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Sixth Form Bulletin – Week 13

5 December 2025

Headteacher's Message

The beginning of December is a wonderful time to be at school and tonight’s Carol Service will really kick off the festive spirit. This month is always busy fitting everything in alongside all the Christmas activities and this week is no different.

On Monday some members of our Student Parliament journey into Westminster to learn about the British Government from its centre, the Houses of Parliament. They were hosted by the UK Parliament Education and Engagement Team who gave them a tour of both houses and also the Palace of Westminster, the group then took part in a fun workshop where they had to write their own bill. The day was lots of fun even if they did get particularly wet on the journey there!

Our Year 11 Music students took part in an ensemble performance workshop day in school on Tuesday. Over 30 musicians spent the day preparing for 15% of their GCSE and gave a fantastic performance of their work in the afternoon in the Main Hall. Very well done to them all for their hard work.

Yesterday our Year 9 French and Drama Club held a storytelling workshop at St James Primary School where they presented their version of La chenille qui fait des trous or The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The pupils at St James School were delighted by the performance of the story as well as the activities afterwards and everyone had a lot of fun.

Year 11 are on an exciting trip today to see GCSE Science Live at the Apollo Theatre in central London. They will hear about a wide range of science and innovations from renowned scientists as well as learn about exam technique from an experienced examiner.

Please don’t forget our Christmas Tree Sale tomorrow! I’m pleased to say that we have plenty of spare Christmas trees in need of a good home. This means that if you didn’t manage to preorder your Christmas tree, you can buy one tomorrow between 9.30 and 11.30am, pre-ordered trees can also be collected at this time. The school will receive 25% of the proceeds of every tree purchased.

There are also just a few of the fantastic Waldegrave Wildlife Calendars left which would make a wonderful present, these will be available at the sale tomorrow or can be ordered on ParentPay.

Don’t forget that next Thursday our wonderful Performing Arts Department will present the Winter Festival, featuring Christmas classics and much more in the Main Hall, 6.30-9pm. Please order your tickets here.

Our festive Christmas lunch will take place at school on Monday 15 December for Key Stage 3 and Tuesday 16 December for Key Stage 4. Tickets for the Christmas lunch are £4.50 (or for free for those on free school meals) and can be purchased using lanyards from the school canteen until Friday 12 December.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Carol Service tonight from 6pm at St Augustine’s Church in Whitton.

Have a lovely week,

Ms E Tongue

Key School Dates

Monday 8 – Thursday 11 December	Year 11	Mosque Trip
Tuesday 9 December	Year 13	Poems of the Decade Conference
Wednesday 10 December	Year 13	German Trip to BFI
Wednesday 10 December	Year 13	Economics Trip to Bank of England
Wednesday 10 December	Year 11	Year 11 Parent Consultation Meetings
Thursday 11 DEcember	All Years	Winter Festivalhttps://www.ticketsource.co.uk/waldegrave-school

Year Group Messages

Year 12

On Monday a few of our Year 12 students accompanied the School Parliament on a trip into Westminster. Students met for an early train into central London and battled the rain on the walk over the bridge to a wonderful tour of the historic Palace of Westminster. Students saw portraits and statues of many of Great Britain’s monarchs and significant politicians and learnt about how Parliament was formed and how it runs today. This was followed by a workshop led by one of the team in the Parliamentary Education Centre.

Year 12 Student Amelie who attended the trip said: “All in all, the trip was incredibly interesting. On arrival we were given a tour around Parliament where and our tour leader clued us up on the enmity between the Monarch and Parliament (it’s complicated but it essentially started when the Magna Carta was signed as that was the first time Parliament was able to restrict a monarch’s powers and it was only exacerbated by the gunpowder plot).

“We were also told about the different traditions Parliament has – again, strengthening the separation of power from the crown, as when the King makes his annual parliamentary speech he not allowed in the House of Commons. He has to send a representative (Black Rod) to call them to the House of Lords to hear his speech but when Black Rod knocks, the Commons slam the door in his face!

“Along with visiting the House of Commons and House of Lords, we did a workshop that involved creating petitions (once a petition has recieved over 100,000 signatures it has to be discussed in Parliament). Our petition was to make all public transport free for those under 18.”

The students all behaved impeccably and asked excellent questions. The whole group was very inspired and I am sure it won’t be the last time they visit the Houses of Parliament.

On Thursday, Ms Lee-Lewis organised another talk as part of her ‘Working Lunch’ series. Mr Dodd, who is a Chief Financial Officer, spoke to pupils about his career journey, day-to-day life as a chief finance officer, how he managed to secure this role, as well as what steps students need to take to have a career in finance. It was a very interesting talk and had a great turn out from our Sixth Form students.

The Year 12 Christmas lunch will be on the 16 December. Students will need to buy tickets for this in advance from the school canteen using credit on their lanyard.

Don’t forget that the Winter Festival will take place on the 11 December, 6.30-9pm, please order your tickets here.

A reminder that AM registration is compulsory for all Year 12 students. They must attend every tutor time. They can leave school if they do not have lessons and must scan their ID on the biometric scanner when leaving or entering the school premises.

Have a good weekend!

Ms R Pugh, Head of Year 12

Year 13

Today was the deadline for all mock papers to be marked, so by the onset of next week, students will have been given feedback across their subjects in terms of how they did on their mocks. If they haven’t already done so, they need to ensure that they have put in place a plan for their revision for the coming months and ask their teachers for any help, if they need some. Yesterday, Ms Lee-Lewis organised another talk as part of her ‘Working Lunch’ series. Mr Dodd, who is a Chief Financial Officer, spoke to pupils about his career journey, day-to-day life as a chief finance officer, how he managed to secure this role, as well as what steps students needed to take to have a career in finance. The attending students really benefited from it.

Over the course of next week, the Photography students will be taken off timetable for 4 days, starting from Monday, in order to prepare and complete their mock exam for this subject. Also, next Friday, the Year 13 Art students will be taken off timetable too in order to prepare for their mock exam due to start on Monday15th December. I would really like to wish them all the best of luck.

On Tuesday, as part of the A Level in English Literature, all relevant students will attend the Poems of the Decade Conference, which I am certain they will thoroughly enjoy and find extremely interesting. On Wednesday, as part of the A Level in Economics, Mr Montgomery, the Head of Economics has organised for the students to pay a visit to the Bank of England, which I am sure it will be really fascinating. Furthermore, on Wednesday, as part of the A Level in Germany, Ms Robinson, the Head of MFL, has organised for the relevant students to attend a trip at the BFI, where they will get the opportunity to build their cultural capital, expand their vocabulary, and improve their critical film analysis skills by examining key themes and styles in contemporary German cinema. What an exciting trip!

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.

The Year 13 Christmas lunch will be on the 16 December. Students will need to buy tickets for this in advance from the school canteen using credit on their lanyard.

Don’t forget that the Winter Festival will take place on the 11 December, 6.30-9pm, please order your tickets here.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mr C Stavrou, Head of Year 13

Health & Wellbeing

16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence continues this week. As part of the focus on ending digital violence we have been talking to students in the upper school about the impact of the manosphere on women’s online safety and on male mental health.

The term ‘manosphere’ is an umbrella term for online communities that have increasingly promoted narrow and aggressive definitions of what it means to be a man – and the false narrative that feminism and gender equality have come at the cost of men’s rights. These communities promote the idea that emotional control, material wealth, physical appearance and dominance, especially over women, are markers of male worth.

The manosphere targets male audiences on social media, podcasts, gamer communities, dating apps and just about all digital spaces. Many participants engage with it while searching for forums to openly discuss or learn about men’s issues. But while content may appear focused on men’s self-improvement, many of these groups promote unhealthy behaviours, like instructing boys and men to build themselves up by putting others down. There are significant mental health impacts on boys and men. The manosphere’s unrealistic definitions of manhood can promote anxiety, self-harm and risky behaviours in young men who feel pressured to be more “manly.” You can read more here.

Attitudes and behaviours promoted in the manosphere are making online spaces more hostile for women and girls and normalising misogynistic abuse. However, as highlighted by UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous “What begins online doesn’t stay online. Digital abuse spills into real life, spreading fear, silencing voices, and—in the worst cases—leading to physical violence”. She stated that “Laws must evolve with technology to ensure that justice protects women both online and offline. Weak legal protections leave millions of women and girls vulnerable, while perpetrators act with impunity. This is unacceptable. Through our 16 Days of Activism campaign, UN Women calls for a world where technology serves equality, not harm.”

Consequently, this year’s White Ribbon Campaign has the theme ‘We speak up’, encouraging men and boys to speak out as visible allies. The campaign video is linked here and information about active bystander training was included in last week’s bulletin.

Ms S Moore, Director of Wellbeing

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