Great Performance Celebrated

Awards Evening

Our staff really enjoy celebrating the success of our students and the annual Awards Evening enables us to congratulate those who have recently achieved GCSE results and to present certificates and awards that recognise individual outcomes.  awards are made in every subject area, as well as to students who have given their time freely in the service of the school.  I was delighted to see so many young people who wanted to come together for the final time to formally recognise each others' success.  The Mayor of Woking, Cllr Derek McCrum and his wife Rosemary joined us for the evening to present the certificates.  Prizes were also awarded to students who had overcome challenging circumstances or who had made an outstanding contribution to language learning.  We said goodbye to a lovely group of young people, wishing them every success in the future.

The Award for Academic Excellence was, for the first time, given to two students, as they had both achieved fourteen A* grades; Thomas Hammond and  Robert Penman.
Academic Achievement: Radiaa Shah
Year Leader Award: Louise Du Sautoy
Sports College Trophy: Daniel Bowman
Service to the School: Danielle Ayrio-Francis and Freddie Fisk
Owen Davis Award: Aiden Matthews
Edward Vines Award: Rhiannon Dallow
Jill Harrison Award: Henry Silk

Music during the evening was provided by Tracy Pohler, Alex Gunn, Callum Mealin, Benjamin Moore, Philip Norman and Adam Grainger.  Arranged and conducted by Mr Drake.

Special thanks goes to Mrs Pat Taylor, Mrs Sigrist and Mrs Mellor for organising such a lovely event.

Excellence in German

I was pleased to present a certificate for excellence in German to Aayat.  Aayat decided to produce a fantastic powerpoint  presentation about German culture during her half term break.  The 44 slides were very interesting and presented in a highly professional manner.
Well done Aayat!

Is there a Pirate at Winston?

There was a pirate in the Year 8 Maths Lesson, that I visited on Wednesday.  The Aspire group were completing some collaborative work to enable them to find the treasure.  It was inspiring to listen to the students challenging each other to ensure they were accurate and worked efficiently to complete the task set or Mrs Martin would make them walk the plank!

3D Set Design

The Art Department held an exhibition on Tuesday after school to highlight the work Year 8 students had completed in a three week period, to design and make a 3D model, in a shoe box, based on a theme of their choice.  I was asked to judge the outcomes.  students had found creating a model challenging and had used a range of techniques to realise their story.

Amazing Students

'Twelfth Night'

I enjoyed an excellent evening of Shakespeare, at the Schools' Shakespeare Festival.  Our students, performing Twelfth Night, joined 35000 other young people around the country performing a thirty minute version of one of Shakespeare's plays.  This inspiring festival helps to make these works accessible and audiences all over country and encourages students to appreciate one of our great writers. Our students were exceptional and delighted the audience with their performance.  I would also commend The Samuel Cody School, as every year their students create a memorable experience.

'Star Runner'

I was delighted to meet Aimee, who had participated in a race at the weekend in Seville.  She was competing in the under-16 age group and came second.  This is an outstanding achievement.  Well done!

Assembly: Anti-Bullying

The ABC Committee have been raising awareness, this week, about their work in the school to combat bullying. This large, active committee work with staff to challenge those young people who cause distress to others.  As a school we are committed to dealing with bullying behaviours.

PSHCE

Year 7 students have been considering the question: 'What are the ingredients for a 

perfect friendship?'

Great Work!

Super Heroes at Winston 

I never know what will walk through my office door each day and today was no exception!

The Science Department decided to dress up as super heroes to raise money for Children in Need.
 

They then disappeared off to save the world again; or was it the next lesson?

Year 7: My Family

Year 8 Geography

 Year 8 History

Students were analysing and then rehearsing arguments in preparation for a mock trial of Louis XVI.

 Finally...

I cam across Miss Harris, wearing a Geography appropriate coat! Mrs Eyre tried to convince me that the school should purchase these as standard uniform for the department.

A Busy Week!

Inset!

Tuesday 10th November was a training day for all staff.  We started in the morning with a session around the Prevent Agenda; helping staff to understand the issues and considering how to engage students in discussions regarding the sensitive issues of radicalisation and involvement in extreme groups and their activities. All of this work is underpinned by our focus on fundamental British Values, which are mirrored in the Winston Way.

11.00am on the 11th Day of the 11th Month

Mr Drake played the last post at 10.57am, on Tuesday 11th November and students then stood in silence to honour the sacrifice made by so many men and women, during conflicts around the world.

At Wellington Again!

This time students were able to participate in an Oxbridge event on Tuesday 10th November, Inset day, accompanied by Mrs Colloff. 

The students really enjoyed the experience and found it quite inspiring. None of them realised that over 50% of under graduates starting at Oxford or Cambridge this year came from state schools, so they feel that it is not something that is out of their grasp. Certainly gave them food for thought; it would have been great to have taken more students but spaces are limited, however, there are other opportunities provided both in school and beyond which reach the wider audience, including the visits we have been fortunate to have from the Master of St Peter's College, Oxford, Mark Damazer.

Diversity

This has been our assembly theme this week, led by Mr Mcleish and has raised awareness of and celebrated the diversity in our country, community and school.  Students were given the opportunity to reflect on how the increased diversity of cultures in our country, has enriched our experience.

Year 7 Parents in Maths Lessons

Being a parent is hard work and it can be very challenging when you are faced with homework!  The Maths Department are running sessions to help parents understand how we teach maths at Winston.  Sadly only a few parents joined us on Thursday evening, however, those that did enjoyed an informative, fun session.  We hope to see many more parents next time.