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Our English department recently underwent an Ofsted subject inspection with a focus on the provision for Gifted & talented students in English.
The resulting report highlighted outstanding features including the curriculum and the strength of the Leadership and Management of the department. The overall judgement was that the effectiveness of the department was 'Outstanding'!
It is particularly pleasing that a second core department has again been judged as ‘Outstanding’ overall, following our Science subject inspection in 2007. It also confirms the very positive judgments from our 2009 inspection.
You can read the full report by clicking here. |
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Ellen Wilkinson School is once again taking part in the BBC School Report project. Full information can be found here. |
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Photos from the recent History Department trip to Berlin are now on our Flickr site. Enjoy! |
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The latest edition of the Head's Newsletter is now available to download. You can get your copy here. |
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As talk of the forthcoming General Election increases, our Sixth Form students were visted by Stephen Pound, MP for Ealing North, this morning. He gave a speech and answered questions from students. |
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The English Department have recently published their A2 reading list for Literature Students. You can download it here, even if you are not on the course there are many recommendations for some excellent reads. |
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In the last newsletter, published in towards the end of the Autumn Term I let you know that Beth Morgan, international cricketer, was to be our guest at our Evening to Celebrate Achievement on 15 th December. Many of the girls found her talk quite inspirational, as she spoke of the importance of determination, resilience, team work and friendship.
We also welcomed Dr Wilkinson, the great nephew of Ellen Wilkinson who presented the award for International Achievement to Natasha NoelBarker and Georgia Gordon, the mayor of Ealing from 2000 together with Amnah Noor, Youth Mayor (and EWS student!), and Julie Lewis, Assistant Director, School Improvement, Ealing Local Authority who presented the school with the ‘Investors in Careers’ award.
It seems a little late to wish you all a Happy New Year, we are already 4 weeks into the new term and, as you will see from the reports in this newsletter, girls are already taking part in a wide range of activities to support and extend their learning. Fortunately we were able to keep school open throughout the snow and ice at the beginning of term. I hope parents found our text messages and website updates useful. You will know by now that we will always aim to keep the school open as long as it is safe to do so, and transport is running.
Last week we were delighted to see our head girl from 2003-4, Huda Salmasi who presented examination certificates to our current Year 12 students. Huda has completed her medical training at Imperial College and is now working as a doctor at Ealing hospital, one of over 40 doctors in the London area who began their studies at the Ellen Wilkinson School! Several of our sixth formers (and in the lower school) are aiming to pursue careers in medicine or associated fields and this week a number have taken up Work Experience placements in Ealing Hospital, dental centres and laboratories, the British Heart Foundation, pharmacies
and opticians as well as at retail centres and in nurseries.
I would like to congratulate some of our Year 7 classes who achieved excellent attendance last term: 7RSk, 7QGi, 7CGs. The link between achievement and attendance is very strong; I look forward to seeing classes in the older year groups reaching the standards set by the youngsters!
C. Sydenham
P.S. The full letter from the Head can be found by following the link to this January ’s newsletter. |
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Once again we are supporting a charity raffle run by Chain of Hope. For full details click here. |
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Our Sixth Form pages now contain all the relevant documents and information for this year's application cycle. Remember that our Sixth Form Open Evening will takes place on Thursday 28th January from 6.30pm in the school hall. |
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Happy New Year!
And so we return to school amongst the ice and the snow. Thank you to all our parents for their co-operation during these tricky weather conditions. Hopefully, all parents will have received text messages informing them of early closures and late starts bbut if you did not then this means that our records for you are not up to date. Could you please let the school office know of any changes to your contact details, particuarly mobile numbers, so we can easily keep you informed. Many thanks. |
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The latest edition of the Head's Newsletter was published today. You can download a copy by clicking here. |
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Our annual Evening to Celebrate Achievement was held earlier this week. It featured a wonderful speech from international cricketer Beth Morgan. The full list of prizewinners from the evening can be downloaded here. |
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The highlight of the last week of the Autumn term is our “Evening to Celebrate Achievement”. This year our guest speaker is Beth Morgan, international cricketer. Beth is a member of the team that retained the Ashes against Australia in 2008 and who won the Women's World Cup earlier this year. She played in all the games including the final. Beth began playing cricket aged 13 and has represented England at U17 level in South Africa when she was16, and U21 and England. I’m sure that many of our girls will be inspired by her story.
The celebration evening gives us the opportunity to review and reflect on the many events and activities that took place over the last year, and the chance to celebrate the successes of our students, both individually and collectively. As you know, our school hall is only large enough to accommodate our prize winners and guests so we are unable to extend an invitation to all; we will
publish a list of those who have been nominated for prizes on our website.
The evening will begin with carols performed by our choir and orchestra. These will be a selection from our wonderful ‘Carols by Candlelight’ concert last week which really culminated in a truly uplifting performance of the Hallelujah Chorus. Congratulations to all who took part! The girls have also been able to visit the residents at the nearby sheltered housing to perform; as ever, this was very well received.
The last two weeks of term have been very busy; Year 11 girls have returned to classes following their mock examinations, Year 7s have been to see ‘Jack & the Beanstalk’ at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith (highly recommended to those of you who are looking for a traditional pantomime this Christmas!), the Year 8s who are studying the novel ‘Nation’ by Terry Pratchett in their English lessons go to see the production by the National Theatre, the sixth form are rehearsing for their Christmas pantomime, and the Italian and Latin students prepare for a cultural visit to Italy. It is not surprising that we are looking forward to the end of term!
You will have received a letter outlining the arrangements for this week: girls will be dismissed at around 12.30 p.m. on Friday 18 th December. The new school term begins on Monday 4 th January 2010. I look forward to seeing everyone back, safe, well and punctual at 8.40 a.m.!
Thank you all for your continued support. I do hope you have a relaxing break over the Christmas period and enjoy your seasonal celebrations.
Head
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Last night saw the wonderful "Carols by Candleight" presented by the Performing Arts Department. The evening featured choral and orchestral pieces and culminated with a wonderful performance of the Hallelujah Chrous from Handel's Messiah. You can see photos from the evening here and you can download a copy of the programme here. |
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The latest edition of the Head's Newsletter was published today and you can download your very own copy here!
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Last Monday, the 23rd November, I was invited to Clarence House for an award ceremony for the Prince’s Teaching Institute’s first Schools Programme Mark – an award launched by HRH The Prince of Wales.
Seventy three departments from 51 schools have been awarded the Schools Programme Mark which recognises and rewards the development of inspirational ideas and activities that enhance the teaching of English and Science. School departments joining the Schools Programme are invited to demonstrate their commitment to their subject specialism both in their own professional development and by furthering their students’ understanding and enthusiasm in and out of lessons.
The Prince’s Teaching Institute (PTI) is an independent educational charity created by the Prince of Wales. It believes that all children, irrespective of background or ability, deserve a rich subjectbased experience at school both within and beyond the examination curriculum.
We provide a very wide range of enrichment and extension activities in the school, many of which you read about in our newsletter. I am delighted that the work of our English and Science departments has been recognised in this way; we look forward to the PTI extending the project to other subjects so more of our departments can take part.
Earlier in the term our linked school nurse, Lesley Austin, arranged a programme of immunisation with the HPV vaccine. This vaccine protects girls against cervical cancer and is available to all girls from school years 8 to 13. Many students took up this opportunity; if your daughter was not vaccinated in school you should have received a letter inviting her to a clinic to have the vaccine at a later date. I have been asked to let you know that you can find further information about the programme and a scientific fact sheet on the virus, the disease and the vaccine at www.immunisation.nhs.uk/hpv
Our Year 11s are now coming to the end of their trial exams; they have approached these very seriously and will have found them a very useful learning experience, not just in the actual examinations but in using time effectively for revision and understanding the processes and procedures that take place. Of course, the real test will be in how they apply that knowledge in the actual examinations next year!
Sixth form parents evening (for both Year 12 and 13 students) takes place this Thursday, 3 rd December from 4.30 p.m. This is followed by our Christmas Concert on Wednesday 9 th December at 7 p.m. (tickets now on sale!). I look forward to meeting many of you at one, or both, of these evenings.
Our Evening to Celebrate Achievement is on 15th December. Unfortunately lack of space prevents us from extending an open invitation to all. However I will include a list of all our prize winners in the next newsletter.
Head
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Established in 1999, The Jack Petchey Foundation gives grants to programmes and projects that benefit young people aged 11-25. The Foundation is eager to help young people take advantage of opportunities and play a full part in society. The major focus is the Achievement Award Scheme. The Foundation focuses on London and Essex. Since it has been established the Foundation has awarded grants totalling over £50million.
The Achievement Award Scheme aims to enable schools, colleges and youth organisations to recognise, reward and celebrate the achievements of their young people. Jack Petchey wants young people to raise their aspirations, believe in themselves and make a contribution to their society.
Achievement Awards are designed to recognise a wide range of achievement, it is not just about being clever, or gifted, but about putting the effort in and doing your best. The scheme works well because young people themselves are involved in nominating and selecting the winners.
In addition to the Achievement Awards, the Young People may choose to nominate an adult leader for an annual Leader Award. This is a positive way to publicly recognise the efforts of adults who have made a significant contribution to young people.
Pupils can now nominate their peers by printing a nomination form here and handing it into Ms Gibson in the PE office.
For more information go to www.jackpetcheyfoundation.org.uk |
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The latest edition of the Head's newsletter is now online and available by following this handy link. |
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Many photos from the recent school cruise are now online and can be viewed by clicking here. |
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Parents have been sent letters about the new "Parent Pay" service to be introduced into the school. This will allow parents to pay for their childrens' school food online, as well as eventually being rolled out to cover a whole range of school services. We hope this will make everyone's life easier and allow our students to enjoy our relaunched school canteen (more of which soon) with fewer queues! You can log in to Parent Pay here. |
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A warm welcome to all those of you whose daughters joined the school this year. We have over 200 new year 7 girls, about 40 new students in the sixth form and a sprinkling of new arrivals in other year groups. They all seemed to have settled in very well: two youngsters bounded up to me in the corridor last week and told me how happy they were to be at the Ellen Wilkinson School, one of them confiding “I’m so lucky, I’ve got all my favourite subjects!” I hope they continue to enjoy their learning!
Many of you will have already read about the girls’ successes in their examinations last summer; the results at both A Level and GCSE were our best ever:
43% of our A Level grades were As and Bs with 20 girls gaining at least 3 As and Bs. Tahira Abdall-Razak was our top performer with grade 5 As in Arabic, Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Physics and a grade A in her Further Maths AS; Charlotte Dixey, Basmal Ria, Zainab Fakhril-Din and Noor Hassan each achieved 4As in subjects ranging from Drama, English, French and Geography as well as continued success in the Sciences and Maths. Over 130 students have now begun their university courses in subjects ranging from Accountancy to Zoology.
The ‘value added’ results for A level put us well into the top 20% of schools nationally.
Our GCSE results were excellent with 76% of the Year 11 girls achieving 5 or more A* to C grades, that’s above our target for the year group and over 70% for the 5th year in a row. Almost 60% of the students included both English and Maths in their 5+ A*-C results.
27% of the grades were A* and As (well above national averages) with 23 girls getting at least 8 A* or A grades; Nina, Ying, Rachel and Bhavini topped the list with at least 12 A* or As each and more than 1 in 3 of our girls got at least 3 A*or A grades!
Our average point score per student this year was nearly 460, our highest ever figure, with almost every student (98%) getting 7 or more GCSEs, well above what many might have expected when they 1st joined us.
We also heard of success on the sporting side: Makeda Lewis ( in Year 11) was selected to compete in the 100m sprint and 4x100m relay at the UK Student Games in Wales at the beginning of September and came back with a silver and gold medal in her events. Julia Parissien is on the fringes of the national squad for swimming – (see their accounts on p 9 and 10). Congratulations! This term the PE department are offering a very wide range of activities ranging from netball and badminton to Xtreme Golf and Ultimate Frisbee, there is no excuse not to get involved in something sporty !
Best wishes for the new academic year.
Head
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September / October newsletter is now available here. |
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Last year highlights included a very positive Ofsted report with several outstanding aspects, re-designation as a Science and Mathematics specialist school, the re-award of ’Investors in People’, the SSAT Gold Award for Cultural Diversity, Investors in Careers and prestigious recognition as a Royal Society Associate school.
These successes have continued with our best ever examination results at both Advanced Level and GCSE:
43% of our A Level grades were As and Bs with 20 girls gaining at least 3 As and Bs; Tahira was our top performer with grade As in Arabic, Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Physics and a grade A in her Further Maths AS; Charlotte, Zainab and Noor each achieved 4As in subjects ranging from Drama, English, French and Geography as well as continued success in the Sciences and Maths.
At GCSE 27% of our results were A* and A grades with 23 girls getting at least 8 A* or A grades; Nina, Ying, Rachel and Bhavini topped the list with at least 12 A* or As each.
These excellent ‘headline’ figures were supported by outstanding personal success for many of our girls: 77% achieved at least 5 A*-C grades, with almost 60% including English and Maths in their 5A*-C results.
Our average point score per student is nearly 460, our highest ever figure, with almost every student (98%) getting 7 or more GCSEs.
Congratulations to all!
Most of our Year 11 girls have already enrolled into our Sixth Form, choosing from a wide range of courses, some also taking advantage of the opportunity to follow the AQA Baccalaureate programme, others enrolling on the new diploma course ‘Society Health and Development’. Enrolment details for girls wishing to transfer to the Ellen Wilkinson School this September can be obtained by phoning the school. |
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It was charity day today and we dodged the rain to raise a huge amount of money for this year's charity Chain of Hope. You can see lots of photos here. Enjoy! |
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Photos of our lovely new sports and performing arts block are now online. You can see them here. |
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After a lot of hard work by the eco group and Ms Barnas, the outdoor classroom stage 1 is nearly complete. The pond needs filling but students are now investigating the environment in science using this fantastic resource. Check out the developments and new additions as they arrive. There are some photos of the work in progress here. |
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The final Head's Newsletter of the year is now available online. You can download your copy here. |
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We have had many good news stories during the year and I am pleased to let you know of our most recent award. The Royal
Society, the independent scientific academy of the UK, is celebrating its 350 th anniversary next year. The society is dedicated to promoting excellence in science and the Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls has been welcomed as a Royal Society Associate School. This will enable us to take advantage of grants and resources including access to their unique collection of scientific books and manuscripts. There will also be preferential bookings for their Summer Science Exhibition, Christmas lectures and other associated events. This is a very exciting opportunity for everyone, particularly our Advanced Level Science students.
We have also been told that we have just passed the 1 st stages of the assessment for the Investors in Careers accreditation. This award recognises the wide range of opportunities provided for our students across all years, with visiting speakers, trips, individual and group support & guidance, work experience and enrichment activities. Some of our Year 8 girls have written an account of their experiences at our last enrichment day (page 7). Congratulations and thanks to all involved in this programme.
As ever at this time of year we say goodbye to some members of staff: from the Science department Ms E Payler, Ms L Davis and Ms N D’Souza well as technicians Ms Dhokia and Ms Dowd; Mr N Kennedy (Media), Mr K Ali (Maths)and Mr E Gombya (Business) all
continue their careers abroad and Ms T Kaur (RE) returns to the Midlands; Mr M Palton (ICT) and Mr J Casey (English) have both gained well deserved promotions a little closer to home. Ms D Samuel (Cover Supervisor) begins a teaching career in Essex on the Graduate Teacher programme. My thanks and very best wishes go to them all.
Four other colleagues will be leaving us for a while: Ms Collins, Ms McKinlay, Ms Bourgois and Ms Mills all begin their maternity leave. Again, best wishes to them and their families.
I would particularly like to mention a much loved and respected figure, Mr Whitehead, Head of Ranelagh Division and English teacher, who retires at the end of this term, after 32 years with us. Ms Osborn (Science and SEN) also retires, (after a relatively short, but very productive, 9 years here). Their support and advice has been invaluable to many colleagues.
Hundreds of girls, including many of our most vulnerable, will have benefited from their teaching and guidance. They each take with them our thanks for the contributions they have made to the success of the school, and our very best wishes for a long and happy retirement.
Mr Whitehead was able to watch Ranelagh Division triumph again in Sports Day last week. The day was characterised by real teamwork from the tutor groups, girls taking part with determination and enthusiasm and some displays of real sporting excellence. A number of school records were broken in both track and field events; we will give the full results at
the beginning of next term. However, I must mention one of our real stars: Makeda Lewis (from Ranelagh!) who shone at our Sports Day and then went on to represent Middlesex the next day at the English Schools’ Athletics match. She set a stadium record and won the 100 metres final in the under 17s event. She was also a winner with the 4 x 100 relay team.
Makeda has subsequently been selected to represent England in the Home Countries Schools’ International Track and Field match in Northern Ireland on Saturday 18th July 2009. Congratulations!
I hope you have enjoyed reading our newsletters this year. Looking back over the months I am again struck by the wide range of activities and learning opportunities that take place.These are only possible because of the dedication and commitment of our staff and the support of our parents.
The Autumn term begins on Monday 7 th September 2009 at 8.40 a.m. for our new year 7 students and at 10.35 a.m. for years 8 to 11 and 13. Enrolment details have been sent separately for new Year 12 students. Please ensure your daughter is here, on time, in full school uniform, ready for the challenges of the year ahead! On behalf of all the staff and governors, I would like to wish all our students and their families a happy and safe holiday. Our special good wishes go to our pupils who have
taken examinations this summer.
C Sydenham
Head |
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Photos from the recent MFL trip to Boulogne with Year 8 are now online. You can see them here. |
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Dear Parents
The last papers have been sent off for marking, the Art exhibition has been viewed by the chief examiner, coursework has been moderated
and orals and practicals are over for another year. Girls have been focussed on their examinations for the last few weeks and they, their teachers,and their parents now breathe a sigh of relief. I would like to congratulate the students on the way they conducted themselves throughout;their behaviour was exemplary. I would also like to thank Ms Mawson, our examination secretary and her team of invigilators ensuring that everything ran smoothly.
Charity Day and Sports Day are still to come, with the world premiere of "Moon on a Stick" here at Ellen Wilkinson and then at the Watermans
Theatre, Brentford on 30 th June – tickets still available! Some girls are off on trips abroad, others closer to home in the Chilterns for Geography field trips and Hindleap Warren for an adventure weekend, and sixth form girls were spotted last weekend, dwarfed by rucksacks as they headed for the wilds of Oxfordshire for their Duke of Edinburgh expedition. Thanks, of course, to the staff who support all of these activities.
As ever we have other opportunities for girls to get involved – perhaps not quite as high profile, but just as important: last week our student gardeners brought round a large basket full of strawberries, the fruits of their labours in the allotment. Other youngsters have been found in quiet corners of the school reading a wide range of books for the sponsored “Readathon”. (If you haven’t paid your sponsorship money, now is the time).
Finally, I would like to thank our Year 8 parents. There was an 85% turnout on Parents’ Evening, despite there being a tube strike. I look
forward to meeting our Year 7 Parents on Wednesday 1 st July between 4.30 and 7.30 p.m.
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"Moon on a Stick" was performed four times last week to packed houses. It was so much fun. Such a testament to the hard work of all involved. You can read more about the show on the MOAS website and see hundreds of photos by clicking here. There is a final performance at the Watermans Theatre, Brentford tomorrow. |
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You can download the latest edition of the Head's Newsletter by clicking here. |
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Tickets are now on sale for this year's summer musical - the world premiere of "Moon on a Stick". You can read all about it and even buy tickets by following this link. Hope to see you at the show! |
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Letter from the Head
Last Friday we held our final assembly for the Year 11 students. Of course, this does not mean that we will not be seeing them again, indeed, they were all in school this Monday for their GCSE examinations, they will be attending revision sessions throughout
the week, and the majority will be returning to us next year in the sixth form. The gathering was a lovely opportunity for the staff and students to reflect on the past 5 years; the girls were very appreciative of the support they have been given by the school –
particularly of course by their tutors and Heads of Division. They also recognised that they have grown very close to many of their year group and have made lifelong friends. This has been a delightful group of girls who have made some very positive contributions to the school thus far. I am sure they will do exceptionally well in their forthcoming examinations. Looking ahead I can foresee a close run contest for the position of head girl. There will be some outstanding candidates!
This week we welcome back our Year 10 girls from their Work Experience. Over 200 students have been working in companies from banks and building societies, hairdressers to dentists, hospitals to schools and nurseries. Some have been able to get close to nature (following our Environment theme this year) in Kew Gardens or at the Reptile House in Syon Park. As ever, this has been an important part of the girls’ work related education; for some it has been an opportunity to find out the importance of politeness, punctuality and presentation, for others perhaps a chance to find out that it is important to get the best possible academic results in order to follow their dream.
Some lucky ones have been offered jobs in the summer holidays and the majority have received very positive references. I would like to thank all the staff who visited the girls in their place of work, Ms Kourchi who found the majority of the placements with the Ealing Business partnership, and parents and friends who arranged other positions for the girls.
Inside this month’s newsletter we include recent highlights from the Science department. Our specialist status has enabled us to offer a range of enrichment activities to support the girls’ learning. Last week we were delighted to host a visit by rower Steve Williams, Olympic Gold medallist in the men’s four in both Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008). He spent the morning with us, speaking to and working with Ellen Wilkinson girls and some visitors from other schools; an inspirational occasion and one that the girls (and staff) will not easily forget. If you don’t remember seeing the final in Beijing could I recommend that you rerun it on the internet, the last 250m is one of the most exciting finishes that you will see!
On behalf of all the staff and governors, I would like to wish all our students and their families a relaxing half term break. For our older students this will be an intense period of revision before the GCSE, AS and A2 examinations. We wish them every success both in the next few weeks and in the future.
C. Sydenham
Head |
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You can download a copy of the latest Head's Newsletter here. Please do! It contains lots of information about the continuing successes of the school. |
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Photos from our AS Drama exam performances last week are now online. You can see pictures of the students performing Berkoff's "Metamorphosis" here and Australian play "Stolen" here. |
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Extraordinary scenes in the new Drama Studio lastnight as our Year 13 students performed their version of Samuel Beckett's "Endgame" as The audience were left breathless by this most disturbingly brilliant of plays. After a short break, some of our Year 11 students performed a piece they had devised for last week's GCSE exam. They too were very good indeed.
For some photos of the Year 13 play please click here. |
On Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th of April, Year 8 took part in a joint Science and Technology project to design a driver-less train for Terminal 5 at Heathrow. Read more here.
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Dear Parents
You should all now have received a copy of the inspection report that was sent
home by pupil post, at the end of last week. If your copy did not arrive please contact
the school office, follow the link on our website, or search on the Ofsted website.
We are very pleased with the findings of the inspection team – they recognised
the many outstanding features of the school while confirming that we are on
the right track to ensure even greater success for our students. I am particularly
pleased that they noted the many enrichment and extension opportunities
that are provided for the girls and the exceptional care, guidance and support that
they receive.
The inspectors were impressed with the contribution that the school and students
make to the local area, for example in supporting primary schools through science or
maths classes or our Year 10 and 11 Sports Leaders running sporting activities for
youngsters, and to the wider community including our charity fund-raising. This year
so far we have raised around £4000 including funds for the ‘Chain of Hope’, the
NSPCC and Red Nose Day. The most recent fundraising activity has been a 10 km,
10 London Bridges walk, for the PEAS charity and their “Bridges to Africa” scheme.
Twenty two girls from Years 7 to 11 took part, with the Year 10s (and Ms Al-Zeer)
racing for the finishing tape at Tower Bridge, followed at a more sedate pace by the
rest of us – and yes, that did include me! I was very impressed by the rate maintained
by the girls who completed the course in a very respectable 3½ hours with a short
break for lunch. Thanks to Ms Idros for organising the group of girls and Ms Gordon,
Ms Graham Barnes, Ms Osman and Mr Barnett for also taking part. On the tube on
the way home the girls were already planning how they could encourage more of their
friends to take part next year. If any of you are looking for an interesting walk to do
with the family over the Easter break I’d recommend some or all of the route from the
south side of Vauxhall bridge, crossing all the bridges (including both sides of the
Hungerford Bridge), down the river to the Tower of London.
This year we have allowed girls to bring their mobile phones into school, on the
condition that they are not used in class. Most students have used their phones
responsibly and I know that parents appreciate knowing that they can be contacted
when, for example, coaches are returning from sports fixtures or trips. However
there have been a number of occasions when parents have arrived at school
because their daughters have phoned them during the day because they have felt
ill, or, in one instance, because she had a paper cut! Could I reassure you that, if
your daughter is ill and needs to be collected, a member of staff will contact you. In
any event, please make an appointment if you need to discuss any concerns with a
member of staff.
This Wednesday sees the official opening of our new Sports and Performing Arts
building; we’ve been using much of it for some months now but only recently have
moved in to the Sports Hall itself. We now have some of the most modern and
innovative facilities in the borough and I’m looking forward to see what will emerge
from the PE and Performing Arts departments. I’m afraid there will not be room for
many visitors at our celebrations on the 1st April, but I know there will be other
opportunities for you all to visit the new buildings.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the governors of the school who have
worked so hard over the years, firstly to ensure that we would have the funds to
complete this latest building project, and secondly to provide the good governance
recognised in our Ofsted report.
The Easter holiday is an important time for our Year 11 girls and the sixth formers. It
marks the beginning of the final run up to some very important examinations. Many
students will have signed up for revision classes in the next two weeks. I know these
sessions will be very useful in helping them prepare for both GCSEs and A Levels
and will support their home studies. Although the pressure is on it is important that
they get some rest and relaxation. I hope you all enjoy the break.
C. Sydenham |
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The latest edition of the Head's newsletter was sent home with pupils today. You can download your own copy by clicking here. |
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Our new Sports and Performing Arts Block was officially opened today. It has been a long wait but the new facilities are superb. Some photos from the event will be posted asap. |
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At the end of last week the Histroy Department took some Year 9 girls to the First World War battlefields at Ypres, Belgium. You can see some photos from the trip here. |
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A bit of a catch-up:
The Performing Arts Department returned from their concert tour of Belgium last week, full of stories and full of chips! A very successful enterprise can be seen in photo form by clicking here!
The school raised over £1000 for Comic Relief by pupils wearing a whole host of funny costumes and the teachers performing in a cabaret! It was quite a sight! |
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Some updates on the what is going on at EWS for Science Week are available by clicking here. |
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Sixth Form open evening is this evening! Full subject details and application forms are available here. |
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We mark the final day of the half term by holding the draw for draw for the Chain of Hope raffle. Pupils have been selling tickets for the past two weeks in order to raise money for this wonderful charity. The very excited winner of the first prize of two first class Eurostar tickets to Paris was a Year 8 pupil from Ranelagh Division. You can see some photos from the draw here. |
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Rehearsals for this year's musical show, the brand new Sci-Fi spectacular "Moon on a Stick!", continue to go well. You can catch up on all the latest news by visiting the show blog here. We have just added a short film made by the some of the cast at a recent rehearsal. |
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At the end of a very snow week here are some pictures of EWS beneath the snow. |
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Updates to the 6th Form website are now online with more to follow. Year 11s can download an information sheet about the application process here. |
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We have updated the links in our School Information section to guide you to the latest DCSF Performance data about the school. You can access this data here. |
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The latest edition of the Head's Newsletter was sent home with pupils today. You can download your own copy by clicking here.
And while you are in a clicking mood, photos from last week's A2 Drama production are now online. |
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An update to the school's careers policy is available here. A new EWS Careers site is to follow soon. |
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Rehearsals for this year's musical "Moon on a Stick" are now well underway. You can keep up with all the latest news on the show blog page here. |
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Our A2 drama students performed their powerful play "When Thunder Claps" for examination last night. The play was written by the students themselves and was the first production to be held in our wonderful new drama studios. . Photos to follow soon. |
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The new term is well underway and despite the cold temperatures, a postive attitudes pervades. Our Year 13s, 12s and 11s are facing a crucial few months as they prepare for their forthcoming exams.
Last term ended in celebratory fashion with the traditional Year 12 pantomime entertaining the whole school and, more formally, our evening to celebrate achivement. Guest speaker as this year's event was Ruby Said, an old EWS student and now one the country's foremost lawyers. It was a great evening and you can download a copy of all the prizewinners here. |
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The Performing Arts Department presented their annual music concert to a packed school hall last night. Featuring a varied programme, the concert delighted all in attendance. You can dowload a copy of the programme here and see lots of photos from the event by clicking here. |
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The latest edition of the Head's newsletter was sent home with pupils last Friday. You can get an electronic copy for yourself by following this handy link. |
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at the school. There will be a range of stalls and activities related to healthy and beauty as well as some stalls for christmas presents and cards. Open to everyone! |
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The Performing Arts Department have recorded their first ever podcast featuring pupils' work. You can hear it by clicking here. |
Results of the recent election for Parent Governors have been declared. They are as follows:
The following parents have been elected to the Governing Body as Parent Governor with effect from 13th November 2008:
Mr Andrew Lee
Mrs Sameen Malek
Dr Tim Sands
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The latest edition of the Head's newsletter was sent home with pupils today. You can get your very special all-colour electronic edition here. |
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The Geography Department are running their yearly field trips to Hastings for Year 9 this week. You can find some photos from the very windy and wet conditions on the beach earlier today by clicking here. |
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The school is continuing today its tradition of rasing money for good causes by supporting Jeans for Genes day. This exellent charity raises money for research into genetic disorders in children. We have also made a collection of unwanted clothes for the Clothes Aid charity who collect on behalf of many UK charities. There are a couple of photos here. |
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The first edition of the Head's Newsletter for this year was sent home with pupils today. For your own copy please click here. |
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A calendar of useful dates for parents and pupils for the current school year is available to download in handy pdf format here. |
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The new academic year begins today and our new Year 7s are making history. We hope everyone has had an excellent summer (despite the terrible weather) and the school is poised for another successful year.
Many things have changed (or are still changing) over the summer and we will have more about these improvements around the school in future entries.
Our exam results at all levels were very pleasing and we will bring you the specfics as soon as possible.
So let's look forward to an excellent year. As ever this News page (definitvely not a "blog") will keep you updated and you can see pictures of many aspects of school life on our Flickr site.
Articles from the last academic year are now archived here. |
