Are You Ready?

 Winston is Ready for You!

Winston is ready to get the new academic year started and we are all looking forward to welcoming back our students to the classroom.

The site team have been busy and you can expect to see some significant changes, with more to come over the next term.

Classrooms have been changed and in some cases up-graded by making them bigger!  Painting, new flooring and lighting have made a difference and of course, the new toilets at the bottom of the science stairs. 

There are zones on the patio for each year group and new barriers to ensure that queues for our canteen can be managed appropriately in the current pandemic.  We will all have  responsibility to keep each other safe.

Parents and staff have been informed of the following:

Face Coverings: if you wish your child to wear a face covering to and from school and in our corridors, please instruct them that this is fine but it should be a face mask, as a scarf of any type is not acceptable. Students must remove masks in the classrooms or if requested, when having a conversation with a member of staff.  Currently this is not compulsory. This, of course, applies to staff, if you want to wear a mask or a visor we will support you.

From 1st September a product is being sprayed on tables, doors, hand rails and toilets which will captures and destroy coronavirus.  The product is used on the underground and in hospitals and last for 30 days.  This is just one of the measures that we are taking to reduce the risk within our community.  

 

Reminders:

I would like to welcome your children back into Winston in the following way:

Wednesday 2^nd September     Year 7 and Year 11.

Thursday 3^rd September          Years 7, 10 and 11.

Friday, the 4^th September       Years 7, 8, 10 and 11.

Monday, 7^th September          all year groups, including Year 9.

Students will be dismissed gradually at the end of each day:

Year 7 at 2.35pm

Year 8 at 2.40pm

Year 9 at 2.50pm

Year 10 at 2.55pm

Year 11 at 3.00pm

If students are remaining behind for an extra-curricular club or to use the library, they should wait in the main hall, within their Year Groups, for the bell to ring at 2.55pm before moving to that activity.

Lets all work together to make this a success.

I look forward to seeing students back in our classrooms.

Zoe Johnson-Walker

 

Welcome Year 7

 Year 7 Induction Days

I was delighted to welcome our new Year 7 students, 260 young people, to Winston on Tuesday 25th August. 

They all arrived in their PE kit on a wet and windy day, excited to be in their new school at last. Parents waved them off as they walked through the doors of their secondary school, sanitising their hands as they went in, ready to be part of Winston.

See below the Year 7 Bubble in the hall for a short introduction, then it was off to lessons and a scavenger hunt!

Our children enjoyed their days, including a free lunch!  They had such a good experience that even more students turned up for the second day.  I know that this will have helped to build their confidence for the start of term.

Students were able to select from curry, rice and naan bread or macaroni cheese or sandwiches.  

This was followed by sponge pudding and custard.

Well done Year 7 and a huge thank you to all the staff who volunteered to make these Induction Days so special.  Winston staff will always go the extra mile for our children.  Mrs Smith and Mr Harrington-Tucker planned and ran the days, which is very much appreciated.  We couldn't have these events without such inspirational leadership. 

We are looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday 2nd September! 

GCSE Results!

 Winston Celebrates!  🎉🎉🎉

I’m delighted to be able to share our GCSE results which are the outcome of five years of  hard work and perseverance by students, staff and parents.

GCSE results have had to be awarded differently this year, after exams were unable to go ahead in the light of Covid-19. Schools were asked to use their professional experience to make a fair and objective judgement of the grades they believed a student would have achieved had they sat their exams this year, and to submit these centre-assessed grades (CAGs) to the relevant exam board.

Groups of our teachers and leaders in each subject worked together, with Mr Jennings, to discuss and agree the centre-assessed grade for each student. They took into account a wide range of available evidence, including class work, mock exams and other records of student performance.

The grades achieved overall continue to place the school on it's upward trajectory and everyone involved is to be congratulated.

Our headlines as of 20th August 2020:

GCSE English    82.8%  Grades 9 - 4

GCSE Maths      81%     Grades 9 - 4

Percentage achieving grades 9 - 4 in both English and Maths 74.8%

 

Preparing for the New School Year

 Winston with a Twist!

Throughout the summer break we have been preparing for students to begin their school career in Year 7 or to return to learning in the classroom, for the rest of the school.

Every member of our school community will be expected to play their part by following the new rules aimed at keeping students and staff safe.

So the school day has been modified to reduce the number of students out on the patio at any one time and zones have been created and labelled to keep Year Groups separate as far as is possible.  So for example you can see below that Year 7 and Year 9 will use the canopy area and the lower patio for break and lunchtimes BUT they will be out for their breaks at different times, therefore, there will only be one Year Group in a zone at a time.  Year 7 and 8 will have an early break and lunchtime will have a longer stagger.  Additional picnic tables have been purchased and placed under the canopy, so that more children can eat packed lunches outside.

 Year 7 and 9, this is your zone for break and lunchtimes.

Other Year Groups have their zones marked out in a similar way.

You must use the hand sanitiser as you arrive at school, before entering the building and again as you enter each classroom, throughout the day, as well as before eating at break and lunchtime.  

Everything that we are doing is to help to keep you safe and to keep your families safe.

Corridors now have one ways systems, look for the signs!

Its going to be great to be back in school but we will all need to work together.

All Change

Progress!

Where is this?