Winston in Five Finals!

 Woking Finals Day

The 2024/2025 season closed with Woking district finals day at Woking FC, 28^th and 29^th April. A big end of season finale for Winston, with 5 teams making the penultimate matches. Three from the girls side and two the boys, with three of the five coming out victorious (see below for the match reports). A special mention to all the schools who acted professional and Winston's Year 7 ball boys & Year 9 sports mentors who worked tirelessly both day to ensure the event ran smoothly. 

Year 7 Girls:

The Year 7 girls put in a fantastic performance against a strong Salesians team, who had beaten them 9-0 in the league this year. This time, the girls were much improved — defending crosses well, with Lily Hill making some brilliant saves and the defence staying strong under pressure. However, just before half time the opposition played some lovely football to gain a goal. Despite the disappointment, the girls showed a lot of resilience and fight to get the game back level with the midfield working tirelessly, and strikers creating several chances. With five minutes to go, Cristabelle scored a well-placed equaliser after a great through ball from Lilly. The game ended 1-1, leading to penalties, where the girls narrowly lost 3-1. A proud and resilient performance for the year 7 Girls Football Team against tough opposition!

Year 10/11 Girls: 

The year10/11 Girls delivered a brilliant team performance in their final against Woking High. From start to finish, they stuck to their game plan with standout moments from Amelie in goal, Parissa  implementing her role perfectly, resilient defensive displays and creative attacking play from all. Despite going 1-0 down to a well-taken goal, the girls showed great resilience. A flowing move through midfield led to a wide pass and a perfectly weighted ball over the top for Ava Price to slot home the equaliser. Just before half-time, an identical move, assisted by Chloe Fish, saw Ava score again to make it 2-1. The second half was all about grit, determination and teamwork. Under pressure late on, the defence and Amelie stood firm to protect the goal and lead. 

The final whistle sealed a 2-1 win and a thoroughly deserved victory for the Winston Girls! Congratulations to all involved and best wishes to the year 11 girls who move on! 

Year 8/9 Girls: 

After two previous years of penalty heartbreak, the Year 8/9 girls football side won 4-1 on penalties after the score remained 0-0 at full-time. 

 

In a team also supported by two Year 7 players, the side as they had done the previous year, turned in their best performance of the season.  They  fashioned numerous scoring opportunities but couldn’t quite force the ball int the net.

The game then went to penalties to settle the tie and after our goalkeeper Jess has saved the first penalty, our players went on to convert all their spot kicks with laser like precision.  The group not only fully deserved the win but had also prepared meticulously for the fixture and went out with a fixed game plan, which they executed perfectly.

Year 8 Boys:

The Year 8 boys faced Salesians in the final, a repeat from last year. Knowing the Salesian team was strong this year Winston started strong, proving difficult to defend down the channels. Sam L took one of these chances superbly, slotting in a short across the keeper. Shortly later, a goal line scramble from Salesians led to the balling falling at Sam's feet again. Bundling it over the line, Winston went 2 nil up. After half time Winston slowed down from their energetic first half display, letting their guard slip and Salesians brought one back. However the resilience, determination and sheer hard work from all the players ensured the game remained 2-1. Congratulations to Salesians for fighting till the end and 

even more of an applause to Winston who became back to back Woking District Champions. 

Year 9 Boys: 

The Year 9 boys had made it to another final, two years on the trot. Facing an opponent who had previously beaten them in the final the previous year, Woking High. The year 9 boys who had played some fantastic football over the season started well, pressuring Woking High's backline and provide some half chances for the Winston strike force. However that potential soon fizzled out with Woking High getting into gear and imposing themselves on a wobbly Winston side. The high temperature didn't help Winston as they were without the ball for the majority of the game, tiring throughout. They played to the final whistle but unfortunately came out as runners up. 

Mr Fuller

Event Organiser

The Battlefields Trip

 Winston Remembers

From the 2nd May to the 4th May, 79 Year 9 pupils attended the History Battlefields trip to Belgium and France. Pupils have studied various aspects of WWI during Year 9 and the trip provided pupils with context and a first-hand experience on what it was like to serve and live through the war.

Pupils had a packed three-day itinerary combining visits to the Ypres Salient and Somme Region. Day One, included a  visit to Passchendaele New British Cemetery and Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth war graves cemetery. Followed by an afternoon visit to Flanders Field Museum and a highlight for both staff and pupils a quick stop at a Belgian chocolate shop.

Saturday was spent visiting various sites and memorials in the Somme region of France. Including a network of underground tunnels at Wellington Quarry, tunnelled by British and New Zealand forces in 1917. This was followed by a tour of two Canadian memorial parks, Newfoundland and Vimy Ridge. Then a visit to the largest manmade crater of WWI, Lochnager. The day ended with a return to Ypres town centre, where three Winston pupils, Amelie, Jairaj and Charlie participated in the Last Post ceremony; laying a wreath at the Menin Gate, an act of remembrance that has taken place since 1928. 

The final day students returned to sites associated with the Ypres Salient. Including a tour of a preserved German trench at Bayernwald, the German cemetery Langemark and Essex Farm Cemetery, which is the site Canadian soldier John McCrae wrote the famous ‘In Flanders Field’ poem. The trip ended with Lijssenthoek Cemetery a site which highlights the scale of the war, containing the graves of French, German, US and Commonwealth soldiers. Along with Chinese Labour Corps and Staff Nurse Nellie Spindler.

Throughout the trip students conducted themselves brilliantly. Showing respect, responsibility and engaging with each activity. We were very proud of them and hope they enjoyed the trip! 

Below are some comments from students who attended the trip: 

'It was such a  good experience…thank you for the amazing opportunity and allowing me to thank the soldiers who fought’ – Jairaj

‘I loved the trip so much. I thought it was very interesting and exciting. I enjoyed being able to see all the significant places from WWI, and it has really helped me understand more about the war. Thank you for such an amazing trip I am very grateful’ – Madison

‘It was the best way for me to reflect on the impact of the war and how many soldiers were in the war’ – Max

'I really enjoyed the trip; I have to say that my favourite part of the trip was probably when we went to Wellington Quarry. I liked seeing the daily life of the tunnellers’ – Ariana

‘Thank you so much for the trip. I really enjoyed it and it will be a once in a lifetime experience’ – Mahd

‘The trip was amazing. I enjoyed looking at the memorials of the soldiers, trenches and what it was like for the soldiers. It was very influential and made me think about the war in more detail’ – Jasmine

Miss Robinson

Deputy Head History

Warhorse

 Year 9 Drama

Our Year 9 students have been working on bringing an extract from Michale Morpurgo's 'Warhorse' to life. They were split into groups to not only act out the scene to visually illustrate the story but they also had to design soundscapes, costume and lighting for a section of the production. 

Our students were very creative, producing some impressive shadow puppets and reimagining a scene which takes place in no man's land. 

Miss. L Watson

Drama 

Winston in Rome

 Rome Past and Present

Our best visit yet! Year 10 Latin and History students enjoyed the incredible sites of Rome, soaking up the history, the culture, and the sun.

After we landed, we set out straight away to the Welcome to Rome experience, a virtual tour of Ancient Rome from the dispute between Romulus and Remus to the present day. A perfect aperitif before touring the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill the next day. Our guides led us around the arena and along the streets of the centre of the old city. With all that walking students definitely deserved an afternoon down Via del Corso for a spot of lunch and retail therapy.

39,000 steps

An early breakfast to beat the queues into St Peter’s Basilica. Students were awestruck by the world’s largest church, and some found the Holy Door, which is open once every 25 years. A stroll along the river, a meander through the cobbled streets of the Trastevere district and the rush through the Vatican museums we finished the day in the Sistine Chapel.

64,000 steps

A ‘short’ coach ride south, we were in Herculaneum by lunchtime. From the entrance to the ancient town you can see the layers upon layers of hardened lava on which modern Herculaneum sits, and stand on what used to be the coastline, pushed far out by the eruption of Vesuvius. Since this town was encased in mud, not ash, it wasn’t exposed to oxygen, preserving roads, buildings, artwork…the detail on the mosaic floors and vibrant paint adorning the frescos, it’s hard to believe it was destroyed almost 2000 years ago. As if we hadn’t hiked enough, we ventured up Mount Vesuvius above the clouds. A quick stop in Pompeii for a lavish pizza dinner before heading back to Rome. 

78,000 steps

On the final day, students elected for a second round in the shopping district before an afternoon soaking up the Roman sunshine in Villa Borghese. Students, throughout this trip, continued to show their resilience, maturity, and responsibility. They conducted themselves brilliantly and represented themselves, and our school, admirably, and we are incredibly proud of them!

95,000 steps

We hope that students will hold these memories for years to come and we’re already excitedly organising next year’s visit!

Mr Fisher

Head of Latin

Winston Remembers

 VE Day at Winston

The Winston community joined with the rest of the nation by holding a 2 minute silence at midday on the 8th May, in recognition of Victory in Europe.

Mr Webster read some of Winston Churchill' speech and after the chimes of Big Ben, we all had two minutes to reflect before Mr Drake and some Year 10 musicians played 'We'll meet again'.

Well done Winston you were superb throughout the event, coming together to demonstrate your respect.

I am extremely proud of you.

Zoe Johnson-Walker

Headteacher

An Electromagnet Challenge

 Electromagnet

The picture shows a particularly well constructed electromagnet. Although this image shows 4 paper clips hanging down, the girls who constructed this successfully hung 5 paper clips, end on end, a first in my classroom.

The girls who made this are:  Eva Harding, Amelia Hartley, Pippa Knox & Jenna Milton.

Well done!

Dr North

Head of Science

Exploring the Holocaust

 Exploring the Holocaust through Virtual Reality - Testimony 360

On the 29th of April we were privileged to welcome the Holocaust Education Trust into school. Selected year 9 students were given the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the Holocaust through a brand new exciting and interactive workshop. 

Students were able to build upon their learning from history lessons through two new types of technology. One of these involved using pre-recorded survivor testimony to ask questions to a Holocaust survivor, Susan Pollock. Students were able to have their own personal conversations with Susan and question her about her pre-war and post-war life as well as her experiences surviving a Jewish ghetto in Hungary and Auschwitz concentration camp. This challenged students questioning skills and made them responsible for their own enquiry based research, a skill useful in their upcoming GCSE course. 

To allow the students to place their findings within a visual context, they then used virtual reality headsets to take a tour of Felsogod, Susan's home town, Auschwitz concentration camp where her family members were killed, and Bergen Belsen camp, where she was finally liberated by British troops.

Below are some comments from the students who took part as well as our team of history prefects.

"I enjoyed talking to the testimony recordings- they were so interactive and gave interesting facts" (Rocco, Year 9)

"I really enjoyed not just learning about the subject but also being able to interact and see as if it were real life" (Ben A, Year 9)

"It was great to be able to interact with a real life survivor and understand their experience by humanising them instead of thinking of them as victims." (Ayra, History Prefect)

"I really enjoyed learning about the Holocaust through a visual and personal perspective. It was a great way to show the impacts that such a tragic event had on millions of people whilst reminding us that the victims and survivors should not just be defined by those events, but should be remembered as real people with lives and hopes before the Holocaust." (Eva, History Prefect)

Mrs Harnett 

Head of Winston Extra and PSHE