Our end of term magazine takes a look back on the second half of the first term here at Waldegrave, covering all aspects of Waldegrave life from around the school to trips and visits and our community fundraisers.
AUTUMN 2ND EDITION MAGAZINE 2022
In this issue...
23 SPORTS Success this term has been achieved in a huge amount of team and individual sports including cross country, rugby, football and basketball. had students take part in the Carol concert and Winter Festival as well as music ensembles and drama workshops. 16 PERFORMING ARTS Always a busy time in the Performing Arts department’s calendar - we have 10 AROUND SCHOOL Outside of lessons students have loved getting involved in lectures and challenges. Unilever Christmas competition, Sixth Form Careers Day, random acts of kindess, the staff Christmas panto and much more. 03 WELCOME A warm welcome message from our Headteacher Ms Tongue. 04 HIGHLIGHTS
31 TRIPS AND VISITS Students have enriched their
curriculum by attending a wide variety of conferences including Sociology, Psychology, Modern Foreign Languages, Art, Photography and Design Technology. 46 PTA EVENTS Our PTA held the annual Christmas Tree Sale, Pre-Loved Uniform sale as well as selling refreshments at the Winter Festival. 38 COMMUNITY Our school community is always looking at ways they can show their appreciation and support for their peers and local community. 36 EXTERNAL ACHIEVEMENTS We reflect on our students’ successes outside of their curriculum this term.
photo courtesy of freepik.com
HEAD’S WELCOME MESSAGE
This has been the first December since 2019 that has seen the school end the term with all the excitement and activities that we all usually associate with Christmas. The cold weather spell this week has caused us all many challenges but it was lovely to see students from all year groups playing in the snow on Monday, making snowmen and throwing snowballs (mostly at Mr Goulbourne). It certainly added to the festive feel. Tuesday’s Winter Festival was truly magical, allowing students from all year groups to showcase their talents as musicians, actors and dancers. It was wonderful to This week we have said goodbye to someone who knows the traditions of Waldegrave very well. Mrs Yamuah is retiring after 34 years teaching at Waldegrave. She has inspired students with her passion for science and her determination and commitment. Now in her fourth decade of teaching, Mrs Yamuah is proud to be teaching the children of students she taught earlier in her career and is looking forward to the reunion in the summer of the Waldegrave class of 1993 which include students from her very first tutor group. Mrs Yamuah has started a new tradition this year, wearing her traditional Ghanaian clothing every week. Mrs Yamuah will be greatly missed by the school community, everyday she brings warmth to school with her smile and positivity. I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday, with an opportunity to enjoy your own family traditions old and new.
see students working together across the year groups, learning from each other and having lots of fun in the process. It has been absolutely joyful to resurrect the traditions that we have taken for granted in the past including the Winter Festival, the Christmas lunch and not forgetting the staff pantomime, as well as starting new traditions with Waldegrave’s Carol Service.
- Ms Tongue
A LEVEL CAREERS DAY The Year 12 careers day was a huge success, introducing students to the very many possible careers that are open to them. The day started with lectures from university professors from Royal Holloway, London School of Economics, St Mary’s and Roehampton, and covered a range of topics from science, Law, Criminology, English, Acting, Politics, Economics, Film and Geoscience.
ECO CONFERENCE A delegation of students from our eco council and student parliament attended an eco conference at Richard Challoner School. The conference was a great day, attended by a variety of secondary schools in the local area and featured presentations from Sir Ed Davey (former secretary of state for energy and climate change), Kerry Brown from Kingston University speaking about biodiversity in Madagascar, an officer for the borough of Kingston addressing issues in the local area, and an environmentally conscious business owner presenting on consumer habits and the experience of running a sustainable business.
A speed networking event followed by professionals from a range of careers who chatted informally to students about their own personal career path, qualifications they gained and tips on how to succeed. We had nearly 20 professionals take part ranging from GPs, lawyers, management consultants, charities, educators, engineers and marketers.
The Waldegrave delegates discussed the presentations with students from other schools and agreed action plans for their respective schools.
The day finished with a workshop on LinkedIn where students gained advice from professionals on how to set up a profile and make themselves as marketable as possible.
Year 13 students, Ruby M and Cara P, were given the chance to fly out to Germany for work experience! Here is what they have to say about their time out there: “We had such an exciting opportunity to go to Hamburg and work in a children’s toy shop and hotel reception. It took us out of our comfort zone and we built a lot of resilience when working through the challenges which made us much more confident German students as well as more resilient people in every aspect of our life. WORK EXPERIENCE ABROAD
LOCAL AREA WORK EXPERIENCE
A week’s work experience at St Mary’s University for six students proved to be just what they needed to convince them they wanted to do a degree in Psychology. They immersed themselves in the Psychology department, attending lectures, learning how to use the University’s cutting edge research software and taking part in the teaching and research activities including assembling research packs for participants. “I learnt about how research takes place and the amount of time that goes into conducting it to make sure it runs smoothly. It was a very good opportunity which has helped me to have a greater understanding of psychology at university and as a wider subject.” - Ella K
“It helped give me a deeper knowledge of psychology at university level, attending lectures and workshops across all three years and experiencing a snapshot of life at St Mary’s University.” - Daisy D “This was a practical experience for me to learn how to use [the university] software. In addition, a hands-on learning of the research method and statistical workshop. I gained a lot of valued experience. I believe this is an unforgettable experience in my life.” - Yin Ling K “[It] has allowed me to gain transferable skills, and has prepared me to start an academic degree in psychology and allow me to gain experience in psychological careers.” - Gajmeet S “I thoroughly enjoyed the sensory neuroscience talk [and] I gained a lot of valuable experience and knowledge about the careers in psychology and studying it at university.” Sasha N
Fortunately it was not all work! We were able to experience Hamburg’s culture such as visiting the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall, boat ride on the river, and museums. We both found the experience rewarding and it was so valuable to meet other students from across the country with similar interests and aspirations. All in all it was a fantastic experience which will help give us the tools we need for a successful last year of school!”
Waldegrave was delighted to launch our Waldegrave Christmas Competition this year! The competition challenged students to design a new Ben & Jerry’s festive product and consider the design, name, price and promotional activity of their product. We had a fantastic response from all year with groups entering a range of exciting and quite frankly delicious ideas. The final was held on Tuesday 13th December where we invited a number of marketing experts to judge the three finalists from each year and award prizes. The competition not only allowed the students to have some festive fun, it also taught them vital skills which are essential for a career in marketing! UNILEVER CHRISTMAS COMPETITION
Our judges, Matt, Emma and Arlette, came to a decision on a final winner for each year group which were: Rachel B (7SGR), Cara H (8STH) and Victoria F (8SPI), Miranda H (9SHO) and Samia I (9SHO), Erica P (10FBA), Ruby B (10FBA) and Lily D (10FBA), Nicole B (11FSW) and Sabaa Q (11EGH). Well done to everyone who participated!
UKRAINIAN SHOEBOX DONATIONS Students collected a range of gifts to include in ‘shoe boxes’ to send to orphaned children in the Ukraine this Christmas, showing great generosity and kindness to help those in less fortunate positions. Anna, the organiser of the appeal from The Vineyard Community was overwhelmed by the generosity: “Your contributions will deliver special moments of joy, hope and magic for the children who are most in need across Ukrainian orphanages. Your kindness will forever be remembered by those who will be on the receiving end of your parcels. I thank you for helping keep the hope alive and I hope this experience has brought you an added sense of purpose, warmth and unity too.”
ACE CLUB DELIVER A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS Our Active Citizenship and Ethics Club organised a random acts of kindness event which took place on 18 November in Digby Court. Members of the ACE club invited students during their lunch break to join them in writing thank you messages for someone within the school community and then deliver it to them.
This event brought joy to many, as the students huddled together excited to give out personalised messages of appreciation to their peers.
6SLT SELL CANDY CANES WITH KIND MESSAGES ATTACHED
Students had the opportunity to buy candy canes in aid of charity. These were then gifted to other students with a kind message attached. This is always a lovely initiative and brings joy to the student body.
CYBERFIRST GIRLS COMPETITION
YEAR 8/9 SPANISH STUDENTS WISH THEIR PENPALS FELIZ NAVIDAD
The new Year 8 Computing Enrichment classes have spent the last half term working on Cyber Explorers where they have uncovered how digital, computing and cyber security skills are integral to successful career paths. They have also been learning skills to help them in the CyberFirst Competition which started on Monday and runs for 10 days. During this time they will be working in teams to solve various challenges both in lessons and in their own time. A number of teams were raring to get going and have already gained lots of points.
BOOKMARK COMPETITION Thank you to everyone who entered the LRC’s Design A Bookmark Competition. Well done to winners: Jasmine S, Lusi B, Elizabeth MM, Sophia S and Isabel J.
The CyberFirst Girls Competition is run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). It aims to encourage more girls to consider Computer Science as an option at school and a career in cyber security. As we rely more and more on social media, online shopping and online services as part of our everyday lives, we need the right talent in place to protect us from online threats.
Highly commended entries were: Jemima L, Sofiya A and Sadie E.
WALDEGRAVE PRESENTS AN EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCE OF
Quite possibly the highlight of the whole year - for both students and staff - this year’s panto was based on Frozen. Masterminded and ‘Waldegraved’ by our Year 11 house captains, and gamely performed by selected members of staff, some of whom have appeared in every panto since they first started working at the school, this was a real opportunity for the whole school to have some fun!
CAREERS TALK TO YEAR 11
Local clinical data specialist company Veramed spoke to Year 11 students about STEM careers based in Maths/Science.
As well as describing their own personal, and very different career journeys, the presenters gave students an insight into clinical trials and the importance of statistics and programming within these trials, showing how STEM can provide a multitude of different careers. An interactive activity showed the style of work statisticians and programmers perform. They then gave real world examples including the impacts through the vaccination development process of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Sabaa Q and Keira W summed up what they thought of the event:
“We enjoyed the assembly and the interaction [of the speakers] to get the year more engaged. The real life example of COVID-19 helped to convey their points in a way which is easier to understand and relate to. We found the explanations of their academic routes to achieve their current jobs helpful as it put [our] studies into perspective of where it can take us in life. It was an engaging assembly which offered great insight into possible careers in STEM along with descriptions of how to get there and what it may be like”.
GLOBE PLAYERS ENGLISH LITERATURE PERFORMANCES The Globe Players enacted three lively performances of classic texts, which our students are studying for their English Literature GCSEs. Macbeth
The symbolism of blood and the theme of guilt were explored, with lots of insight into superstition and context of the time. The porter’s scene was very humorous and its relevance explained well, the fight scenes were tense and the whole play was engaging and fast-paced. As we’ve just finished studying Macbeth, it was perfect timing to see the whole play and how it was structured: they will remember the performance clearly and it is so helpful for their revision.
Romeo and Juliet The actors used the space imaginatively to stage the play in such an engaging way. Romeo and Juliet had a great chemistry and our Y11 students found the play very helpful in their study of Shakespeare. It was a fresh and moving production and very successfully considered the themes of love and conflict.
An Inspector Calls Students were able to appreciate the context and the main themes of responsibility and communi- ty in the play. Seeing the whole play and how the relationships changed, as well as the way tension builds throughout really brought the text to life.
CREATION T-SHIRT PROJECT In Religious Education, Year 7s have been studying the creation of the universe. They have been looking at the Christian creation story as well as the scientific explanation for the creation of the universe. Students had to think about, and discuss, whether these creation stories were compatible or whether they were so different that they were completely incompatible. The end of topic assessment involved them designing a T-Shirt which expressed the point of view of someone who either completely believes the scientific explanation, the Christian creation story or a compatible view. Students had to explain what view their T-Shirt was showing and how the different images represent that view.
GCHQ organised a National Language Competition which was a fantastic opportunity for students to challenge themselves. In small groups of 3 or 4, they competed against more than 700 other teams and tested their problem-solving abilities. Over the course of five days, teams of Y9 students across the UK were able to access very exciting, language-themed challenges. 14 of our students volunteered to enter this competition! They met to play in their teams, and collect as many points as they could, to give Waldegrave school the opportunity to win the competition. The most exciting part: the winning team will be invited to the headquarters in Cheltenham and will be presented with their trophy by Director, Sir Jeremy Fleming. A huge well done to the students who took part in this very inspirational challenge!
Sixth Form Lectures
Over this half term we have held a variety of Lecture-style talks after school for our Sixthformers. From Maths and History to the Social Sciences, we’ve been lucky enough to welcome multiple professors into Waldegrave for these talks. Maths professor Dr Peter Allen, visited us from the London School of Economics; Dr Sophie Bocksberger gave us an introduction to Hercules; The London Institute of Banking and Finance held an economics lecture; and Cambridge professor Dr Diane Rey discussed sociological views and issues.
YEAR 8 CHRISTMATHS QUIZ
Christmas started early for Year 8 with the Great Christmaths Quiz organised by Ms O’Rorke. The students were split into two different sessions, competing in house groups to win epraise points for their houses and sweets for themselves. The competitiveness was palpable for anybody coming into the hall: all the students were determined to put their Maths learning (albeit interwoven with some Christmas trivia knowledge) to good use. Loads of fun was to be had too with Mr Reynolds and Mr Goulbourne taking their turns as quizmasters, performing little jigs and their best karaoke’s! Flying Glue Stick, (Imogen C, Lottie K, Maya S and Sophie B) clinched the winning spot in Session One, but the drama came for second place with three teams tying. A particularly tricky tiebreaker dreamt up by Mrs Stoney on the spot meant that The Sassy Bakas came second and Christmas Puds came joint third with The Twixes. Session Two was no less tense with The Penguin People (Chiara I, Robyn Z-B, Emily S, Shokria A, Taqwa A) coming out on top. The Jolly Gingerbreads came second and joint third were the Mistletoads and Last Christmas Plums. Well done everyone!
Year 11 Music GCSE students spent the day rehearsing in preparation for the ensemble performance part of their exam which is worth 15% of their final grade. Students worked individually, in pairs or small groups fine tuning their pieces. Our talented music staff gave a performance of a range of pieces, playing several different instruments to show the students how to work together with an accompaniment. Our new bass guitar teacher Mr Gerrish, joined Mr Moorse for the first time ever for an improv, inspiring the students and showing them how to work collaboratively with another musician. At the end of the day some students, including flautists, cellists and a rock band, bravely performed their pieces to the Year 10 GCSE cohort and also their Year 11 music class peers. Some students had never played to an audience that size so it was a valuable experience and it was great inspiration to the Year 10 students who are currently working on their first collaboration performance project. ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL DAY
On Friday 2 December all the Waldegrave choirs came together for the inaugural Waldegrave Carol Service at St. Augustine's of Canterbury Church in Whitton. Members from all year groups across the school read the traditional nine lessons beautifully with music chosen and performed by the Chamber Choir, Concert Choir and Year 7 singers to complement each one. Alongside this, the congregation were invited to join the choirs for some of their favourite carols. Elsie E deserves a special mention for opening the service with a brilliant unaccompanied performance of the first verse for Once in Royal David's City. Congratulations to all involved and to Father John for hosting this special evening.
The Music Department is delighted to launch their composition platform. Each half term we will be sharing the creative work of our students from across all three key stages. For our first edition we are celebrating the work from our GCSE and A Level students from last year. We hope that this will inspire those in Y9 and Y11 thinking about their options for next year, and for our current GCSE and A Level cohorts who will be completing their own composition coursework after Christmas.
From Now On is a GCSE composition written for an acoustic vocal concert.
Another Mystery is a GCSE composition written for a pop/rock band.
Rosa Blanca is an A Level composition featuring Latin American fusion ideas.
The Performing Arts department was proud to welcome a live audience into the Main Hall for the first time since 2019 for the Winter Festival on Tuesday night. The evening involved around 200 students across all year groups who participate in our larger weekly ensembles, dance and drama clubs. The eclectic programme showcased the diversity of what is on offer for free throughout our school week and included everything from The Arctic Monkeys, to Fred Astaire to Tchaikovsky. An audience of nearly 350 parents were treated to the talents of our amazing students and in doing so supported the ongoing running of our enrichment programme through ticket sales and the work of the PTA who ran an impressive bar for drinks throughout the evening. A huge thank you to all involved and we look forward to seeing you at the Acoustic Concert next term.
YEAR 7 PERFORMING ARTS PROJECT
Over this term, our Year 7 students have been working hard on a performance of Shoulda Been a North Pole Elf by Andy Beck. They’ve spent many lessons rehearsing their vocals as well as learning some choreography. The final production is available to watch below.
COMPLICITÉ WORKSHOP
Professional actors from Complicité theatre company worked with our Sixth Form students leading the ensemble in building warm ups, and generating ideas for creating scenes. Inspiration came from Art and text, using movement and visual poetry to create interesting shapes from which to start the storytelling.
For Year 12 this was an invaluable session for their devising coursework and for Year 13 it gave them good ways of adding physicality to their performance exam.
MELODRAMA Over this term, Year 8 have been learning about and performing the Melodrama script ‘Foiled Again’ in class. Melodrama is a genre of theatre, known for its exaggerated character types and sensational plots, which originated in France and became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. As the genre developed, it became common for melodrama storylines to include six stock characters: the mean villain, the sensitive hero, the persecuted heroine, the comic character, the faithful friend and the villain’s sidekick. Following on from this, our Year 8s were set a task to create their own stock character profile pages. They were very creative with this exercise, producing some lovely detailed illustrations for a variety of the stock character types.
This half term Year 9 students have been learning about the genre of Theatre in Education. In the last week of term some students were lucky enough to perform their plays of the book Beware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child to visiting Year 1s from local primary schools.
It has been another impeccable half term of matches for our Y7/8 footballers. Having had back to back fixtures, the team played impressively, coming out on top of both games as worthy winners. The team has done amazingly: we have seen some great defending from Maya and Goalkeeper Lal. Team captain Mia deserves a special mention for her back to back hatrick scoring, winning her player of the match. In the South-West group our team finished top of the table scoring 29 goals and conceding 0 in 5 games. It has also been a fantastic half term for our Sixth Form footballers. The team played in their first Futsal tournament, hosted by Christ’s. They played outstandingly in the group stage, finishing top of the group and advancing into the final against Teddington. It was a thrilling game, reaching full time on a draw, calling for a penalty shoot out to determine the winner. Unfortunately Teddington took the lead and we finished in second. The team should be proud of how well they did, especially Eric R who was our player of the tournament.
A huge well done to the Year 10 Netball Team at their Borough Tournament on coming 3rd Place overall. Considering this was the first time the team played a competitive match together this term, they gave a fantastic performance winning all of their pool matches. They reached the semi-finals against Grey Court, working hard to keep the game close, where it finished 5-5. This led to extra time, but sadly Waldegrave missed out on the final as Grey Court won. Well done to everyone, you should all be proud of your effort and teamwork. Congratulations to the player of the tournament, Flo N.
Congratulations to the U13 Badminton team who achieved joint second place in the tournament at Hampton Boys School. The team consisting of Immy B, Grace A, Lottie K, Kaila A & Lal K played games against RTS A & B teams and LEH.
Congratulations to the Year 7/8 Cricket team who came fourth in their first indoor tournament on 17 November at Richmond Upon Thames School. They played four games during the event and got off to a really good start with a win against RTS. Next they faced LEH & Grey Court who both proved to be very tough oppostion and they lost both of these games. Our final game v SRRCC was much closer we scored 32 runs to their 45. Well done to all that played: Kaila, Immy, Evie, Taqwa, Grace, Lottie, Lal & Eve.
A number of students from Year 7 to Year 13 represented Waldegrave at the Borough Cross Country Championships. All students were a credit to themselves and showed real grit and determination on a very cold day and a tough course. Congratulations to Jasmine G in Year 8 and Lily O in Year 12 for coming 1st in their races. Also to Thea W-L in Year 10 for coming 3rd, Mabel M in Year 8 for coming 4th and Molly A in Year 10 for coming 5th.
Congratulations to the U16 Rugby team who took part in the Middlesex Rugby tournament, finishing in 3rd place. A special mention goes to most improved player Poppy VW and player of the tournament Izzy H. Well done to our U14 Rugby team for coming second place in their tournament, with player of the tournament going to Neuza. Congratulations to Our U12 team who won all of their matches at the Middlesex Rugby tournament, being crowned first place winners and taking home the trophy!
Congratulations to the U14 Basketball team who achieved 3rd place in the Cup tournament. Well done to Anya for being named Player of the tournament and Ede as most improved player. Well done to the Y10/11 Basketball team who won both their league matches against Twickenham and Turing House. A great all round team effort and a special mention to Anesu and Sophia who were voted as player’s player for these games.
When our aspiring rugby players turned up for what they thought was a training session with other local schools little did they know they’d be meeting one of the most iconic teams in rugby!
Emilia and Lily tell us more:
“Walking into Teddington Rugby club we were greeted by cameras and lots of smiling faces. We were given black and white Adidas kit to wear and we all figured that we would be modelling for Adidas. Following a game of Rugby Netball we noticed a commotion - suddenly the All Blacks walked through the gate! Everyone scrambled to their feet to meet Beauden Barrett, Dalton Papli’i, Richie Mo’unga and Ardi Savea. We got to do drills and in the Q&A session we found out that: • They are looking forward to playing Ireland in the world cup • They want to eat lots of french food. • Their most nerve racking game was the recent Australia v New Zealand. • Richie Mo'unga was part of an unbeaten U11, U12, U13 squad. The day finished up with team photos with all of the players and them signing our t-shirts. While walking back to the rugby club many people got the chance to have selfies with them and even BeReals!”
Date
Fixture
Result
Sixth Form Football vs Teddington Sixth Form Futsal Tournament Y7/8 Football vs Hampton High Y7/8 Football vs Teddington
WON 6-0
30.11.22 23.11.22 16.11.22 15.11.22
FOOTBALL
2ND PLACE WON 6-0
WON 3-2
Date
Fixture
Result
Y10 Netball Tournament
3RD PLACE WON 19-13 WON 14-13
13.12.22 08.12.22 18.11.22
Y10/11 Netball League Final vs Grey Court
Sixth Form Netball vs Grey Court
Date
Fixture
Result
Y7/8/9 Touch Rugby Tournament U12 Borough Rugby Tournament U16 Borough Rugby Tournament U14 Borough Rugby Tournament
3RD PLACE 2ND PLACE 1ST PLACE 3RD PLACE
29.11.22 18.11.22 11.11.22 08.11.22
Date
Fixture
Result
U14 Basketball Tournament U16 Basketball Tournament
3RD PLACE LOST 80-38 2ND PLACE LOST 42-4 LOST 30-22 WON 31-22 WON 44-22
01.12.22 24.11.22 23.11.22 09.11.22 05.12.22 06.12.22 08.12.22
Sixth Form Basketball vs ACS Cobham Y8/9 Basketball vs Grey Court Y10/11 Basketball vs Twickenham Y10/11 Basketball vs Turing House U14 Basketball vs Christs
Social Science students attended a “Psychology / Sociology in Action” conference which took place at the Emmanuel Centre in Central London. They heard from sociologists and psychologists and who specialise in different areas of the subjects and picked up tips on how to be successful in their exams. Theo M-J, Y12 Psychology student, said: “The Emmanuel centre was a fantastic setting for our conference - a renovated and modern hall seating up to 1000 and filled with arched walls, a large glass overhead dome and lots of refurbished wooden seating. Over the course of the day we had talks about memory with music, Sports psychology and decision making, behavioural analytics (how brands control their industry through affecting our behaviour) and also the psyche behind conspiracy theories and which type of people can be stereotyped into being more likely to believe in them. There was a talk on exam practice and what methods help and which do not which was very useful. The final talk about the science behind dance, and its benefits in helping with different aspects of problem-solving was joyful. He got everyone up to dance, even the teachers!” Nell M, Y12 Sociology Student, said of the event: “The opportunity to get a taste of lecture-style events covering topics such as disability; predictive policing; the importance of rethinking representation within education plus hearing about the effects of growing up and living in unequal countries, was invaluable. Aisha Thomas, the founder of Representation Matters spoke compellingly of her own journey and experience as a mother and educator, inspiring us, as an emerging generation, to make changes within the education system to increase representativeness. Questions sparked throughout the talk and we could contribute via a live online platform, either anonymously or live. It was a great way to experience the conversation in the room collectively and it has boosted our knowledge outside of the curriculum.”
CREATIVE ARTS EXHIBITION TRIPS
There have been many opportunities for students studying a creative subject to venture out on a day trip to different musuems and galleries. Year 10 Design & Technology students and the DT team went to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Africa fashion exhibition. Textiles students also enjoyed exploring the Fashion galleries and Re:Imagining Musicals in Theatre and Performance and product Design students enjoyed the Furniture and Jewellery displays. All students will use this valuable primary research to inform their idea generation back in school. Gallery staff and members of the public commented on both our students creativity and their exemplary conduct. Everyone had a great day and left inspired.
Year 12 A Level Art students had the exciting opportunity to visit two exhibitions. They began with the Strange Clay exhibition at the Hayward Gallery which introduced them to abstract sculpture on a range of scales. They then moved on to see Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s ‘Fly in League with the Night’ paintings at Tate Britain. Both of the exhibitions will inspire future coursework.
Our A Level Photography students attended the Taylor Wessing portrait photography exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and the Wildlife photography exhibition at the Natural History Museum in Kensington to gain inspiration for their coursework.
German A Level students visited the British Film Institute on the Southbank in London to attend a Study Day. The topic was "The Legacy of East Germany through film". The Day was aimed at building our cultural capital and improving critical film analysing skills to support our A level German studies. The morning was conducted in German and we analysed various scenes from Sonnenallee, Das Leben der Anderen and the fantastic Balloon. We were then treated to a full length showing of Goodbye, Lenin - the film we study for A level. We learnt a great deal and really enjoyed the day.
SPANISH STUDY DAY AT THE BFI
Spanish A Level students attended a study day on Pedro Almodóvar's films at BFI Southbank. Our students had a superb introduction to the themes and style of the Spanish auteur and took part in discussions microphone in hand. They also enjoyed watching the film Volver on the big screen.
Many of them continued their immersion in the language with a bonding visit to the restaurant Las Iguanas. ¡Todo un éxito !
FRENCH STORYTELLING WORKSHOP
French students Hasna B, Uma B, Amelie B-A, DeeDee B-R, Caitlin C, Isabel D, Olivia D, Jemima R, Bea S and Rani T in Year 9 have spent the last two months learning about childrens’ stories in French. In small groups, they chose a story to act out and practised delivering them in French. The group performed their stories to Year 2 students at St James’ Primary School with the aid of props and musical instruments. Their enthusiasm was infectious and the younger students were thrilled to see the live performance of one of their favourite stories. We asked the students to describe their experience and this is what they said: “The French Storytelling trip was a great experience. We got to practise our reading and speaking skills and widened our French vocabulary. Our favourite part of the experience was interacting with the Year 2 children and seeing how they reacted to our stories, positive or otherwise! We were lucky enough to be given this opportunity and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wanted to take part in the future. Our group performed the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar ( La chenille qui fait des trous ) . We loved using the puppet and props and the children seemed to enjoy them just as much as us! We hope to take part in something similar in the future!”
YEAR 11 GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP
On a chilly final week of term, 127 Geographers embarked on their GCSE Fieldwork excursions in our borough. The group should be commended for such resilience and enthusiasm despite challenging conditions where we encountered snow and very cold conditions. For our fieldwork data collection, we were able to sample the differing infiltration rates at different locations in Bushy Park. Students were able to investigate how the presence of trees affected this. In order to collect data for the human element of the fieldwork, pupils engaged in a very interesting analysis of London Road, finding out whether Twickenham could be classified as a clone town or not (it’s not!). In addition, students were able to develop further primary data collection skills in devising their own questionnaires for further evidence. Well done again for some superb participation Year 11 - we now look forward to exploring ways to present our data upon return to school in January.
A number of students have completed in swimming competitions this term: • Pia H in 8STH achieved a bronze medal in her 800m freestyle at the Middlesex County Development Gala • Bella E, Evie Y, Thea W-L and Holly W-L all participated in the Swim England Regional Championships • Bella E in 9SHO came 10th in the 200m butterfly race • Evie Y in 10SAS came 7th in the 200m butterfly race • Thea W-L in 10ERU came 18th in the 800m freestyle race • Holly W-L won a silver medal in the 400m individual medley and came 5th in the 200m butterfly race
Well done to students who participated in water sports this term: • Gemma D in 11FLW and Lottie E in 11SDA won silver in the • Kingston Small Boats Head as part of their coxless quad • Savannah R (8FBH) who passed her Royal Yachting Association Level 3 Dingy course • Elise B (8STH) won the Junior sailing series at Hampton Sailing Club
Other sporting successes of our students this term include: • Elin P in 7FCO represented the school at the British Judo • Association London Regional Schools Competition and came away with a bronze medal • Anna C in 7FAD was invited to train with football lioness Beth Head • Serra S in 8FBH achieved her handicap with Strawberry Hill Golf Club
Congratulations to the following students who’ve completed their piano exams this term: • Simona B in 8PFO earnt a distinction in her step 1 exam • Emilia T in 9EAH obtained a distinction in her grade 5 exam • Anvi O-S in 11EGH passed her grade 7 exam • Ameiyah J in 11PTR achieved a distinction in her grade 7 exam
Well done to the following students who’ve completed their flute exams this term: • Safaa B in 9FHE received a distinction in her grade 2 exam • Samia I in 9SHO passed her grade 5 exam
Other Music success of our students this term include: • Holly C in 8STH has been awarded a merit on her Grade 4 ABRSM music theory exam • Isabella Harnett in 8STH passed her Grade 3 violin exam with a merit • Samia I in 9SHO achieved a merit in grade 5 saxaphone • Kate W in 10PON received a distinction in grade 7 trumpet • Yasmin I in 11FLW achieved a merit in her grade 6 Clarinet
We have also had some great news from some of our students about acting opportunities this term: • Lorelie W in7POR has been casted to play Ruby in Burning Girls, a Paramount Plus TV series which will be aired next year • Sally P in 9SPT will be appearing in the Rose Theatre’s Christmas production of A Christmas Carol
Remembrance Day was celebrated with a focus on the many collaborations between different nations and people around the world to end the rule of fascism. Lindsey D commented: “It never comes as a surprise, being asked to play the Last Post as a trumpet player in early November! This year, much like last year, we recorded a video of us playing the tune (which was shown in form time in the morning and can be viewed in the youtube video below) but the live performance was a surprise, to me and everyone else! It's always nerve-wracking per- forming alone, and you definitely feel exposed right outside the sixth form base! Kate played in the car park over the other side of the site, but I'm not sure how in sync we were… The nerves before playing are equally matched by the adrenaline rush you get after it goes well, and it definitely did, even better than in the re - cording! Overall it was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to hopefully doing it again next year!”
Many students took part in services around the borough and Lara E-B in 11 PTR was chosen to represent Peake Explorers and Scouting at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. She marched with veterans and other families on this special occasion.
The Great Waldegrave Bake Off has come to an end for our KS3 and KS4 year groups! All participants did a fantastic job with baking and decorating their ‘semi-naked cakes’, which was the theme of this year's bake off! All the judges were completely wowed with the high level of skills shown throughout this competition, and were very impressed with the look and taste of all the cakes produced. It was a tough decision to crown a winner in each year group, but after carefully analysing the presentation, taste, texture and technical skills involved a decision was made and we can proudly announce the winners and runner ups across the five participating year groups. Well done to everyone who took part in this year’s bake off!
YEAR 7
YEAR 8
YEAR 9
YEAR 10
YEAR 11
Anna, Izzy and May in 7FAD
Freya, Luciana and Kenza in 8EPA
Yasmin, Abi and Ellie in 9FJA
Paige, Phoebe and Grace in 10FGD
Verity, Solar and Nicole in 11FSW
On 8 December all of Waldegrave put on their best Christmas jumpers as we celebrated Christmas Jumper Day in order to raise money for our house charities: Save the Children Doctors without Borders, Humanity First and Action Aid. If you would like to contribute any money, please do so via parentpay.
We would like to say a massive thank you to Cucina and all their wonderful staff who went above and beyond to deliver Christmas lunch to the whole school over two days. The tables were beautifully laid, the food was delicious and the atmosphere was filled with festive joy.
DIVERSITY MURAL WALL PROJECT
A group of Sixth Form students and Art teacher Ms French spent time working together to create a fantastic mural to reflect and celebrate the diversity of students at local primary school Carlisle Infants in Hampton. Over the course of several weekends the group turned a drab breeze block wall in the playground into a stunning mural. They worked collaboratively with the school children to come up with the design which shows the children throughout the seasons. The children and staff love how bright and colourful this area of the school is and especially that they recognise themselves and their peers.
One pupil delightedly exclaimed: “Oh look, someone who looks like me!”
Ms French said, “It was a delight to work with the sixth formers to create something beautiful and meaningful, and which will be enjoyed for many years to come.”
CHRISTMAS CARD COMPETITION
Well done to all the students who entered the RE Club Annual Christmas Card Competition this year. The entries showed great creativity and outstanding artistic talent.
Congratulations to the winner: Alexa M in 8SPI and the runner up Lusi B, also in 8SPI.
All entrants will receive Praise Points with the winner and runner-up receiving a Praise Postcard and a prize.
PTA CHRISTMAS TREE SALE Thank you to everyone who supported our Christmas Sale on 3 December. We sold a staggering 85 Christmas trees, raising approximately £1,300, as well as over £500 from the pre-loved uniform sale. It was a great day and there are plenty of people to thank: • Maria who organised all the Christmas tree sales and her jolly merry team of Pat, Anja, Lisa and Stuart. • Early birds Errol and Emma who turned up at 8am to unload the Christmas trees, and Chris who helped to unload the second van load! • The uniform team - Victoria, Rebecca, Irena and Claire – such a great, cheerful gang! • Waldegrave students Lacey and Sophie, along with Lacey’s cute dog! • And finally Kez the Weekend Premises Assistant. - Edel, PTA Chair
GILL HINES PRESENTATION
Waldegrave PTA organised for Gill Hines, education and parenting consultant, to speak about Raising Brave Young Women. The talk was very well received, giving parents and carers the tools they need to support their young people and help them grow into fearless young adults. Gill has worked with children and families for over 40 years in a range of roles - primarily in Educational settings. She is best known for her workshops and books for parents and her down to earth approach to helping children and young people become the best versions of themselves. She says: “It’s a sad fact that research shows confidence in girls drops by an enormous 30% during adolescence. Those wonderful feisty children become anxious worriers - self conscious and afraid to be their best self in case others dislike them for it. Boys as a group don’t have the same problem - confidence rates stay much the same so why is it that girls change so dramatically, and what can we do to help them stay brave and confident in their own abilities, likeability and personhood?” The talk concentrated on why changes happen, how those changes show themselves and how we can teach girls ways of managing their thought patterns and destructive behaviours such as self criticism, over reliance on the opinions of others for their self worth, overthinking and catastrophizing. Set within a home in which resilience, self reliance and personal responsibility are modelled and celebrated, these are powerful tools. Edel, chair of the PTA said: “Thank you to everyone who attended the PTA talk - it was great to have such a big enthusiastic audience. Gill is a highly engaging speaker and it was a very insightful and useful session – closely aligned to the school’s PDC curriculum. I’m sure some of her books will be on my Christmas List!”
There are many opportunities to get involved with PTA.
Please contact us at pta@waldegravesch.org for more information!
ENJOY, ACHIEVE, EMPOWER.
Waldegrave School, Fifth Cross Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW2 5LS
020 8894 3244
www.waldegrave.richmond.sch.uk
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