W ilnecote H igh School

Newsletter December 2011 – Issue 101

Dear Parents/Carers As always this term has been exciting and busy with lots of students involved in a wide range of activities. This newsletter celebrates some of these activities and successes but cannot possibly include all of them. I hope you enjoy reading it and take pride in the achievements of all members of our school community. Further information about the school can be found on our website www.wilnecote-high.staffs.sch.uk. I would like to thank all parents/carers, students and staff for their positive attitude to school and for their ongoing support. . I wish you all a relaxing and happy Christmas and remind you that next term starts at 8.30 am on Wednesday 4th January 2012. Mr Tonks

Year 11 Visit to Latvia 7 Year 11 students from Wilnecote High School accompanied by Headteacher Stuart Tonks, have just spent 7 fantastic days in Latvia. The trip was organised by IVOLO (an International Volunteering Organisation) and was part of a European Union ‘Youth in Action’ project. Young people from Turkey and Latvi itself also took part. The main theme of the event was Democracy, Elections and Voting. The group from Wilnecote prepared and gave an excellent presentation on the UK Political System. They also worked with students from the other countries on a mock election that lasted one and a half days and incorporated setting up political parties, devising a manifesto, taking part in debates and then voting. This gave the students a real insight into the democratic process. Each country also hosted a session devoted to its own culture. Our group performed an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet, tried to teach the rules of cricket and gave a quiz on the UK. There was also time for relaxation. We spent a day in the beautiful city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. The hostel we stayed in was in its own grounds surrounded by a forest and 10km from the nearest town or shop. It snowed on 3 occasions and we built an excellent snowman!! Headteacher Stuart Tonks said “The students from Wilnecote were a credit to themselves and to the school. They were also superb ambassadors for the town of Tamworth. The students said “We would like to thank IVOLO for the opportunity to be involved in such a fantastic trip. We learned a lot about other countries and ourselves. We also made lots of friends”.

Exam Results Wilnecote High School’s GCSE and ‘A’ Level results this year were excellent and, in both cases, our best ever. They represent an improving trend and confirm the judgments made in the school’s Ofsted inspection in January of this year: “Exam results are above average and continue to improve”. They were also the best in the town. At GCSE - 59% of students achieved at least 5A*-C grades, including English and Maths. This is the government’s key indicator of success and these results are well above the national average. 83% of students achieved at least 5A*-C grades. Again this is well above the national average. We achieved our best ever results in the most important subjects of English and Maths. English in particular continues to be outstanding with 80% of students obtaining grade A*-C and many students, including those with specific literacy problems such as dyslexia, achieved their best grade in this subject. Students of all abilities, including those who are Gifted & Talented and those with Special Educational Needs, continue to succeed and exceed targets because of the high quality of teaching and the wide range of courses we offer

For the fifth year running the results of students with SEN were excellent and in excess of their targets. 24 students gained 5 or more A*-A grades and almost 25% 3 or more A* or A grades. At ‘A’ Level the pass rate was an incredible 99.5%, and over a third of grades were A*, A or B. There were many outstanding individual performances. The best of these was Joe Rolleston who achieved 2A* and 3A and who is now studying History at Oxford University. He was closely followed by Alick Draper, Joe Fitzsimmons, Katie Iliff, Simon Miles, Lauren Reddish and Sophie Joe Rolleston Swoffer.

Open Evening

Our annual Open Evening was held on Monday October 10th.

Over 400 people attended and Mr Tonks began the evening with his headteacher’s address, which included an abridged version of the students’ video which can be viewed in the Achievements section of this website.

Students and staff then led tours of the school, which looked at its best with lots of interesting activities going on. Many people commented on the tremendous “buzz” that could be sensed as they walked around.

Over 150 students helped to showcase some of the wonderful things which make Wilnecote High such an amazing school. Our school ambassadors led tours of the school and among them were Laura Rowley and Elizabeth Aubrey, who deserve a special mention; a member of their party sought out Mr Tonks at the end of the evening to say what a fantastic job they did – well done girls!

Carol Concert The Annual Carol Concert at Holy Trinity Church on Monday 19th December organised by Mrs Riley and Miss Radburn is going to be a beautiful Christmas treat with performances from all areas in the Performing Arts

Concerts at 2.00pm & 6.30pm

ICT & Business Studies Trip to London On November 23rd, 37 ICT and Business Studies students travelled to London for a two day study experience. Accompanied by Mr Simpson, Miss Hodge and Mr Garland the students enjoyed a range of activities in locations such as the theatrical West End and the iconic O2 Arena. Starting with a visit to the Science Museum, the students were given the freedom to research and discover in their own way, seeing a huge range of exhibitions ranging from the history of computers through to space exploration and environmental science and technology. This was followed by a guided bus tour round the centre of the city, taking in the Christmassy sights under the guidance of Tracy, our bubbly study experience guide. In the evening we headed to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to watch the amazing West End production of Wicked, a musical performance telling the story of the Wicked Witch of the West leading up to the Wizard of Oz. The quality of the performance was incredible and those who had never been to a West End show before will remember the evening for a long time! On Thursday the students took part in a ticketing and marketing workshop at the SeeTickets ticket agency. After a discussion about the SeeTickets organisation and their exciting future plans the students were split into six small groups (with the staff making up a seventh team) and given the task to come up with a new musical complete with plot synopsis, cast and advertising poster. Each group showed great imagination and presented their ideas confidently despite some tough questioning from the workshop leader. Finally, after a break in Covent Garden, the students used up the last of their energy at the British Music Experience at the O2 Arena. In addition to a series of impressive smaller areas dedicated to various eras of British Music we were able to try out various guitars and drum kits as well as try out the virtual dancing instructor which produced a 3D hologram video of their recorded dances. Everyone had a great time and despite being totally exhausted by the end of the trip every student showed great maturity throughout the two days and reminded the staff just how fantastic Wilnecote's ICT and Business Studies students are. Thanks to everyone involved!

Poppy Appeal Total Raised £440.59 The collections for The Poppy Appeal this year were collected by our trusty House Captains. The amount raised well exceeded that collected in previous years

Children in Need Total Raised £1437.05 Sophie Lee and Morgan Hone raised £25.02 and Jess & Jack Bishop, Sarah Cross & Connie McGinley raised £34.82 - both groups did cake sales.

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Wilnecote Achieves Dyslexia Friendly Full Status

The school is delighted to have achieved Dyslexia Friendly Full Status.

This status recognises the work that schools do to support students with Dyslexia and also to differentiate the

learning of all students. It focuses on classroom practice and the learning environment. The process of

achieving the status is stringent and robust.

We have been working towards this for over a year and recently the verification visit to determine whether we

should be awarded the status took place. 4 verifiers (all Special Needs teachers with expertise in Dyslexia)

spent 2 days observing lessons, interviewing a range of staff, interviewing students and parents and rigorously

checking our procedures.

We were successful and the verifiers were very complimentary about many aspects of our school - our inclusive

ethos, the welcoming and friendly nature of everyone in the school, the excellent classroom practice they saw

and, most importantly in terms of this status, the personalised support we give to students with dyslexia.

This is a significant achievement for everyone connected with the school.

Wilnecote Remembers Leon

As part of the school’s traditional acts of

remembrance, a tribute was unveiled to former

student Leon Spicer. The framed memorial has taken

pride of place in the school’s reception area and

honours Leon who was killed in Iraq whilst serving in

the 1st Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment in 2005.

The unveiling of the tribute was carried out by Bridie

and Chris, Private Spicer’s parents and formed the

centrepiece of the school’s remembrance activities.

Students held a minute’s silence in honour of the

servicemen and women who have lost their lives in

the defence of our country and of freedom. A group

laid a wreath as part of the annual ceremony at the

monument at Morrison’s while others laid a wreath at

Leon Spicer’s grave.

On Remembrance Sunday, Headteacher Stuart Tonks

joined the local Wilnecote community in

remembering our departed service personnel.

We will remember them………………….

Memorial Service, Morrisons On Friday 11th November a group of Wilnecote High School students, who are members of the various local cadet regiments joined the Royal British Legion’s Remembrance Day Memorial Service at Morrisons, Tamworth. A two minutes silence was impeccably observed, before Rev. Oliver Harrison of Wilnecote Trinity Church read a moving tribute to the fallen soldiers. Liam Jebson then laid a commemorative wreath on behalf of the school. Students involved: Tom Baker Sam Bullock Tom Followell Kyle Grainger-Ecclestone Lauren Hill Jordan Houlston Isaac Hudson Sophie Hurdman Liam Jebson Justine Matthews Emmy McIntyre Laura Rowley

Year 10 Performing Arts visit to Ingestre Hall

& follow up concert

Year 10 Performing Arts Students recently attended a residential trip to Ingestre

Hall where they spent the whole week studying either Art, Dance, Drama or Music.

As always the trip was a huge success and culminated in some very powerful

pieces of work.

The students commented “We had a great time. It is really good to spend a whole

week working on just one subject. The social side is also very interesting as we get

to work with other students who we didn’t really know before the trip.” The staff at Ingestre said “We love having students from Wilnecote High School at the Hall – they always work really hard and are willing to try all sorts of things in their Arts performances. The quality of the final pieces they produce is excellent. They are courteous and well behaved – they are a credit to your school.” On Tuesday 18th October there was a concert for parents and fellow students which showcased again the final pieces of work. This was also a resounding success and included the Ingestre work and some music GCSE year 10 work. Thanks to all staff involved.

Other Performing Arts News ………………

We have had a fantastic start to the school musical rehearsals, ‘Bugsy Malone’ (8th – 11th February). Preparations are going well and it is all set to be a great show.

Congratulations to Alex Sutton, Georgina Steggles, Danni Miller, Hayden Greaves for receiving main roles and to the rest of the cast for being successful in their auditions.

The Drama department organised an A-Level trip to see Frantic Assembly Physical Theatre Company in October, which was an outstanding performance and will be hugely beneficial to all the students that saw it.

The Dance Department took GCSE Dance students to see Nutcracker at the Regent Theatre in November. The performance was outstanding and will be a great revision aid.

In early December Year 9 students interested in dance went to Burton Town Hall to watch Burton College students (including some ex Wilnecote Students) perform. In the same week more students from year 9 interested in dance took part in a dance workshop lead by Olivia Shepherd choreographer for Tamworth Pantomime Company, which was brilliant.

Year 9 students held a Pantomime afternoon which was organised by Miss McGreavy with an audience of Year 6 pupils from Wilnecote Junior School and guests from the local community. It was a resounding success.

The Year 9 Murder Mystery evening which was organised by Miss Bache was excellent and enjoyed by all.

Year 9 Bouncers trip to the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton on Friday 9th December which was a hilarious performance and excellent for the students to see.

LIBRARY NEWS To celebrate children’s Book Week, the school library held a competition to design a bookmark. The winners were:-

Matthew Wilson H4 Tanya Takavarasha R9

Both winners received a prize of a new book of their choice.

* * * * * Wilnecote Community Library have recently announced that readers can now download e-books free of charge. Please ask the Librarians at the Library for details.

House Captains A rigorous process of letter of application, presentation, ballot and interview has helped us to appoint our new House Captains for the year. Congratulations to:- Globe House - Mia Billingham & Ross Harvey Hexagon House - Paige Lee & Emmy McIntyre Pegasus House - Laura Rowley & Jamie Sutton Rose House - Justine Matthews & Sam Bullock These students will be ambassadors for the school at a number of events and have already been well employed at our Open Evening and selling poppies

Home School Contact Please can you make sure you keep us informed of any change of mobile number or email address, as well as home address and work detail changes

German Market Visit 44 students from Wilnecote HIgh School visited the German Christmas Market in Birmingham. They had the chance to practice their German, learn about German culture at Christmas and sample authentic food and drink and purchase any early Christmas presents. Even with the rain, pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience and some groups took part in the challenge to find out about typical German foods and their ingredients and will be winning a prize for their perseverance. I would like to say thank you all the pupils, parents and staff for their participation and support in this successful trip.

Term Dates 2011-12 Spring Term 2012 Term Starts 4th Jan 2012 ½ Tern 13th – 17th Feb 2012 Term Ends 30th March 2012 Summer Term 2012 Term Starts 16th April 2012 ½ Term 1st – 8th June 2012 Term Ends 20th July 2012 Autumn Term 2012 Term Starts 5th September 2012 ½ Term 29th Oct – 2nd Nov 2012 Term Ends 21st December 2012 INSET Days to be advised

Uniform Now the cold weather is upon us it is even more appropriate for us to share with you a list of our uniform requirements:

- School sweatshirt, school cardigan, school fleece and/or school polo shirt (not hoodies, tracksuit tops or cardigans) - Plain black full length trousers or knee length skirt (not jeans, tracksuit bottoms or combat trousers) - Black footwear (not white trainers) These are very simple requirements and all students are expected to wear school uniform at all times. Non-uniform hoodies, cardigans and track-suit tops which are not removed upon entering the building will be taken from students and returned at the end of the school day. Equally, students will be given a replacement item of school uniform to wear if theirs does not meet the requirements stated above.

All of our consultations with parents have confirmed that they want a school uniform and expect students to wear it. I would like to commend students who always come to school in full uniform and thank their parents for supporting us.

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Y11 Work Experience

Our Y11 students ventured far and wide to a variety of places on their work

experience week. As we expected, employers’ reports were glowing; among

the many very positive comments about our students were:

“ He was absolutely fantastic – I would give him a job tomorrow!”

“Can she stay another week, please?”

A particular mention for April Goode who didn’t venture as far as many

– she did her work experience here at school! However she used the

week, working alongside technician Carl Savage, to produce a video which

gives a student’s perspective on life here at Wilnecote High School.

View it on our website www.wilnecote-high.staffs.sch.uk under

the achievements section.

German Exchange

In October thirty three students accompanied by Miss Lakin, Mr Sbarra and Mrs Smith spent a week in Bad Laasphe,

Tamworth’s twin town, as part of the German Exchange programme.

The students had the chance to explore and enjoy German culture. They spent time with their partner families who

were, as ever, very welcoming and generous.

Students spent time in the German school and, despite having to be there at 7:30am for period 1, really enjoyed

taking part in the lessons. Both the teachers and students also had the opportunity to help (and show off a little) in

the English classes! One of our students, Kyle Alford, even entered the town’s annual 5km race and came 2nd –

winning a silver medal!

The attitude and behaviour of the students throughout the exchange was excellent. Miss Lakin was thrilled by the

number of students who texted her, whilst with their host families, to say what an excellent time they were having

and letting her know what they had been up to.

The German exchange continues to be a popular fixture in our school calendar and we hope to see

even more of our students getting involved in the future! If you are interested in the German

exchange and would like to know more please don’t hesitate to contact Miss Lakin for further

information.

Free School Meals Could we please encourage ALL PARENTS who may be eligible to apply for Free School Meals for their child. This brings in much needed additional funding for the school and enables students to access support in a variety of ways. (Students do NOT actually have to take a free meal for them and the school to benefit from this scheme). You can apply for Free School Meals if you receive the following support payments:- • Income Support • income-based Jobseeker's Allowance • income-related Employment and Support Allowance • support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 • the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit • Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax

Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190

• Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment finishes or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week

Please ask in school for a form or go online to www.staffordshire.gov.uk

Trip of a l ifetime to Belarus 10 Year 13 students, accompanied by Mr Herbert and Lee Bates, a governor of the school, have just spent 12 fantastic days in Belarus. The trip was organised by IVOLO (International Volunteering Organisation) and young people from Sweden, Russia and Belarus itself also took part. The group went on a number of excursions and discovered the amazing natural beauty of the area they were staying in. Each country also hosted an evening devoted to their own culture. Our students decked the stage in bunting and Union Jacks, acted out a rerun of this year’s Royal Wedding, produced a slide show of images of the UK and played that typical English party game, Pass the Parcel! However the main theme of the event was ecology and the environment. Young people from the different countries worked together to design and organise work shops with an ecological theme and also spent time discussing how young people can become more involved in these issues. Lee Bates said “The students from Wilnecote High School were superb ambassadors for the school and indeed for our country. It was a pleasure to spend time with such mature and intelligent young people who were always willing to involve themselves enthusiastically in all of the activities”. The students said “We would like to thank IVOLO for the opportunity to be involved in such a brilliant trip. We learned about different countries, made lots of new friends and had a wonderful time. It really was the trip of a lifetime”.

Wilnecote Leisure Centre

Birthday Parties

Various Packages Available including Sports Hall Parties, Swimming Pool Parties and

Football Parties!!

Contact Mike Stevenson on 01827 831333 for more

information.

See Centre Pages for party details and other Leisure

Centre Activities

Awards Evening Award Winners 2010-11 Once again our annual Awards Evening on Friday 16th December was well attended and a good time was had by all. Listed below are the names of the Award Winners for 2010/11.

Sixth Form Awards:

Best Performance at ‘A’ Level : Amie Coley Alick Draper Joe Fitzsimmons Katie Iliff Natalie Jennings Simon Miles Lauren Reddish Joe Rolleston Sophie Swoffer Tom Wooding AS Award : Sean Hawker Viktoria Urbanova Rosie Wallbank

� � � Y11 Awards:

Best Performance at GCSE : Andrew Beal Francis Clarke Gabriel Clarke Charlotte Evans Madison Evans Rebekka Ford Ashley Hall Beth Horton Jaydene Houlston Beth Hughes Emily Kinson Daniel Morris Aaron Parker Daniel Rhodes Elle Robertson GCSE Awards for progress : Aaron Cox Joanna Dabrowska William Ditchfield Samantha Downes Chelsie Fitzharris Nathan Hughes Patryk Sanetra

� � � Special Awards Sportsman of the Year : Tim Lowe Sportswoman of the Year : Emma Burns The Richard Thornton Athlete Of the Year : Daniel Rhodes The Lyndie Palmer Award for the Performing Arts : Alick Draper Enterprise Award : Stuart Campbell The Pride of Wilnecote Award : Emma O’Brien Overall Contribution to the Life of the School : Tom Wooding

� � �

Faculty Awards Art : Danielle Iliff

English : Madison Evans Humanities : Laura Vale ICT/Business Studies : Joshua Pointon Mathematics : Simon Miles

Modern Languages : Natalie Jennings Music : Daniel Morris

Science : Ashley Hall Technology : Emma Kerr

� � �

Globe House – End of Term trip Wolf Mountain Indoor Climbing Centre A great time was had by all at the Wolf Mountain Centre in Wolverhampton. We did archery, caving and rock climbing, and although the caving was quite scary (ask Mr Simpson!), everyone had fun in the end! Details of the next Globe trip coming soon!

Garden of Celebration The Christmas Garden ~ ADSDAN project 2011/12

The endeavours of the ASDAN group have ensured that our school now has a School Christmas tree. The Christmas Garden is the first stage of a project to develop a Garden of Celebration where we can showcase our art work etc. Physically it was challenging, clearing old planting and digging debris out to prepare the bed for our tree. More digging had to be done at the farm to extract our chosen tree. Replanting and preparing the soil was our next step and we then embellished the garden with plants and flowers. Research and planning took us to Planters Garden Centre and at the Tree Farm we were advised to water our tree well for a couple of weeks. We held a bbq in the summer to raise funds for the tree and enterprising Year 7 students have been busy selling spring bulbs to fund fairy lights to “light up the tree”. Donations and decorations have ensured that we have a sparkling bedecked tree – so take a look at the tree and see the fish too! Thank you to Ms Baldwin for the beautiful garden plaque and to Buildbase for the snow (gravel).

We would like to say A BIG Thank you

to the Wilnecote

Community & Tamworth Borough

Council for their £20.00 donation to

the Garden of Celebration

To those students who helped at the Wilnecote Junior School Christmas Fayre – thank you.

Anti -bullying Week – 14th-18th November, 2011 “Stop and Think Words Can Hurt” The picture shows Student Mentors (Lucy Morris, Olivia Higgins, Lizzie Mawby and Enya Key) with flags created by working with Year 7 students to raise awareness of the hurt caused by verbal bullying. During anti-bullying week the school hosted a workshop to further explore this year’s theme of “stop and think, words can hurt’ . Representatives from other schools joined us in drama and took part in the workshop. Our assemblies featured the Jessie Jay hit ‘Who’s Laughing Now?” Finally, on Blue Friday, all students were encouraged to send a positive message to a friend on their mobile phone in the hope that school would ‘ring out’ with the message that Wilnecote High School supports anti-bullying week.

PE News It has been another successful half term for Sport at Wilnecote High School within the District! 6 a – side Football Y11 - 1st in District Competition Y10 - 1st in District Competition Y9 - 1st in District Competition Y8 Team A 1st in pool A District Competition Y8 Team B 2nd in pool B District Competition Y7 Should have won but narrowly missed out !!

Netball Y11 - Won all their friendly matches this ½ term Y10 - Won all their friendly matches this ½ term Y9 - Won all but one friendly Y8 - Had their best team performance Y7 - Our most improved team who now hold the school record for numbers at training – enough for more than 3 teams!!

Badminton District Competition KS3 Girls - 1st And go onto represent Tamworth at the Staffordshire Championships KS3 Boys - 3rd .

Sports Hall Athletics Y7 Boys - won the District Competition and go onto represent Tamworth at the Staffordshire Championships. Y7 Girls - Came 2nd by just 3 points Y8 - Both Boys & Girls Teams won the district competition and go onto represent Tamworth at the Staffordshire Championships.

Mobile Phones For some time now, the school has operated an “off and out of sight” policy for mobile phones. In the interests of the prevention of cyber bullying and the focus on learning in school, this policy has been strictly adhered to from September. Mobile phones, i-pods and other forms of mobile communication devices have no place in school and students who fail to keep their phones “off and out of sight” can expect to have them confiscated, to be returned at the end of the day. At this stage we have no intention of banning mobile phones since we understand that communication between parent and child is sometimes necessary between home and school. However, students must realise that there is no need for phones to be used during the school day. This is also an opportune time to remind you that the school’s insurance does not cover the loss, theft or damage of students’ personal items, including mobile phones.

A full colour PDF version of this Newsletter can be found on our website www.wilnecote-high.staffs.sch.uk

Year 7 - Christmas Spectacular

To celebrate their first Christmas at Wilnecote High School, Year 7 students were treated to a film night with a ghostly feel ……. the walk to the Christmas Garden was through a spooky, ghostly representation of Christmas past, present and future. As well as enjoying the film Elf, Christmas games were organised and a taste of Christmas by way of Christmas Pudding (thanks to Jack’s Nan) and yummy mince pies (thanks to Charlotte’s mom). Rhys Williams won first prize at bingo – sharing all the sweeties with his friends and Jaden Hanson came back for more pudding! This event was organised by the Young Enterprise Team who produced the Ghost Walk which included a last minute special cameo role from Miss Price!

The spectacular Young Enterprise T eam Stuart Campbell, Jack Collins, Rhys Atherley,

Emma O’Brien, Charlotte McDonnell, Ellie Martin & Kerrie Hunter

Raise Funds for Wilnecote High School Help raise funds for the school by shopping online with over 2000 retailers with easyfundraising.org.uk. See: http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/wilnecote for details