Blog week ending 20th May

Posted on: 20/05/2022

Our Year 11 students enjoyed a wonderful last assembly, full of laughter, as they reflected on their time here at WGSG and how much they have achieved in those five years!  Our PTA dressed the hall with balloons and decorations and staff and students delivered heartfelt presentations and speeches.  As you can see from the below pictures, it was a lovely celebration.  A special thank you to our Year 7 students who formed a ‘guard of honour’ cheering and waving our Y11s first WGSG school photo as they left the hall.  Our Year 11s have now started their GCSEs – you have all worked incredibly hard on your exam preparations and are perfectly placed to achieve the results you deserve! 

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We held a celebratory Year 13 assembly ahead of the start of their examinations next week - and what a truly uplifting experience it was!  Student singers and musicians gave amazing performances elevating the whole event (pictured below).  It has been a tremendous pleasure working with such a resilient, creative and inspirational group of students.  The highlight of my week has been meeting the Senior Prefects each Friday to discuss ideas, issues and all things Sixth Form.  I know that they will all go on to achieve great things, maybe not always down the path that they think, but must remember life has a way of throwing you opportunities when you least expect it!

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Science Club – the finale of our project to build working catapults .. the big competition!  Each group competed to achieve the catapult with the greatest accuracy of shot as well as the greatest distance the ‘ammunition’ was launched.  Congratulations to our winning teams. 

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Year 9 MFL students have been very excited to receive letters from their Spanish pen pals this week. The letter exchange has been set up by Mrs Cantos with Colegio Nuestra Señora de las Escuelas Pías in Madrid and is a brilliant opportunity to for year 9s at WGSG to make friends with students in another country while improving their Spanish skills. We are looking forward to sending our next letter back to Madrid and receiving the replies!

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Mrs Dent’s Year 8 Music students have been testing their knowledge with a series of interactive online revision quizzes ahead of their end of year assessments.  And as you can see from the below images … are doing a great job!

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G17Please join me in congratulating Year 13 Sam Hergest who has just been accepted onto the EasyJet Pilot Training Course.  This is an amazing achievement, and one richly deserved.  Sam has had his sights firmly set on becoming a pilot for as long as he can remember and has worked incredibly hard to make that dream a reality.  Sam studied Physics, Mathematics and Geography at A Level – subjects relevant to his chosen career.  Sam has undergone a rigorous recruitment process including aptitude tests and interviews and has been supported by Ms Walker, our Careers Lead at WGSB as well as his form and subject teachers – we couldn’t be prouder.

G18Hi, I’m Amelia England, a Year 12 WG6 student and I’m going to provide an insight into student life, and our current priorities at this stage of WG6.

After all of our hard work, our mocks are finally over! It is important to remember that we have conquered the challenge of sitting these exams, a huge achievement considering the disruptions we have faced last year due to coronavirus. These exams are a milestone in our sixth form experience and highlight the progress we have all made since September and show how we are all on the track to success. Following this, it is now important that we look at the next steps in our sixth form journey.  With Futures Week coming up on the 16th-21st of June we can take the opportunity to reflect on the exams to help us decide what we are interested in pursuing.  To prepare for university or apprenticeship applications we will spend the next months looking at our own competences and how to add to them to build on super-curriculars. For example, this can be as easy as looking at world events and drawing links from what is happening right now to how they can influence the subjects we are taking or even doing some further reading on a topic that has been challenging to gain a better understanding. Compiling a list of all these activities now is an effective way of making the personal statement process (later this year) less daunting. Overall, our mocks have been a helpful guide to ready us for next year and we should all be proud of the dedication we have put into our studies so far.

Amelia is currently studying History, French and English Literature at A Level and is also completing an EPQ.  Via this blog, Amelia will provide further news and insight into our WG6 as she progresses through her studies.

A Level PE students are currently learning about the cardiovascular system and were given the opportunity to apply their knowledge through dissecting a heart. They were able to explore how structure supports functionality and demonstrated fantastic team work whilst doing so.

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Invitation for our students to be involved in a local history project.  We have been contacted by the Crayford Reminiscence and Youth group. The project will investigate the ‘Plum Pudding riots’ (protests about the ‘cancellation’ of Christmas in 1647) and how this helped contribute to the 2nd Civil War in 1648 and comparing it to the restrictions put on Christmas celebrations during the COVID pandemic.

The project includes the opportunity to visit sites and museums as well as attending talks given by historians. There is also the chance to be involved in making a puppet animation and/or a display that will exhibit your findings.  If any of our budding Historians would like to find out more information or to sign-up, please speak with Mr Lennon.

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G21Carnegie Medal reading group update from Mrs McKenna.  I, together with students and other members of staff have been reading this year’s entries.  I have two left to read (‘Tsunami Girl’ and ‘Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town’) I need to finish ‘Cane Warriors’ but I have been so pleasantly surprised. I have enjoyed them all but for different reasons. I am finding it hard to pick a winner currently but I can understand why they have all been nominated. I see the important messages in all of them and I would say the overarching theme is probably the idea of peace? In the past, there’s always been a book I haven’t enjoyed so I hope that isn’t the case this year!  Students in our reading groups have been providing reviews of the books .. and providing compelling reasons to read them all!  If you are inspired to read any of the books on the list please visit our library and speak with our librarian Miss Ogunkanmi who will be able to help.  The list of books and students’ reviews are below.

  • October, October by Katya Balen
  • Guard Your Heart by Sue Divin
  • When the Sky Falls by Phil Earle
  • Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
  • The Crossing by Manjeet Mann
  • Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick
  • Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle
  • Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

“I have finished reading October October and I liked it. I liked October very much as a character and liked to see her journey from resentment towards her mother and always referring her as 'the woman who is my mother' to finally accepting her. I liked the writing style, but the way speech was written made me feel like there was a distance between me and the other characters however it makes you feel like you are inside October's head.”

“I finished When the Sky Falls and thought it was okay. Personally, I did not find the plot very interesting at first, I hoped it would be like Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo however because it was about a gorilla I didn't get as attached to him as I did to the cat. However, I appreciated that it showed an unusual perspective on what happens to businesses during the war and showed the struggles owners faced to keep animals safe and keep the public safe from those animals.”

“I just finished reading Punching the Air and I loved it so much. Such an important book with everything that is happening in our world with regards to racial injustice all around the world.”

“I finished reading The Crossing and really enjoyed it. As this is the first book, I've read in verse, the format took a while to get used to, I ended up liking it as it showed the similarities of Sammy and Nat. The theme and issues brought in the book are very important and impactful. Sammy's story was very emotional and heart breaking as he had got so close to getting to the UK. I thought that the use of flashbacks of before Nat's Mum died helped to show the contrast of her brother before and after and made you understand Nat's dilemma as she still wanted to hold onto the brother, she loved. “

“Cane Warriors is a hard hitting historical novel full of drama, emotion and human suffering. It is uplifting to see how communities overcome adversity and the lessons we can learn from the events of the past.”

Please join me in congratulating Isla of 7C, Martha B of 7C and Fayokemi O of 7R who all represented their local football team, Hayden FC, in the Under 12 Kent Cup Champions final against Ramsgate - and won 4-2!  Well done to you all on this magnificent achievement!  Pictured below, with their teammates .. and the Trophy!

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British Schools Judo Championships 2022 Kaitlin C-A in Year 13 recently competed in the British Schools Championships. It was an amazing achievement just to qualify for this event after such a difficult few years with the pandemic but Kaitlin did superbly well winning a key final match to secure the bronze medal in the event. She lost a very tight opening match and then had to do things the hard way by winning all her remaining matches and even beating a former winner of the event en route to the final few stages.

Kaitlin is now ranked in 8th place in the England senior women’s under 70kg category, everyone associated with WG6 would like to congratulate her on this amazing achievement.

Mr Lynch is Kaitlin’s A Level PE teacher and had this to say about Kaitlin,

“In the PE department we are all extremely very proud of Kaitlin’s achievements. As a full-time student to be ranked 8th in the England Senior Women’s rankings is an amazing achievement. Kaitlin is very modest about her personal success and never lets her training or competitions get in the way of her school work. She is extremely talented of course, but her desire and determination to succeed can be seen both in her Judo but also in her school work. She is extremely hard working and is an inspiration for other students in the school.”

PFA Update.  The Year 11 Prom has been scheduled for Saturday 25th June, 7-10pm.  Tickets are priced at £30 and includes a “mocktail” on arrival, delicious finger buffet and bottomless soft drinks for the evening, as well as the disco, photo booth and many other surprises!  Payment is by ParentPay

A photographer will be available to take photos on the red carpet upon arrival and inside in the hall.  Photos are £10 each (6 in. x 9 in.) on a card mount or £8 each without a mount.  Photos can be paid for in advance via ParentPay, or on the night (cash payments only).  If you wish to order additional photos after the event, an addition £2.75 postage will be payable.

For more information please contact, Catherine Goodhind, WGSG PFA Chair via email: wgsgpfa@gmail.com

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Forthcoming;

Friday 27th May – 1950’s School Day

  • 1950’s dress or normal school uniform (this is not an own clothes day)Jubilee
  • 1950’s style lessons all day
  • Rules and expectations for the day will follow those from the 1950’s – more information next week
  • School Assembly in the morning with a guest speaker who was a student here in the 1950’s
  • School Lunch – All students will go to have lunch together, including those with packed lunches.  Only the Jubilee Lunch will be served order via parent pay.  The teachers will be having lunch with students as well (a bit like Christmas lunch).  Please make sure you get your lunch ordered.  If you don’t order it, then you will need to bring a packed lunch to eat at the same time as the rest of the year group

Best wishes,

Michelle Lawson

Head Teacher

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