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