A Panathlon Challenge at Winston

 A National Charity Event Hosted by Winston

Last week The Winston Churchill School hosted in association with Active Surrey, a Panathlon Challenge for 7 schools in the Surrey district: Rodborough, Kings College, Freemantles, The Abbey School, Salesians, Greenford and we also had the opportunity to enter our own team.

A 'Panathlon' is a national charity event which hosts a series of different sporting activities that have been specifically adapted for children with physical disabilities and/or learning difficulties where there is a specified special educational need. 

This allowed students in years 7,8 & 9 the opportunity to have the chance to represent themselves and their school to take part in competitive sport. There were varied sporting stations such as 'seated' ten-pin bowling; curling; paddle table tennis; standing long jump (or wheelchair push), to name but a few. Each school had a team of up to 8 students and each activity enabled every child to access a different skill set and feel a real sense of achievement.

Our team of participating students were coached by 2 very special Winston role models in Y11. They had to overcome their own fears as they too have special educational needs and hugely stepped out of their comfort zone to model inspirational behaviour and generate effort from all to gain competitive points. There were smiles all round and an infectious enthusiasm in the air.

As hosts of this competition our Y11 PE prefects managed and led this special event. As their GCSE exams are soon approaching this was probably the last opportunity for them to lead in their PE prefect roles. They did an amazing job from greeting the schools as they entered our site; to carefully listening to the owner who trained them on each sport; to effectively communicating with every child making them feel safe, comfortable and confident; to awarding every school and participant with a special medal for great achievement. 

They showcased their fantastic sports leadership to help make a difference to every child taking part. They had such a positive impact, and in fact, every Winston student involved is part of a special group of motivational young people who demonstrated such impeccable, respectful behaviour. They delivered a high standard of instruction and involvement at each sporting station, removing barriers so they could all excel, enjoy and achieve.

The owner of the Panathlon challenge had this to say: 

      "Thank you so much for this morning.

      Your leaders were some of the best I have worked with not just this year but the past 4 years.

      They were a massive credit to the school and themselves and if honest would have them with me on any event.

      You should be very proud of yourself and the team at the school."

They were also referenced on Twitter from one of the participating schools:

      " Thank you to the team for organising a superb event! The Winston Sports Prefects were outstanding!" Rodborough School

Well done to everyone who participated in this event, we are extremely proud of everyone, and we would like to wish the best of luck to those schools who progressed to the next stage of the competition.

The WCSC PE Department

Mrs S Walton

Trying Something New

 The Winston Book Fair

The Book Fair is in full swing and the students have been loving browsing the books and deciding which ones will be their next read!

There is a huge variety of books on offer - some as cheap as £2.99 - and students are able to place an order with Miss Dodds if they would rather pay via Scopay. 

We have already made around £600 in sales in just a few days. Our aim is to make over £1500 as that is what we made in sales last year and this also means we get 60% of this to spend on books for our school!! We still have a week to go and a reminder that students will be visiting either in one of their English lessons or during form time. 

Tasting Test

All of our Year 11 GCSE students took part in a focus group during their Business Studies lessons where they tasted three different varieties of Jaffa Cakes and answered questions on each one based on five categories.  The average scores showed that the original orange flavour was still the favourite amongst those who took part with a score of 3.42.  This was reflected in the final vote where half of the 109 students voted the original as their favourite of the three flavours sampled. 

Winston's Little Shop of Horrors

A Great Night at the Theatre

Last week, students at The Winston Churchill School completed their run of 'Little Shop of Horrors' at the Rhoda McGaw theatre in Woking. This was a special occasion for this cast and crew, as it marked the first time Winston had returned to the theatre since 2019. 

The musical revolves around a flower shop in a rundown neighbourhood in New York City, referred to as “Skid Row”. The clumsy flower shop assistant Seymour, who has fallen for his co-worker Audrey, discovers an unusual plant during a total eclipse. He names the plant Audrey II and soon realises that the plant only feeds on human flesh and blood. The growing plant attracts a great deal of business for the previously struggling shop. Seymour has taken on a task to feed this strange plant, but as the plant grows, he needs to find new ways to satisfy its immense appetite. But what lengths will he go to in order to keep the shop's success?

As staff, we were in awe of the student's dedication and passion throughout the week. The cast and crew worked hard to use the new space at the Rhoda professionally and politely while maintaining the high standards expected of those working at the theatre. The technical teams, under the new leadership of Mr. Major, quickly wrapped their heads around the industry grade equipment and software. Leading to a dazzling display of lights and sound that took fifteen hours to programme and perfect. A team of artists and set designers led by Ella (year 10) spent time transforming the theatre atrium into Mushnik's flower shop while Emma, Catrin and Lara (year 11) had two days to learn and block their way around 4 professional plant puppets, one of which resembled the size of a small car.

The cast themselves brought a special level of care and attention to each scene this year. Having worked for months on Liberato and Lyric, they took to the stage with a special energy that made each part of the play shine whenever a new character entered from the wings. The pit band, working with Mr. Drake, played flawlessly throughout the entire piece, bringing a much-deserved praise each evening. 

Staff at the theatre commented on how impressed they were with the young performers and musicians, stating that they were stunned by the level of professionalism displayed by such a young cast. They showed this appreciation by offering some cast members a private tour of the New Victoria theatre next door, a behemoth of a space with over one thousand seats. 

I have been left in awe this year of what our students have achieved in such a short space of time and hope that the production will leave them with many fond memories for years to come.  

Mr Harrington-Tucker

Subject Leader for Drama

   

 

 

 

Comments from Parents and Guests:

'I just wanted to congratulate you (and the whole team) on the success of the show.  It was brilliant!

I can't begin to imagine how many hours of your time you put in to the organisation but it was well worth it.  Everything, from the set design to the programme to the coordination was remarkable.  And that's without even mentioning the actors!  

The calibre of the singing, dancing and acting was amazing. There are some very talented children at Winston and their confidence and stage presence shone through and that has to be credit to you and the department.'

'Firstly, huge congratulations on the Little Shop of Horrors.  What a fantastic show!  Even my husband, who hated the 80s film version (and generally dislikes musical theatre) enjoyed it - high praise indeed 😊  I expect you’re both in recovery mode now!  (And Mr Drake who didn’t stop all night–I’m in awe of his skills). '

'To the Drama, Music depts and all students
We went to see TSoH at the Rhoda theatre
WHAT a show!!! 5 ⭐️s
I have seen other shows in the main Woking theatre that have been totally unmemorable.
This show keeps coming back in my with little snippets.
‘The Daddy dancing’ ‘the fake arm in the plant pot’ ‘the dentist’ ‘ the gas helmet’ ‘the biggest Audrey II’
> The students from Ensemble to main characters were astounding - and not to forget all the backstage team, voice of Audrey, those we did not see on stage - I commend you all.

The total commitment to the show was very clear.
Team work and collaboration outstanding.
The feeling of school community and support for  all very evident.

Although we do not have children at the school but we come to support the Drama dept. We have seen quite a few productions now but think this is my favourite 🤩
 I am sure the whole team will be very tired today but I hope they are all so very proud and elated.'

***

'We just wanted to drop you a line to let you know how much we all enjoyed the show last night.  It really was phenomenal and the enthusiasm and talent shown by all the students involved was just wonderful to see. Thank you so much for all your commitment and hard work in putting on such a fabulous show.'

***

'I also wanted to pass on my congratulations for another amazing production. Winston has so many talented students it was such a pleasure to watch. Tamsin enjoyed every moment of her involvement and she was sad when it was finished. Thank you for reminding her of the joys of the theatre.'

***

'I wanted to drop you a quick email to say thank you.'

'I am sure I am not alone when I say last week was a week full of highs with some lows too (not to mention the countless trips to the the theatre and back! Lol) but oh my goodness it was so worth it. We LOVED coming to watch the performance on Saturday evening and I know that although the kids were desperate to catch up on some sleep, they are also sad that it’s all over.
They can’t wait to find out what’s next and I just wanted to say thank you for giving them both such a fantastic experience.'

'On behalf of all the teachers and pupils at The Hermitage, a huge thank you to you, your team and your students for a magnificent production on Wednesday. The children absolutely loved it and talked with enthusiasm as we were walking back to school. As teachers, we were thrilled to see so many past pupils taking so many varied roles.
Looking forward to next year's extravaganza!'

***

'Just want to say a massive well done and thank you for today. The production was exceptional from start to finish - from actors, dancers, orchestra, the singing and backstage crew. 

We absolutely loved it! And now have some very inspired year 6 children!'

***

'Congrats to the cast, crew & musicians on a brilliant production last night - I really enjoyed the whole performance,  some stunning individual performances and I still have the songs in my head 🙂 - amazing.'

***

'Firstly may I say what a fantastic production LSOH is, we came on Tuesday and it was completely brilliant!  What a talented bunch of individuals, the band are completely fantastic.  Something for Winstons to be very proud of indeed.'