Woking High School is an exempt charity and company limited by guarantee. Registered in England with Company Number 8586085 and has a registered office as above.

Woking High School, Morton Road, Horsell, Woking, Surrey, GU21 4TJ

Tel: 01483 888447 Fax: 01483 888448

Email: info@wokinghigh.surrey.sch.uk

Web: www.wokinghigh.surrey.sch.uk

Headteacher: Jane AbbottN E W S L E T T E R

WE ARE VERY PROUD OF THE EXCELLENT ACADEMIC STANDARDS achieved by our students. This is the result of placing great teaching, learning and assessment at the heart of everything that we do. We were delighted therefore to see that Woking High School had been placed in the top 9% of the country in the recently published performance tables. Link to our DfE page - https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/139993?tab=secondary&year =provisional. Woking High School has also been recognised with two SSAT awards for being in the top 10% for both attainment and progress across all state schools in the country. This

is all exceptionally pleasing, but the success of Woking High School is not just in its examination results, it is also in the emphasis placed on education of the “whole” person, so imperative in preparing our young people for the future. We place great store on performance and participation in sport, art, drama, music and community service. We seek to develop confidence and character in our students and support them in developing their talents and interests in all aspects of school life. Whilst this has been a comparatively short spring term, Woking High School students have achieved an outstanding amount as you will see from this edition of our newsletter.

SPR

ING

2018

Once again, at this time of year, our attention is focussed on supporting our students in their preparation for final examinations. Year 11 students have thoroughly scrutinized the results of the indicative examinations they sat in December and have created exacting revision plans to help them through the coming months. They have accessed numerous revision classes and mentoring sessions and in early March sat further indicative papers to hone their examination skills. There are a number of revision sessions occurring during the Easter holiday and separate letters notifying parents of dates and times have already been sent out. When students return to school on 16th April, their

Headteacher’s Letter

normal timetabled lessons will continue until 8th May, when an immersion timetable will take its place. This will provide final intensive revision prior to each examination, a programme that has proven to be a key element in the examination success of previous cohorts.

Woking High School is renowned for its enviable activities programme and the abundant opportunities that exist for its students. During this term we have seen exceptional performances from our students in drama and music. In February packed audiences thoroughly enjoyed our 2018 production of “The Sound of Music”. Whilst the musical ran for three nights we had to reschedule the final evening due to cast illness. Out of adversity sprang triumph and, as always, the “stars of the show” were our students, whose attitude as well as talents, were second to none. Please see a full report later in the newsletter.

This month we hosted the 10th annual Vocal, Instrumental and Ensemble competition in memory of Lorna Paterson. It was an exceptional evening and show cased the immense musical talent at Woking High School. Congratulations go to all our winners and especially Mana Komatsu, who won the much coveted Lorna Paterson Award for Special Achievement in Music. Please see Alison Paterson’s report of the event later in the newsletter.

Success in sport is an almost weekly occurrence here at Woking High School. This term individuals and teams have participated in an extensive range of competitions, winning accolades in swimming, badminton, football, netball, basketball and biathlon. In fact our U14 boys Biathlon team became

British champions last week and Year 8 Mackenzie Russell secured the individual Bronze medal (see sports report). We have also been fortunate to have the expertise and skills of Harlequins RFU team member, Matthew Williams, coaching a large number of our students in rugby masterclasses and development sessions.

Our students are confident and assured young people and these qualities have been exemplified in the Youth Speaks,

Mock Magistrates and Poetry Reading competitions. Both the Senior and Intermediate Youth Speaks teams won the local Rotary Club competition and went on to represent the school at district/regional level. The Mock Magistrates trial team competed in the district competition and secured second place. As the winning Surrey school, the Year 8 team retained the High Sherriff of Surrey’s shield. Individual successes have been gained in the national Poetry by Heart competition with Year 9 student Phoebe Cartmale awarded Commended. Congratulations go to all our teams and individuals – not just for their triumphs but also for their keenness to participate and be involved in such a variety of events.

We are very fortunate that our school is situated in such a beautiful location and we constantly strive to maintain our estate and buildings to the highest standards. This term we have seen the addition of new fencing and gated entrances, which have improved the security as well as the appearance of our school. Also many of the external and internal entrances and doorways have had number security pads fitted. We are currently installing air conditioning into the main block, which as many of you will know, becomes excessively hot in summer. This facility will undoubtedly enhance the learning environment for students and staff alike.

We finish school at 12 noon on Thursday 29th March and return for the summer term on Monday 16th April at 8.55 a.m.

With best wishes for a happy and relaxing Easter break from all at Woking High School.

Jane Abbott, Headteacher

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THE UKMT INTERMEDIATE MATHS CHALLENGE is aimed at students in Year 11 and below. The challenge involves answering twenty five multiple choice questions in one hour and is sat in school under normal exam conditions.

The top 40% of students nationally receive a gold, silver or bronze certificate in the ratio 1:2:3. Around 1500 of the highest scorers in each school year are invited to take part in the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad and a further 8,000 students are invited to sit the Intermediate Kangaroo. These are multiple choice questions, taken by students from over thirty countries worldwide.

Year 10 students at Woking High School took part in the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge on 1 February 2018.

Congratulations to the following students who qualified for the Pink Kangaroo: Ram Marwaha and Jacob Smith. The

Pink Kangaroo takes place on the 15 March 2018.

GOLD CERTIFICATES were awarded to the following:

Ram Marwaha (best in school), Jacob Smith and Amy Szarvas.

SILVER CERTIFICATES were awarded to the following:

Jude Silverton, Benjamin Smith, Toby Harris, Joel Smith, Dominic Ariyo-Francis, Seth Gale, Andries Verhaeghe, Kiera Purchase, Isobel Danton, Abiel Natnael, Isabel Metcalfe, Hollie Doyle, Pravina Appasamy, Alexis Cortade.

BRONZE CERTIFICATES were awarded to the following:

Dylan McConnachie, Asher Goosen, Jude Rainsborough, Emil Kautovaara, Alexander McPherson, Jaymie Robinson, Hollie Cornwell, Mia Chereau, Ella Boyes, Ashlin James.

Well done to all the students who took part and we wish Ram and Jacob well in the next round of the competition.

The UKMT Junior Maths Challenge, for Year 7 and 8 students, takes place on the 26 April 2018.

Fancy yourself as a mathematician? Have a go at the question below, taken from the 2018 UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge:

In 2014, in Boston, Massachusetts, Eli Bishop set a world record for the greatest number of claps per minute. He achieved 1020 claps in one minute.

How many claps is that per second? (Calculators are not allowed!) – answer on the back page

A 17 B 16.5 C 16 D 15.5 E 15

P Heller – Director of Maths

Maths - UKMT INTERMEDIATE MATHS CHALLENGE

AN ANCIENT FEUD spills out onto the streets and strict family and religious ties strain to keep control. At a high society party, a young man and woman meet, igniting a passion that sets all Verona alight. To stay together, they must risk everything...

Twenty eight Year 10 students went to see a production of Romeo and Juliet performed by the Guildford Shakespeare Company at the Holy Trinity Church in Guildford. Holy Trinity is the largest Georgian church in Surrey, and its rich and beautiful style was the inspiration for the look and style of this production.

This was a wonderfully staged production, in which actors entered from all sides of the room, and the busy pace of the play made the audience feel they were watching a much larger cast at work. The innovative use of the movement of the cast and their masks and fans gave the illusion of the Capulet’s party being in a crowded ballroom, even though the cast was

relatively small in number “the play was very well acted and extremely accurate and I was surprised that parts of it were very funny,” Molly Hobbs Year 10 student.

This production was faithful to the text, the power and emotion of one of the greatest love story ever told enabling students to see past the complexity of the language to its beauty, providing them with the perfect grounding with which to study the play in the summer. “It was very accurate, entertaining and well performed,” Ben Koch Year 10 student.

N Houghton – Teacher of English

Romeo and Juliet Theatre VisitEnglish - DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE

THE FIRST DAY 11 OF 2018 provided the opportunity for Years 10 and 11 to watch an in-school production of their GCSE text, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Performed by the theatre company ‘On Set Texts’ the two man show used humour to consolidate our students understanding of the story, themes and characters of the novella. One of our Year 10 students stated that “the show was engaging and interactive and the actors were very funny!”

S Barker – English Department

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Science - SIEMENS HEALTHCARE CHALLENGE

WOKING HIGH SCHOOL ARE DELIGHTED to be taking part in the annual Siemens Healthcare Challenge. This is run by the Healthineers division of Siemens and looks at innovative ways of solving some of the biggest problems in healthcare. At the launch event the schools were given six future healthcare challenges and had to pick one to work on. Woking

High have put together a team of four Year 10 students (Ben Bonilla, Kelisse King, Asher Goosen and Felix Novo) who have all made an amazing start on the project. They were all impressed by our visit to the Siemens Healthineers Headquarters in Frimley and it was inspiring for them to see so many of their graduate programme taking such an important role in the

Challenge. We have two mentors from Siemens who are working with us as we put together our proposed solution, one of whom is an ex-student from Woking High – Danielle Marsh (nee Roden). The final is at the end of April – so we won’t give away our proposed idea quite yet but watch this space!

L Pollard, Teacher of Science

ON THE 22 FEBRUARY, Year 11 Media students visited the British Film Institute’s Southbank location to attend a study day hosted by the exam board, AQA. The seminars, run by Rob Miller, featured top tips and revision for their upcoming exam this summer. It also featured a Q & A with the writers of the TV show ‘Humans’, where students were encouraged to ask questions of those in the Media profession.

The students enjoyed the day, describing it as ‘valuable’ and ‘enjoyable’. They both answered and asked questions of the leaders and displayed excellent behaviour.

L Mitchell, Head of Media

Media

THE COMPUTING DEPARTMENT at Woking High School is the regional CAS Hub (Computing at Schools-Part of British Computer Society, The Charted Institute of IT) and is in a partnership with the University of Surrey.

Recently, Mr Afana has been awarded the CAS Master Teacher position as a subject practitioner and as a champion of Computer Science.

This also means that Woking High School is now a member of Schools’ Networks of Excellence for Computer Science, a status that allows our school to provide professional training and support to the Computer Science curriculum and to mentor and coach teachers, students and schools/colleges in this part of Surrey.

A Afana, Head of Computing

Computing - STATUS UPDATE

History - THE DOCTORS SHOW

OVER 100 YEAR 11 GCSE History students were taken back in time to study the development of medicine through a dramatisation of the various discoveries from the first use of an anaesthetic during surgery, to the Nobel Prize awarded to the team that discovered and developed the first antibiotic, Penicillin.

Taking place at the Stockwell Playhouse, formerly the LOST Theatre, students joined other schools in what was a fantastic opportunity to revise part of their GCSE content and to take on the role of the examiner. Students had a mixture of watching history unfold, analysing and evaluating model answers to exam questions, and judging what mark they would give it.

The students behaved excellently and were complimentary of the opportunity to take

revision outside the classroom and have a different style of learning offered to them, even the accompanying staff may have learned a thing or two!

M Craib, Teacher of History

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Modern Foreign Languages - FRENCH EXCHANGE

WOKING HIGH SCHOOL WAS DELIGHTED to host eighteen French students from the centre of Paris to spend a week with their exchange partners. This is the third year we have organised this vibrant cultural exchange and this year, eighteen of our students who study French in Year 9 or 10 are taking part in the exchange. The French visit started with a warm welcome by Mrs Abbott, before they met their exchange partners for the first time. Between the 6th and 12th March 2018, French students visited London and its surroundings with their teachers and at the weekend their host families organised a wide range of activities from cultural visits to a holiday break on the English

Riviera. They really enjoyed their stay and cannot wait for our students to return and stay with them in France at the beginning of May.

“Before our exchange partners came, we were all very excited but also a bit nervous about how we would all get along, but as soon as we started talking, we all got along really well. My partner told me that going to my lessons with me was fascinating and very different to the school system in France. We have learnt so much from each other and I can’t wait until we meet again in France.” Charlotte, Chloe, Andrea, Maria and Jenna

Spelling Bee

BEFORE CHRISTMAS I wrote to you to let you know that our Year 7s were taking part in the Spelling Bee competition. I now would like to let you know that the following students won their form competition:

SPELLING BEE COMPETITION LIST OF WINNERS - STAGE 1

7R

Meghna Amin, Cerys Bricklebank, Toby Spencer

7I

Lorenzo Fantappie, Umer Mahmood, Cara Parry

7D

Asim Choudhury, Mia Crane Bentley, Hamim Ali

7G

Skye Johnston, Lucille Trojanovich, Carla Manning

7E

Deereen Appasamy, Peter Hamilton, Amy Cox

7W

Maya Fellowes-Freeman, Archie Johnston, Daniela Moya

7A

Adam Ahmed, Holly Killick, Leanne Seet

7Y

Noah Testa, Megan Mclean, Haroon Shabbir

Congratulations to all of them!

However, they did not have long to rest as after Christmas, the above students had to learn 50 more words before competing against each other. The school competition took place on Wednesday 28th February and the following students won the school competition:

French

Daniela Moya, Maya Fellowes-Freeman, Lorenzo Fantappie

Spanish

Noah Testa, Carla Manning, Skye Johnston

P Bolis, Head of Modern Foreign Languages

FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR, the Languages Department took part in the Vocab Express Global Challenge which sees different schools around the world compete. Students from Year 7 to Year 11 were involved in the challenge and Woking High School managed to

score 10,565 points in the Genius cup and 12,265 points in the Challenge Cup. Congratulations to our students for taking part in the challenge and showing great enthusiasm in representing the school in this world competition.

VE Global Challenge

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10th Anniversary of Prestigious Annual Music Competition

now celebrating its 10th Anniversary. The competition was established in 2008 in memory of my daughter, Lorna Paterson, who was Principal Flautist

ON THE EVENING OF MARCH 14TH 2018, I was once again delighted to attend the Woking High School Ensemble, Solo Instrumental and Vocal Competition,

with the Windband and who sadly died of cystic fibrosis aged just 14 years. This event, which is now a regular feature in the school’s calendar, has proven to be a wonderful way to remember Lorna, who absolutely loved playing her flute and being part of the Windband. It is also the perfect opportunity to showcase the very best of the students’ musical talent and raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust through ticket sales. Seymours Estate Agents of Horsell have generously sponsored the competition for the last few years, donating more than £1,500 overall.

The event was attended by Councillor Will Forster, Deputy Mayor of Woking and an ex-student of Woking High School. Additionally, I think we saw the biggest audience the competition has ever seen,

OUR YEAR 11 GCSE Geography cohort travelled to Highcliffe and Barton on Sea to carry out their compulsory fieldwork for Paper 3 of their forthcoming GCSE exams. They collected data on the size of the beaches either side of the groynes to judge their effectiveness, and rolled oranges into the waves to demonstrate

longshore drift. The students represented the school perfectly, helped by the excellent weather, and were able to apply their knowledge and understanding to a real place in order to embed the learning undertaken in the classroom

L Dixon, Head of Geography

Geography Fieldwork

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comprising of governors, staff, family, friends and alumni of the school, including Beth Cornish and Suzy Whittle, who, as well as being previous members of the Windband were good friends with Lorna.

Entries for the competition were received initially in a trickle (creating some anxiety!) and then a flood. In the end, twenty four students competed in categories including Small Ensemble, Brass, Percussion, Woodwind, Strings, Voice and Pianoforte. Many performances were accompanied by Fiona Godden, another ex-student and an amazing accompanist, who generously gives her time on so many occasions to support music events at the school.

Prior to the competitive performances, the evening began with a moving tribute to Lorna. Flautist Hollie Tibbotts, last year’s overall winner, played Mr Goodwin’s new arrangement of the Queen of the Night Aria from Mozart’s opera ‘The Magic Flute, accompanied by the School’s Chamber Ensemble. This was a most fitting tribute to Lorna, as this was the last piece she played in public with the band at Horsell Village Hall in 2008, just a few weeks before she died. Lorna had wanted to play this piece for some time but it was initially technically beyond her. She was very determined and practised very hard so that by March 2008, she felt up to the job. She was really thrilled to perform the solo successfully and we were incredibly proud of her, not least because she had only 30% lung function by this time. This is an inspirational story of triumph over adversity. If you are interested, there is a short YouTube clip of that performance with the Windband. Just go to YouTube and search ‘Lorna Paterson Queen of the

Night’ or follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0bprsl-wws It’s not the best quality footage, as it was recorded on a mobile phone, but it is very special. Hollie’s flute solo was stunning, the Ensemble played extremely well together and I was very touched by the effort that went into the arrangement, the rehearsals and the performance on the night.

Special guest judges were invited to determine the winners in each competition category and to award the overall prize. Returning again this year were Captain Paul Goodwin MBE, former Director of Music, Corps of Army Music; Rachel Brazendale, Director of Music at Gordon’s School, and Michael Couper; who currently runs the Music Group and Junior Church School Choir in Horsell.

Sadly, there is not sufficient space here to mention every performance. The audience was treated to wide-ranging genres and styles of music and the event felt as much like a concert as a competition. The Pianoforte category had the highest number of entrants, with Mr Goodwin noting that many of the pianists also play other instruments, often to an equally high standard. Their talents know no bounds! The string section featured three violinists and it has been good to see a marked growth of talent in this area. Finally, and reflecting the strength of the school’s Windband, the woodwind category included some wonderful performances on flute and clarinet.

While we were waiting for the judges to reach their decisions, and to mark the 10th anniversary of this competition, Alex Campbell , the first recipient of the Special

Award, was invited back to perform a final piece, the D flat Major Nocturne, Op. 27 No. 2, by Chopin. This was an exceptional and very enjoyable performance and it was very generous of Alex to give up his time to perform.

Decisions made, the judges eloquently summed up the highlights of each individual performance and were very complimentary about the overall high standard, which made their decisions so much harder. They noted in particular how individual students have progressed year on year, which was particularly pleasing to see. They were also very impressed with how well-rehearsed the performances were.

Entrants who did not win their category should be very proud of their achievement and, given the high standard, be assured that they will have only narrowly missed out on a prize. However, there have to be winners in each category, and these were as follows:

Small Ensemble – Tony Webb (Guitar) and Samuel Webb (Piano)

Pianoforte - Mana Komatsu

String – Nona Lawrence

Percussion – Jack Edwards

Vocal – Ella Shankla

Brass – Jude Rainsborough (Trumpet)

Woodwind – Isabel Metcalfe (Clarinet)

Most Promising Performance – Kai Westaway

The overall winner of the coveted silver trophy, the Lorna Paterson Award for Special Achievement in Music, was pianist Mana Komatsu, who the judges felt gave a very strong performance, with amazing trills. Congratulations to Mana!

I very much hope the competition will continue as a highlight of the school’s musical calendar. I am looking forward to the next 10 years!

Alison Paterson

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Drama - THE SOUND OF MUSIC

THE SPRING TERM has witnessed the establishment of PIE Productions - Woking High School’s very own theatre production company. With the mission statement to ‘Perform, Inspire and Entertain’, PIE Productions recently presented this year’s school production of ‘The Sound of Music’ (by arrangement with R&H Theatricals Europe). With music by Richard Rogers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and the book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse (suggested by the “Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp), the classic musical astounded audiences over three performances in February.

It has been an amazing journey from start to finish. The PIE Productions team were overwhelmed by the number of the students who attended the auditions back in November. Since then, students rehearsed 3-4 times per week and some weekends in order to prepare. Not only were students involved on stage; for weeks the orchestra (under the expert guidance of Mr Goodwin) prepared their musical accompaniment, TAG prepared lighting and sound (with the support of

Mr Griffiths), and additional students supported the painting of scenery and creation of costumes. Approximately ninety students were involved in the preparation process and we could not be more proud of their team spirit. The student body that have formed PIE Productions have worked as a team, united to interpret the story of the Von Trapp’s so creatively from page to stage.

In addition to this, staff involvement with the project has been fantastic; from fundraising to the provision of props, from scenery building to set painting, from selling tickets to front of house. And as for the costumes, with the generous support of Woking Amateur Operatic Society (offering assistance with both scenery and costume), the Costume Team have worked wonders and made the students on stage look mesmerising. Special thanks must go to Mrs Brandon, Ms Harrild-Poulter, Mrs Strong and Mrs Kerslake for their hard work. PIE Productions would also like to acknowledge the generosity of the Friends of Woking High School. The project would not be able to go ahead without such

amazing support.

Following on from the intensive preparations, February saw all of the hard work come to fruition, as PIE Productions took to the stage transporting us from Horsell to Salzburg. Audiences were entranced as the cast presented one enthralling musical number after another, accompanied by the wonderful orchestra. The confidence, talent and professionalism of the Woking High School students was breathtaking as all performed with creativity and inventiveness. Highlights included the delightful ‘Do-Re-Me’, ‘Sixteen Going on Seventeen’ and ‘The Lonely Goatherd’. In addition, a lovely comedic number of ‘How Can Love Survive?’ had audiences beaming, and ‘My Favourite Things’ saw the audience swaying along in their seats. Whilst ‘The Sound of Music’ features so many entertaining and delightful numbers, audiences were also highly moved by the emotionally charged ‘Edelweiss’ and ‘Climb Every Mountain’, resulting in raptuous applause and standing ovations.

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Involvement in such projects is a great experience; all of the students have formed an amazing bond in the Woking High School performing arts community, and have taken great joy in developing this production. They have invested much time and developed an array of skills that will assist them in all of their future ventures; leadership, communication, confidence, creativity, perseverance, resilience, and independent thinking. We hope that these skills will enrich their school experience both in their intellectual and emotional development.

Ashlin James (Year 10): In our school production of ‘The Sound of Music’, I played the part of Uncle Max. The production itself has been the best experience in the school for me so far, I’ve formed friendships with people I wouldn’t normally group with, and every single person involved has made me feel warm and welcome, despite being of different age groups. The whole cast is like one big happy family, and I can’t thank Mrs Wilson and all the other teachers involved for bringing us together.

Amy Szarvas (Year 10): I played Liesl (the eldest Von Trapp child), in ‘The Sound of Music’; it was an amazing and fun experience which helped me to improve

my drama and my confidence. I worked with and made friends with so many people from across the school. It was a challenging two months of rehearsals, but it all came together into a great show, and I can’t wait until next year!

Charlie Tolley (Year 10): Whilst working on the production I developed my costume skills as well as my backstage knowledge. The professional and independent environment forced me to think on my feet and challenged me to push my skills further. From assisting with extremely quick costume changes to last minute alterations, it provided me with an unforgettable experience which I enjoyed profusely.

Pravina Appasamy (Year 10): I found the production was beneficial to all students and teachers alike to really showcase talents and hobbies with other likeminded people. In TAG, all members were tasked with jobs that suited our areas of expertise (such as projections and graphics for me) and through this, we could flourish and polish old skills as well as teach them to new students. It has been a vastly enjoyable few months that have helped us make new friends, learn many lifelong skills and have lots of fun.

Genifa Brownsea (Year 10): I think that being in the school’s production (having done it three years in a row) is a challenging yet rewarding experience. Even being in the ensemble, I can vouch for the fact that no matter what your part, the bond everyone shares is really special. There’s a real sense of community.

Nona Lawrence (Year 8): It was really great being part of ‘The Sound of Music’ and different to any other orchestra I have been in, as we performed with the music going along side the singing and acting. It was inspiring to see how well the cast did and good to know that I was supporting their skills with music. It was a tiring but rewarding and exciting experience!

Luke Holcroft (Year 7): It was a great experience in my first year in TAG - I learnt a lot. I worked with Alex Loader on sound and he showed me how to work the equipment. Mr Griffiths also helped massively during rehearsals and during the performance. Alex and I definitely couldn’t have done it without all of TAG helping us; Tom Mills was a great help and pushed the rest of TAG to their limits. All in all, it was amazing.

K Wilson, Head of Drama and PIE Productions

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THE CAST

Maria Rainer Olivia BowdenCaptain Georg von Trapp Henry GannonLiesl Amy SzarvasFriedrich Oscar KhanLouisa Lola JohnstonKurt Ethan RouseBrigitta Amelia StaffordMarta Louisa AkoheneGretl Erin SparlingThe Mother Abbess Ella ShanklaSister Bertha Lucy FrancisSister Margaretta Gemma LeesSister Sophia Erica SingharayElsa Schraeder Emily PigramMax Detweiler Ashlin JamesRolf Gruber Conor HallFranz Jake MartinFrau Schmidt Emilia RobsonUrsula Lois MillerA New Postulant Dora SavoryHerr Zeller Oliver StrongBaron Elberfeld Luke SeymourAdmiral von Schreiber Michael SeabrookSoldier Alex Rowe

SUPPORTING CAST

Molly Anscombe; Emily Armfield; Rosalind Atkins; Genifa Brownsea; Freya Burgin; Mia Carkett; Amelia Cheetham; Alice Claxton; Kirsty Copper; Amelia Cox; Arabella Crisp; Tia Crook; Kasturi Damle; Abby Fontaine-Hill; Rachel Garbett; Madeleine Grainger; Madeleine Greaves; Victoria Goddard Cardona; Skye Johnston; Zoe Kerslake; Mana Komatsu; Matthew Lees-Smith; Matilda Mason; Aidan McCarthy; Loretta McCarthy; Lois Miller; Amy Morton; Carina Olariu; Bethany Partridge; Matthew Rayner; Bailey Roberts; Alex Rowe; Michael Seabrook; Dora Savory; Luke Seymour; Abigail Shameen; Shafa Sheik; Hannah Sheldon; Rhiannon Smith-Jenkins; Nelly Stubbs; Niamh Sullivan; Abbie Vickerstaff; Lilia Wada; Sam Wavish; Freya Wight.

ORCHESTRA

Flute 1 Shannon MatthewsFlute 2 Hollie TibbottsOboe Amelia JoosClarinet I Sophie Kozlowska, Maddie McClementsClarinet II Stephanie Maties, Izzy MetcalfeViolin I Egle Jurasunaite, Angela McCarthyViolin II Nona LawrenceCello Amanda StrattonPiano Fiona GoddenTrumpet I Stan Lawrence, Jude RainsboroughTrumpet II Emil KautovaaraHorn I Lisa RidgwayTrombone I Capt Paul GoodwinBass Mr N TurnerPercussion Sam Fox

PRODUCTION TEAM & CREW TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GROUP

Director/Producer Mrs K WilsonMusical Director Mr S GoodwinAssistant Director Ms M BartlettTechnical Director Mr M GriffithsExecutive Producer Mrs J AbbottSet Decoration Mrs S Taylor, Mrs L Kelly, Ashlin James, Freya Burgin, Tia Crook, Arabella Crisp, Scarlett O’LearyProjection Illustration Frances HayesSet Construction Mr M Griffiths, Mr Mike Bartlett, Mr M Turner, Mr S Pullen, Mr R Wylde, Mr B Harman, Miss R BourneCostume Mrs K Brandon, Ms M Harrild-Poulter, Mrs A Strong, Mrs L Kelly, Mrs K Wilson, Lily Harrild, Miss J Bartlett, Charlie Tolley, Holly Doyle, Pravina Appasamy, Mrs G Price Woking Amateur Operatic Society, Props Sourcing Ms M Harrild-PoulterMake– Up Mrs Michelle Kerslake, Phoebe Stirk, Lara Abduljawad

Lighting Max Kerslake, Jake MortonSound Alex Loader, Luke Holcroft, Mr S GoodwinProjection Pravina AppasamyBackstage Tom MillsMicrophones Tom Quantrell, Tom Mills, Stanley Homewood Muris, Evan BrewinProps Management Alex Rowe, Julian Goddard Cardona, Lewis WightDeputy Stage Manager James BarberFront of House Mrs J Allen, Mrs S Crone, Mrs K Kimber, Tharaga Ravichchandran, Freya Balkwill, Alessia Valetino, Paige Fletcher, Isobel Danton, Hannah Taylor, Phoebe Stirk, Lara Abduljawad,Publicity Mrs A Phipps, Mrs K WilsonBox Office Mrs S Crone, Mrs J Allen, Mrs K Kimber, Mrs A SearchRefreshments Friends of Woking High School, Music Performance CommitteeFundraising Woking High School Staff, Mrs K Kimber, Mrs J Allen, Mrs A Phipps, Miss R Piazza

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Visual Impairment DepartmentOUR VI STUDENTS have had the opportunity to exchange emails and messages with VI students in the USA. This project, which started in September, aimed to encourage social skills, develop literacy skills, increase awareness of other cultures and ways of life as well as an opportunity to practice using different communication methods.

We exchanged messages regularly, each one with a specific topic to encourage and support communication. It was fascinating to learn more about the everyday lives of students in mainstream schools in different states in the USA.

“My experience from the pen-pal project was brilliant! I got to meet an amazing new friend from the USA and it opened up so many doors. Now, I am more confident when making conversations with other people, whether it be face-to-face or via Email, and I can honestly say that through this program, I have met someone who I now know as one of my best friends.” Madiha Hussain 9A.

“The experience of writing to the UK VI student was awesome because I learned so many things about how her school do things so differently form mine here in USA. I also learned about her culture, her family, her religion, holidays and how she lives which is very interesting. Oh! The waiting for her emails was exciting and it helped me to get better in my writing skills because I had to describe so much and type all by myself. I really love having her as a friend!” Brenda (VI student in the USA).

In addition to this; to further the students’ knowledge of the technology available with the Braillenote Touch computers, two days were spent training with Humanware. The topics covered ranged from basic skills to more advanced internet and email usage. This ensures that all VI students are skilled in using their equipment efficiently and independently.

S Lock – VI Teacher

TUESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2018 was the date set for this year’s Safer Internet Day (S.I.D). This is an annual event run by Insafe who are a network of centres throughout the world that exist to educate and raise awareness about online safety, particularly with children and young people. Issues related to E-Safety are always treated the utmost important at our school so this was a perfect opportunity for our students to reflect upon their lives online and how they could play their part and making the internet a safe and inspiring environment.

This year the theme of S.I.D. was ‘Create, connect and share respect’ and this is what was promoted to students during several activities which took place on the day and at other points

during the week. In some morning registrations, a number of short tasks were given to students that asked them to think about their online lives and how their experiences to date have made them feel. This was then explored further in the Citizenship lesson on 7 February. All year groups were encouraged to think about the pressures that can occur when connecting with other people online and how a more positive and respectful approach can be much more beneficial.

As always, students were reminded of what they should do if anything ever worries them or upsets them whilst they are online. Advice included:

n Report any content you are concerned about to the networks www.saferinternet.org.uk/safety-tools

n Ask friends to remove content which makes you feel uncomfortable

n Talk to an adult you trust

n Visit youngminds.org.uk for support on mental health and wellbeing.

N Turner, Head of Music

Safer Internet Day

YEAR 8 STUDENTS took the opportunity to join our annual pilgrimage to Canterbury, a city that is steeped in British values and culture. The visit reinforces students understanding and appreciation of British culture, religion, history, politics and literature. When visiting Canterbury Cathedral students were able to explore the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The murder of Thomas Becket was one of the most significant events in British history and visiting the exact spot where it happened prompted students to consider questions such as the relationship between the Church

and the State. Students were also able to explore the world of Geoffrey Chaucer’s medieval pilgrims through a visit to the Canterbury Tales Experience. Audio and visual presentations brought to life some of the most famous characters in British literature and provided an excellent complement to the time spent exploring the cathedral. The Year 8 students returned to Woking having reflected on a range of spiritual, social, moral and cultural issues and having refreshed their knowledge and appreciation of British Heritage.

B Young, Head of Religious Education

Religious Education

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MARCH 13TH was Day 11 number four this academic year.

Year 11 GCSE Geography students completed a section of their coastal study work, so that they could see in action longshore drift and sea defence systems. The rest of Year 11 was able to use the day focussing on one subject in order to prepare for upcoming exams as in Art or to complete coursework.

Year 10 students used the day to complete their Languages speaking assessments ahead of the Year 10 exam week sessions. Meanwhile the D of E students used the day planning their routes for their upcoming expeditions. The rest of the day was spent in Science developing skills to specifically support their classwork and GCSE assessments.

Year 9 students were given the opportunity to visit the Warner Brothers studios, where they filmed the Harry Potter series. The students had the chance to explore the magic of film-making, through exhibits on production skills and effects. They investigated the props from the movies and got to take part in live demonstrations of forced perspective and green screen technology as well as wand choreography. Staff were highly complimentary of the students’ behaviour.

the gates and doorways of the Castle ramparts to measure the sheer thickness of the walls; stretch out our arms to try to reach the arrow slits in the battlements; and imagine living and working in such a vast space. The students were in awe as we walked through the many State Apartments and witnessed rooms depicting knights, kings and queens. Our students had a very special treat as the Windsor Castle wardens shared replica pieces of chandelier, carpet, curtains and ornaments for our students to touch and take a closer look. Of course, no visit to Windsor Castle would be complete without visiting St George’s Chapel, the focus of the upcoming royal wedding in May.

M Abbs-Rowe, Assistant Headteacher

One student reported “You will never see me happier than now!”

Year 8 students were given the opportunity to visit Canterbury cathedral and the Canterbury tales. Year 7 students spent their day divided between Maths, completing a trail to find numbers and clues around the school site. While in DT they were challenged to build a bridge. They had limited resources and time so had to work as a team, the winning bridge of the day held more than 1500g, some were less successful!

As part of the Day 11 activities, a selection of Years 7 – 10 students visited Windsor Castle where we experienced over 900 years of British royal history. We were able to walk around much of the castle grounds; count our steps through

Day 11

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JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS we had news that Woking High School was ranked 85th in the top 100 Sporting State Schools in the country. This is a tremendous honour and the third year out of the last four that we have appeared in the top 100 list. The list is based on achievement in a range of national competitions that cover results from twenty different sports and 120 national competitions. This term has seen our school sports teams and individual competing and experience success in a wide range of sports.

SWIMMING:

At the Surrey Schools Individual gala in January our swimmers were in excellent form with many shattering their personal bests. Their performances meant that they achieved many accolades. Please see selected results below:

Mackenzie Russell Junior Boys 100m Freestyle Gold

Danel Jansen Inter Girls 100m Freestyle Silver

Joshua Thompson Inter Boys 100m Breaststroke Silver

Lauren Baker Junior Girls 100m Backstroke Bronze

Max Chitty Senior Boys 100m Butterfly Bronze

Oliver Zalaf Senior Boys 200m Individual Medley Bronze

For the second year in a row we were victorious in the Arete swimming gala. The final score was Woking High School 218 v Gordon’s School 156. Woking High School won an amazing 32 out of 38 races, including all six relays. Arete medals were awarded to the following students for winning both their individual events: Elizabeth Chapman, Daniel Baldwin, Lauren Baker, Mackenzie Russell, Danel Jansen, Georgia Grant, Michael Young, Ellie Akohene and Rory Smith.

At the North West Surrey gala which saw ten schools competing, we became District Champions again. The top three school scores were as follows:

1st Place WHS 189

2nd Place SJB 163

3rd Place Collingwood 106

In the forty individual races we saw an incredible amount of success, winning seven gold, eleven silver and ten bronze medals. Individual medals were won by:

Year7Gold

D Baldwin Butterfly

Silver

S Cockin Breaststroke

E Chapman Backstroke

E Chapman Butterfly

D Baldwin Backstroke

Bronze

S Cockin Freestyle

Year 8Gold

M Russell Freestyle

Silver

M Russell Butterfly

Bronze

L Baker Backstroke

L Bolton Breaststroke

L Bolton Backstroke

Year 9Gold

A Baldwin Freestyle

A Baldwin Backstroke

M Young Breaststroke

M Young Butterfly

Silver

D Jansen Freestyle

D Jansen Butterfly

Bronze

G Grant Breaststroke

G Grant Backstroke

Year 10Gold

J Thompson Breaststroke

Silver

R Smith Freestyle

Bronze

E Akohene Freestyle

E Akohene Backstroke

R Smith Butterfly

Year 11

Silver

O Zalaf Freestyle

M Chitty Backstroke

M Chitty Butterfly

Bronze

O Zalaf Breaststroke

BADMINTON:

In the last newsletter we had reported that our Key Stage 3 Girls team had become District Champions, this was matched by the boys team who won the District title for the second year in a row. The team consisted of Tom Wells, Aaron Lynch, Joseph Hodkinson, Sam Wavish and Jacob Kelly. There results were:

Won 5 – 0 v Kings International

Won 4 – 1 v Tomlinscote

Won 4 – 1 v SJB

Won 4 – 1 v Fullbrook (Semi-final)

Won 3 – 2 v Collingwood (Final)

This meant that both teams had qualified for the County Finals.

At the County Finals the girls were outstanding throughout winning their first three games 5 – 0. This set up a final match against the also unbeaten Guildford High. The girls were superb, narrowly winning 3 – 2 with the last doubles match deciding it with a 21 – 19 win for Woking High School. Number 1 seed Hana Boujemaoui was outstanding throughout, winning all of her eight matches over the course of the day. The team consisted of Hana Boujemaoui, Elizaveta Izmailova, Sophie Price, Erin Shelley and Jessica Wells. The girls team now progress on to compete in the Regional Finals.

Sports Review

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The boys team started extremely well winning both their group games comfortably. They progressed on to the semi-final where they came from 2 – 1 down to beat Collingwood 3 – 2. This was after some outstanding doubles play. In the final the boys lost to Glyn who were very strong. The boys team consisted of Tom Wells, Aaron Lynch, Jacob Kelly and Joseph Hodkinson. Please see results below:

Under 14 Surrey Schools Badminton Finals Results :

Girls Team (Champions)

Won 5 - 0 v Howard of Effingham

Won 5 - 0 v Tomlinscote

Won 5 - 0 v Broadwater

Won 3 - 2 v Guildford High

Boys Team (Runners Up)

Won 5 - 0 v Weydon

Won 4 - 1 v Warlingham

Won 3 - 2 v Collingwood (Semi-final)

Lost 0 - 5 v Glyn (Final)

South East Regaional Finals:

Having won the Surrey Schools title the Under 14 girls competed in the South East Finals. The girls got off to a great start winning their first two matches (4 – 1 v Cherwell and 5 – 0 v Guernsey Grammar) before losing to eventual runners up Kendrick 0 – 5. This set up a semi-final versus Walthamstow Hall, who included a current England player amongst their

ranks, which we lost 0 – 5. So the girls had the 3rd/4th match to compete against Dr Challoners. A great match which went right down to the last game, with Dr Challoner winning 21 – 18 to win by 3 games to 2. Overall a tremendous season for the girls.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Our Year 10 boys basketball team were crowned district champions, who narrowly beat BDB in the final thanks to a last gasp basket by Alexis Cortade. Both Asher Goosen and captain Gideon Jansen has been excellent for the team throughout the season.

Please see all five boys teams final placings below:

Year 7

District Champions SJB Woking High Position Third

Year 8

District Champions Collingwood Woking High Position Third

Year 9

District Champions Winston Churchill Woking High Position Runners Up

Year 10

District Champions Woking High Woking High Position Winners

Year 11

District Champions BDB Woking High Position Runners Up

GIRLS COUNTY / DISTRICT BASKETBALL

The girls Basketball teams have produced some excellent results and have seen Years 7, 8 and 9 teams make it through to the Surrey County Finals. Sadly in the finals played at Surrey Sports Park our girls fell just short of being County Champions and finished runners-up in all three ages, which is an outstanding effort. At the County Finals the Year 7s took part in a tournament where they won two games on route to the final before narrowly losing to eventual winners Teddington 12 – 16. The Year 8s and 9s having played and won qualifying games to get to the final were beaten 19 – 25 v George Abbot and 31 – 52 v Teddington respectively. At District level the Year 9s were crowned District Champions and won all their games :

Won 8 – 4 v SJB

Won 12 – 11 v George Abbott

Won 14 – 0 v Salesians

Won 16 – 12 v Collingwood

BOYS FOOTBALL

There will be a more complete review on the boys Football teams in the summer edition, as they are still busy playing District League games but the signs are looking good for many of our teams to advance to the Cup Play-offs. In brief the Year 8s have already won the league and will contest the Cup Final after the Easter holidays having won all their league games to date. The Year 10 and 11 teams are also unbeaten and have a real chance of winning the league and progressing through to the Cup Finals. The Year 9 boys have produced

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AT THE BRITISH SCHOOLS BIATHLON not only did our students have to battle students from all over Britain, including students from Aberdeen to Cornwall they also had fierce weather conditions to deal with. The girls event that occurred on the Saturday went ahead as normal but the boys on Sunday were severely affected with the run being deemed as unsafe and therefore not taking place. So the results for the boys run were used from the qualifying events. This had a negative affect on many of our students who had trained really hard for the running discipline and were confident of shattering their qualifying times. However, our students still produced some remarkable results with the Under 14 Boys (Joshua Thompson, Michael Young and Alexej Baldwin) winning the British Team Title a truly outstanding achievement. All three boys produced personal bests in their swim. Josh Thompson also finished fifth individually. Mackenzie Russell in Year 8 produced a magnificent swim which won his age group by over two seconds and would have won the age group above by one second. However, with the virtual run times being used he narrowly missed out on gold and finished in third place overall. The top three being separated

by 5 points the equivalent of one 0.2 seconds. All 8 students from Woking High School who competed displayed a great attitude despite the tough conditions. Please see results below :

Team Result :Under 14 Boys Champions

Under 14 Boys Team Results (Top 3 only):

1st Woking High 6840

2nd Whitgift 6478

3rd Hazlegrove Preparatory 6176

Individual Results :

Under 13 Boys Mackenzie Russell 3rd (First on swim)

Under 14 Boys Joshua Thompson 5th

Under 14 Boys Michael Young 17th

Under 14 Boys Alexej Baldwin 20th

Under 12 Girls Elizabeth Chapman 29th

Under 14 Boys Steven Wood 35th

Under 12 Boys Daniel Baldwin 65th

Under 12 Boys Otis Woodley 94th

British Schools Biathlon: TEAM TITLE GOLD

some excellent results recently and look set to secure a play-off spot. The Year 7s having had a very difficult start to the season have shown great resilience and have been improving game by game since Christmas; they recently recorded their first win 4 – 3 v Hoe Valley. At the District 6 a side tournaments in January our Year 10 boys teams were excellent winning all their games and becoming District Champions. See results below :

Won 2 - 0 v Kings International

Won 1 - 0 v Winston Churchill

Won 2 - 0 v Salesians

Won 1 - 0 v Gordon’s

Won 1 - 0 v BDB

GIRLS NETBALL:

Our netball teams have had another very good season this year and a huge thank you to our parent helpers who have assisted with coaching and transport. Our Year 7 A and B teams won their respective leagues with high scoring wins from the A team. They will be playing Gordon’s in the District League play-off final. There were excellent shooting performances from captain Erin Shelley. Year 8 came third in their league with the highlight of the year being their 12-12 draw with league winners Gordon’s. Year 9 were second in their league behind Gordon’s with every match being very high scoring thanks to Ella James who is now part of the Surrey Under 14 team and Amelia Robson at Goal Shooter. Year 10 won Division 2 this year and look forward to taking on Tomlinscote in the play-offs.

SKIING:

Congratulations to Finley Salter in Year 7 who has just competed in the English Alpine Ski championships in Bormio, Italy. This was Finley’s first national competition and he performed extremely well finishing 22/50 in the Slalom and 17/50 in the Giant Slalom.

Mr Justice, Director of Sport

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WHAT AN EXCITING YEAR so far for the House Team!

During the Spring Term, our keen bakers from Years 7, 8 & 9 took part in the ‘Woking High School Bake Off ’ on three separate afternoons. The theme for the competition was The Royal Wedding and the students baked with patriotic fervour! The standard was extremely high and our extremely talented young bakers produced cakes that Paul Hollywood would be proud of! In the Year 9 Bake Off Dora Savory and Mana Komatsu 9A earned 50 Housepoints for their delicious ‘crown themed’ cake and took Faraday into a convincing lead. The Year 7 Bake Off was a tie and joint first place was awarded to Jessica Clay and Lucille Trojanovich 7G/Solomon Carter and Karl Sonoy, with the overall competition for Year 7 won by Stephenson. The Year 8 Bake Off will be announced next term. All students who took part did a fantastic job and gained lots of housepoints for their wonderful bakes. A big thank you to Miss Hussain for helping us to run this great house competition.

This takes us on to house scores, all of the houses have been extremely busy collecting house points with the scores standing at:

Curie 15179

Faraday 14971

Brunel 14165

Stephenson 13830

The next house event will be the Woking High School F1 competition, with the winners competing against other schools at McLaren in April.

Despite the weather, our thoughts are turning to the Summer Term and a packed House Calendar including the Fun Run in May, Dodgeball and Tug of War competitions followed by the biggest day in the House Calendar -Sports Day! Exciting times ahead for the House Team with lots of points up for grabs! Good luck to all who take part - may the best house win!

E King, Head of House System

House News

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IN FEBRUARY we awarded students with half or full colours. Students are awarded colours for any given subject for excellence in achievement, attitude and services to the subject. The students to achieve school colours were:

YEAR 8 Half Colours: English Arabella Crisp

French Josh Ford Benedek Seres Spanish Oliver Griffiths Carina Olariu

Technology Toby Bolton Liam Bolton

Art Chithru Tennakoon Faridah Shah Arabella Crisp

Ethan Rouse

YEAR 9 Half Colours: English Dora Savory Phoebe Cartmale

French Lola Johnston

Spanish Charlotte Joos Rachel Allen

History Fraser Milligan

Art Micheal Seabrook

YEAR 10 Half Colours: German Rachel Garbett

Art Tharaga Ravichchandran Samantha Mhizha

Charlie Tolley

YEAR 10 Full Colours: Biology Asher Goosen Kelisse King Felix Novo Ben Bonilla

French Madeleine McClements Andries Verhaege Isabel Metcalfe

Spanish Madeleine McClements

Art Mia Chereau Lauren Morris Amelie Brodgen

YEAR 11 Half Colours:

French Joel Wilson-Rivers

YEAR 11 Full Colours: English Hannah Crook

Latin Emmie Savory Michael Hitchings Julia Twinston-Davies

French Hollie Tibbotts Sophie Kozlowska

Spanish Samuel Webb Samuel Belcher Alys Harrison

Product Design Charlie Hill

Art Isobella Cardew Yana Skvortsova Karolina Szaro Hisham Shah

S Paterson, Teacher of PE

School Colours

OVER THE PAST TWO HALF TERMS we have been focusing on the character traits of integrity and respect. From all the nominations the following students were selected as winners.

INTEGRITY

Year 7 - Amy Rolfe

Year 8 - Ollie Strong

Year 9 - Rachel Christie

Year 7 - Erin Shelley

Year 8 - David Brown

Year 9 - Alfie Winter

This term the focus is on Courtesy and awards will be presented early in the summer term.

A Strong, Teacher of PE

Character Award

Respect

Integrity

Responsibility

Enthusiasm

Resilience

Courtesy

Woking High SchoolSchool Colours 2018

This is to certify that

has been awarded full colours for

Jane Abbott - Headteacher

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Duke of Edinburgh’s AwardI AM THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE that sixty Year 10 and sixty three Year 11 students were invited to receive their Bronze Award, at the presentation evening in the H.G. Wells Suite in Woking, on the 27 March 2018.

Currently we have seventy six Year 9 students enrolled on their Bronze Award this year and they have almost completed their expedition training, including a navigation morning when they learnt how to navigate using a map and a compass. Next term they will take part in a camp craft Day 11 to learn how to put up tents and cook their lunch on a camping stove.

This year thirty nine Year 10 students have enrolled on their Silver Award. They are busy completing their Volunteering, Physical and Skill Sections and have been refreshing their knowledge in preparation for their expeditions.

Thank you to all of the staff at school who support the Award.

E King, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Manager

WOKING HIGH SCHOOL entered the Citizenship Foundation’s annual competition, where Year 8 and 9 students are able to experience the drama of the court room and the reality of the wider legal world. Our Year 8 team and Year 9 reporter, Safah Mahmood, arrived at Guildford Crown Court amid flurries of snow, firstly to prosecute and then defend one ‘Sam Fenton’, accused of being in possession of a bladed article in a public place without reasonable excuse.

Round 1 saw Emily Armfield and Sam Wavish as prosecution lawyers, Eddie Thomas and Holly Togher in role as witnesses and Arabella Crisp as the legal advisor and the case was decided in our

favour against the Gordon’s defence. This set the standard for our defence team to follow against Ashcombe School in Round 2, ably met by ‘robust’ defence lawyers Matthew Rayner and Josh Ford, Amelie Wilson-Rivers as the defendant sat in the dock and Ollie Strong as a witness. Our court usher, Zak Whiting, was judged as outstanding and the three magistrates, Kasturi Damle, Lucy Firth and Ethan Rouse were noted for being confident and articulate.

In addition to competing, the whole team were given a tour of the cells; met two fully-kitted-up firearms officers; and enjoyed a Q & A session with an impressive panel, which included a judge

and Chief Inspector Alison Barlow of Surrey Police. The event was attended by the Mayor of Guildford, the High Sheriff of Surrey and the Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, underlining how highly the competition is regarded. Out of a field of six teams, Woking High came second, winning £100 and we remain the top team in Surrey, enabling us to keep the High Sheriff of Surrey’s shield for another year. This is a wonderful achievement for a young team who displayed great commitment, confidence and teamwork.

V Thomas, Teacher of History

Mock Magistrates

20 21

FOR TWO WEEKS IN FEBRUARY we hosted a Taiwanese exchange program, which we all thoroughly enjoyed – Woking High School and exchange students alike! The visitors were able to get a taste of life here at Woking High School by attending meetings and lessons with us, and we were all able to learn from each other about the amazing aspects of our respective cultures, cuisines and languages. We were also very happy to showcase our talents to them in the production of “The Sound of Music”. We were very grateful for the wonderful praise they gave, and in some cases, the help they contributed to setting

up and scenery tasks (which proved a great help). On the final day of their visit we both put on a small presentation for each other and got the chance to express how much we enjoyed each other’s company and how appreciative we are of how our

minds and cultural understanding have been broadened by this wonderful opportunity!

Pravina Appasamy, Year 10

Taiwanese Visitors

DURING THE HALF TERM, forty one other students, five staff and I, had the pleasure of going on the annual school ski trip to Prato Nevoso, Italy. It was a thrilling week – right from the 5am start on Sunday until being back at school for 9pm the following Saturday.

The week was jam packed. We skied for 4 hours each day, split into two lessons consisting of two hours each, and in between which we devoured a delicious

Ski Tour to Prato Nevoso, Italy 2018lunch in the hotel’s restaurant, with a view of the breath-taking mountains just outside.

There were four ski groups, all ranging in ability, and with four groups, came four brilliant instructors! While skiing, it goes without saying that falling over was inevitable, but with their reassurance and comfort, no task seemed beyond our capabilities and without their consistent enthusiasm, the trip really wouldn’t have been the same.

However, each day the fun didn’t stop after the skiing, because then came the evening activities. These ranged from snow tubing to a pizza night, and they provided everyone with a great basis for making new friends, which was strengthened throughout the course of the holiday and was such an enriching opportunity. One of the standout activities for me was night skiing – the calm atmosphere on the slopes combined with the velvety snow created the perfect skiing conditions.

And finally, I must mention the wonderful teachers. Their constant work made the trip truly unforgettable, while ensuring all students had an excellent experience out in Italy. I very much hope to return next year and make some more remarkable memories!

Isobel Danton 10Y

“I started off barely able to stand on two skis, but now with help of the best instructor ever Gianni, I can ski down different coloured slopes (even black!), I had so much fun and made loads of friends! If you are ever at Woking High School and deciding what trips to go on you should definitely go on the ski trip, it was the best!” Imogen Munk 8E

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Careers SupportTHIS TERM has been filled with amazing opportunities for the students of Woking High School to think about their futures and the options available to them.

Year 7 have been continuing their Group Work sessions with Innervate, our careers support supplier. Innervate have been working with the students to help them consider their strengths and gaps to develop and consider how to best use their talents towards a future career.

On the 8 January, we welcomed over twenty five businesses to speak to our Year 9 students as part of the Careers Options Day. Our students got to take part in reverse interviews in our “Speed Networking” sessions where they interviewed companies on what they do and what skills they are looking for in their future staff. We had representatives from House of Commons, Mercer, Surrey County FA, Land Registry, HMRC, Vodafone, Dell, Coutts, Premiership Rugby, BP, Royal Surrey Hospital, amongst others. We also introduced the students to online aptitude programs that would help them identify career paths and what they would need to do to reach their goals. Some of our students participated in mock career interviews for their “first” job to give them practical guidance and practice in interview techniques.

Year 10 students are busy confirming their Work Experience places for the summer term. Students have looked far and wide to find placements as diverse as a film production company in London to a garage in Woking. We have been supporting our students throughout the process and are looking forward to hearing how they spent their Work Experience week in July 2018.

Our Year 11s are in the throes of revision as they prepare for their GCSE examinations. In careers we have been supporting them by providing access to careers interview sessions with Anna Murray from Innervate as well as exposing them to options outside of A-levels such as apprenticeships and technical colleges. We are keen to support our leavers and help them explore all the opportunities available to them in post-16 education and training.

Our Careers Web page is constantly being updates. We have included several open days/evenings for local colleges as well as information sessions on Apprenticeships. Modern apprenticeships offer not only training for GSCE holders, but A-Level students, too. Students choosing an apprenticeship have an opportunity to work in their preferred industry from an earlier age for a wage, but also the possibility to pursue a university undergraduate, or even a master’s degree, as part of their apprenticeship. We want all our students to be aware of all their options post Woking High School and to consider what opportunities are open to them to choose from.

Please continue to speak to your child and us about the future. Working together we can support our students from education to the world beyond.

D Grant, Careers Service Manager

2018 HAS GOT OFF TO A FLYING START for Woking High School Careers department! As well as providing continuous support to our Year 10 and Year 11 students, who are considering their future pathways beyond GCSE, Innervate Career Services have been busy delivering careers workshops to all Year 7 tutor groups throughout this term. Designed to get students thinking about their personal strengths and qualities, the sessions have included an introduction to a useful careers website, www.icould.com, through which students have been taking the intriguing Buzz Quiz - a personality test which endeavours to match industries and jobs to students’ individual characteristics, to provide them with a good starting point for career planning.

As well as our in-house work, the Careers team recently attended the Surrey Careers Conference - a networking event attended by other schools and Careers Advisers which focussed on sharing good practice regarding careers information, advice and guidance, brushing up on resources available to schools and learning more about the recently launched careers strategy.

We are looking forward to an equally exciting summer term, when our work will involve careers workshops for Year 8 students and continued one-to-one support for Year 10. If you have a son or daughter who is in Year 10 and would like to request a careers interview, then please ask their tutors for a referral.

Anna Murray, Innervate Careers Services

Innervate Careers Services

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Charity Updates

THE YOUNG CARERS at Woking High school continue to meet regularly each Thursday for support and to have fun.

We are here to support any other Young Carers in the school, especially those not yet known to us. Please contact Mrs Taylor or Mrs Wilkinson at Student Services.

C Wilkinson – Student Support Officer

WE HAVE NOW MET our second Guide dog puppy, Luna, who was warmly welcomed by a number of our students on Wednesday 28 February at the Well -Being Centre.

Luna, a Golden retriever, was born on 13th

September and one of a litter of ten pups. The students were delighted with Luna who is a happy, confident and very friendly!

We look forward to welcoming both Luna and Boris back again soon. We are also arranging our third ‘Puppy room for exam stress’ on Wednesday 2 May 2018 where students can come and cuddle a Guide Dog Puppy.

C Wilkinson – Student Support Officer

Young Carers Update

Guide Dog update

WOKING HIGH SCHOOL has already supported a wide array of charities so far this academic year, including local, national and global needs: Chimney Farm, Guide Dogs, Helping Hands, Lions International, Macmillan, Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People, Royal Marsden Hospital, Shooting Star Chase, Woking Rotary, Woking and Sam Beare Hospices and Your Sanctuary. Support has been both monetary and gifts such as parcels for the young and elderly. We thank Woking High School families for their continued support and philanthropy in the community.

D Grant, Head of Student Council

CharitiesON TUESDAY 27 FEBRUARY a group of six Year 10 students spent the morning at Woking Hospice. This is part of an exciting and innovative project, which has arisen with Woking and Sam Beare Hospices. There is no child, or indeed any person who has not been affected in some way by loss and grief. As a nation, we have been asked within our local communities to better engage with our neighbours, family and friends who are living with advanced and terminal illness. Many people living with an advanced disease describe feeling isolated from their own community because of their illness.

With this in mind, Dr Barry Quinn, Director of Nursing and Clinical Services, is keen to promote better awareness of those living with an advanced disease, by engaging with the people of Woking and in particular, with our local secondary schools. The aim of the Woking and Sam Beare Hospices School Twining Programme 2018 is to help young people to learn more about the work of the hospice within their community and to raise more awareness of palliative care, death and bereavement, which can affect us all.

The project uses a ‘twining’ approach; whereby students at Woking High School and the hospice can learn more about one another and support one another. Students have been supported by Paula Mitchell at the Hospice and Mrs Wilkinson and Mrs Taylor at Student Services to learn about the hospice. We spent a very interesting morning in the hospice, were shown around, given a brief history on

hospice care and spoke with key members of the team. Our aim is to learn more over a period of time and to construct a short presentation and poster to be presented at the school and at the hospice.

Freya Balkwill wrote: Going into the Hospice I had the idea in my head that it would be a sad and depressing place. However, after spending the day there, I realised it was a warm and welcoming place. The staff that we met were amazing and almost made it feel like they were a family. I found out that they actually have lots of different departments. They had nurses, doctors, volunteers, marketing, fundraising and lots more. After being there I realised that it is a place where they focus on the living and they comfort the patients, it’s about making the time they have left as pleasurable and comfortable as possible. I loved being there and found it very interesting. This was an amazing experience and it helped to develop my understanding of the Hospice and what they do.

C Wilkinson – Student Support Officer

Woking Hospice Project

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OUR SPRING MEETING allowed us to attend a Year 7 assembly on Safer Internet Day, where we were encouraged to participate by providing our views on social media. We also provided the refreshments for one of the school production evenings, with Sound Of Music themed cakes and lots of cups of tea.

Thank you so much for the Foreign and Obsolete Coins/Notes that you donated, we have the final tally, as you can see from the below breakdown, we made £791.60. I will also be applying for matched funding from my employer, HSBC, so should be able to double it to £1,500. I hope Queen Victoria who appeared on some of the donated coins will be amused.

ITEM £ VALUE

Euro Coins 151.70

Euro Notes 7.93

Mixed World Coins and Notes 192.51

Recycle non exchange weight in kg 8.12

Gold & Silver content 210.93

UK Current currency 220.41

Total 791.60

We have also been able to support our students further by contributing towards the following areas of the school activities

n D of E – Tents and Water Containers; helping keep our intrepid campers safe during their expedition

n Year 11 – Prom; our regular contribution towards the social event of the year

n SEN – Magazine Subscription and Outdoor Bench; helping the children who just need that extra support

n Maths – Just Maths; Annual Subscription

n Exam Dept. – Digital Clock; it will make it easier for the students to monitor their time during examinations.

n English - Easi-View Visualiser; the up to date version of an Overhead projector, a student’s work can be projected so that all in the class can see it

n School Production – Costumes, Make Up and Props; for those that saw the production we are very pleased that we were able to contribute.

n Head Boy/Girl – Basketball Nets; the student body will be pleased to be able to have some decent nets to practice their basketball skills

Please also remember to sign up for the Give as You Live scheme. It only takes a minute to download the toolbar and then every time you shop with over 3,500 online stores, a percentage comes to the FOWHS.

There’s no extra cost to you or the School – and no hidden catches!

We would also like to remind you about the Woking High School Prize Club that gives parents and carers the opportunity to enter a termly lottery and at the same time make a donation to the Friends of Woking High School. Subscriptions to the Prize Club are £5 per month collected termly.

Thank you once again on behalf of the Committee, staff and students of Woking High School for your continued support. If you are interested in finding out more about the Friends of Woking High School or signing up for the Prize Club or Give as You Live, please contact us at fowhs@wokinghigh.surrey.sch.uk. Our next meeting will be held at 7pm on Thursday 17th May 2018 and we look forward to seeing you there.

Remember - ways you can help:

n Download the Give as You Live toolbar – when you shop online, the school benefits without costing you a penny

n Sign up for the Prize Club

n Come and find out what we do at the next meeting!

L Bostock-Cross, Secretary Friends of Woking High School

Friends of Woking High School

2018 School Minibus Appeal

THE FRIENDS OF WOKING HIGH SCHOOL have taken on a new challenge to support the school. The Governors and the Friends will be working together to help the school source a newer model 17 seater school bus. The Governors have already pledged to renew one of our older buses and together we are aiming to replace the other. Our target is to raise £10,000 towards this bus and the appeal will run to December 2018.

Every child in the school has been or is likely to be transported in one of the buses for at least one activity during their time at school. The school minibuses are an integral part of the school daily life as well

as being used by the local community.

So how important are our mini-buses?

n They are used 183/195 days in the school year

n This equates to 396 journeys

n An average of 2.2 uses per day

n Plus many instances of community use

So how can you – as members of the Friends - join us in reaching this target?

n We have created a just giving website to make it easier for you to donate https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/schoolbus.

n Corporate Sponsors needed

Do you know of any businesses that would like to support the school by sponsoring or providing Match Funding for the bus?

Please ask them to get in touch via fowhs@wokinghigh.surrey.sch.uk.

n Ongoing fundraising via the Prize Club and Give as You Live.

We will also be launching other specific fundraising events, so please look out for these. Please also contact us if you have any ideas on how you can help.

Woking High School, Morton Road, Horsell, Woking, Surrey, GU21 4TJ

Tel: 01483 888447 Fax: 01483 888448

Email: info@wokinghigh.surrey.sch.uk

Web: www.wokinghigh.surrey.sch.uk

Headteacher: Jane Abbott

Woking High School is an exempt charity and company limited by guarantee. Registered in England with Company Number 8586085 and has a registered office as above.

SUMMER Monday 16 April 2018 to Friday 20 July 2018

HALF TERM

Monday 28 May 2018 to Friday 1 June 2018

INSET DAY

Friday 22 June 2018

EARLY CLOSURE

Wednesday 27 June 2018 (12:15)

TERM DATES Could we please remind all parents/carers that safe parking in and around our school site is incredibly important in order to safeguard our students. Many of our students walk and cycle to and from school and this can be dangerous if cars are parked in such a way that they either obstruct access or prevent clear sight lines. Please respect the parking signs and restrictions, and not park on the double yellow or zig-zag lines on Morton Road. Please can we also request that you are courteous to local residents and avoid parking over driveway entrances

PARKING

ANSWER TO MATHS QUESTION: A) 17 claps per second!

NoticesLEAVE OF ABSENCE

If parents take their child out of school without the Headteacher’s approval, this will be viewed as an unauthorized leave of absence and may result in a Penalty Notice. Penalty Notices are issued by the Local Authority for unauthorised leave of absence for 5 days or more. Penalty Notices are issued per parent per child and the amount due is £60.00 if paid within 21 days, rising to £120.00 if paid between 21 and 28 days. If the Penalty Notice remains unpaid after 28 days the Local Authority must consider a prosecution in the Magistrates Court. Please see our website for full details of our Attendance Policy.

COMMUNICATIONS

We communicate with parents on a regular basis via, primarily, Schoolcomms (email or text) with important announcements (such as snow days), letters and the Headteacher’s Weekly Review (distributed at the end of every week). If you are not receiving emails from us, please contact aphipps@wokinghigh.surrey.sch.uk so that we can check we have your correct contact details on our database.

We also post news and announcements on Twitter @WokingHigh and Facebook through the pseudonym of William Henry Smith, or on the Woking High School page, so please follow us or look out for our posts on the Horsell Village Wire.

A Phipps, Communications Manager

SCHOOL GATEWAY

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you that have successfully created a School Gateway

account for tracking your son or daughters Attendance Data, Behaviour and Achievement Points. Many of your initial comments and suggestions have helped us streamline the service and hopefully it is proving efficient for you to use. If you have not downloaded the mobile phone application I would highly recommend it for a convenient way to keep track of your son or daughters achievements.

M Crowley, Assistant Headteacher

THE WELL-BEING CENTRE is continuing to provide a safe space and support for students who need some extra help. We are seeing students for 121 mentoring on a referral basis as well as overseeing the drop in break time and lunchtime facility.

The Wellbeing Ambassadors are also available every lunchtime both in the Wellbeing Centre or in the library to listen to and signpost students to where to get further help.

H Taylor, Well Being Centre Co-ordinator

Well Being Centre