Headteacher Weekly Bulletin 13.10.17

Good afternoon.

Last night completed a hat-trick of Thursday evening events with our 6th Form Open Evening. Word must have circulated about the very positive Ofsted 6th Form report in March and the fabulous A level results this summer, as we had a record number in attendance, including 56 Year 11 students from other schools keen to see what Wellington has to offer.  The feedback was extremely positive and I strongly suspect we may have record numbers applying for Year 12 next year. With ever-improving results, the launch of new courses such as Politics and the possibility of Drama and Economics in the future, the leadership of Mrs Stephens and Mr Cropper and a fantastic team of deliverers, we are confident of our popularity continuing to grow at Key Stage 5.

If you were here last night and have any further feedback, do not hesitate to get in touch and share your thoughts.

So what else has been going on this week?

The Maths department have been even busier than usual it would seem. I love the idea of taking students to the Races at Haydock to apply their Maths and address the issue of metric vs imperial.  Well done Mrs Fairbairn and Mr Morfee but I expect an invitation next time, although I’ve failed miserably over the years to pick many winners.

The Maths department also repeated an event they ran for the first time last year; an evening for the parents of Year 7 students who may need that extra bit of parental support to lay the foundation for future success in the subject.  The demands on young people in Maths at all key stages is incredibly challenging and we are doing everything we can to support students and parents alike.  The event was, once again, very well received.

Leaping from Year 7 mathematicians to Year 13 biologists, I enjoyed reading Mr Williams’ report of his ‘fieldwork’ in sunny Wales with our A level students and Miss Tyrer – very fetching outfits, folks!  I’m sure they’ll be glad to get home for a warm bath and write up their extensive notes on ecology.

I must thank Mrs Cook for her efforts with Crochet Club (great photos) and I know those who attend absolutely delight in the experience.

Mr Gerschler has asked that I advertise both his History Club, which has proved very popular in previous years, and the soon-to-be launched Latin club, run by students from the University of Manchester.  I quite fancy them both but will have to check my schedule.

Another busy sporting week at Wellington but, as I type, I haven’t received a full complement as I am unusually early today; the reason being my poor mum turns out not to be entirely super-human as we all suspected and had knee-replacement surgery on Tuesday and I want to make a sharp exit to visit her in Stepping Hill this evening. 

Anyway, fabulous victory for my ever-improving Year 7 rugby squad at Bramhall on Tuesday – read all about it!  The Year 8 team were less successful against very strong opponents.  Mr Higginson said they played with great tenacity, however, particularly Matt Abbott, and came away with great credit.

Mr Scott’s Year 9 football team appear to have had a tough start to the season but I’m sure, with perseverance, a change in fortunes is just around the corner.

We held the first meeting of the 80th anniversary fundraising committee on Wednesday; a combination of parents, governors and staff.  Fuelled by tea and biscuits, the conversation was awash with marvellous ideas how to build on our current charitable efforts but also to create new opportunities.  If we can maintain and spread this level of enthusiasm and creativity, I have every confidence that we can easily exceed our target.  Thank you to those who came along and I’m sure we will be ‘tapping up’ many more of you before too long.

The aim is that many of our anniversary celebration events will endure beyond this year, and one such initiative is Mrs Moorhouse’s Community Choir.  What a great thing to set up and I hope, even with my pitiful vocal capability, to pop along on a Monday evening – just for the craic / the banter if nothing else.  I’m sure there may be wine involved!

We fast approach the half-term break and members of SLT were filled with a sense of both dread and wonder when we considered the bulletin for next week at our meeting before school; I’ve never seen so much planned for a single five-day period! We know it’ll be another ‘classic’ week in the wonderful world of Wellington and I look forward to reading all the reports over the next seven days.

Bon voyage to those staff and students heading off to Amsterdam for the Year 10 Art trip and the Historians heading to the battlefields of Belgium.  To those left in School, ‘bonne chance!’; it’s going to be a busy five days.

I nearly forgot … one date for the diary that came out of the meeting on Wednesday; Friday 6th July – the date of our Gala Dinner, the finale of our 80th celebrations.  With only around 240 places available, I suspect tickets will sell like the proverbial ‘hot cakes’, so keep an eye out for further details.

Enjoy reading all this week’s reports and have a great weekend!

S Beeley