St Wilfrid’s Catholic High School & Sixth Form College, a
Voluntary Academy
Newsletter 38 – 15th July 2016
Farewell and all the best
We say goodbye and best wishes to several colleagues who are leaving St Wilfrid’s this summer, we wish
them all the best in their new circumstance whether that be a new career path, relocation, promotion or
retirement. We thank them all for the hard work and dedication they have demonstrated to the students,
they will be missed. Mr T Holden, Mr J Pease, Mrs C Iley, Miss C Bell, Mr D Flack, Mr M Place, Mr S
Meldrum, Mrs C Carneiro, Mrs N Taylor, Mrs N Laws, Miss L Salway, Mrs J Winterburn, Mrs C Lines, Mr K
Walsh and Mrs L Macaulay.
We also say goodbye and best wishes to our supply staff colleagues Mr T Carroll, Mr B McGrath, Mr J
Wardle, Ms H Neale and Mr P Asquith.
We send best wishes to those expectant mothers who will be temporarily leaving us for maternity leave –
we wish them a very happy maternity leave; Mrs J Edwards, Mrs M Winstanley and Mrs T Schofield.
New starters in September
We also look forward to welcoming in September new colleagues who will be joining the St Wilfrid’s
community, namely Miss Edwards, Miss Ramoth, Miss Sheridan, Ms Bhogal, Mr Parker, Dr Hulme, Mr
Elonga Mboyo, Ms Patel, Ms Jordan, Ms Chisholme, Ms Hitchen, Mr Ulebor, Mr Quddusi, Ms Bains, Mr
McPhail.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Mrs E McGrath who will assume the role of Acting Deputy Headteacher
(Inclusion/Pastoral Care) from September 2016. Mrs McGrath is looking forward to working with you in
supporting your child make excellent progress during their time at St Wilfrid’s.
Sion Mission Week
Thank you to Mr Aitchison for the hard work and effort during the many months leading to the Sion Mission
week, the week has been a wonderful opportunity for all our students and staff to explore their spirituality
and faith. I thank the Sion team members for their energy and enthusiasm and for being an inspiration to
us all. Finally, I thank you all for your prayers and support in making the week such a success.
Ofsted Inspection
We are absolutely delighted to inform you that our Ofsted visit, which started in February and was
completed last month, sees the school as ‘continuing to be a GOOD school’. Please take some time to read
over the report, which can be found here http://www.st-wilfrids.bkcat.co.uk/school/ofsted/. Thank you to
all staff, students and parents, who work together to make St. Wilfrid’s a fantastic school, which we are all
extremely proud of.
Mission Week 11th-15th July 2016
As the Mission ends today, a sincere thanks to the Sion Youth Team for the fantastic and thoughtprovoking dramas, music, workshops and testimonies throughout the week. It has been great to see
students and staff taking part in the assemblies and liturgies, the prayer and the worship. We have all been
left with an indelible mark on our faith journey as individuals and as a school. We wish the team every
success in the future. They leave St Wilfrid’s with our prayers and blessings.
A personal thanks to the host families for providing a much needed home for the Sion Youth Team. It is
greatly appreciated. Also thank you to Fathers, Michael Hall, Simon Lodge, Duane Reilly and Bernard
Ratlidge for giving their time to support the work of the Mission this week. And finally, the school is in
gratitude to the parishioners of St Joseph’s, Castleford; St Joseph’s, Pontefract; St Michael’s Knottingley; St
John the Baptist, Normanton; St Austin’s, Wakefield and Saints Peter and Paul, Sandal for their continued
prayer for a successful Mission.
God’s grace and love have been felt throughout the whole school this week. The small seeds that have
been sown here will bear much fruit, not just in the school but in our local parishes. The school is
determined to continue the work of the Sion Youth Mission Team by offering its support to build youth
provision in this deanery. We endeavour to start Youth Alpha in school; to train our students to become
Student Chaplains; to give our young people the opportunity to be witnesses of hope, creating an
environment of love & acceptance, desiring to invite their peers to come and see, believing each individual
has gifts to share, and providing opportunities for service in ministry, living lives to the full & seeking to
encounter God in our daily lives.
This is a seemingly huge task but as Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 19 verse 26: ‘With God all things are
possible’.
Please enjoy your summer holiday. May God keep your families safe in His care.
Exam Results
A LEVEL AND LEVEL 3 BTEC RESULTS DAY THURSDAY 18TH AUGUST 2016
Results will be available to collect from the Sixth Form Study base as follows:
Year 13 (2015-2016) 9.00am -11.00am
Year 12 (2015-2016) 11.00am-12.30pm
Please note there are no BTEC results for Year 12
GCSE AND LEVEL 2 BTEC DIPLOMA RESULTS DAY THURSDAY 25th AUGUST 2016
Results will be available to collect as follows:
Year 11 (2015-2016) and Sixth Form GCSE re sits, 9.00am- 11.30am, collect from Bruynseels Hall
Year 10 (2015-2016) 11.30am-12.30pm, collect from Bruynseels Hall
Please note there are only 55 Year 10 students with results to collect. A letter has been sent home to the
students concerned.
UNFORTUNATELY WE CANNOT ISSUE RESULTS OVER THE PHONE ON THESE DATES
YEAR 11/12/13. Uncollected results will be posted home.
YEAR 10
Year 10 (2015-2016) uncollected results will be issued via their Year 11 form tutors on the first day of
term. Year 10 results will NOT be posted home.
St Wilfrid’s Presentation Code – PROUD
In September we will be launching the newly updated St Wilfrid’s Presentation Code – PROUD with all
students from Years 7-13. We want to encourage everyone to take pride in their work at all times, both in
class and when doing work at home. Students will be reminded on a daily basis how important it is that
they maintain high standards of presentation and organisation of their work in all subjects. They will be
rewarded for following our PROUD code.
P = Presentation with careful hand writing
R = Responding to feedback in order to improve work
O = Organisation of work, including clear titles and dates
U = Underlining titles and dates with a ruler
D = Demonstrating excellence
Please can I take this opportunity to thank you in advance for encouraging your child to start the 20162017 academic year with excellent learning habits, demonstrating pride in their work and high standards of
effort across all their subjects. Mrs Rachel Reiff, Assistant Headteacher (Teaching & Learning)
Year 10 Mock Exam results
All Year 10 pupils have received a document informing them of their Mock Exam results. Please take time
to look at these results with your child.
New Website
We are excited to launch our new website, please look out for it on www.st-wilfrids.bkcat.co.uk
STEM Update
Next Academic Year Mr Turner will be the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) Coordinator
at St Wilfrid’s. Please look out for any STEM opportunities and activities and get involved. Please do not
hesitate to direct further enquiries to Mr Turner regarding STEM.
June- July 2016 Historian Winners
Congratulations to the following students who have been awarded the Historian of the month; 7W Freya
Brenton, 8G Catriona Martin, 9G Reuben Walker, 10G Eden Pickering, 12W Alexandra Hepplewhite.
Bus Route changes for September 2016
The 582 will no longer travel via Leeds, Barnsdale Road. Travelling to School it will turn right off
Willowbridge Lane on to Pasture Way, turning right at Ackton Bridge on to Ackton Road, the Cutsyke Road.
Return journey will also be along Pasture Way. Please check the website for timings on the route.
We have been informed that the afternoon 587 bus to Chequerfield will no longer run from the start of
September. The 587 morning bus will continue as normal.
Arriva have informed us that other options include students taking the 476 from school to Pontefract
station and onwards on the 410/411 to Chequerfield.
GCSE PE
GCSE Polo tops are now in stock for students taking GCSE PE in Year 9, 10 and 11. Students can purchase
from the School shop for £8.00. See website for opening hours, prices and merchandise.
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham
Students from St Wilfrid’s will be participating in the annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham on
Saturday 17th September at the invitation of Bishop Marcus. It will involve an early start to arrive in
Walsingham in time to join with the diocese for Mass followed by a Procession and the rosary. We will also
find time for a picnic lunch and perhaps an ice-cream. If your child would like to accompany us and has
not yet collected a letter and returned their reply slip please ensure they do so by Friday 9th September.
Battlefields trip July 2016
Last week Mrs Tomlinson along with Mr Lewis, Miss Watson, Miss Speed and Mr Treanor took 44 Year 10
History students to Northern France and Belgium to visit the Battlefield sites of the First World War. The
significant anniversary of 100 years after the Battle of the Somme made the trip even more special. It was
a very successful trip enjoyed by students and teachers alike, with many memories made which will stay
with them for a long time to come. Students behaved and acted impeccably throughout, a real credit to
themselves, parents and the school. Thank you to those who followed our week on the History twitter
@stw_history. Plans for next year’s trip are already underway.
Lourdes
Students from St Wilfrid's have just returned from another successful pilgrimage to Lourdes. We
remembered and prayed for all associated with the school at the grotto and lit candle for all your
intentions. All who travelled had a great time both spiritually and socially and were a credit to both school
and their families. Watch this space for the launch of Lourdes 2017 for Year 10 and 12.
Work Experience
It has been an absolute pleasure and honour to read so many fantastic glowing reports for our Year 10 and
Year 12 students who have recently taken part in work experience. It is evident that our students have
been hard working, respectful and have impressed the local employers with their mature attitudes and
willingness to learn new skills. As always, we are very proud of our student’s abilities not only in the
classroom but in extracurricular activities such as work experience. We hope that all our students enjoyed
this experience and can take pride in how they represented our school and their ability to be successful in
the world of work. Thank you to you all for making this such a huge success, we hope this opens doors for
further opportunities in the future.
Joseph Horner 7N
This year Joseph has been simply phenomenal in terms of reading and taking Accelerated Reader
quizzes. He has set new records in the library, which I doubt will ever be beaten. Since September,
Joseph read 133 books, earned 1,877 points and read 12,750,164 words. Nobody else in Year 7 or 8 came
even close to Joseph’s books read, points earned or words read, so it makes it all the more remarkable
what he has achieved. If you listened to all the professionals who say boys don’t read, well here is one
Year 7 who has proved them wrong. I wanted to reward Joseph for his awesome accomplishment so I put
together a goody bag for him with an Amazon voucher for him to treat himself. Photographed below from
left to right is Mrs. Iley (Joseph’s English teacher), Joseph and myself (School Librarian). Well done
Joseph.
Thank you
May I take this opportunity to thank you and your families for your many kind wishes and for your
continued support, I wish you all a very happy and relaxing holiday this summer and I will look forward to
working with you all on our return in September.
Best Wishes
Helen Gilroy
Acting Headteacher