Newsletter, 15th October 2023

Good afternoon,

I hope that you and your family are well. It only seems like moments since we returned to school in September, yet we are now just one week away from our October half-term break. As ever, there are a huge number of exciting activities taking place in school in the final week of this half-term.

Year 11 Post-16 Evening

Thank you to the many Year 11 students and their families who attended our Post-16 Information Evening last Thursday. Our careers team again managed to ensure that a wide range of providers were at the event, thereby giving our students access to broad post-16 pathways into further education or apprenticeships. I had the pleasure of speaking to many young people and their families and was massively impressed by the ambition of our students. We will continue to support students with their applications through Personal Development Time.

Linked to this, our Year 11 students will be aware that their predicted GCSE grades will be an important part of their applications, and with mock exams approaching in November, will be determined to secure the best grades possible. Our Year 11 students have now received their mock exam timetable, and we will be messaging Year 11 students and their families to support them in planning a revision timetable in anticipation of these important exams.

Year 7 Settling In Evening

We look forward to welcoming Year 7 students and their families to school on Thursday evening. Families will meet with their child’s form tutor to discuss the start they have made at Westfield and will also have the opportunity to learn more about the Year 7 curriculum.

Re-start A Heart Day

We will again welcome paramedics from the ambulance service into school on Monday to work with our Year 7 students to mark Re-start A Heart Day. This is both an enjoyable and important learning opportunity for our students who will be taught basic CPR that could one day save a life. You can find out more about Re-start A Heart Day here.

Emergency Lockdown Procedures

On Monday morning during Personal Development Time, students in all year groups will be given a presentation on our school’s emergency lockdown procedures. These are procedures that we have in place and update regularly relating to how we would manage an emergency situation such as a gas/chlorine leak, or an intruder on site. They are different to our emergency procedures in case of fire. Please be reassured, and reassure your child, that we are not expecting an emergency. We are simply taking an opportunity to share details of our updated plans with students.

Sports Leaders

Thank you to our fantastic team of Sports Leaders who led a fantastic event for the student councils of our local infant, junior and primary schools on Friday. It was wonderful to see children from across the age-range working positively together. Thank you to Mr Francis and Ms Appleby from Waterthorpe Infant School for organising this event.

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Many of our Year 9 students are excited at the prospect of signing up for the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme. Students and their families attended a busy meeting in school last week to find out more about the programme. Mr Lucas has worked hard to re-establish the Award in our school since the pandemic and we are proud of the large number of students engaging in the exciting activities it offers. Any Year 9 students who missed last week’s meeting can still sign up – please speak to Mr Lucas.

Sporting Success

Congratulations to our school football teams, who have continued to show a tremendous positive attitude in recent fixtures. Last week’s highlight was a 5 – 1 victory for our Year 10 boys’ team!

Uniform

We are delighted with the support we have had from parents/carers in ensuring our students attend school in full uniform. As we progress through the academic year, we understand it can be difficult for families to continue to ensure high standards of uniform as existing items wear. A reminder to all families that we continue to hold a stock of pre-loved items in school, and that we warmly welcome donations of uniform to this stock.

In recent weeks, we have noticed a small increase in the number of students wearing leggings to school – leggings are not part of our school uniform and students attending in leggings will be asked to change into appropriate uniform per our procedures. In addition, please be reminded that footwear should be all black and suitable for school.

 

With many thanks for your excellent ongoing support.

Joe Birkbeck

Head of Westfield School