Week 32

This half term has flown by in a whirl of exams, trips, activities and competitive sports fixtures. As we go into half term, I am incredibly proud of how hard students have worked, particularly those taking exams, and of the collective achievements of our school community.  

Today we have said goodbye to our Year 11 students as they begin their study leave after half-term. It has been a pleasure to see these students grow with the school over the past five years and I wish them the best of luck with the rest of their exams and their future endeavours. I spoke to the students at their leavers assembly today and thanked them for their contribution to creating the Watling community. We will always be incredibly grateful for the trust that families put in Watling to join in September 2020, even though the school wasn’t built and hadn’t been open. Your commitment to Watling has helped shape the school into the vibrant and growing school that exists today. We look forward to welcoming students back for their exams after half-term, at our Sixth Form Induction day and at Prom. 

A reminder that there is a compulsory revision day on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd June for all Year 11s. Please see the information from Mr Brown for more details.  

This half-term has also been Miss Scarr’s last at Watling Academy. She has done a fantastic job as Head of Year 11 and I would like to take the opportunity to thank Miss Scarr for her contribution to the school. As a ‘Watling original’, she has been a hugely valued and dedicated member of our team for 5 years and will be missed by students and colleagues alike. We wish her all the best in her new role and relocation. One of our Year 11 students made a special speech and presentation to Miss Scarr in their leaving assembly and this really demonstrated the impact that a single member of staff can have. 

During this week, we have marked knife crime awareness week with some events in school. We were delighted to welcome our local Schools Police Officer into school to have an opportunity to deliver an assembly to some students and meet with students during social time on Wednesday. Our Year 9 students have had their enrichment days this week, with an in-school House event and the celebration trip to Thorpe Park. We are fortunate to have had such good weather to maximise these events.  

Following my reminder in last week’s briefing about uniform standards, and with the warmer weather upon us, I wanted to clarify the summer uniform arrangements. For the remainder of the summer term it will not be compulsory for students to wear blazers and jumpers to school. All other uniform requirements must still be met and a smart appearance maintained. 

There are some exciting things coming up next half-term; Year 8 will have the opportunity to take part in engaging STEMx workshops with Oracle Red Bull Racing, some of our Spanish and Mandarin students will be competing in national finals of the Translation Bee, Year 11s celebrate at Prom and some Year 9s jet off to China for the Mandarin Excellence Programme trip.  

Bookings for Year 8 Subject Consultation evening on Thursday 5^th June will go live this evening at 7pm and will close at midnight on Wednesday 4^th June. Please see the letter on ParentMail for details on how to book. These evenings are a key opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, performance and any areas for improvement, so teachers can work together with you to ensure your child achieves their full potential. 

Finally a reminder to any Year 7 and 8 students who ordered books back in March, the Library are holding some that still have not been collected. The titles are King of Nothing, Wild East and This Book Kills – please ensure you have collected your copy. 

I hope you all have an enjoyable half-term break. For any budding photographers, this could be a great opportunity to capture your winning shots for Mr Parks’ wildlife photography competition, see below for more details.

Mrs Fry 

Headteacher 

Sports Results –  

• Tuesday 20^th May 
  • Year 7 Jr NBA semi-final Vs Hazeley WON 31-26 – well done team!
• Wednesday 21st May
  • Year 7/8 Rounders Vs Brooklands WON 9 ½ rounders to 6 ½ 

What’s happening after half-term? 

• Monday 2nd June-  
  • Pride month – all month
  • Year 8 STEMx Experience all week
  • Year 10 Project Mind Matters workshop
  • Year 11 Exams AM: Urdu writing

• Tuesday 3rd June –
  • Y11 Exams AM: Arabic Writing, Persian Reading, Persian Listening, Portuguese Reading, Portuguese Listening 
  • Y11 Exams PM: Polish Reading, Polish Listening 

• Wednesday 4th June –  
  • Y11 Exams AM: Maths Paper 2 
  • Y11 Exams PM: Health & Social Care

•  Thursday 5th June –  
  • Y11 Exams AM: History, French Writing 
  • Y8 Subject Consultations online 

• Friday 6th June –  
  • Y11 Exams AM: English Language 
  • Y11 Exams PM: Geography 

 Sports Fixtures –

• Tuesday 3rd June 
  • Year 9 Rounders Tournament 
  • Year 7 Cricket Vs Denbigh AWAY 
• Thursday 5th June
  • Year 7 Rounders AWAY 
  • Year 9 Girls Cricket Tournament
  • U15 Cricket Vs Lord Grey HOME