Weekly Bulletin – Week 3

It has been a very busy week for Year 7. On Monday 7FBI & 7EWI were the first two tutor groups to attend the Thames Young Mariners trip, with 7STH & 7PFO going on Wednesday. We were lucky to have some lovely weather and the students & staff really enjoyed their time on the water. They worked well in teams when designing and building their rafts. During the kayaking session they took part in fun games and challenges whilst learning how to paddle. They spent the day getting to know each other more and had a great time even though they were tired and looking forward to a hot chocolate when they got home.

On Friday Year 7 were issued with their lockers and locker keys which we have urged them to look after carefully. We will be encouraging them to use their lockers wisely so that they don’t have to carry everything around school with them the whole day.

After their first two weeks the epraise tutor group leaderboard sees 7EHO at the top, 7SDE are in 2nd and 7EWI in 3rd place this week.

The top three on the epraise student leaderboard sees Sophie F and Athena R both 7EHO in joint 3rd place, Demi B and Evelyn B both 7SDE are in joint 2nd place and in joint 1st place are Evie F & Sophie H also both 7EHO.

Well done to everyone who has earned epraise this week for hard work and demonstrating our school values: enjoy, achieve and empower.

Don’t forget that our extracurricular activity clubs are all up and running now. Please see the full list of what is availalbe on our website here.

Next week we are looking forward to two more Thames Young Mariners trips. On Monday it is the turn of 7EHO and 7FKV and on Wednesday 7SDE and 7PGO. Let’s hope for some more sunny weather, fingers crossed!

On Tuesday the Year 7 Parents Information Evening takes place in the school hall. We are welcoming parents to meet the pastoral team in the hall from 5pm – 6pm and I hope to meet many of you at this event.

I would also like to share a fantastic event that our Friends of Waldegrave have organised for Year 7 families to take part in. The Year 7 Bingo Evening will take place on Friday 9 October from 6.30pm. Drinks and snacks will be available, with all proceeds going towards school activities for pupils. Tickets are available now on ParentPay.

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Mrs Bashford-Hynes, Head of Year 7

Year 8 are continuing to settle back in, and making great progress in their studies. It has also been wonderful to see so many year 8s attending clubs that have started. A parent email has been sent outlining the clubs available … if you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to take a look!

Year 8 are doing very well collecting ePraise points. Our top three individual students are Constance Gee from 8PCL, Jemima Philips from 8SPI, and Ava DP from 8PCL currently topping the leading board. Keep it up!

Arya Y, 8EHA, has taken her piano Grade 1 exam and achieved great success, gaining a merit. Well done!

Last week we launched a fantastic wildlife photography competition running this term, it would be great to see lots of entries from Year 8. Click here for more information and details of how to enter.

Don’t forget that our extracurricular activity clubs are all up and running now. Please see the full list of what is available on our website here.

Next week the Year 8s are leading the school tours for the students who are currently in Year 6 and are looking to join us at Waldegrave next September. The tours will span several mornings over the next week and the tutor groups will take it in turns to lead the prospective students and their parents around the school, giving them a valuable insight into school life at Waldegrave. We are sure that the students will make us proud and be great ambassadors for the school.

Have a lovely week.

Ms N Ansell, Head of Year 8

It has been wonderful to see the Year 9 students settling back into school life and getting on positively with their classes. This week Ms Porteous delivered an assembly all about the importance of empowerment and empowering each other, linking to our school values. It has been lovely to see so many Year 9 students really looking out for each other this week, as they all negotiate new timetables and new teachers. I hope to see this continue.

Year 9, 10 and 11 this week played a match against Christ’s School. They did exceptionally well and showed great sportsmanship. We look forward to seeing how they progress this year.

It was great to see so many Year 9 students joining in with netball club this week. We do want to encourage pupils to try something new this year and get involved in an extracurricular club. It’s a great way to build new skills and meet new people! Please see the full list of what is available on our website here.

On Wednesday 7 October we have our Year 9 Options Taster Day. Students this week completed a google form in tutor time selecting the subjects that they might be interested in. If your child has not done this, they can find this form in their google classroom.

On Friday 9 October we also have our Macmillan coffee morning so we want all students to get baking for this! Last year Waldegrave raised £2,665.04 in support of the charity. Let’s see if we can do even better this year!!

A reminder that students should all be using the Blackout app on their phone, unless they have decided to use a brick phone. All students with a smartphone therefore need to complete the blackout app set up. Please ask your child to:

• Open their school Gmail account.
• Locate the email from Blackout containing their new authentication code. Please check their Junk/Spam and
• Deleted folders if they cannot find it in their inbox.
• Enter the authentication code into the Blackout App.

If necessary, uninstall and reinstall the app before entering the new code.

We appreciate your support, have a lovely weekend!

Mrs H Porteous & Ms G Wood, Heads of Year 9

Year 10 has had a wonderful week. They have started the school year with positivity and excellent engagement which has been lovely to see. It has been inspiring seeing our students getting to grips with their new timetables and GCSE subjects with renewed enthusiasm.

During form time this week, students were reminded of the school routines as well as places that they can go to for support if they needed it. Whilst also reminding ourselves of the Waldegrave first rule; respect and value learning, each other, and our environment.

Having new classes is a great opportunity for your child to get to know other students in the Year group. It will also hopefully help our students build resilience. In our first Year 10 assembly, we focused on the theme of “New Beginnings” and the idea that starting a new school year is an opportunity to open a new chapter.

We encouraged students to think about what they want this chapter to look like and, importantly, how they can make it count. We explored the importance of being purposeful in the choices they make, setting positive goals, embracing opportunities and making every day meaningful. As they begin the important journey towards their GCSEs, the message was simple: this is their chapter, and they have the opportunity to make it a great one.

Emily H, 10EBH, has completed the first stage of the Middlesex U16 Rugby Trials and goes through to the second stage this weekend. We wish her the best of luck! We would love to hear about and celebrate our students’ achievements outside of school. Please be sure to let us know of anything your child has been involved with that deserves recognition.

There are a number of extracurricular opportunities already starting up. This is a perfect opportunity for students to try something new this year. Please encourage your child to participate or even try something new this year! You can see the full list of what is available on our website here.

Next Friday 25 September there will be a “Waldegrave Working Lunch”. Students are invited to the main hall at lunch to listen to our speaker from the Cabinet Office. As part of the government team responsible for major national crises and emergencies like extreme weather, pandemics, major fires and transport issues, our speaker is sure to give a very interesting talk. This will be great for any students who are interested in a career in government, politics and the civil service. They can find out what happens behind the scenes of Downing Street and how our speaker got such a fascinating job.

As we look ahead, we will continue to emphasise the importance of maintaining our positive trends in attendance and uniform standards. Strong attendance remains one of the most significant factors in academic success, and we are grateful for your continued support in ensuring students arrive punctually and ready to learn each day. Likewise, high standards of uniform reflect the pride students take in belonging to our school community. By working together, we can ensure that these excellent habits remain consistent as the term progresses.

We hope they have another fabulous week ahead.

Mrs N Lyddon, Head of Year 10

It has been a busy and productive start to the term, and I want to begin by thanking everyone who attended our Key Information Evening on Tuesday. Your presence and continued partnership are invaluable as we guide the students through this crucial academic year. During the evening, we discussed our shared focus on maintaining excellent attendance, building resilience through challenges, and establishing robust revision habits.

We enjoyed a fantastic assembly this week led by Ms Tongue. She delivered a fascinating presentation on reading, focusing specifically on books that have been banned throughout history. It sparked brilliant discussions among the students about censorship, freedom of speech, and the power of literature in both historical and modern contexts.

We wish the very best of luck to our Year 11 students who are currently out on their Duke of Edinburgh Silver practice expedition. They have put a tremendous amount of effort into planning their routes and packing their gear. We hope they enjoy the challenge and the teamwork, and we look forward to hearing all about their adventures when they return.

Don’t forget that our extracurricular activity clubs are all up and running now. Please see the full list of what is available on our website here.

Looking ahead to next week, we will formally begin our tutor time revision skills sessions. These sessions have been tailored directly around the feedback students provided in their recent Google Form. To make the most of the first session, all students must bring a specific piece of revision they want to work on, along with a specific revision tool they would like to test out.

Next Friday 25 September there will be a “Waldegrave Working Lunch”. Students are invited to the main hall at lunch to listen to our speaker from the Cabinet Office. As part of the government team responsible for major national crises and emergencies like extreme weather, pandemics, major fires and transport issues, our speaker is sure to give a very interesting talk. This will be great for any students who are interested in a career in government, politics and the civil service. They can find out what happens behind the scenes of Downing Street and how our speaker got such a fascinating job.

Thank you for your ongoing support in keeping our students focused, motivated, and prepared.

Mrs O Mortimer, Head of Year 11