Blog week ending 29th September

Our new programme of Enrichment Clubs and subject support groups is now live!  This term’s schedule offers a dizzying range of options with the certainty that we have something for every student, whether to support an existing pastime or to pique interest in new life-enhancing activities.  Clubs include Wildlife Club, encouraging a connection with nature in our local area, Formula 1 in schools as part of an International scheme, Repair Club to support the ambition to up-cycle and repair rather than replace .. and everything in-between.  Please do encourage your child to choose at least one new activity.  The schedule for Years 7-9 is below – for all other year groups, please see our website by clicking here

All Clubs are advertised around school with a range of posters, outlining the club activities and location (such as the below)

The role of Head Students is a vital one that adds value to the student body, and to school life in general.  Head Students embody our school values and are key in representing our student cohort in key senior leadership meetings and decision making.  They contribute to school life in so many ways, conceiving of schemes and activities that enhance our collective school experience, acting as inspirational, approachable role models and generally being our student cheerleaders and champions!  This year’s Student Leaders have ambitious plans for our school in areas that they have identified as being valuable and enjoyable for us all.  Introducing …

Hello, I’m Mason and I’m proud to be the Head Boy of WGSB. With a dedication to excellence and a passion for unity, I aim to ensure every student enjoys a positive school experience. I'll promote inclusivity, amplify student voices, and prioritise wellbeing. Upholding our core values, I'll work to create a safe, valued, and equal environment. With leadership experience and a commitment to our school, I'm ready to lead with courage and make the school experience an extraordinary one. Thank you for entrusting me with this responsibility and I look forward to a remarkable academic year ahead.

 

Hello everyone, my name is Victoria and I am delighted to introduce myself as the Head Girl of WGSB. From my time at WGSG, I have always wanted to be a voice to represent the younger students and I am so grateful to be in this position where I have the opportunity to do so. A key goal of mine is to build on the relationship between the sixth form and the lower school and to do this I plan to develop the peer mentoring system so it will include all years to enhance the sense of community within the school. I also wish to create to a range of ways to support charities through bakes sales and a summer fayre. WGSB is a diverse and inclusive school which are values that are important to me, and I plan to uphold these during my time in this position. I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity and I look forward to collaborating with you all!

Greeting everyone, my name is Finley Doherty, and I am thrilled to introduce myself as the new Deputy Head Boy at WGSB. One of my primary goals is to foster a culture of collaboration and open communication. I believe that by amplifying student voices and perspectives, we can create a more inclusive and enriching educational environment. Additionally, I'm committed to exploring initiatives that enhance our school experience, whether through thought-provoking events, or initiatives that celebrate our collective achievements. I'm also deeply invested in sustainability and our impact on the environment. I'll be working diligently to find ways we can reduce our footprint and educate fellow students on the steps they can take to contribute to a greener future. I'm looking forward to partnering with all of you, students, parents, carers and teachers alike, to make this year a memorable and impactful one.

Hello, my name is Poppy Murray and I am extremely grateful to announce I am Deputy Head Girl of WGSB. One of my main focuses for our community is to focus on the mental health and overall wellbeing of our students. I aim to make our school a comfortable and uplifting environment, where learning is fun. Furthermore, I plan to make WGSB more inclusive by expanding on other extracurricular activities. This includes sport based and academic activities to cater needs of all students. I like to see myself as an approachable trustworthy friend that anyone can rely on if they need some support, and would like to display this within my role as deputy. 

 

Introducing Miss Holledge, our new Head of Performing Arts.  In this lesson, Year 8 Drama students have been developing scenes for a horror piece, Darkwood Manor.  Students worked together to emphasise the suspense and build tension, demonstrating an understanding of the plot. 

Miss Holledge joins us from Riddlesdown Collegiate in Croydon as Director and Drama and is our new Head of Performing Arts. Miss Holledge is hoping to build the Performing Arts within the school with the aim of showcasing the musical and theatrical talent at Wilmington Grammar School for Boys. Miss Holledge is excited to lead a range of theatre trips throughout the year, highlighting to students how the skills they learn in Music and Drama are applied in a professional setting. Miss Holledge is looking forward to running a range of extracurricular clubs and school events where parents and carers will be able to watch their children perform. Watch this space!

Welcome to new Head of Mathematics, Mr Asafu-Adjaye who joins us from Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School where he has worked as the Head of Mathematics.  “I am committed to working with students to embrace the journey of being the best mathematicians they can be. I hope that students leave WGSB with a love of learning, and I aim for our maths lessons to play a major part in that journey.”

In the lesson below, Year 9 students were challenging themselves to solve increasingly complex algebra equations graphically.  Algebra is used in many aspects of life outside of the classroom such as engineering, managing finances and computer programming to name but a few.

New Club - Bitcoin Diploma.  We are proud to be the first school in the U.K. to be delivering a twelve-week financial education Diploma based on the ground-breaking Mi Primer Bitcoin curriculum that is currently taught in El Salvador and in 21 other countries.  If you would like to learn more about humanity's history of using money, this Diploma takes students through examples of primitive money to the development of 'fiat' money and fractional reserve banking. We explore the relationship between money and energy and the diploma will stretch and challenge students in the areas of mathematics, economics, physics and computer science.  The lessons are activity based and followed by classroom discussions which encourage students to question the teacher and each other by using logic and reason.

Students will be rewarded for their active participation in the lessons and receive a certificate on completion which we hope will soon be accredited by City & Guilds.  If you would like to join us, the Diploma starts after school on Monday 9^th October between 3.30pm and 4.30pm.

Our Year 9 Food and Nutrition students tackled the tricky process of making perfect choux pastry.  Students learn both the techniques and the science behind them – choux pastry has a high water content which turns to steam during baking which pushes the pastry shell outwards and gives the dish volume, hence the steam is used as an effective raising agent.  Students made profiteroles filled with whipped cream and decorated with melted chocolate.  Delicious.

Our Year 13 A level Art students continue the work on their personal projects, producing a practical portfolio of work that follows their own areas of interest, in response to a selection of given themes.  Students are working on a range of concepts, from portraits, to botanical illustration, to imagination and memory, and are currently using their sketchbooks to plan and research, in preparation for production of the final outcome at the end of the project.

WG6 Enrichment Clubs and opportunities.  Students are able to select from an extensive programme that is designed to work in conjunction with our careers guidance and provides an opportunity for students to learn new skills that complement or support their post WG6 ambitions.  The full Life @ WG6 booklet can be read by clicking here

Referencing.  Mrs Smith, Librarian at WGSG leads a Skills Group – Referencing.  This is a valuable and transferable skill that adds value to their A Levels studies and especially for those taking an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) as well as for those planning to study at university.  This course highlights the importance and significance of referencing and acknowledging the contribution of others to your work, and how to demonstrate knowledge, fact-checking, evidence and analysis.  In this lesson students are reviewing aspects of a plagiarism case before presenting back their findings to the group.

Race around the World Enrichment group.  Delivered by Head of Geography WGSG, Mrs Barclay. Each week students are challenged to research the quickest and cheapest route between two given locations, Newcastle UK to Slovenia – on a fixed budget.  This week students were competing for the Newcastle to Ko Samui in Thailand leg.  Strangely enough their suggestion – perhaps researching potential gap-year trips?  Students must be mindful to avoid any areas of unrest or conflict, demonstrate understanding of local culture or customs and identify key features such as local foods, and potential means of financial support (ie what part time jobs are available to supplement their budget)

More accolades for Trejan C-B of 9N, who has scooped another ‘first place’ this time in the 3km race walk in the English Schools Combined Events and Race-Walking national finals.   Trejan continues to dominate in his event and lapped many athletes in the final, crossing the finish line 7 minutes before the next competitor!  A tremendous achievement.  

 

 

School Alumnus Jaedon is already making waves as a student athlete at his university in Kentucky USA. Jaedon is the subject of an article published by his university ahead of his involvement in the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships.  He arrived on campus in August and is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Actuarial Science.  To read the article, please click here

Huge congratulations to Year 13 student Harry C who recently won Gold in the British gymnastics inter regional tumbling competition, representing London, competing against the rest of the UK. A tough week of tonsillitis leading up to it meant he missed nearly 2 weeks training ahead of it and this was a fantastic achievement showing his determination and focus when performing under par. 

Lewis F of Year 12 is an accomplished, and very successful, BMX cyclist.  In fact Lewis is the British number 3 and the World number 5.  Lewis has competed in the National BMX Series for the last 7 years and represented Great Britain for the last 5.  He is 9 times Regional Champion and National Champion.  He has also recently become part of the Great Britain Talent Development Team for track sprinting in the Velodrome.  We are incredibly proud of his achievements on the track, and in school, and look forward to hearing about future successes.

Congratulations to David Ruston, previously of Year 13, currently at Cambridge reading history. David has won the 1st prize in the 4th Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain Holodomor Essay Prize Competition 2023. 

The event press release stated; The Lead Judge Professor Olga Onuch, Professor of Comparative and Ukrainian Politics at the University of Manchester said of the winning essay, which focused on the French Statesman Edouard Herriot and his denial of the Holodomor after touring Kharkiv in 1933 "This is an outstanding essay and benefits from truly excellent writing.  Overall, the essay and its main ideas are very well argued, organised, and researched. It was a pleasure to read it."

Winner David Ruston, of Wilmington Grammar School, who is now set to study History at Selwyn College, Cambridge University said “I very much enjoyed the process of research and attempting to put to paper what I wanted to say about such a momentous event in less than 2000 words…  I will be studying History…so just the penning of this essay was useful to me as a way of improving my historical skills and I am very glad for it.”

Dr Luke Harris, David’s teacher said “David is one of the finest historians we've had the opportunity to teach here at Wilmington Grammar School for Boys, this is further evidence of this. We're very proud that he's going to Cambridge to read history. Thank you for organising the competition and for the fantastic prize.”

Update from our PTA.  Our PTA meetings are held once every 4 - 6 weeks, on Mondays evenings, term times and these can be face-to-face or virtual meetings.

At the PTA Annual General Meeting (AGM) this week, new executive members were elected for the PTA for the 23/24 year. 

I am pleased to introduce to you our new executives: 

Co-Chair,

Selina Westerman

Co-Chair

Rosanna Mazzilli

Vice Chair

Surein Rheeder

Co-Secretary

Tina Edwards

Co-Secretary

Jo Costello

Treasurer

Funke Ayeni

 

I am sure you will join me in welcoming our new executives on board.

We all have something to give. Even if you have younger children at home or only a small amount of time, could you come to a meeting, help set up an event, serve food or design a poster? Perhaps you have a professional skill you could help us out with? You don't have to come into the school; many of our volunteering tasks can be done from home. The most important skills you can bring are enthusiasm and a willingness to get stuck in. Look out for invites to our PTA meetings on the school blog – all are welcome.

If you would like to know more about the kind of things we do and the events we hold, please contact us via email pta@wgsb.co.uk   or by calling the school office on 01322 223090

The WGSB PTA Lottery.  You can join our PTA lottery which is now live on ParentPay . Tickets are £12 a year for one number and you can buy as many tickets as you want! Please select the number of tickets you want to purchase and add your contact details on ParentPay. Each number goes into 12 monthly draws between September and August. Prize money is £30.00 per month and £50.00 at the PTA Christmas Draw. Please note, cut-off date to join the lottery is 1st November 2023 to be included for the year.

Saturday morning sports events: Once again, the PTA will be supporting the PE department during the Saturday morning sports events for Year 7s from Saturday 16 Sep - Saturday 14 Oct, 9 -10.30am. The PTA will serve tea, coffee, hotdogs, and other refreshments during these events, to raise funds for the school. Why not come around to watch and cheer on our boys or simply to have a chat with the PTA? You will also be able to purchase pre-loved uniform at discounted prices during these days. Don’t forget your cash!

Pre-Loved Uniform: The PTA pre-loved uniform shop offers a range of 'pre-loved' uniform at hugely reduced prices. If you would like to know what we have in stock, replace a lost piece of uniform or even pick up a spare (PE kits, blazers, shirts, trousers, jumpers, trainers, coats, boot bags, etc).  Prices of pre-loved sportswear (PE/Rugby kits) for Years 9 - 11 have been reduced even further for a period of time - £2.50 per item or any 5 items for £10.00. Please contact the pta@wgsb.co.uk for more information. This offer does not include boot bag*. You can’t afford to miss this great deal!

Christmas Trees fundraising scheme - Did someone say Christmas? It’s only September, but please look out for school comms for this great initiative where our PTA partners with a tree company to sell beautiful Nordmann Fir Christmas Trees. Watch this space for more information!

And finally,Support Wilmington Grammar School for Boys - Dartford by signing up to support us for FREE on Easyfundraising . You can raise donations whenever you shop online with over 6,000 retailers including John Lewis & Partners, eBay, Argos, ASOS, M&S and more. Plus, we will get a bonus £5 donation when you do! Sign up today - this will make a BIG difference to us this year: Easyfundraising

Forthcoming Dates;

Senior Maths Challenge - 3rd October

Whole School Photo - 6th October

Year 7 Sport Enrichment - 7th October, 14th October

Year 6 Open Evening - 4pm-8pm

Last day of Term 1 - 20th October

First day of Term 2 - 2nd November

 

Best wishes,

Stuart Harrington

Head Teacher