It’s been lovely to see the school in some sunshine this week – we hope it is the sign of a brilliant summer to come. The school was been incredibly busy, with lots of trips and opportunities taking place. We are now into the final push for our summer GCSE exams, with 18 school days until the first formal exam taking place. As we enter this period of the school year for the first time, I know that everyone in our community will be sending positive thoughts to our Year 11s, their families and teachers. Year 10 and 11 Progress Reports will be sent home today.
A reminder to parents/carers book Y11 subject consultations which are taking place next Thursday. Booking will close at midnight on Wednesday 26th March. Please see the letter on ParentMail for details on how to book. This event is crucial for us to work together to support our Year 11 students, who have their first GCSE exam in 18 school days!
On Monday eight of our Year 10 students travelled to Shenley Brook End school to take part in the 2025 Maths Feast competition, a unique and engaging event that tests students’ problem-solving and teamwork skills. In two teams of four, students were challenged to tackle a variety of mathematical problems over several rounds, each requiring different skills and strategies for success including spatial awareness and mathematical reasoning. Both teams did incredibly well but the team featuring Ope, Alisina, Emran and Marley had great success coming 2nd in the third round, 1st in the final round and 4th overall out of 20 teams. Well done to you all and a special mention to Mr Houghton, as without him this trip would not have been possible.
On Thursday this week, Year 7 student Bora represented Watling Academy in the Southeast regional final of the Foreign Language (Spanish) Spelling Bee at Southampton University. The Foreign Language Spelling Bee is a competition for students in Year 7 to practise and improve their vocabulary, spelling and memory skills in a foreign language (French, German, or Spanish). Entrants must learn 50 words per stage in their chosen language, translate the words from English and spell them in the target language. With Mr Williams, Head of Spanish, and a family member there to cheer her on, Bora gave it her all but it was a tough contest and unfortunately she didn’t reach the final four. A huge well done to Bora for her hard work, courage and dedication in reaching this stage of the competition – we are very proud. A thank you also to Bora’s family and to Mr Williams for their support in facilitating the trip.
Over the past few weeks our Spring door competition has been brightening the corridors of the school. Tutor groups were given a brief to design their door to show the colour and fun of Spring. They could draw, paint, print or photograph elements of Springtime and then design the door. It has been a pleasure to see students getting creative and the effort that has gone into adding some colour and vibrancy to the corridors. Congratulations to the winning tutor groups, voted for by the House Champion team; 7PWN, 8PRA, 9ESE and 10VTR. Our overall winners were the MAC room, who created a beautiful tree with lots of brightly coloured flowers. I’m sure you’ll agree they all did a fantastic job – well done everyone!
Last week I mentioned some of the exciting events our students took part in for British Science Week, photos of these have now been shared on our Facebook page and website so head over there to take a look.
As I write this week’s bulletin, our Under 15 girl’s football team are travelling to play in the County Cup final in Slough. We wish them all the best for this and are incredibly proud of their achievements so far in the competition.
As you will be aware, we have high expectations about student presentation and behaviour at in school. We have consistently reminded students to wear their school uniform correctly at all times. We are aware that some students are continuing to wear the school skirt at a length that is not acceptable. During the next few weeks, we will be closely monitoring the students who are not wearing uniform correctly and will be contacting home if improvements need to be made.
Unfortunately we have received some complaints in recent weeks regarding disabled parking bays being unavailable as they were being used by someone not displaying a blue badge. As such, I must remind you to ensure that a blue badge is displayed at all times when parked in a disabled bay. There are many members of our school community who need access to these spaces. If you do not have a blue badge, please leave these spaces available for those who need them.
Hope you have a restful and sunny weekend and good luck to our Year 9 students taking drama assessments next week.
Mrs Fry
Headteacher
This week’s Sports Results
- Tuesday 18th –
- Y11 football Vs Oakgrove LOST 8-0
- Wednesday 19th –
- Y8 MK Schools Netball Tournament Cup – RUNNERS UP (see photo below)
- Y8 MK Schools Netball Tournament Plate – RUNNERS UP
- Y9 Boys Football – Not Played, win given
- Thursday 20th –
- Y9 Basketball Vs Oakgrove – WIN 32-20
- Y11 Basketball Vs Oakgrove – WIN 26-21 and the last game for Y11
What’s happening next week?
Key events upcoming:
- Monday 24th March –
- Y9 Drama assessments all week
- Big Rock climbing trip
- Wednesday 26th March –
- Y11 Intervention day
- Thursday 27th March –
- All school run afterschool clubs cancelled
- Y11 Subject Consultations
Sports fixtures
- Wednesday 26th March –
- U16 Girls Football Vs Shenley Brook End HOME
- Y7 Development Netball HOME
- Thursday 27th March –
- Y8 Boys basketball league final AWAY
Updated dates for the diary…
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the bulletin. Have you enjoyed reading this? Is there anything else you’d like to see included in future? Should you have any questions, comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to email: admin@watling.academy
