Blog week ending 3rd July
Sports Week is a much-anticipated event in our school calendar! It’s a time filled with energy, friendly competition, and school spirit! There is a sport or activity for everyone, whether ultimate frisbee, cricket, hand ball or football – there is every opportunity for students to get involved, have fun and ultimately win points for their Houses. But beyond the excitement, Sports Week offers a wide range of benefits that contribute to students’ overall health and development. From wearing house colours to (very loudly!) cheering on teammates, Sports Week presents an opportunity for growth, connection, and celebration. Taking part – whether winning, losing, or simply finishing a race – helps students develop self-confidence and resilience. overcoming nerves, trying something new, or simply crossing the finish line can all be powerful confidence boosters.
As always, we and the students were ably supported by our marvellous PTA with a steady supply of tuck-shop essentials in the form of endless ice-poles, watermelon and treats!
Mr Lynch would like to thank every student competitor, enthusiastic supporter, staff member and WG6 helper for making the event such a joy to be part of.
Congratulations to all our sportsmen … including our highly popular (and very enthusiastic!) staff relay teams. The staff races proved incredibly popular, garnering some very loud cheering … and of course, House Points!
The final House Point leaderboard result was incredibly close with only 100 points separating 1st and 3rd place!
Huge congratulations to Turing as the overall winners of Sports Week.
And if you were wondering who won the staff relay, it was Mr Powell, Mr Sage & Miss O’Dwyer who powered through to victory!
The Y7 Cricket Season finished slightly abruptly, after a really successful week the week previous, winning three out of three games, the boys played two games this week in the North Kent Cup Final and Kent T20 Plate respectively. Having made the QF of the Kent T20 Plate, after a 10 wicket win against Langley Park GS, the boys hosted New Beacon School, Sevenoaks. This was always going to be a tough game, as our opponents in the previous round, bowled a side out for just 17 in 4 overs. The boys batted first, and posted a respectful 80 all out, of 15 overs. New Beacon won the game by 7 wickets. This is no mean feat, as New Beacon School can acclaim current England Opener Zach Crawley amongst their Alumni. The attention then focused to the North Kent Cup Final on Friday 27th June. Having won the league format, posting five wins from five, we travelled to the North Kent Cup Finals Day at Chis and Sid School, where we played the hosts. Having already beaten the hosts in the league format by 18 runs, WGSB batted first on a difficult pitch that had oversaw some heavy overnight rain. The boys unfortunately lost by 45 runs in the final and finished runners up (photo below). The boys have developed and shown real progress this year, and Mr Sage is excited to work with the squad next cricket season, where we hope to at least go one better and learn from this season, and win the North Kent Cup. Some of the boys will develop their cricketing skills in the Winter months when they travel on the School’s Cricket Tour to St Lucia in December. It is going to be an exciting couple of years with this squad of which Mr Sage believes there will be many more local and possibly county successes. Congratulations to the following, who have been a credit to WGSB represented their school with pride and have been an utter pleasure to work with.
Congratulations to you all – Dawood A, Mohkam S, Rudra S, Darsh S, Hetansh V, Avanish L, Akshith M, Bukkan A, Sidney M, Ali C, Anav P, Abeishan S.
Teacher of Politics and History, Miss House and students were thrilled to welcome Lord Shaun Bailey who spent time speaking with students including A Level Politics and Law students as well as student leaders and Year 10 GCSE students. Lord Bailey is a highly articulate and compelling speaker who led inspiring and practical sessions guiding students on the many opportunities for them within UK politics. Lord Bailey is an inspirational role model who has overcome considerable obstacles, learning by experience to make positive decisions that have advanced his political career, but crucially, through charitable endeavours and active work with youth groups and schools Lord Bailey has supported others within his community to be ambitious and improve their life chances.
As part of our Endeavour MAT Transition Programme Year 6 pupils from Wilmington Primary School (part of EMAT group of schools) together with pupils from other neighbouring schools visited WGSB and WGSG for History and Geography ‘taster lessons’. The programme’s aim is to provide opportunities for pupils to familiarise themselves with larger school settings and year groups whilst introducing them to specialised classrooms and new subjects. In doing so, the programme allays any trepidation of the ‘unknown’ and prepares pupils for the next stage of their education. This week, Head of Geography Mr Riches and Head of History Mr Lennon (at WGSG) led special lessons to provide pupils with an insight into learning and structure of lesson as well as behaviour expectations. Lessons at both sites were warm and interactive with pupils keen to contribute! Pupils all left energised and excited to start their new schools.
As we approach the end of term, we are running a Library Book Amnesty to collect any outstanding books borrowed by students. With the busy end-of-year period, it’s easy for books to be forgotten, so we are encouraging students to return any school library books by Friday 4th July.
There are no penalties or overdue charges – we simply want the books back, no questions asked. Any books not returned by the deadline will unfortunately need to be charged for, to cover the cost of replacements.
Thank you for your help in ensuring our library is fully stocked and ready for the new academic year. Additionally, we ALWAYS welcome (and are very grateful for!) any book donations!!
Our Librarian is currently running two reading clubs, a Carnegie Awards Shadow Gorup and a KS3 Reading Club on Friday lunchtimes.
PTA Update.
Preloved School Uniform. We are always happy to receive donations of preloved school uniforms. If you have items to donate, please drop them off at reception clearly marked for the PTA. If you’d like to request any items, feel free to email us at pta@wgsb.co.uk.
Matched Funding Appeal. Did you know some employers offer matched funding for charitable events? This can significantly boost our fundraising efforts. If you or someone you know might be able to support us through matched funding, please get in touch, we’d be incredibly grateful!
Thank you for your continued support. Together, we’re making a real difference!
Forthcoming Dates;
Year 12 Parents’ Evening (at WGSG) – 3 July 4-7.30pm (tonight!)
Community Afternoon Tea – 3 July
Year 6 Transition Day – 4 July
Year 7 Science Trip to Wildwood – 7 July & 8 July
STEAM week – 14 – 18 July
Year 10 work experience – 14 – 18 July
Year 12 work experience – 14 – 22 July
Senior Citizens’ Community Afternoon Tea – 14 July 2.30-3.45pm
Yer 9 DofE Bronze assessed expedition – 15 – 16 July
Last Day of Term 6 – 22 July @ 12 noon
Best wishes,
Stuart Harrington
Headteacher
