Head’s Newsletter – 23rd June 2023
Dear parents and carers
I have sent an earlier message out to all parents with the news that we can now notify all parents that our Ofsted inspection report can be published. I am please to say that we have been graded ‘Good’ for overall effectiveness and have achieved ‘Good’ judgements in all categories. Please find a copy of the report HERE. This report can also be viewed on the Ofsted website from July 4th 2023.
We also hosted a wonderful Sports Awards Evening this week which was well attended and showcased what a talented student body we have! We have also had a number of trips this week such as sixth form trips to the University of Bedfordshire and Oxford as well as our annual battlefields trip going out. We will have reports from these events for you in the next newsletter.
Diana Anti-Bullying award
This week our kindness ambassadors ventured to Stevenage to be trained as anti-bullying ambassadors who will work with students and staff around key anti-bullying events during the coming year. The trip was a great success, and all concerned found it a very valuable experience.
Fletcher in year 9 writes: “On the 22nd of June 9 others and I who are part of the ambassador program at our school, went on a trip to Stevenage to complete the Diana anti-bullying award. This means that we are qualified to run anti-bullying campaigns at our school. We did this because we feel strongly about bullying and want to try and prevent it. We believe that this is our first step to do this and would recommend others to consider this as well.
The trip was packed with activities, such as learning British sign language, fun games where we competed and communicated against other people and schools, completed activities to help us understanding bullying and also watched some informative videos. These activities were great and enjoyable. They provided useful knowledge on how to be an anti-bullying ambassador. My role as an ambassador was to take away how to make our school better and a positive environment where students can feel safe and act freely. Ways I can do this are introducing anti-bullying events such as feel-good Friday, fun runs and more. I believe this will make Wollaston School a better place. My conclusion is we should host events and earn Diana badges to improve the learning environment and make sure it is a safe place where our students can freely express themselves without the fear of discrimination.”
Primary Science Visit
Mrs Sheldrick writes “Year 5 students from Cogenhoe Primary School enjoyed a morning of being forensic scientists in one of our labs. They used chromatography, chemicals tests and microscope work to try to deduce who had kidnapped Charlotte, the bearded dragon. Four of our Steam ambassadors did a great job working with the class and others will be helping in a few weeks when Wollaston Primary School come visit us.”
Road Safety
We have received reports from local residents that they have witnessed some very unsafe behaviour on the roads recently including young people in Wollaston village stepping out into the roads without looking first, many of them have also been wearing headphones/earbuds. Please do remind your children of the importance of road safety particularly during their journey to and from school when traffic is at its peak in the village.
Best wishes for the week ahead.
Simon Anderson