Quick Links

Sixth Form Bulletin – Week 11

21 November 2025

Headteacher's Message

It has been a fantastic week full of rehearsals at Waldegrave as we all have been preparing in eager anticipation for next week’s school production of ‘My Fair Lady’. While all the teaching staff were busy marking exams on Wednesday, some of the Performing Arts Department (with the help of some student volunteers) were getting busy fluffing up paper flowers, readying the race horses and setting the scene inside the main hall.

It is all coming together wonderfully and we can’t wait to see the performances – please support us and all the pupils who have worked so hard this term and book your tickets here.

Well done to all the talented photographers at Waldegrave who took part in our Wildlife Photography Competition this term. As always we struggled to whittle the entries down to a few winners as the standard of entries was fantastic. Today I have the pleasure of announcing all 20 of the winners and unveiling the Waldegrave Wildlife Calendar for 2026!

Congratulations to:
Molly C, Maisy F, Annabelle H, Nicole W, Ruzgar C, Peony L and Poppy K from Year 7,
Maya F, Nika D, Matilda R, Sansia B and Valerie L from Year 8,
Elle J, Yovela H, Gabriella H and Selin Y from Year 9,
Mia L, Olivia D and Erica S from Year 10,
And finally, Leo S from Year 12.

They win a trip to the National History Museum to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, which will take place next term. We hope this inspires them further!

The calendar makes a great Christmas gift but with only 100 copies of the calendar available you need to get your orders in quick! Order yours now via ParentPay and collect in school via the Hubs from Dec 1.

Have a lovely week,

Ms E Tongue

Key School Dates

Monday 24-26 November	All Years	School Production: My Fair Lady
Tuesday 25 November	–	White Ribbon Day
Thursday 27 November	Year 12	Psychology in Action Trip
Thursday 27 November	Year 11	Drama trip: The Woman in Black

Year Group Messages

Year 12

I hope all students found the Wednesday inset day useful to catch up with any outstanding work and to organise folders.

At the beginning of the week I added a poster from the music department advertising “Waldegrave Rocks” to the Google Classroom, this is for any students who are in a band or interested in starting a band. This takes place on Fridays from 2.30-3.30pm in MU2.

Next week the Waldegrave production of My Fair Lady hits the stage, with students from all across the school taking part. Performances will run Monday to Wednesday and tickets can be booked now! A big well done to all of Year 12 who are taking part, juggling rehearsals and backstage duties alongside their studies – we can’t wait to see you perform.

Please be aware the school car park will be closed on the evenings of the school production, ‘My Fair Lady’. We encourage you to walk or use public transport when coming to and from the school.

A reminder for students to check the Year 12 careers and progression classroom regularly, as there are lots of work experience opportunities added which will benefit students with their University applications and post 18 options.

Have a good weekend!

Ms R Pugh, Head of Year 12

Year 13

Year 13 students returned to lessons following last week’s mock exams. Some subject areas have already started giving feedback to the students. What they need to do following the feedback they receive is to come up with a plan to address any gaps in their knowledge in preparation for the February mocks and summer’s public exams.

Next Friday, as part of the A Level in Art, Year 13 students will attend the Art in Action event. In this visually stimulating and interactive programme, students will meet and learn from four established artists working in different areas, to get a taste of what inspires them, how they convey ideas and meanings, the different ways they work within their own artistic area and how they make their living as artists. This outstanding event will be chaired by graphic designer Rebecca Wright, Dean of Academic Programmes at Central Saint Martins. I am adamant that they will all find it extremely useful.

As per last week, students need to ensure they continue to work on their UCAS applications. The earlier they submit them to us, the sooner we can get them sent off to UCAS.
Next week the Waldegrave production of My Fair Lady hits the stage, with students from all across the school taking part. Performances will run Monday to Wednesday and tickets can be booked now! A big well done to all of Year 13 who are taking part, juggling rehearsals and backstage duties alongside their studies – we can’t wait to see you perform.

Please be aware the school car park will be closed on the evenings of the school production, ‘My Fair Lady’. We encourage you to walk or use public transport when coming to and from the school.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mr C Stavrou, Head of Year 13

Health & Wellbeing

The mental health landscape for teenage girls has shifted dramatically in recent years. Research from the World Health Organization (2024) indicates that anxiety disorders occur in 4.4% of 10-14 year olds and 5.5% of 15-19 year olds, but these figures climb significantly when we look specifically at teenage girls.

What’s particularly concerning is how perfectionism intensifies these already high anxiety rates. Around 25-30% of adolescents are negatively impacted by perfectionism. This might be ‘self-oriented perfectionism’, where a young person strives to meet unrealistically high standards that they have set for themselves, or ‘socially-prescribed perfectionism’, where they are striving to meet unrealistically high standards that they believe other people (parents, teachers, social media followers) have of them.

This week the BBC news website featured an article called Why I don’t want to be a perfectionist anymore, which highlights a report from the British Psychological Society from July 2025, that found aiming for excessively high goals often leads to long working hours, with only marginal gains in performance. This cycle of overworking often leads to burnout. Conversely, toxic perfectionism can create such a fear of failure that work is avoided altogether and perfectionists may end up in a cycle of procrastination.

Common behavioral signs of perfectionism-driven anxiety may include:

Spending excessive time on homework or redoing assignments multiple times
Avoiding new activities or challenges due to fear of not excelling immediately
Extreme distress over minor mistakes or less-than-perfect grades
Difficulty making decisions for fear of making the “wrong” choice
Procrastinating on important tasks while maintaining the need to be “perfect”

You can find out more on the BBC Sounds podcast Are you a perfectionist?

Ms S Moore, Director of Wellbeing

Reading matters at Waldegrave

Reading Champions at Waldegrave

Students from Y7-13 have volunteered as Book Champions, fighting the good fight to boost reading across the school. They are leading an inter house book competition with prizes! More to follow after half term...

‘Small Boat’ by Vincent Delecroix

Translated from French this story is based on real life events which occurred in November 2021 when an inflatable dinghy carrying migrants across the English Channel capsized killing 27 people. - Eva B, 13ELE