Headteacher's Message
19th December 2024
Dear Parents, Carers and Students,
First of all, I want to thank you for all your support over the course of the Autumn term and to thank our staff for always ‘going the extra mile’ to ensure that we maintain the highest standards of education and care for all our students.
On the 3rd and 4th of December, we were visited by Ofsted. This was a section 8 inspection which means that the inspectors were looking to see whether leaders have maintained standards since the previous inspection when the school was graded Outstanding. Although I cannot share the outcome of the inspection with you until the report is published in January, I want to take this opportunity to thank all our staff for their hard work and commitment, not just during the inspection itself but throughout the year. I also want to pay tribute to our students who were an absolute credit to our school and their families.
In this month’s Greensheet, you will see the broad range of activities and events which have been taking place in school since I last wrote to you. On the 5th of December, we welcomed back year 11 students for our annual Presentation Evening where they were presented with awards and prizes for their effort, achievement and for representing our school values. They were also inspired by our speaker, Leander Rougier who was a former England boxing champion. Thank you to those parents and students who attended; it was lovely to see you again, to hear about your experiences at college and your aspirations for the future.
In school, we have had our Winter Interforms which were thoroughly enjoyed by all year groups, our Winter Craft Fair in the LRC and the Old Vic theatre have visited to run their workshop with year 10 drama students. We had our wonderful Winter Concert which was another roaring success, involving well over 100 students. This year, the music department treated us to a jazz ensemble, year 7 choirs, Glee Club, orchestra, as well as our wonderful steel pans. This month, the Mental Health Support team have run workshops for year 7 students. On Tuesday, we hosted a Community Party for local elderly residents and on Wednesday, we had our school Christmas dinner which was delicious. Thanks to the Olive dining team and our mid-day supervisors for all their hard work in preparing and delivering a proper feast!
WSFG hosted a Community Party for local residents who enjoyed afternoon tea, a raffle, songs from the choir and a visit from Santa Claus!
Our second Winter Craft Fair was a great opportunity for students to demonstrate both their crafting and entrepreneurial skills.
Out of school, our steel pans have participated in the Music for Youth proms at the Royal Albert Hall, all year 7s students have visited the Unicorn Theatre to see their winter show; students have also been to the theatre to watch ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Old Vic and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ at the National Theatre; students from all year groups with the highest green points visited Lea Valley ice rink; Glee Club members have performed at the Civic Carol Concert this week at St Saviour’s Church.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a restful winter break. For those who are celebrating Chanukah, we wish you ‘Chanukah Sameach’; for those who are celebrating Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Best wishes
