Welcome
It is with real pleasure that I welcome you to the Wilnecote School. This is a school with a proud and rich history of serving the local community, and a real focus on an exciting future. I am committed to leading a school where no student is left behind, all are valued as individuals, but where we all commit to the highest standards of behaviour, punctuality, attendance and academic effort.
At the Wilnecote School you will find a committed and professional staff body who are dedicated to improving the life chances of every student. Whatever our role within the school, we all share the same ambition, high expectations and drive which we seek to embed in all of our students.
We are very proud of our broad and balanced curriculum which is well planned and sequenced and is supplemented by an extensive array of enrichment opportunities. Pupils benefit from exciting educational trips and an entitlement to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Our intent is to allow every student the opportunity to explore their talents, develop new ones and find their passion upon which to drive their learning.
Our teaching staff are passionate subject experts who pride themselves on delivering lessons of the highest quality, using their extensive subject knowledge, collaborative planning and utilising evidence informed teaching strategies. Staff development is at the centre of our drive to further improve student outcomes.
Our students are supported by a very talented pastoral team who are devoted to ensuring every young person is nurtured and has a trusted adult to talk to. Our recent move to a year group approach has accentuated the relationship between students and their Pastoral year team and form tutor. I am proud that our staff and students refer to the care, compassion and support at Wilnecote as that of being part of a family.
Our aim at Wilnecote is to instil in our students the confidence to dream big and smash through their own perceptions of their potential. Furthermore, to provide for them the highest quality of education that will establish the strongest foundations for a bright future. The development of a strong sense of self discipline and respect for others is essential to this journey.
I see it as an integral part of my role as Headteacher to ensure all our students make the most of their abilities and leave the Wilnecote School with the qualifications to access their ambitions and strength of character to fulfil them.
I invite you to visit us, talk to students and staff and see how we put these aims into practise.
Mr Foskett
Headteacher
October 2024
25th October 2024
Dear Parent/Carer,
As we come to the end of our first half term of this academic year, I write to share with you the positive start that our students have made, and to reflect on the success of our Year 11 students in their summer exams.
There is no greater reward to those of us that work in education than seeing students open their results envelopes and seeing their talent and endeavour rewarded. The summer saw some of our best student performances to date with many students achieving a complete suite of higher grades. These results were the outcome of a lot of hard work and dedication and provide a perfect example to all our students of how far these attributes can take them.
Our new year 7 has settled quickly into life at the Wilnecote School. Once the initial first few days of finding their way around school were accomplished it has been great to welcome them fully into our school and our culture of Proud, Ambitious, Respectful and Kind. Their enthusiasm has been evident every day and their presence will only make our school better for it.
This term our students have responded very well to our focus on engagement in lessons and the acronym SLANT is now ever present in classrooms. We are in the process of revising our rewards policy and this term we moved to value points being awarded for specific activities such as going above and beyond the expected standard. The awarding of star students is now commonplace, with students receiving more frequent recognition. As we end this half term, students have been having their say in how we can further improve rewards at the Wilnecote School. We firmly value student voice and have acted upon their views extending the lunch break without impacting on learning time, providing more equipment at break and lunch time and compromising on uniform reforms by implementing a pleated skirt this September.
The half term has been extremely busy with our Duke of Edinburgh Silver award students completing their expedition in some of the coldest temperatures we have seen. I was also proud of the students that supported our Open evening who confidently shared their learning with our prospective students and their families. Our new Junior Leadership team played a crucial part in the success of this evening by acting as tour guides whilst some of our year 7 students represented the school in the introductory media clip shown to prospective parents. The evening saw the conclusion to the Modern Foreign languages cultural cake competition with winning cakes resembling the Northern Lights, the Colosseum of Rome and a cake with a multitude of national flags.
Earlier this month the school supported Young Minds, “Hello Yellow” World mental health day initiative with all students being offered the opportunity to wear a yellow ribbon to show their support for young people with mental health issues. All schools struggle to meet the complex needs of young people due to the limited access to mental health professionals, so the day provided an opportunity to show solidarity in raising this as a national concern. Please read the latest edition for this half term of our “Wilnecote Warbler” for more details.
Our year 11 will return after half term to commence their mock exams. They have all been given their mock exam timetable and advice on how to revise and where to find additional revision materials. Staff are offering additional support throughout this period. We hope Year 11 follows their predecessor’s example in using the half term to balance relaxation with revision and exam preparation. A copy of the exam timetable can be found on this link via our Exams web page. Explicit parental support in the preparation for exams is vital to their success. If parents know what exams are on that day, encourage active revision rather than just reading notes and take an interest in how the day went, it makes all of the difference. The mock exams play an important part in identifying misconceptions and topics that need to be refreshed. This is only useful if our students fully commit and try their hardest.
As the weather starts to become colder and wetter, I would be grateful if you could ensure your child has an outdoor coat and a bag large enough for it to be stored in during the day. Hoodies and zip up cotton tops are not school uniform and do little to protect against wet weather. Coats have to be taken off inside, but we want our students to make the most of the opportunities to get fresh air at break and lunch and arrive to school dry and ready to learn. You would be surprised by how many students on rainy days wear a coat and carry their blazer to school. As it becomes colder V-neck branded jumpers become more popular, but these are always in an addition to their blazer, not a replacement.
I am appreciative of all the effort that has been made acclimatizing to clarification given last term over school uniform expectations which included the move to pleated skirts. We have a range of sizes for those families still struggling to find this style. Should there ever be an issue with acquiring the correct uniform, please just get in touch and we will be able to loan out items.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your children a fantastic half-term break.
Yours faithfully
Mr Foskett
Headteacher
July 2024
18th July 2024
Dear Parent,
I write to you as we near the end of a busy term and academic year. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year as headteacher at the Wilnecote School and I am grateful for the support that I have received from students, staff, parents and Governors. Everything I have experienced this year leads to me to believe that the school will continue to go from strength-to-strength next year.
This year we have embedded a change in our pastoral structure, moving from house organisation into year groups, which has supported a re-establishing of high expectations and standards. We have implemented a new school communication app and integrated a new reward platform in Classcharts. Year 11 students have been supported for the first time by a targeted pre-exam “sprint finish” intervention. Additionally, we have held our first coffee mornings for parents of students with Special Educational needs and we hope to widen this opportunity for more parents to visit us during the school day. We have conducted a review of our present Year 10 and 11 curriculum and are ready to implement a new Key stage 4 curriculum next year for our Year 10 students. This will see additional time for English, Sciences and option subjects.
In this busy term in which we have said goodbye to our Year 11 class of 2024, giving them a fitting farewell, we have also enjoyed meeting our new year 7 students on their transition’s days ahead of their start September. We have taken our first steps in creating an integrated character and cultural curriculum. This year we have incorporated guest speakers in school such as aspiration assemblies and activities with Adventure Man as well as cultural awareness with the visit of Michael Bibring from the Holocaust Educational trust. Year 9 had a year group trip to the Natural History Museum in London, an excursion that will now be an annual event. All in addition to our ongoing success with students completing both bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh awards.
This term has also seen us complete our review of the change to our school day, consulting with students and staff. The outcome is that in September there will be a better balance between break and lunch time, with lunch time being extended by ten minutes. We hope the additional time will see more students being active, sit down to eat and make use of the toilet.
As you can see from the events above, we have had a very productive year and wish to continue to focus on improving teaching and learning at our school. I appreciate the vast majority of parents have supported us completely with regards to our expectations and the less time we spend reinforcing these, the more time we can be proactive on school improvement. I hope the clarity provided below regarding uniform expectations for next year help everyone’s start in September to be positive. Lots of retailer’s market trousers, skirts and shoes as school wear so please use the links below or our school website if at all unsure, rather than rely on a young person’s perception of what is allowable.
There is now only one style of skirt acceptable as part of our uniform and as agreed after consultation with students and parents this is a plain black pleated skirt. These are styled as 18 inch or 22 inch and should be of an appropriate length to the size of the child. School trousers should not be skintight and nor resemble leggings. School shoes should be completely black and not resemble trainers. Nike Air Force One and similar sports brands are not acceptable. It is important to state that the rules on trousers and shoes are not changes, but clarifications on aspects where there has been confusion. Please see the link below for examples.
As we plan for the start of the new academic year in September, I am delighted to inform you that the school is fully staffed for September 2024, despite national concerns over retention and recruitment of teachers and support staff. We remain a very popular school for staff to work in. This in turn has impacted on student numbers which are at their highest for some years, with most year groups operating a substantial waiting list for places.
Our improvement plans for next year include reviewing and improving our rewards processes so more students are recognised for their efforts and progress. We will seek to develop teaching, so students know and remember more, whilst having a greater understanding of what they need to do to improve. We will also review and improve communication with parents over your child’s progress. We will look to further develop our curriculum and the pathways from Key Stage 3 into Key stage 4 options. We will continue to be relentless in our ambitions for our school and our students. Please do take the time to read this terms edition of the Wilnecote Warbler, download our school App if you haven’t already done so and follow our progress via our Facebook and Instagram pages.
I hope you have an enjoyable summer, and we look forward to welcoming year 7 to our school at 9.15am on Wednesday 4th September 2024 and Year 8, 9, 10 and 11 at 8.25am on Thursday 5th September 2024.
Yours faithfully
Mr D Foskett
Headteacher
May 2024
24th May 2024
Dear Parent,
As we come to the end of the first half of the summer term, I write to you to share with you some of the great events that have taken place and to give you an update on some of the changes ahead of September 2024. The focus this half term has very much been supporting our year 11 through this intense exam period, but much more has been happening at the Wilnecote School.
Our sporting teams continue to excel both within Tamworth and at County level. This half term our Year 7 girls indoor athletics team took part in the County finals winning the right to represent Tamworth. They did exceptionally well and narrowly missed out on a Bronze medal by coming fourth out of the ten towns represented in the finals. Even more impressively, the team was coached by students in Year 9 as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award. Wilnecote also dominated at the Tamworth Swimming Gala, winning both the Key stage 3 and the Key stage 4 competitions, with two of our students breaking borough records that had been held for over a decade.
On Thursday of this week I was able to visit the Tamworth Schools Athletics championships. On the track and in the field, our athletes competed exceptionally well. However, what impressed me even more was the amazing Wilnecote team spirit they showed when trackside. I could not have been prouder to be headteacher of a school where our students took charge of organising their teams, providing such high levels of support and motivation for one another.
Away from sport, members of our Year 10 GCSE drama group spent a day in workshops before then performing at the Lichfield Garrick Theatre. We held our annual mock careers interview programme for year 10 this half term with both local and national employers conducting job interviews with Year 10. Our guest interviewers remarked on how well prepared and engaging our students were during this event. We have also had another successful year in our entries to the UK maths challenge with several of our students achieving the highest award for mathematical excellence.
Please can I remind parents to ensure they have access to our new school Wilnecote App and have downloaded Class Charts onto their phones. These provide up to date information about our school and notifications of how your child is doing in lessons and the value points they achieve. This term we have launched an additional award of star student to recognise going beyond the expectations of the lessons and these can also be found within the Class Charts app.
Over the Half term our site team will be busy maintaining our site and we hope to have completed a resurfacing project on our Netball and Tennis courts, improving them as a sporting facility and a break and lunch time area for our students. This is the first of several projects which will further develop our school, with refurbishment of flooring in our Design and technology rooms and the start of a full renovation of our science labs.
Uniform Information
I am grateful to those parents that responded to our consultation on uniform. Your views showed that for girls the school skirt is valued by you as an alternative to trousers. This was very much the view of students too. There was a consensus from both parents and students to refine our uniform for September 2024 to pleated skirts only. From September straight skirts and those of a stretchy material will no longer be allowed. If you are replacing uniform next half term, please replace with a school pleated skirt. I trust parents will buy the appropriate size to ensure they are of sufficient length, without the need to add a school badge at added expense.
In the new term we have a lot to look forward to, including the conclusion to Year 11 exams, their leavers assembly and School Prom. We wish our Year 10 students’ good luck as they commence their three days of work experience on our return and also to our Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh students as they go on their expeditions. Our Year 9 have an opportunity to go to London to visit the British Museum of Natural history and we
hope to have a cultural and character event for Year 7 and 8. Additionally we look forward to meeting and welcoming our new Year 7 for their induction days.
I hope you have an enjoyable half term break, and we look forward to welcoming students back to school on Monday 3rd June 2024.
Yours faithfully
Mr Foskett
Headteacher
Easter 2024
22nd March 2024
Dear Parent/Carer
The two half terms after Christmas have been noticeably shorter but once again jam packed full of events and enrichment to our school day. Our students continue to make me proud in their conduct, their determination to learn and to be that little bit better each day. During my first two terms at The Wilnecote School I have gotten to meet many of our students and know them to be respectful and kind.
The schools focus to raise our expectations of students and their own expectations of themselves is unrelenting but equal in importance to the development of our curriculum and the quality of teaching. The vast majority of our students are a credit to our school and to you as parents. As we prepare for the Summer term, please pay your part in ensuring that your child continues to follow our uniform policy, is well prepared, punctual and equipped for their school day. The minimum requirement for our students is to arrive in full uniform with an outdoor raincoat, a school bag to put it in, their student planner, more than one pen and pencil, a rubber and a ruler. A scientific calculator is also essential, particularly for students in Year 10 and 11. Your support with these matters will help tip the balance of our pastoral team in focusing on the core purpose of learning. The fewer children not meeting these expectations, the more time our staff have available to support academic progress.
Uniform Consultation
We have started to consult with our student council and junior leadership team around minor amendments to our school uniform. We have tried compromise, allowing different styles of skirt with insistence that the skirt be clearly visible below the hem of the blazer. However, time is running out for students to make this adjustment as we prepare for September 2024. Schools locally have either moved to all students wearing trousers or a school badged skirt from their uniform provider. When asked, our students were very much in favour of retaining the school skirt as an option and their preference was a school pleated skirt with school logo. This would come with a slight additional cost, so I believe it is important to gain your views. Please use the link to a very brief questionnaire where you can share your opinion.
As the weather improves into the summer term, we will be asking students to be outside as much as possible during break and lunch time. We have limited seating within the building, and it is important children get some fresh air, particularly as temperatures rise. We hope soon to have the upper tennis courts resurfaced to provide a better playing surface and to open our outdoor servery. With the British weather being unpredictable, please ensure your child has a raincoat for school as the students will be going outside.
The term has been filled with notable successes. We have been delighted with the attitude of our Year 10 students who have worked diligently in completing their Year 10 exams. They have responded to the challenge of these two examination weeks, and we look forward to sharing their results with them after the Easter holidays.
This Half Term
Year 11 have been busy this half term with the completion of their Geography field work trip. I have been really pleased with the commitment shown in their attendance to our first ever “sprint finish grade booster sessions”. Those that have attended all their sessions received free chicken and chips on the last day of term. The support continues into the Easter holidays with staff volunteering to give up time in the first week of the break to further support them. We ask that parents of those invited to these sessions support by ensuring their child attends. In some cases, this provides the very last opportunity to enhance coursework before it is sent off to the exam board.
This term we held our annual careers fair and as last year, many local, regional and national organisations were in attendance. All our students were able to access this event and find out more about university, apprenticeships and employment. I hope this has ignited the flame of ambition in our students as they start to widen their horizons. I was very proud to hear from all our exhibitors how much they enjoyed speaking to our students. They all consistently mentioned the excellent attitude and conduct of our students during this event.
Please do look at this half terms Wilnecote Warbler for all of the other fantastic achievements and events that have taken place this half term. These include our rewards day “Silent Disco”, UK Maths challenge and an article on our amazing school show, “Matilda”. We also celebrated World Book Day by running a competition to dress form classroom doors with artwork representing an author and their work. There were some fantastic examples of creativity on this theme which you can see on this page.
School App & Class Charts
As promised in my previous letter to parents, the new term sees the launch of our school App which will provide a one stop access to news and communication from school. Parents can set up this application so that all other apps are contained within it, with one single login. We are introducing a new platform for rewards and sanctions which is far easier for staff, parents and students to access and see their profile. This platform is called Class charts and you should all be receiving an access code for parental access in the coming days. Please can you support your child use their separate login code and download the app so both parents and children are ready to start using by the end of the Easter holidays. Class charts recommend that parents and students take a picture of the login code in case these are lost.
We would like to thank parents for your support in making access points to the school safer for our student on arrival and at the end of the school day. Limiting traffic onto site at these two points in the day has really contributed to the well being of our students. If you require temporary access to drop off your child on site please continue to acquire a pass via contacting office@wilnecotehighschool.org. In the interests of safety, we will be making some slight changes to pedestrian access at the front gate, whereby all students entering via this entrance come into school via the student services entrance.
I wish you all an enjoyable Easter and look forward to welcoming our students back to the summer term on Monday 8th April 2024.
Yours faithfully
Mr Foskett
Headteacher
Autumn Half-term letter
9th February
Dear Parent/Carer,
After the longest Winter term I have experienced, this half term has positively flown by.
It was a real privilege to watch our school show “Matilda” this week. I could not be more proud of our extremely talented students who made this a performance to remember. Both nights were sold out and our local Primary schools were treated to an additional two shows in the school day. I am very grateful to our very dedicated staff who gave up so much time to coordinate such brilliant performances. Please look out for snippets of the show on our social media profiles.
Towards the end of this half term, we also held our twelve-hour challenge for our Duke of Edinburgh Bronze group which was supported by our silver group. The challenge started at 8pm and the students remained up and active all night completing all manner of challenges including raft building in the swimming pool in the early hours. A “raising aspirations” trip also went to Oxford University and a GCSE Drama group went to see Stephen Berkoff’s Metamorphosis at the Coventry Belgrade Theatre.
At the start of this half term, we held a mock exam results day for our Year 11, where students experienced arriving at school to receive the results of their Pre public exams sat at the end of the previous term. This was followed with information and advice around next steps and target setting. We also held a well-attended Key stage 4 options evening for year 9 parents and students, where we launched our new Key stage 4 curriculum. Our Year 9 students have now made their option choices which starts the process of organising the shape of their year 10 curriculum and the start of their GCSE and vocational pathways.
In the half term to come we will be running a four-week “grade booster” programme for year 11, which will be followed by selected subject support in the first week of the Easter Holidays. Click here to view more. Year 10 will prepare for and sit their Year 10 examinations commencing on 11th March 2024. These will be used to assess progress this year. Click here to view the Year 10 PPe Timetable. We will also be preparing for the summer term launch of a communication app for parents, which will provide a one stop location for all of the school communication applications such as Go4schools and Parent Pay. This will include a new and improved application to track student rewards and VP points.
I remain very proud of our students’ attendance, positive behaviour and uniform. I am grateful for all of your parental support in maintaining these important standards that provide the foundations for success at School. Please continue to check our uniform policy before making purchases to replace any outgrown uniform and continue to let us know if there are issues that we can support you with. Click here to view our uniform page. Hopefully the weather will start to improve, and temperatures will start to rise so that more of our students are able to go outside at break and lunchtime. Please continue to encourage your child to bring a coat to school so that they can get some fresh air at social times. We wish to maintain a quiet and calm atmosphere in the building at these times, so those that wish to exert any excess energy will be asked to go outside.
Please can I ask all parents who drop and collect their children off by car to do so outside of the school perimeter and not drive onto site. The start and end of the day is extremely busy with nearly a thousand young people leaving the site. Such numbers require all of the available space, including the driveways and we wish to keep our young people safe as they arrive and leave. If you require special consideration to enter the site in your car because of either a temporary or more permanent access arrangement, then please contact the school for an “Onsite Car Permit” which should be displayed on entry and exit www.thewilnecoteschool.com/contact. By limiting traffic entering site at these times, we will make entering and exiting the site safer for our students.
I would like to wish you and your family an enjoyable half term.
Yours faithfully
Mr Foskett
Headteacher
End of Autumn Term letter 2023
18th December
Dear Parent/Carer,
I have really enjoyed my first term at the Wilnecote school. It has been fantastic getting to know the students, staff, parents and carers that make up this school community. As you will see from our Christmas edition of the Wilnecote Warbler, it has been a busy term with lots of events and celebrations.
We held our Awards Evening on 20th October welcoming over one hundred students and their families. Awards were given to students for academic achievement and effort within each subject area, as well as overall prizes for sporting prowess and academic excellence. It was lovely to welcome back members of our previous Year 11 who had excelled in their summer exams and thriving in their post 16 destinations.
Our Children in Need fundraising event raised over £900 for charity and included a student led “Staff Bushtucker Trial” which was held in the school hall for the entertainment of our students. There were some really revolting combinations of food concocted by our junior leadership team and other volunteers, which staff forced down in the name of charity.
On Friday 15th December we merged our annual Christmas jumper day with our Christmas Food bank donation. I was delighted with the response from our students as not only did the Christmas jumpers give the school a really festive feel, but also over thirty-four bags of food were collected. Our donation will be with the foodbank in time for Christmas.
We will be holding rewards events on Wednesday 20th December, with students who have received the most VP points being rewarded with a cinematic experience during lesson time. This term, there have been over three hundred thousand VP points awarded by staff in recognition of their work in class. I have been so impressed with our students’ approach to their lessons and their determination over this term. During this term there have been fourteen Headteacher’s letters of commendation for some exceptional examples of students showing pride in their work, respectfulness, and kindness to others.
We have had some excellent feedback from students on our new catering providers with many students telling us that there has been a real improvement in the quality of food available. We do want our students to get some fresh air during break time and lunch time. We are limited in the amount of inside space, so please ensure that students have a warm coat to wear. Those choosing to stay inside must maintain a quiet and calm atmosphere at social times or they will be asked to go outside where they can let off steam.
Well done to our year 11’s who no doubt will be looking forward to the Christmas holidays after two weeks of mock exams. We are all very proud of their preparation and how they conducted themselves during these important assessments. These papers will provide a launching point for the final run into their summer exams. Teachers will be providing feedback on areas to develop and focusing on filing gaps in knowledge, exam technique and any misconceptions in the lessons to come. Year 11 students, led by our junior Leadership team, will be starting their fund-raising activities for their Year 11 Prom. In trying to cut down on the costs associated with school Proms we are seeking support from our community to make any funds raised go that little bit further. If you, or anyone you know, provides goods or services that could be donated or discounted for this event, please get in touch.
I would like to take this opportunity to update you on a number of developments that will be taking place in the new year.
School communication with parents is really important and in the interests of further improving this we will be establishing a new application that will provide a platform with one central login for parents to access the variety of applications such as Parent Pay and Go4schools. We hope to be launching this in the new year and after the initial set up this application should speed up your access to important information. In addition, we are aiming to replace the reward and behaviour module that is provided by Go4schools with one called Class charts. I will be writing to you in the new year concerning opportunities for student, parent and staff training so this transition is smooth.
The new year will see the start of significant investment in our facilities including the resurfacing of some of our tennis court areas and the redecoration of the Design and Technology facilities. We will also see the commencement of a rolling programme that will see the complete modernization and refurbishment of our specialist science classrooms over the next four years. It is hoped that at least two of these will be completed this academic year. We all welcome this investment as we strive to further improve the learning environment for our students.
We are also launching a half termly safeguarding update for parents. You will receive our safeguarding newsletter via your parent pay email address and we hope you find this communication useful in raising awareness and providing advice on a range of safeguarding topics.
I would like to thank you for your support in ensuring our uniform code is followed. We have had many visitors to our school over the term and all have commented on our student’s uniform. As the winter gets increasingly colder, we have seen an increase in students wearing jumpers under their blazers. Please remember that these must be black V-neck jumpers and not be round neck or of the sweatshirt variety. Jumpers are to be worn in addition to their blazer, not as a replacement.
School will close for the end of term at 12.30pm on Friday 22nd December. If you consent to your child leaving school at this time, then please complete the attached consent form by the close of school on Wednesday 20th December. Where no consent is given, students will remain on site until 3pm. PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK TO GIVE CONSENT
Finaly I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a happy new year.
Yours faithfully
Mr Foskett
Headteacher
Autumn Term 1
27th October
Dear Parent/Carer,
I have really enjoyed my first half term at Wilnecote and I am starting to appreciate what a great school this is and its importance within the local community. From the outset I shared with students and staff my core values that will provide the foundations for our school. I will constantly strive to ensure all are proud of our school, ambitious for every one of our students, whilst sharing respectful and kind relationships. I have been thoroughly impressed with our students’ start to the new academic year. In just the first eight weeks of school, students have earned nearly two hundred thousand VP rewards. There have been one hundred and sixty positive phone calls home made and the first eight headteacher commendations have been awarded. If you have not already, please log in to Go4Schools to keep up to date with how your child is doing. This can provide a stimulus to start conversations about how their day has gone.
The half term has been extremely busy with our Duke of Edinburgh Silver award students completing their expedition in September. I was especially proud of the students that supported our Open evening who confidently shared what they were demonstrating with visiting parents. Our new Junior Senior Leadership team played a crucial part in the success of this evening by acting as tour guides and have supported visits to local Primary schools. There have been live performances in assemblies with music concerts and some brilliant artwork from our key stage 3 students displayed in our library, based on the theme of Halloween. I continue to be in awe of the talents of our students, their creativity and confidence. Please read the latest edition for this half term of our “Wilnecote Warbler” for more details.
This half term I have focused on establishing the high expectations of behaviour which provide the strongest foundations for success at secondary school. I am grateful for the level of parental support I have received in ensuring our students take pride in their school uniform. I have been forthright in sharing my expectations of school uniform from the outset. Visitors to the school have noticed the difference this term and this has impacted on raised expectations across behaviour and attendance.
Compliance with school rules and good behaviour are underpinned with compliance of adopting the school uniform policy. I would much rather spend my time commending students on their hard work than give constant reminders of what is expected of all students to a limited few that are reluctant to comply. Throughout the last eight weeks we have reinforced our requirements and given many reminders to a small minority that continue wear trainers instead of shoes or wear very short skirts, roll their skirt up so it is worn short, or wear leggings instead of trousers with a pocket. We have been generous, allowing time for adaptations to be made and now expect all students to comply from the start of next half term. Those not meeting our uniform expectations will be offered suitable, clean replacements until they can provide their own. If you are in any doubt as to our uniform policy, please consult our website via the link below.
As the weather starts to become colder and wetter, I would be grateful if you could ensure your child has an outdoor coat and a bag large enough for it to be stored in during the day. Coats have to be taken off inside, but we want our students to make the most of the opportunities to get fresh air at break and lunch and arrive to school dry and ready to learn. You would be surprised by how many students on rainy days wear a coat and carry their blazer to school. School branded jumpers have risen in popularity, especially as the winter comes, but these should be an addition to their blazer, not a replacement.
I am really looking forward to the new half term. I want to ensure our school provides the very best education for your child and your support with the above will allow greater focus to be on our core purpose of teaching and learning and the progress your child is making. Next term we will start a review of our key stage 4 curriculum to evaluate if we can better meet the needs of our students and further promote academic success.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your children a fantastic half-term break.
Yours faithfully
Mr Foskett
Headteacher
Back to School Letter September 2023
1st September 2023
Dear Parent/carer,
It has been a very busy Summer at Wilnecote School with much work being completed on the site including cosmetic and structural improvements, some of which will spill over into the new term. I am grateful for the site team in their efforts to continually make the most of our school facilities. You will be reassured to know that Wilnecote is not one of the schools affected by defective concrete and our site is clear of RAAC. Well done to all of our year 11 students that collected their results this summer as they were rewarded for all of their hard work and resilience over their time at Wilnecote. There really is no compromise for high standards of effort and attendance when it comes to academic success. We wish them every success in their Post 16 pathways and hope they stay in touch with their school.
In the final weeks of the summer term, you will have received communication from the school and from me on the expectations for this coming new academic year. There has been no change to the uniform policy for several years, however towards the end of last year a minority of students moved away from these standards and tested the boundaries. To address this, and to give as much notice to parents/carers as possible, students whose uniform required attention were given letters at the end of the summer term. Please be mindful that many shops seem to suggest that black trainers are shoes; they are not. Similarly, we are insisting that skirts are no more than 6cm from the knee; short skirts are simply not allowed. Can I also ask that you are careful with skirt material? Stretchy and tight-fitting skirts ‘ride up’ and are not allowed. Please consult our website if you are unsure.
From the first day in September if a student arrives with inappropriate uniform, we will contact home and ask for a change to be brought to school. If this is not possible, the student will not socialise with others at social time; a supervised room and staffing has been allocated. The student will still have time for lunch and to go to the toilet. I would much rather conversations with our students and parents focus on learning, rather than correcting an expected standard of uniform. We want to be proud of our student’s appearance and really value your support in maintaining our high standards. The school has continually worked really hard to keep the cost of our uniform to a minimum. If the cost of uniform is a concern, please do contact the school via their Pastoral year officer. One final reminder students are expected to arrive to school with pens, pencils and ruler.
Have a great end to the summer and we look forward to welcoming year 7 on Wednesday 6th September at 9.20am and Year 8 to 11 on Thursday 7th September for an 8.30 start. There will be staff available to support students find their way to their tutor room on the first day.
Yours faithfully
Mr Foskett
Headteacher
Headteachers' End of Term Letter
14th July 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope this letter finds you well, as we fast approach the summer break. It has been a challenging term for both staff and students, as we have faced a larger than usual amount of supply staff in the building. This inevitably leads to a degree of instability in school for the students, but the majority have coped admirably and not let their standards drop – we thank them for this. I am very pleased to inform you, that despite a time of significant challenge when recruiting teachers, we are fully staffed from September, ensuring greater stability across the school as students are taught by subject experts in every department.
Last Day of Term Arrangements – Friday 21st July:
The last day of term will see students finish and break up for summer at 12:30pm – they are expected to attend in full school uniform. Periods 1 and 2 will see them in normal lessons, so needing to bring in appropriate equipment for any practical subjects they have. After break, students will go into their Tutor Groups for end of year celebration activities, including a house assembly.
Should your child be eligible for a free school meal and would like to collect one as they leave, please would you inform us of this by emailing us at office@wilnecotehighschool.org by the end of Monday, so our kitchen has time to order food as appropriate.
Changes to Tutor Groups from September 2023:
As a school, we have been reviewing our current system of vertical tutoring over the last few years, and how this approach impacts on students. Some of the areas we have discussed include:
- Relationships between students in both their own and different year groups
- Relationships students create with their Tutor
- Our ability to deliver age appropriate and effective personal, social and emotional development (PHSE)
- Our ability to deliver messages and assemblies that are pitched at the right level and relevant to students
- Our ability to deliver pastoral support and intervention via one person who knows all students within the same year group
We do believe that delivering an appropriate experience for students with ages that range from eleven to sixteen, and who are at very different stages in their personal development and school careers, is increasingly challenging and prevents us from offering the bespoke experience we believe students deserve. We have included Mr Foskett (our new Headteacher) in these discussions and are all of the firm belief that now is the time to move away from vertical tutoring, instead, having a traditional year-group structure, that contains only students from each specific year group. To enable a smooth start after the summer, students will be told the name of their tutor and which group they will be in on the final day of term. They will also learn who their Year Group Pastoral Officer will be from September.
Whilst we know that some of you may be disappointed or worried by this decision, I hope that you will trust us when considering the reasons that support this decision. Logistically, changing this structure is a massive piece of work for staff, so we would not undertake this, unless confident that students will significantly benefit from this decision – this has to be our primary reason for this change.
September 2023 – Return to school:
Please be aware of the arrangements for students, when coming back in September:
- Monday 4th September: Staff training day
- Tuesday 5th September: Staff training day
- Wednesday 6th September: School opens to Year 7 students only – to arrive for a 9:30am start, finishing at 3:00pm
- Thursday 7th September: School opens to all students – to arrive on site by 8:25, and heading to their new Tutor for an 8:30am start, finishing at 3:00pm
Staff who are leaving us on Friday 21st July:
At this time of year, we sadly have to say goodbye to some of our staff who are moving on to new opportunities, for a variety of reasons. I would like to publicly thank Mrs. Dellicott (teacher of English), Mrs. James (teacher of ICT and Computing), Mr. Johnson (teacher of History), Miss. Smith (teacher of Art & DT) and belatedly, Miss. Matthews (Cover Supervisor and teacher of Drama and Music) for all of the work and time they have given to support the students who come to us every day. They will be dearly missed by students and staff, and we all wish them well in the next phase of their career.
The other person who will be leaving with a heavy heart at the end of this year is myself. Having started at the school as a Deputy Headteacher in September 2017, I have had the pleasure of coming to work each day and spending my time with an amazing group of young people, hopefully supporting many of them in some way during their journey through secondary school. They are the reason why I look forward to coming to work each morning and I will greatly miss the way that so many of them make my day a better one. I will also greatly miss the staff who have supported me from the moment I arrived, as well as many parents and carers I have gotten to know over the years and who have been incredibly good to me.
During the Autumn Term, I decided that it was time to take the step of trying to become a Headteacher, and I was fortunate enough to be appointed to a position in a different school during the Spring Term. By the time applications were due for the position of Headteacher at Wilnecote, I had already been appointed elsewhere. Whilst sad to be leaving, I am of the firm belief that a new voice at the top is often a welcome thing, as it is an opportunity to reset the way certain things are done and brings a fresh set of eyes to all that we do. Mr. Foskett is a fantastic appointment for the school, and the support he will receive from an outstanding Senior Leadership Team and staff body who know your children, will enable the school to keep moving forwards and provide your children with the very best opportunities to be successful.
With one week to go, there is still much to be done before we break for summer, but I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your children a safe and enjoyable summer break when it arrives, and all the best for the future.
Yours faithfully
Simon Adams
Interim Headteacher
Headteachers' letter
3rd July 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
I am pleased to be able to formally tell you that from September, Mr David Foskett will be the new Headteacher of The Wilnecote School. I had the pleasure of being involved in all parts of the interview process and am of the firm belief that Mr Foskett is exactly the right person to lead the school into the next phase of its development and is an outstanding appointment for the school and community. Over the last few weeks, Mr Foskett has regularly been meeting with myself, other members of the leadership team and also with members of the Governing Body, to gain a greater understanding of the school and to enable his involvement in the planning of certain developments for the coming year. He has also had the opportunity to begin to meet students, when out and about during break and lunchtime. I know that Mr Foskett will be writing to you all before the end of the school year to introduce himself and give you a flavour of who he is and what his priorities are for the school, when under his leadership from September.
I will also be writing to you before the end of the year, to inform you of any changes that we will be making in September, and to give you information about the last week of this term and the first week back in September.
A change to remind you of is that the timings of the school day are altering slightly from September 2023, in line with Government expectations. Mrs Hartle wrote to you in October, to inform you that following a consultation process, the school from September will end at 3:00pm. We have considered a range of issues when deciding how best to use the additional time, to enhance opportunities in teaching and learning as well as around wellbeing for both students and staff. We have decided that the timings across the day will be as follows
- 8:30-9:30 – Period 1
- 9:30-10:30 – Period 2
- 10:30-10:55 – Break
- 10:55-11:30 – Tutor Time (including PHSE)
- 11:30-12:30 – Period 3
- 12:30-13:00 – Lunch
- 13:00-14:00 – Period 4
- 14:00-15:00 – Period 5
Key things to note are:
- An increase in Tutor Time to enable more effective PHSE provision and time to build a relationship with the Tutor
- An increase in break time, to enable greater opportunity to purchase food, go to the toilet and gain some downtime from class
- Lunchtime being at the same time for all students, so seeing no split lesson in the middle of the day, and increased opportunities to staff additional activities and provision for students during this time
- Back-to-back periods at the start and end of the day, so enabling the opportunity for subjects to be paired as double periods, if felt appropriate, as this may be advantageous for some GCSE practical subjects
We look forward to the last three weeks being a busy and positive experience for all students, as there is still much to do if we are to ensure we finish the year in the right manner. Thank you for your continuing support, as it is through working as a team that we can help all the students to be successful.
Have a good week,
Yours faithfully
Simon Adams
Interim Headteacher