Headteacher's Message
After over 80 hours of rehearsal our wonderful Performing Arts team’s staging of ‘My Fair Lady’ took place this week. During the course of six shows the school welcomed an audience of over thousand members for this sold out event, even welcoming pupils from local primaries for the matinee performances. As ever, the show was a triumph! Having heard the songs ringing through the corridors and seeing students in their Edwardian costumes, I could not wait to see the show and I was not disappointed. Not only were the performers superb, but the imaginative staging and costumes ensured we were all totally immersed in Edwardian London. A huge congratulations to everyone involved!
The drama didn’t stop there. On Thursday afternoon Year 11 Drama students visited Richmond Theatre to see a performance of The Woman in Black as part of their GCSE studies. It was another excellent performance that had students jumping out of their seats!
Meanwhile, our GCSE Art students completed their mock exam on Tuesday and Wednesday. The theme for the exam was ‘Power’ and it was wonderful to see all the different ways students had explored this through their art.
Yesterday our Year 12 Psychology students visited the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster for the Psychology in Action A level conference. Students had the opportunity to learn from experts speakers, with sessions exploring themes including ‘How to build a healthy brain’ and ‘Finding Focus in a Frantic World.’ Today our A level Art students have taken part in the Art in Action conference. Speakers at this event included Magnum photographer Martin Parr and Turner Prize winner, Rachel Whitbread.
Well done to our athletes who took part in the Cross Country Borough Championships last Friday, on what was a beautiful sunny, if cold, day. The pupils limbered up and then set off on a 3.3km race against peers from every school in the Richmond Borough. Teachers placed themselves strategically along the course cheering them on to the finish. The teams placed well, taking fourth for Years 8/9 and 10/11 and fifth place for Year 7. We are incredibly proud! For more about this event and all our matches over the past week see the Sports Fixtures section of the newsletter.
Next Friday the Choir will be taking part in the annual Carol Service, from 6pm at St Augustine’s in Whitton, which is sure to be a wonderful event and all families are invited to attend. An excellent way to start the festive season! Don’t forget Friends of Waldegrave have a Christmas tree sale at school next weekend. This is a great way for families to support the school as 25% of each sale will go towards enhancing the educational opportunities available to all students. You can preorder your tree via Parentpay for collection at school on Saturday 6 December.
This weekend the Black Friday sales take place and many of you will be getting stuck into Christmas shopping. Please remember you can support the school at no cost to you by signing up to Easyfundraising. Over 8,000 retailers support easyfundraising, many of the shops you already use, giving a small donation to the charity of your choice every time you shop. These small donations soon add up — and cost you nothing! Sign up to Easyfundraising here.
Lastly, many of our students and families have close connections to Hong Kong and we appreciate that the news of the recent devastating fire may be particularly distressing for some within our school community. We would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to anyone affected. Please do not hesitate to contact school if you feel your child needs any additional support.
Last Friday the Year 7 Cross Country team took part in the RSSP Cross Country event at Bushy Park. Congratulation to the squad of girls who took part: Maisy F (7FBO) Alice J (7FBO) Jemima P (7SSN) Lou Lou R (7EHA) Olivia S (7FBO) Rose D (7EVA) the team finished in 5th place overall with Lou Lou R taking 11th place individually.
Very well done to the Year 8 Basketball team who beat the team from Grey Court School very thoroughly. The students played exceptionally well and I was very impressed with their talents. See the full sports round up in the Sports Fixtures section below. The top Epraise point winners this week are Prisca C from ESU, Darina Y from SDE and Alex A from SDE. Well done to them and everyone who has been earning Epraise points this week.
It has been a busy week with lots going on both in and outside of lessons. We have had the My Fair Lady Showcase and what a brilliant spectacle it was! With students acting, dancing, singing and assisting behind the scenes all doing an incredible job. I have been so impressed with the talent and dedication exhibited from all of the students who have had some involvement in the production. It was absolutely superb!
Last week Year 8 teamed up with Year 9 to compete in the Richmond Schools Cross Country Championships which took place at Bushy Park. I was delighted to be able to support the team and cheer them on around the course on what was a cold but beautifully sunny day. Our team finished a commendable 4th place overall which is a fantastic achievement – Well done team!
Well done to Jessica S, 10SAN; Dakshina AP, 10PWA and Hannah A, 10EFR who performed as part of the 
Next Thursday, Ms Lee-Lewis has organised another talk as part of her ‘Working Lunch’ series. Mr Dodd, who is a Chief Financial Officer, will speak 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. The talk is open to all pupils and will take place in the School Hall during the lunch break.
Congratulations to all the students who took part in My Fair Lady this week! The show was absolutely fantastic and it was great to see some Year 11 students take leading roles. I so enjoyed watching it as did everyone else. Thank you everyone for your hard work!
Well done to Emeline G, 11STH, who spoke on a panel at a University College London Hospitals conference this week. She was raising awareness about functional neurological disorder and how to support people struggling with it. We heard she spoke with great confidence and we are really proud of her for taking part.
Earlier this month Elise B, 11STH, competed as part of Team Richmond at the London Youth Games Cross Country at Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath. The girls’ team finished 2nd overall which is a fantastic achievement. We are very proud of her!
Last Friday in the chilly sunshine nineteen of our pupils headed to Bushy Park to take part in the Cross Country Borough Championships. We are very proud to report that the Year 7 team placed fifth, the Year 8/9 and Year 10/11 teams both placed fourth. Well done to all of them for their hard work!
