Home Information Governing Body Ofsted Report This Week Newsletters Calendar Term Dates 2013 - 2014 Term Dates 2014 - 2015 Admissions 2013 Admissions 2014 Admissions 2015 Prospectus Latest News Exam Results Value for Money Statement Data Protection Letters of Support Responding to Your Comments Sixth Form Learners BBC School News Report Pupil Progress Information Curriculum Pupil Premium School Council Useful Websites E-Safety Advice GCSE, AS and A Level Examination Timetables 'WoW' Magazine Parents Headteacher's Weekly Bulletin Year 7 Parental Questionnaire Letters Home Careers Information ParentPay Newsletters School Day Lunchtime Activities Homework Timetable Calendar Behaviour and Appearance Code Parent Staff Association Term Dates 2013 - 2014 Key Stage 4 Key Stage 3 Levels Pupil Progress Information Dining Room Menus Exam Results Parent Survey 2013 Events Sports Fixtures Staff School Leadership Team Heads of Department Directors of Year and Pastoral Managers Head of Upper School Vacancies Students External Access iMLS Microsoft Office E-Safety Advice 'WoW' Magazine Useful Websites School video Headteacher’s Weekly Bulletin Issue 43 Friday 16th May 2014 Good evening I seem to begin each bulletin these days with an apology for having to be brief. Not that they ever turn out to be brief as I always find something, perhaps too much, to say (I’ll say it before someone else does). We’ve just finished interviewing for a new Maths teacher, it’s 5.25, the take-away has been ordered from Wok-to-go for 7 and there’s a rugby semi-final on later so time is of the essence. There is never a lull in activity at Wellington but this week has been as lull-like as it gets and so perhaps not quite as many offerings as usual. That is perfectly understandable now that public examinations are under-way and staff are doing everything in their gift to eke out every bit of potential in each of our students. In such a short half-term focus shifts inevitably for some of us to planning for the big events on the horizon in June and July as well as managing the day-to-day school business. Form tutors and sports captains will soon be selecting squads for Sports Day at Longford Park on 12th June; invitations have gone out for the Sports Dinner at Bowdon Rugby club and Mrs Tasker and I are liaising with the PE department, the caterers and the trophy engravers to finalise arrangements; activities are being planned and helpers recruited for Open Morning on Saturday 21st June; prize winners will soon be notified about Awards Evening on 1st July at the Bridgewater Hall and I hope as many of you as possible will join us for another memorable evening and, finally, Mrs Haley and Mr Shaw are in regular contact with our partner primary schools in advance of New Pupil day on 3rd July with a view to making the transition to Wellington as seamless as possible. It’s going to be a fabulous final half-term of the year and one which will show off the very best of Wellington School. I’m sure you will join us for those “celebrations”. Anyway, let’s take a look backwards at the last week rather than forwards to next half-term … Art Word from Miss Grey that Rio Carnival time has hit the Art department. To celebrate the world cup this summer we are, apparently, in Miss Grey’s own words ‘doing all things Brazil!’ She reports that classes are now selecting themes to explore and develop individually, in pairs or as group activities. “From making our own favelas, havaianas, t-shirts and canvases to creating animal sculptures. The work will feature the culture and key characteristics of Brazil as well as the odd footy reference! All key stage 3 pupils are making a football patch decorated with Brazilian imagery, which will fit together to make a large group mural display. Already this work is looking really exciting, vibrant and I can feel that samba rhythm coming through.” Miss Grey adds, “We are continuing to develop our project based learning within homework, with most pupils having the opportunity to develop their own choice of theme and outcome. Staff in the department are looking forward to seeing the costumes, sculptures and graphics that will be created. Pupils get to see their homework ‘menu’ in lessons to update their progress and get guidance on the task. We have resources, images and inspiration available to all pupils on our department Pinterest page, which can be found by searching for our boards at Wellington School Timperley. There are specific boards for World Cup, Amazon images and Brazil images all to support the pupils. Also keep looking out for our regular displays and celebration of work on the departments Instagram account at wellingtonschool_artdepartment, it really does showcase the artistic talent that we have here at Wellington, so get following if you aren’t already and don’t miss out on the brilliant Brazilian work we are about to embark on!” I suppose if the Art department can’t be creative then who can but this really does sound like an exciting concept and innovative approach to addressing what is bound to be a stimulating theme for students. Can’t wait to see the end-products. Geography Miss English reports that Year 7 have been completing an investigation into the micro-climate of our school; “Today we went out into the school grounds to investigate the climate in different areas of the school. Students were involved with measuring a range of different climatic factors such as temperature, wind speed, wind direction and also looking at other factors such as sun coverage & colours of materials in 5 different areas. This was to find out which areas would be suitable for some items off Mr Beeley’s ‘shopping list’. 7.5A investigated each area very carefully, using different equipment and reached some fantastic conclusions which they then drew onto a map of the school. So if Mr Beeley ever did want to build a swimming pool in the school grounds, or add some more picnic benches, 7.5A have got some fantastic plans for where they could go!” Thank you, Miss English, I will await your findings and put them before the Governors. I might go for my own Jacuzzi / plunge pool first. Whilst we’re on Geography, Mrs Tasker text me last Sunday evening to ask if I’d seen the comments on the Geography departments Twitter feed and didn’t it make you feel proud to be “Wellington”. I went on to have a look and indeed she was right; there were some lovely well-wishing comments from the department to Geography students prior to their exams this week. Here lies another example of the absolute passion, care and dedication of our teachers. Duke of Edinburgh Mr Poole writes this report about last weekend’s practice expedition. Mr Gubbins was the Sir Edmund Hilary like team leader and even Miss Tunstall from the Finance Department was part of his intrepid team (other staff included Mr Harpham, Miss Hodges, Mr Tomlinson, Mr Stanley and, of course, Mr Poole); “23 Year 9 students braved the inclement weather last weekend as they embarked upon their practice hike on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Although there were some brief sunny spells, most of the weekend was characterised by heavy rain. The camp site was particularly muddy by the time we came to leave on Sunday morning. However, in the face of such adversity, the performance of the students was consistently outstanding. They worked in teams during the walk, planning routes and reading maps; when they arrived at the site they cooked for themselves before playing games and settling, later in the evening, to get warm in front of a large camp fire. Seven members of staff accompanied them, and all were impressed by the great spirit shown by the students. An energetic walk in such wet conditions would have demoralised many, but without exception these students kept going with humour, camaraderie and great spirits. A big well done to all involved!” And thank you to all the teachers who gave up their weekend to supervise and guide the students. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) On Thursday, Mr Harpham took eight Year 9 students to the “Make It” Enterprising Challenge sponsored by Siemens at Congleton. “The student were outstanding all day. They were assigned a design brief to create one of four different projects. They chose to design a new airport. They had to build an innovative model of the airport and develop a marketing campaign to accompany their new design whilst obviously staying under budget. Caitlan Beswick was brilliant in her role as Finance Director, whilst Managing Director Gianni Bandiera-Leigh led with authority. Matt Loizou, Mia Swift and Joe Cardoza were at their usual energetic best, whilst Sam Blackburn, Maisie Ellis and Abreanne Fernandez were the brains behind the whole operation. They were a real credit to the school. They finished in 3rd place and received a trophy for their efforts. Unfortunately only the top two team progressed to the North-West finals in September 2014. However, it took 1 hour 40 minutes to return home from Congleton with the A34 shut and our detour blocked for 20 minutes by a herd of cows (see photo). Also, the teacher's team (where I was Managing Director and Finance Director, no pressure) got destroyed by the judging Dragons even with tag lines like 'Does your Pastry lack a Tasty' and 'We have the tissues for your confectionery issues'. They said our Cake Factory's finances had not been thought through thoroughly and too much time had been spent thinking of cheesy one liners. I did the managerial thing and blamed those working under me. A good day was had by all.” Thank you, Mr Harpham, for your report, however I must take issue with your comment about the management; no Teflon-style leadership here at Wellington! PE Last night the Year 8 /9 girls football team finished 2nd in the Trafford Girls Tournament at BTH. They played exceptionally well beating St Antony's, Broadoak and BTH. BTH won (home advantage!) but they did enter two teams. Strikes me as a hollow victory for BTH if we beat them earlier. Hot off the presses; Mr Tomlinson has just this second phoned me from Carrington with news of cup victory for Mr Harpham’s Year 7 football team. We will get a full report next week but in short I believe it was 2-2 after full time (we missed a penalty), 3-3 after extra time and we won 2-0 on penalties after goal-keeper, Henry Howarth, saved 4 BTH penalties. The boys are going for the double next Friday. I’m going to have to buy a new trophy cabinet and organise an open-top bus tour around Timperley (there would probably be a bigger turn-out than the one in Manchester city centre on Monday night!) Science The vast majority of Year 10 students have been doing GCSE Science examinations this week. They have maintained an excellent approach to their revision over the last few weeks and have been highly motivated; many students arriving to school early and staying late to ask questions and review their learning, Mrs Shelley informs me. The final examination (Physics) is on Monday. Very well done to all students and I hope this is the first of their full complement of GCSEs under their belt and, therefore, a solid foundation for Year 11. Year 10 You may have spotted some of our students in the local papers this week. Hannah Sultan, Lucy Maguire and Ellie Stevenson in Year 10 are taking part in the Manchester BUPA 10K Run on Sunday to raise funds for their friend, Emily Machin, who suffered a brain tumour. We wish them well and perhaps if you know the girls, or even if you don’t, you may wish to contribute to their efforts. I’ll finish off with a bit of self-indulgence before I head home for my take-away. I coach my son’s rugby team and last week we finished this (under 12) season undefeated and have lost just one game in two and a half years. They are a great bunch of lads and very talented rugby players. I have worked with them for five years and we’ve developed a real shared understanding and a collective vision. In a nutshell, they do the basics very well, have high expectations of each other and enjoy each other’s company. Most importantly from my perspective, after every training session and game every one of them says thank you and they are invariably complimented about their conduct and attitude by referees. I enjoy these parallels between life in and out of School; “Excellence in Everything” – you’ve got to live and breathe it! Have a good weekend. S P Beeley Headteacher Welcome to Wellington School ...and thank you for taking the time to view our website. I would like to begin by saying what an absolute honour it is to assume the Headship of our Outstanding School, and I look forward to the challenge of maintaining the exceptional standards set by my predecessor, Mrs Armstrong, and moving Wellington forward in the future. Wellington School is an 11 – 18 Outstanding Academy with Humanities Specialism. Our motto is ‘Excellence in Everything’ and that is our aim in everything we do. To achieve this, high standards are expected of all our students and staff. All of our work is anchored in the values of mutual respect, responsibility, discipline, care for the individual and high achievement. We are proud of our school and the achievements of our students, and our success is reflected in our popularity. High levels of student attendance and above average academic achievement – both local and nationally – are a clear sign of the value students and parents place on the experience of being part of Wellington School. We hope you enjoy our website and find it both informative and useful. Stuart Beeley, Headteacher March 2013 I am pleased to publish the results and my thoughts on the latest Kirkland Rowell Parent Survey - please see the new tab at the top of the page ' Parent Survey 2013'. Our latest news Open Morning Saturday 21st Jun... We look forward to welcoming prospective pupils for September 2015 ent ... 31/03/2014 Click to view more news articles Wellington Road, Timperley, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA15 7RH T: 0161 928 4157 E: admin@wellington.trafford.sch.uk © 2014 Wellington School School web development by Concept4