Headmaster’s Welcome – Simon Hawkes, Headmaster
Dear Parents and Guardians,
One of the (very few) benefits of the short daylight hours has been the atmosphere generated in this week’s well-attended Evensong services, during which we’ve been treated to some excellent readings and house ‘round-up’ speeches from senior pupils. Parents of Nevill girls and Garne’s boys should consider joining us for the final edition of this series of services next Thursday at 4.30 pm.
A particular highlight of mine from this week has been the first of the PSHCE sessions I’ve been allocated with Year 11 classes during January and February. The aim of the session is to ask the pupils to consider their personality types, strengths, and weaknesses and to identify and note examples of times when they’ve demonstrated key personal qualities of the sort requested by employers and higher education recruiters. The pupils quickly realise that at Wellingborough they benefit from a wide-ranging diet of enrichment activities, and with a little thought they can easily rattle off anecdotes illustrating qualities such as resilience, confidence, or reliability.
The school calendar is busy in the coming weeks, but I do particularly encourage all parents to save a date in the diary for our inaugural Parents’ Curry Night on 24th February. This will be an informal event for the whole school, and entertainment for children will be put on elsewhere whilst parents enjoy great food and company in the dining room. We do hope you’ll be able to attend.
And finally, I can now reveal that the new build, so near to opening, will be known as the Gateway Building. This name reflects the practical nature of the building as the new ‘front’ and future physical entrance to the School, but also our aspirations for the building as a space that acts as a gateway to Wellingborough pupils’ future beyond school.
Best wishes.
Wellingborough School Cipher Challenge – William, Digital Prefect
The Wellingborough School Cipher Challenge was an opportunity for students to learn about Cryptography: the art and science of obscuring meaning in messages, through a hands-on competition, where a progressively harder cipher was released each week and students had the challenge of cracking the cipher. There was widespread participation across the school and I’d like to congratulate everyone who had a go at cracking the ciphers, but especially the winners of the competition:
William B- Overall Winner
Dexter P and Arjun B- Senior School Winners
Garne’s House Update – Lester Williams, Housemaster of Garne’s
Welcome back to school, and I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas holiday. The Lent term has begun, and the boys in Garne’s have already settled into the demands of a new term. Our Year 13s have already completed a set of trial exams, and with that, all of our UCAS applications have now been sent away, and we await offers to come in for university places for the next academic year. As always, the house is a mix of relaxation, focus and energy, with the main focused area being our Year 11 room, where the boys are already planning for their trial exams as they loom over the horizon just after the half-term break.
You will be unable to escape football chat in each of our day rooms, as tactics and positions are discussed on a daily basis as the boys plan for the coming season. We wish all our footballers good luck for this term and hope the 1st XI again have success, with Jack M netting another huge amount of goals.
Last term was again extremely busy for our boys, and there was more success in the classroom and on the sports fields. We finished 2nd in the junior house rugby competition, with Rupert S, Owen G and Tom S all leading by example with some excellent dynamic and powerful play. Our seniors and inters struggled a little with the competition, but all involved worked together and enjoyed the occasion. Huge thanks to Ryan K and Andy P for organising all our teams, and a special mention to Ryan K for being awarded his senior full rugby colours during final assembly last term.
I must mention our successful debating team of Ralph T and Will W, who were victorious in the grand final last term. Winning the competition is a huge achievement, but as defending champions from last year, the pressure was already on. A huge thank you to them both for all their efforts in planning and for their superb performance.
Our Year 12 peer mentors have also been busy supporting our junior boys in Years 7 and 8. Helping them to settle into the new challenges of the school and house. Jesse B and Will W have done a wonderful job, leading meetings and planning fun and interactive sessions to help build a supportive and enjoyable team atmosphere amongst the group.
Our next main event is the House Evensong on Thursday 22nd January after school from 4.20pm until 5pm, and we will also be competing in House Music as well that week. Good luck to all our performers.
Chemistry Across the School – Michael Mitchell, Head of Combined Science
Year 7 have learnt about particle theory and will soon be introduced to the elements, while Year 8 spent last half term separating mixtures and spotting the many patterns shown on the periodic table. All these topics are part of the GCSE courses and so their hard work this year will make those future studies much easier.
Year 9 are busy moving electrons around to form ions from atoms and studying the resulting ionic compounds and will then focus on the reactive and alkaline metals of group one. They should be preparing for the first exam-style assessment which will take place in the last two lessons of this half term (week commencing 9th of February).
Year 10 completed their assessment at the end of last term and have now reviewed their papers and have specific individualised feedback on areas for improvement. Anyone who has not reached the grade they were hoping for should attend our clinics as often as they can.
Year 11 have finished learning new content and have begun our revision programme, which features regular short tests. Our weekly topic clinics continue throughout this term after school on Thursdays in B3.
The Sixth Form students should all be preparing for the Chemistry Olympiad, which takes place on Wednesday the 28th of January. They are welcome to attend our A Level extension club after school on Wednesdays.
Year 12 have completed their study of chemical kinetics (the rate of reactions) with Dr Loak-Chrisp and commenced their study of organic chemistry, starting with the hydrocarbons, which will be familiar from GCSE, and beginning a journey towards the synthesis of compounds such as aspirin and TNT. We are continuing to focus on the elements of group II (the alkaline earths) and group VII (the halogens) and will begin studying thermodynamics later this half term.
After the first set of mock exams, Year 13 are looking at the transition metals and electrochemistry, learning how to make the cells and batteries that power so much of our world, and are beginning to link and summarise all the organic chemistry they have studied.
The chemistry club continues to meet every other Wednesday after school. This week we build a gravity cell, the electrochemical reaction used to power the original telegraph network. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday the 28th, when we hope to make some nitrocellulose, otherwise known as guncotton.
I would like to encourage more pupils to attend our clinics. They are welcome to drop in at the start of lunchtime on Tuesdays (SC1), Wednesdays (SC1), Thursdays (B3), or Fridays (SC3), or after school on Mondays (SC2) or Fridays (SC1). Our topic-based clinics for A level are after school on Tuesdays in SC1, and those for IGCSE are after school on Thursdays in B3. All pupils are welcome.
Coming Up in History – Jane Selby, Head of History
Year 13
A sense of urgency in Year 13 is increasingly tangible, as the deadline for their NEA of 4500 words on Black Civil Rights in the U.S. from 1860 to 1970 looms after February half term. It demands academic rigour with evaluations of both historians’ views and primary historical sources, as well as sustained and fully supported analysis throughout. Year 13 completed their Russia and Stuarts mock exams last week, which replicated the demands of quick factual recall and supported analysis, which they will face in May/June. They will be having 1:1 feedback sessions with staff to ensure misconceptions and learning gains are reflected on and actioned, ready for their next set of mocks in March.
Year 12
In Stuarts History, we have been studying Charles I’s early years up to 1629 and considering if it was his actions prior to dissolving Parliament in 1629 that led to the Civil War being inevitable. Charles has not met with too much support in Year 12, who have labelled him duplicitous, supercilious and dogmatic. In the Russia 1917-1953 lessons, the causes of the Civil War are being investigated, looking at why the Reds were victorious. Year 12 also have one NEA lesson a week and have now chosen their question: Presidents, activists, or the role of women, and have firmed up their line of argument. They are now researching the 10-15 activists or presidents they will include.
Year 11
We have entered the zone of ‘a no excuses culture’ with Year 11, and sleeves have been rolled up as targeted clinics began this week. Every historian has been asked to attend a lunchtime clinic, which my department colleagues have kindly offered. Attendance has been excellent, with mine this lunchtime filling the room with 24 pupils; super to see. Marginal gains matter, so every fact stored in long-term memory and every misconception clarified might be that one mark to go up into the higher grade boundary. In lessons, Year 11 are studying the last few events in their Power and the People topic, and we then turn to revision and memorising key facts (or juicy deets), as well as memorising the structure of every answer, to ensure answers match what the exam board can reward.
Year 10
Their second GCSE topic of USA 1920-1972 continues, and at present we are in the 1920s looking at those who did not prosper in the economic boom. Our next step is the Wall Street Crash and Roosevelt’s Alphabet Agencies, which attempted to ameliorate the Great Depression. Pupils concurrently practise the exam questions, and recently this has been Q1-3, where 3 contemporary interpretations have to be evaluated for how they differ by content, why they differ by their provenance and which is the most convincing based on their content. It can be confusing, so we remember it via the mnemonic ‘Cats Prefer Cake’, which is ridiculous enough to be memorable.
Year 9
Currently, Year 9 are studying the inter-war period, evaluating why the era gave rise to dictatorships in Italy and Germany and what life in Nazi Germany looked like. They then move onto the causes of World War Two and why war broke out in September 1939 and not before or after, with the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 1939 being pivotal. With Options Evening shortly, we are delighted so many pupils are considering GCSE History and look forward to discussions with parents. Please email me at jfs@wellingboroughschool.org if you’d like any further clarification.
Year 8
The Slave Trade is the focus for Year 8 at the moment, and they are looking into the Triangular Trade and the commodification of people, with the horrors of the transportation from Africa to America. It is harrowing reading and often reduces the classroom to silence, as pupils process just what ‘tight pack’ or ‘loose pack’ actually meant. In Trinity term we turn our attention to the Industrial Revolution and very much hope to be able to offer (subject to approval) the day trip to Ironbridge Gorge Museum again, with a replica Victorian town, including shops and a fairground, which has recently been taken over by the National Trust and is a great day out.
Year 7
Excellent pupil presentations on mediaeval life are taking place at present, with independent learning being showcased. We then move on to look at Empress Matilda and why she was an empress and the last Norman. In Trinity term we will move chronologically to the Tudors and hope (subject to approval) to offer a day trip to Blenheim Palace, built by Elizabeth I’s Secretary of State and loyal advisor, William Cecil. I’m hoping Year 7 will retain the memory of their visit as Cecil appears again in GCSE History with the Elizabeth I topic.
Careers Weekly
Making choices is a massive part of your career journey. This week, Miss Hunt delivered an assembly
to Year 9 pupils with some advice to help them choose their GCSE subjects.
This week’s careers newsletter provides helpful guides for pupils and parents on the subject.
Read this week’s Careers newsletter here.
U18 Netball Update
This week, our U18A Netball team took on Northants Storm Netball Club for a competitive fixture. There was plenty of positives to take away from it; well done to all the girls for their effort and commitment throughout.
A big congratulations to Connie and Gabriella for winning Opposition’s Player of the Match and Coaches’ Player of the Match.
Working Together to Keep Young People Safe
Recently, alarming reports have emerged about dangerous online networks sometimes called ‘com groups’ or ‘com networks’. While each group can be different, many share disturbing and coercive behaviour, encouraging or demanding self-harm, blackmail (including via intimate or personal data) and normalising violence, abuse or even suicidal behaviour.
This month’s newsletter explores how children can stay safe from ‘com groups’ and educates young people about the importance of consent.
Read the full safeguarding newsletter for this month here.
Gala Dinner Event – Support Year 12 and MNDA!
The Year 12 Gala Dinner is just around the corner, and we need your help to make it truly special! We’re still looking for prize donations to create luxury hampers for our raffle. Every contribution counts, and all raffle proceeds will go directly to the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).
For the first time, we’re offering sponsorship opportunities for the evening – a fantastic way to show your support, with every penny going to MNDA. If you’d like to get involved, please contact Claire Brailsford at cb@wellingboroughschool.org.
Thank you in advance for your generosity. Together, we can make this an unforgettable night of celebration, fine dining, and community spirit!
Safeguarding Message: Frozen Water
Frozen lakes and rivers might look beautiful, but they’re extremely dangerous. People lose their lives every year when they venture onto the ice or attempt to rescue others. Recently, there has been a rise in incidents regarding young people getting into difficulty in ponds and lakes after going onto the ice.
The poster below includes safety details that will help you stay safe around these areas and what you should do if you do see someone fall.
Join Us for Brew Monday!
On Monday 19th January, the Wellbeing Team is hosting a coffee morning to mark Brew Monday, a campaign by the Samaritans that turns “Blue Monday” into a day of connection and conversation.
This event takes place on the third Monday in January, a day often referred to as “Blue Monday” and aims to turn this traditionally gloomy day into something positive by encouraging connection and conversation.
The coffee morning will take place from 7:30am to 9:00am (8:30am for pupils) in The Loft above the Dining Hall.
This is a wonderful opportunity for Wellingborough School parents, staff and students to connect, enjoy a warm drink, and start the week with a positive conversation.
We look forward to seeing you there and sharing a moment of connection together.
Whole School Open Day – Book Now
Join us on Saturday, 7th March, from 9am, to explore Wellingborough Prep, Senior and Sixth Form.
You will be able to meet with our specialist subject teachers and explore our facilities and nurturing environment. While gaining a better understanding of what makes a Wellingborough education so special.
Click here for more information and to book your place.
Stay Connected
To see more of what’s happening at Wellingborough School, follow us on social media here.
You can also explore upcoming events and activities on our Events Page here.
Wellingborough School Business Directory
Please find the Business Directory at the following link: https://wellingboroughschool.org/community/business-directory/
