Week 34
Welcome to this week’s Headteacher’s Bulletin. I hope you are well. It has been another purposeful and productive week at Watling, with our Year 10 Geographers completing their fieldwork, students taking part in activities to recognise Pride Month, and our Year 10 Subject Consultation Evening taking place. Thank you to all who attended as these evenings offer a valuable opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and to work together to ensure every student achieves their potential.
Tomorrow, fifteen of our talented athletes will be representing Watling Academy at the county championships. We wish them the very best of luck and know they will do us proud. There is much to look forward to next week, but for now I will leave you with some more highlights from this week.
Mrs Anderson
Headteacher
Reminders
Spanish Translation Bee Regional Final
Year 9 students Bella and Kirstiella travelled to the University of Bath to compete in the South of England Regional Final of the Routes into Languages Spanish Translation Bee. To reach this stage (Stage 3), both students had already progressed through Stage 1, a class competition, and Stage 2, a year‑group competition held in our main hall.
In preparation, students worked hard to practise translating and spelling up to 200 Spanish words. At the regional final, they were challenged to correctly translate and spell as many of these words as possible in just one minute, competing against students from across the entire south region.
Both Bella and Kirstiella performed brilliantly, demonstrating impressive focus, skill and dedication. We are delighted to share that Bella won 1st place (pictured below with Mr Williams, Head of Spanish), an outstanding achievement that has earned her a place in the national final at the University of Cambridge later this month. We are incredibly proud of both students for their commitment and for being excellent ambassadors for Watling Academy.
Cricket Club
Cricket Club continues to thrive, with fantastic attendance from students across Years 7–10. It has been wonderful to see both girls and boys getting involved, developing their cricket skills, teamwork, confidence and most importantly, having fun. Students have shown real determination and sportsmanship throughout, all while staying active and enjoying time with friends.
A special thank you goes to Miss Loveland for her ongoing support and dedication in helping cricket grow at Watling Academy. Her commitment has made a huge difference to the club’s success.
Year 12 Explore Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace
Guest speakers from Santander delivered an engaging and informative assembly to our Year 12 students into the rapidly growing role of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace. Students were introduced to the fundamentals of AI, including machine learning, generative AI and how these technologies are already being used in the banking sector. They were particularly fascinated to learn how AI supports financial crime investigations, and the importance of human judgement alongside technological tools.
A key focus of the assembly was the responsible and ethical use of AI with students receiving practical advice on staying safe online, protecting personal information and using AI sensibly to support their learning. They also enjoyed a section on “prompt engineering”, which gave them helpful strategies for getting the most out of AI tools while encouraging them to think critically about how and when to use them. We are extremely grateful to the Santander team for sharing their expertise, inspiring our students and helping them better understand a technology that will play a significant role in their future lives and careers.
Sports Results
- U15 Boys Cricket Vs Dr Challoners – LOST
- Year 7, 8 & 10 Boys Relay teams all qualified for Fed Cup
What’s happening next week?
- Monday 15th June – Week B
- KS3 Rehearsals for Summer Showcase
- Year 12 Leadership Event at Two Mile Ash School
- Year 11 GCSE Exams AM: Combined Science: Physics, Physics
- Year 11 GCSE Exams PM: Further Maths
- Tuesday 16th June –
- KS4 Rehearsals for Summer Showcase
- KS3 Summer Showcase
- Year 11 GCSE Exams AM: Spanish (Reading)
- Wednesday 17th June –
- KS4 Summer Showcase
- Year 11 GCSE Exams AM: Spanish (Listening)
- Thursday 18th June –
- DofE Silver Expedition Departs
- Year 10 GCSE Trampolining Moderation at Ousedale
- Year 10 Network Rail Careers Programme
- Friday 19th June –
- Year 10 MFL Trip to Spain departs
- Saturday 20th June –
- DofE Silver Expedition returns
Sports Fixtures
- Tuesday 16th June –
- Year 7 Cricket Vs Radcliffe HOME
- Wednesday 17th June –
- Girls Fed Cup Relay Qualifier AWAY
- Thursday 18th June –
- Girls Football Moderation at Olney
- Year 9 Netball Trials
