Inform o o o o
This is an exciting and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will deliver real
educational and social benefits for college students, their families and the wider
community of Woodley.
Waingels College
Specialising In maths and computing
May 2007
Half termly newsletter for parents and the community
Better behaviour for learning
Although in our recent inspection, the behaviour of students was judged as
‘always good and sometimes outstanding’, we are still aware that a minority of
students too often disrupt their own and others’ learning.
Dear Parents
Waingels Transformation – an update
In the last (February) edition of ‘Inform’ we told you that we had finally
received confirmation of the go-ahead for the £30 million project to re-build
Waingels as a centre for 21st century learning in Woodley.
Since then detailed planning for the project has begun with the appointment of
the multi-national project management company Faithful and Gould to manage
the project on behalf of the college and the Local Authority. A representative
Project Board and four working groups have begun to meet to draw up
specifications. Within the next few months an invitation to tender for the
contract will be sent out. The size and complexity of the project means that only
the biggest and most experienced international design and build contractors are
likely to be able to meet the specifications.
Once a contractor has been appointed (hopefully by this autumn) the real
consultation on the design of the new Waingels – what it will look like, what
facilities it will have and so on – can really start. The aim is to have detailed
designs ready to apply for planning permission by spring 2008 with building
beginning in the summer of 2008. Occupation would take place in stages, with
full completion, including final landscaping, hopefully by early 2010.
Before all this, a lot of activity will be taking place to begin to engage students,
parents, staff, governors and the local community in the project. A first edition
of what will be a regular project newsletter will go out to all our ‘stakeholders’
in the next few weeks. This will contain answers to a range of frequently asked
questions and the dates of a series of face-to-face discussion forums being held
for different groups after half term.
During last term we undertook a thorough review of all our policies and
practices and have made some changes that we hope will improve behaviour
for learning still further.
Students have already been told about the changes (especially the increased
opportunities for gaining recognition and rewards for the usually excellent
behaviour and commitment of the vast majority).
All parents will shortly receive a letter re-stating our clear expectations and
detailing the rewards and sanctions we employ to enforce them.
I would ask that you read the letter carefully and do all you can to support your
child and the college staff in ensuring the very best behaviour and therefore
learning possible.
Good behaviour,
Good learning
Geography
Uniform to dress code
As part of the behaviour review already mentioned and as part of our
transformation to a more personalised education service, we are in the process
of consulting staff and students about our current uniform policy.
Although no changes will be brought in immediately, it is likely that we will be
moving away from insisting on one uniform for all to a dress code that enables
individual students to make choices for themselves about their dress and
appearance within a range of acceptable possibilities.
'The Geography Department has run two successful field trips this year. The
first took Year 12 to Studland Beach in Dorset where they undertook a dune
transect. They also walked into Swanage to look at coastal management and
ended up at the local fish and chip shop - a study of tourism off season!!
Year 10s were taken to the River Pang to measure width, depth and surface
speed as part of their coursework task. Luckily this year there was a supply of
water in the river!
Year 12 students at Studland Bay
We believe this change will promote the acquisition of important personal
skills of self awareness and judgement in students as well as maintaining high
standards of appearance.
Once initial consultations have been completed we will seek the views and
suggestions of parents and then outline a timetable for the gradual introduction
of any changes.
In the meantime our existing uniform policy will continue to be strictly
enforced, including the return to wearing ties from September after the
relaxation of this term.
Current uniform
Year 10 Students at the River Pang
‘Rainbow’s Ending’ by Noel Greig
On Wednesday 20th June, Waingels College is proud to present this year’s
Year 7 and 8 Gifted and Talented performance of ‘Rainbow’s Ending’. There
are two performances both in the Drama Studio; 4:00pm and 6:30pm. Tickets
for the 6:30pm performance have SOLD OUT and tickets for 4:00pm are also
selling fast. If you wish to purchase a ticket (Adults £4, Conc. £3) please
contact Miss M Judd on the details below.
‘Rainbow’s Ending’ is tale of two giants (Roy Head and Zach Millwood Year
8) who decide to have an eating competition. Between them they eat all the
plants and animals in the world and then fall asleep for a hundred years. All
the humans retreat for safety to high-walled cities, surviving only on the
boiled bones of animals left by the giants. After a hundred years the giants
wake and are hungry again. They go to the cities in search of food, and begin
to munch their way through the humans. Life has got so bad that the humans
Congratulations to students past and present
in the cities decide to commit mass suicide. One girl, called Rainbow (Emily
Sharman Year 8), thinks this is a bad idea and gathers together a small,
like-minded group of friends. Together they hatch a plan….
The pupils involved are working hard to ensure it is a tremendous show. Thank
you to all their friends and family for their support and we hope to see you at
the performances.
Drama Technical Club
Congratulations to Anna Minchinton who has been successful in being awarded
an Open Scholarship to read Physical Geography at Aberystwyth University
earlier this year. Details of the successful scholars, including details of their
schools are to be published in the Independent Newspaper on 24th May.
Well done to Samantha Rogers who recently competed in the British Snowboarding Championships in Laaz, Switzerland in March. Samantha won gold
medals for the Half Pipe, Big Air and Slopestyle events and won a Silver Medal
in Boardercross. This is a fantastic achievement and we look forward to
tracking Samantha’s progress in the future.
We have launched a Year 7-9 Drama Technical Club on Wednesday Week A
after school. The club provides a unique opportunity to learn about stage lights,
sound and even the smoke machine! We are also
offering the chance to be part of the Technical Team for the forthcoming
production of ‘Rainbow’s Ending’. Any students who wish to take part should
come along to the Drama Studio, new members always welcome. Miss Judd on
([email protected])
Addington and Waingels Collaborate
Miss Howard’s Year 10 GCSE Drama class are working with a group from
Addington Special Needs School on a performance based on the song ‘Hey Big
Spender’. This unique collaboration sees both groups of students working
together and has been a rewarding experience for everyone involved.
It will be performed at the Wokingham Arts Festival Arena for the Arts on the
28 June and Proms in the Playground, on the 4 July, held annually at Addington
School. Tickets for the performances will be available nearer the time.
Samantha Rogers in action in Laaz,
Switzerland
Well done to Layla Wareham who has won an award with Chiltern Training as
their most improved student. Layla attends Chiltern Training college studying
Nursery Nursing as part of her two year vocational training course which runs
alongside her GCSEs. The Chiltern College felt Layla was always ready to
share her knowledge and experiences, took a great deal of pride in her work
and she was a pleasure to teach. Layla is presently taking her GCSE
examinations at
Waingels and has been offered a full time course with Chiltern Training in
September.
Students rehearsing
Congratulations to Layla Wareham
Despite the rain threatening our entirely open-air trip, it held off and some
students– not put off by the grey clouds – enjoyed ice creams at the end of the
tour in Trinity Gardens.
Sports Day
The annual Waingels College sports day will be taking place at Palmer Park on
Thursday 12th July. Buses will take Years 7, 8 and 9 from the college to the
stadium with the day’s first event commencing at 10.15am.
This year all the students are competing within their PE athletic lessons to gain
points for their learning community prior to sports day. Every single student
will gain points. The best performers from their community in each will be
chosen to compete in the finals at Palmer Park with the other students cheering
on their learning community to victory.
The last event of the day, the staff relay, will take place at 1pm. Currently
Astor are leading with Rowling a close second.
Overall it was a great success. Student and staff benefited from our guides’
superb, in depth knowledge of Jack the Ripper and the local area and the guide
seemed to enjoy it too – they wrote me an email saying, “we take a large
number of school groups throughout the year and I must say that your students
are the best behaved that we have taken certainly in the two and a half years
that I have been doing the tours, so thank you for that.” Fantastic to hear and
testament to the excellent behaviour pupils displayed on both days. Well done!
Although we still have not yet uncovered the true identity of Jack the Ripper –
the history department and the GCSE History students at Waingels are a step
closer to the truth!
Chinese Visitors
Four Chinese teachers visited Waingels for a week in April. They observed
and taught classes ranging from Religious Studies (festivals) and Maths
(Origami) to Geography (economic growth) and led Language tasters and a
Tibetan dance workshop. They also played a major part in the Youth Awards
International Project.
Students competing at last year’s
Sports day
Thanks to Mrs Lee for organising this very successful visit.
A “Ripper-Roaring” success!
On Tuesday 8th and Thursday 10th May the History Department took two
groups of year 10 students to London to walk the footsteps of infamous serial
killer, Jack the Ripper. With students having to produce a 1500 word piece of
coursework on these infamous events in 19th century London, it seemed like an
invaluable opportunity. Students were led by our guides Kev, Ken, Dickie and
Steve – ex-army and current Beefeaters at the Tower of London- who walked
us round the various sites where the victims had last been seen; where vital
clues had been tracked down; and of course where the bodies of Jack’s victims
had been discovered!
Ms Evans greeting our Chinese
Visitors.
Year 11 Biology - The Movie!
Spring Festival 2007
The Year 7 Spring Festival took place on Friday 23 rd March and it was a fantastic success. It was an opportunity for all Year 7 students to display their
work from CLIPS, music, drama, art, DT and dance to their parents. The
students set up “stalls” to show off their amazing CLIPS work in the library
and they then manned the stalls and did a stunning job of explaining their work
to all the visitors. Their were displays of some students kites which they had
been making in DT – these were outstanding and then many groups of students
were involved in music, dance and drama displays which all went wonderfully.
Some students were lucky enough to get the chance to learn to play real steel
drums, with professional instructors, which they thoroughly enjoyed. The
feedback from the day was all positive and three smiling students were even
pictured in the local paper (The Woodley Chronicle).
Year 11 set 7 were filmed with Dr. Love for a Science teacher training DVD on
2nd May. The students were exposed to an interactive lesson demonstrating
different strategies to learn from each other. Ashley Cordery, Emily Gardner,
Chase Hill and Steve Kaulis took part in a role play showing the flow of energy
through a food chain, while the whole class used exam questions to develop
their learning from description to explaining to applying information. Emma
Saunders, Peter Leighton, Andrew White, Nikki Black and Dean Goddard took
part in a pilot project where the students evaluated their learning and the degree
in which the activities in the lesson enhanced and enriched their learning. An
OFSTED inspector was in the lesson while it was being filmed and commented
on the ‘fantastic contributions the students made’ to the lesson.
The DVD produced will be used in schools across the UK to develop and
enhance Science teaching. A huge THANK YOU to all the class for taking part
in the filming. They are all STARS!
A few quotes from parents and staff about the day:
The Year 11 students who took
part in filming.
‘I’ve seen my child do bits and pieces of work at home that made no sense to
me, but this afternoon I can see how it all fits together and it’s staggering what
they’ve achieved’ A Parent
‘I wish I could have done this at school’ A Parent
‘Friday afternoon was indeed a very special occasion and a welcome reward
for all the hard work that went before it by both staff and students. I know it’s
only one milestone on the long journey of “personalising education” but it’s
been an important one and one you have every right to be very proud of. Mr S
Alexander, Vice Principal.
Thanks to Miss Singer and all the CLIPs staff for helping to make this day
such a success.
Y7 Berlin Trip
Once again 45 Y7 pupils were able to enjoy four packed days in Germany’s
exciting capital city. The focus of the visit was to understand a little about the
effect the Cold War had on Europe and in particular on Berlin and Germany.
To this end we visited the Allied Museum and sites of the Berlin Wall. The
programme also included a day’s visit to the Film Studios in Babelsberg,
Potsdamm, where we were able to see a live stunt show.
of all the XL Club members: a fantastic group of students who have made it
very special to run: Bonnie Haines, Sophia Cameron, Stuart Moulds, Adam
Jeffrey, Matt Puttick, Ben Sparrow, Jess Smith, Iris Kellaway, Emily Offord,
Kirby Moggridge (+ Lisa Marie Knight, Charlotte Potter and Simone Bedwell).
Y9 Berlin exchange visitors
The pupils from Berlin returned to visit their exchange partners for 10 days
after the Easter holiday. Apart from a packed social programme after school,
they also took part in various workshops and lessons, including a joint lesson
on the Jewish Holocaust and a Shakespeare drama workshop with their
exchange partners.
Year 11 Princes Trust XL Club
Gold Award Overnight Residential Trip to Ufton Court, Ufton Nervet
Our final challenge in our quest to gain the Asdan Gold Award was to organise
an overnight residential trip. The whole process was assessed from the
brainstorming of ideas, to the practical implications of the trip such as writing
risk assessments and budget planning.
We selected Ufton Court: an Elizabethan Manor House near Burghfield. The
theme was to confront our fears of the unknown and look at strategies how to
deal with them. This was because as we leave school we have many fears to
confront and we need strategies on how to deal with them in life. This trip
allowed us to understand our fears and make sense of them. It is only by
making sense of our fears that we can then deal with them.
During the evening of the 15th May we had an Elizabethan Banquet and
dancing. We shared ghost stories with Tim Goodwin and undertook a midnight
walk to the ruins. A fantastic experience
The XL Princes Trust has allowed us to develop many skill areas however the
greatest strength of doing XL has been the improved self confidence and
esteem of our members. This is the central belief of the XL Princes Trust.
Special thanks to – Mrs J. Tillyard for fantastic contribution to our ghost stories, Mrs R Evans and her daughter Emily for awarding our certificates, Linda
Goddard and Craig Anderson for the constant support and enthusiasm but most
A big thank you to Dr Love who has work tirelessly to help these students
achieve this fantastic goal.
Year 11 students who
had a scary evening at
Ufton Court
Osmington Bay
A group of 29 Year 12 and Year 13 Mathematics A-level and International
Baccalaureate students went to Osmington Bay, a PGL outdoor pursuits centre
near Weymouth, to take part in a Study Weekend. Six members of the Maths
department accompanied the group. Both staff and students felt that the combination of study and physical exercise were a perfect support for their revision.
The students did 3 hours of Maths study, organised by the teachers, and 3 hours
of activities such as quad biking, aeroball, zip wire and abseiling each day. We
were extremely lucky with the weather and everyone felt that it was a very
worthwhile experience.
Art
Y7 CLIPS trip to Bristol
Our annual Year 13 Art Show will take place on Wednesday 27th June 07 from
16.00 to 19.00. All parents, students and teachers invited.
Forty Year 7 students enjoyed a fantastic three day residential in Bristol learning about the city and themselves. They became ‘technology aware’ with visits
to Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge and the ss Great Britain, practised their
‘logic smart’ learning styles by visiting the Planetarium and the @Bristol
science park and developed their teamwork skills by orienteering round from
Cabot’s Tower to the harbour. A bridge-building competition, room inspections
and making plasticine faces of each other both tested and extended their
interpersonal skills. And it was all great fun!
Thanks to Mrs Skelton for organising the trip and Mrs Hillier, Mr Bibby and
Mr Tait who all helped to make it possible. Next year we hope to extend this
opportunity to more of the new Year 7s.
Bar Mock Trial Competition
Seventeen year nine students took part in this year’s Bar Mock Trial
competition organised by the Citizenship Foundation against twenty-nine
other state schools from Berkshire. The heats were held at Reading
Magistrate’s Court in March and Waingels were up against The Emmbrook
and Blessed Hugh Farringdon, fighting a case of animal cruelty. Some
brilliant cross-examining and convincing witness testimonies saw Waingels
progress to the finals. These were held at the more prestigious Reading
Crown Court in May and we were paired against St. Bernard’s Grammar
School and The Kennet.
Waingels showed themselves once again to be force to be reckoned with and at
the end of an excellent morning’s competing finished in a very creditable fifth
position. Congratulations go to the hard work and professionalism of the team
who were: Annie Mellor, Hannah Rixon, Richard Knowlson, Nicola Dolby,
Hannah Williams, Sarah Batts, Sophia Hazari, Kayleigh Ziegler, Merryn
Robinson, Dominic Slack, Jonathan Kochman, Faye Muir, Daniel Ginn, Maisie
Ball, Harley Gacke, Kelly Leach and April Bird. Also a special thank you go
to the many parents who supported the team on the competition days and Mr
Cook for organising the event.
KS5 textiles piece by
Danielle Trayling
Bordeaux exchange
A group of Year 8 students have just taken part in the second exchange visit
with our partner school in Bordeaux. In March the French students visited
Woodley and we spent a very enjoyable week showing them our school and
local area. We also had a day out together where we visited the London Eye
and National Gallery which was a really good way to get to know our partners
better. In April, 19 students travelled to Bordeaux for the return visit. It was a
fantastic week, really hot and sunny and we had great fun exploring the city.
We also spent a day in school finding out what it was like to be a French
student and spent a day on the coast with our French partners climbing the
Dune de Pilat. By the end of our visit no-one wanted to go home and we are
already planning to meet up with our friends in France in the summer holidays.
Students who took part in
the exchange.
Term Dates
Reminders
Data check sheets were recently sent out to all parents. They should have been
sent back in by Friday 11 May. If you have not already done so, can you please
return them as soon as possible. These are important documents in keeping our
records up-to-date in allowing us to contact parents at the right address. If you
have lost your copy duplicates can be obtained from the Main Reception.
2006/2007
Summer Term
Half Term
Monday 28 May to Friday 1 June
College closes for the summer holiday on Friday 20 July 2007 to 12.05
As the hot weather approaches can I remind all students to bring their own water bottles into college. There are water dispensers available around the site but
the college will not be providing students with plastic cups.
Autumn Term 2007
Tuesday 4 September to Friday 21 December
Half Term
Monday 22 to Friday 26 October
Good Luck!
Best of luck to all students in their forthcoming GCSE and A-level
examinations. The staff would like to wish you every success.
Students receiving their
Examination results last
Summer
2007/2008
Spring Term 2008
Monday 7 January to Friday 4 April
Half Term
Monday 18 to Friday 22 February
College closed for public holidays on
Friday 21 March and Monday 24 March 2008
Summer Term 2008
Monday 21 April to Tuesday 22 July
Half Term
Monday 26 to Friday 30 May
May Bank Holiday is on Monday 5 May 2008
Inset Days
The five statutory inset days have not yet been finalised. These dates will be
available from the end of July 2007.