around the country and have been supporting Kaiser Chiefs, Jesse J, Scouting for Girls, Lucy Spraggan and will this summer be playing at Hillfest, Carfest and Weyfest. They recently were invited to play twice at the legendary Half Moon Club in Putney and at the fabulous Camden Assembly. As they were a hit at both venues, they were invited to headline the ‘Loud in London’ event at the O2 Islington on July 19^th, which is one of the most important platforms for emerging talent in London. The event is almost sold out, but there could still be some tickets available for those who want to support Sour Kix and enjoy a nice evening in London. Please find below the link if you still want to book tickets.

https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/1F0056929D9A2F35?brand=o2academyislington&camefrom=CFC_AMG_ISLINGTON_lil

Wishing you all a very happy half term.

Best wishes,

Jane Abbott

Headteacher