Celebrating Year 11 Part 1

 Exit from the Exam Hall

As part of our celebration of the Year 11 cohort Mrs Jones and her team arranged the Festival on the Field.

All students were in school for the GCSE English Language examination.  They had no idea that staff and students had gathered outside of the hall, lining the pathway to the field.

As students left the sports hall they were met with clapping and cheering to honour them and their time at Winston.

The students were then met at the entrance to the field with a gift bag which contained tokens for the afternoon events.

Enjoy the images below and there will be more to follow in the next blog!

STEM Workshops

 Learning with Lego

We welcomed a company called 'House of Fun' to Winston who delivered a workshop for select Year 7 & 8 students using Lego. They are fun and engaging workshops that support the curriculum across all STEM subjects. Each year group were split into two different sessions. One session was heavily related to the curriculum that focused on constructing wind turbines. The other session focused on working collaboratively to produce the fastest race car in a group (it became very competitive during the final races!). Everyone was able to apply problem solving techniques to overcome hurdles they faced as well as being innovative to produce the most effective models. Staff leading the sessions were very impressed with the tenacity and outside of the box thinking our students showed throughout.   

The workshops gave all students a better understanding of applying theory to practical problems as well as getting an insight into techniques and how balancing power and speed is important for the function in many areas of engineering. After their session, students could highlight that they were developing skills such as creativity, ingenuity, team work and resilience. Not many things are perfect 1^st time, but understanding a problem, taking the time to find a solution and then putting it to action can go a long way!

Mr Martin

Exploring the Natural World

 Wellbeing - Eco Club Nature Walk

Thursday 23^rd May saw the Eco club and wellbeing leaders go to Chobham Common for a reward trip around our beautiful community. These students had given up their time to take part in regular litter picks around our school site to help our environment and enjoyed a walk in the sunshine led by Michael Jones from Thames Basin Heaths Partnership. We were lucky enough to see various examples of heath and flora along with a sighting of a rare Dartford Warbler! Each student was provided with a sheet to note down their findings and Michael shared his knowledge and passion for nature with ease and enthusiasm that was so exciting for some of our budding birdwatchers. 

We can't wait for our next visit!

New to GCSE Textiles

The new Year 9 GCSE art textiles class have produced some great work as their homework over half term. They have done really well with some of them producing some stunning photographs, detailed drawings and even one stitched piece.

Their task was to take some photographs of natural forms, and produce a personal response to it, using any media of their choice.

Miss King