Headteachers Letter – 1st July 2022
Dear Parents and Carers,
Year 6-7 Transition / Induction Days
On Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 July we will be welcoming our new Year 6 students to Wollaston school for their induction.
Some of these students will travel by school bus and we therefore ask you to remind your son or daughter to be courteous and supportive of them. Also a point of note for Year 7 is that they will be displaced from the Year 7 playground during break and lunchtime on Monday and Tuesday to make way for our new cohort and we thank them in advance for their support with this.
This is an exciting time but also creates nervousness – if our current students can model positive behaviour and be supportive this will help to ensure we provide the warmest of Wollaston welcomes!
House Championships 2021-22
We are fast approaching the announcement of House Winners 2021-22; the points totals are very tight and there is still the possibility of any house winning with 5 events to go.
The current standings are as follows:
| 1st | Austen | 34,760pts |
| 2nd | Nightingale | 32,350pts |
| 3rd | Churchill | 30,900pts |
| 4th | Drake | 30,850pts |
Winners Event – Tuesday 19 July
We have planned winners’ events that will take place on Tuesday 19 July, they are as follows:
- All house winners will have a non-uniform day. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO STUDENTS IN OTHER HOUSES.
- All house winners will receive a cookie at break time.
In addition, 45 VIP students will attend a private hire event at Box End Aqua Park (also on Tuesday 19 July). Students will leave lessons at 11.45pm, travel by coach to Box End and participate from 1-2pm. The return to school will be in time for buses.
https://www.boxendpark.com/watersports-activities/
As winners are unknown at this point, we have distributed VIP invitations to 45 students from each house, these have been chosen by placing students in rank order by net behaviour points totals.
This allows us enough time to prepare for any eventuality but does also mean that 3 x 45 students will unfortunately not attend. Whilst this is not ideal, it is testament to how close the event is this year!
VIP Students
If you have received a letter (email notification) please read the information carefully and make sure you reply by Friday 8 July latest, after this time places will go to students placed 46th and below.
Opportunity to join the Nene Valley Partnership Trust Board
Wollaston School is proud to be a founding member of the Nene Valley Partnership, our small Multi Academy Trust, which also includes Bozeat Primary School and Irchester Primary School. There is currently a vacancy for a member of the NVP trust board, which is the body that sets the strategic direction for the trust, oversees financial performance works with senior leaders to ensure educational performance. Trustees would particularly welcome expressions of interest from applicants who have educational experience – although any interested individuals are welcome to get in touch for further information.
Owing to rules laid down by the Department for Education regarding composition of the trust board, we are unable to consider applications from Local Authority elected representatives or anyone employed by a Local Authority.
If you would like to know more, or for a discussion about the role, please contact the NVP Governance Professional, Liz Procter ProcterE@nenevalleypartnership.com
Student Achievements
Year 10 students, Cameron and Josh, along with Josh’s dad Steve have completed a 25 mile bike ride to raise money for The Cransley Hospice. The total raised by the 3 of them is a little over £1,400, an incredible fundraising effort for a very worth while cause!
Wollaston School Careers Fair , June 24th 2023
It is pleasing to report that students, staff and visitors fond this year’s careers fair incredibly successful. 98% of Year 10 students said they found the event very useful or useful and 97% of them found the Careers Day overall useful or very useful.
Feedback from the exhibitors was fantastic and we can certainly be proud of the way that our students conducted themselves and engaged in productive conversations with exhibitors. Some of the feedback can be seen below:
“The attitudes of the students during the careers fair was impeccable. Special mention needs to go out to the Year 10’s, as their enthusiasm and questions during the fair was fantastic. Staff could not do more to help, and the event was fantastic to attend. Looking forward to the next one!” Leon Harris , University of Hertfordshire
“I felt the event was extremely well organised. The students were very welcoming on my arrival and were also kind enough to help unload my car. The students were all very engaging and asked many questions. All in all a very successful morning.” Navjoyt Kaur – ASK apprenticeship service
“It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, colleagues and your students. Your students were so helpful and were a delight to work with – please do pass on my thanks again to them for their help.” Lewis Clarke The University of Lincoln
Ties / lesson starts
With a few weeks left of the summer term I reminded the students this week of our core standards of punctuality, being dressed to impress and being equipped for learning. It is very important that we finish the year as we started it and maintain our excellent standards. With that in mind we have re-emphasised to our students how amazingly smart they look when they are all in the correct uniform and have ties on. Tutors will be checking daily and providing loan ties for those who have lost or forgotten their ties. If this is the case, parents will receive communication from the form tutor to let them know and to ensure that if necessary, a new tie can be purchased and provided at the earliest opportunity! Parental support with maintaining high standards of uniform are appreciated.
Y12 induction
Mr Mills writes:
This week we excitedly welcomed our new cohort of Year 12 students for their induction days. It was great to see so many students joining us so soon after their GCSEs had finished, and they showed themselves to be a year group with excellent potential.
Whatever activities we put on for them they approached them with positivity and enthusiasm, which will have helped them bond with each other, get to know the Sixth Form team and start to understand the demands of their A level courses. The days were split into different areas of focus.
Tuesday saw students working with their new forms on team building activities such as escape rooms, a food relay and a water transfer challenge. Students demonstrated excellent problem solving and communication skills vital ingredients for any successful sixth former!
They also took the opportunity to visit subject drop ins, where they were given a student’s view of each subject, what it might entail and what equipment they might need. This, combined with the taster lessons that took place on Wednesday and Thursday, meant that every student was able to have a clear understanding of the subjects they had opted for. They were also lucky enough to be given holiday homework to complete ready for September!
The induction process will have given each student a chance to meet new faces, become comfortable with the Sixth Form Centre and to understand how things will work in the new academic year. We now look forward to seeing them in August on results day so that they can confirm their grades and subject choices, ready to hit the ground running in September.
District Netball Finals results
Firstly, we want to congratulate all our students who have represented Wollaston School in Netball fixtures this academic year.
Moreover our Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 Netball teams successfully made it through to the district finals. Such a fantastic achievement!
On Thursday, we hosted the finals where our teams competed against Manor or Huxlow in the hope of becoming district champions!
All of the girls played incredibly well demonstrating some fantastic set plays, resilience and teamwork throughout. We are thrilled to report that our year 7 team won against Huxlow: 12-4, becoming the 2021/22 district champions!
The following girls competed: Jess, Lily-grace, Tasmin, Hermonie, Emily, Sophia, Lily, Ellia, Jasmine, Izzy and Mya. Congratulations to you all!
Simon Anderson
Head of School