Dear Parents, Carers, and Friends of The Woodroffe School,
Thank you for taking the time to read through our latest edition of ‘Rough Notes’ and the first for the Summer term.
Our students were fantastic on their return to school from the latest lockdown. The final three weeks of the Spring term proved to be very positive for the returning students and they adjusted quickly, demonstrating just how resilient they are.
We were delighted to have all students back in school and witnessing the positive atmosphere around our site showed just how pleased the students were to be back in school amongst their friends and teachers.
Following the Easter break, the return has been equally as positive. Last week our attendance sat at 96.53% which is fantastic given the current circumstances faced by schools up and down the country. Thank you, parents, and carers, for your continued support.
We recognise that our students have missed out on some of the aspects of school that add to the richness and depth of education. We are hoping that many of the broader experiences usually on offer to students at Woodroffe will return soon and we are disappointed that some of these have been cancelled as a direct result of the pandemic.
In this latest edition of ‘Rough Notes’, you will be able to see a range of the extracurricular activities on offer to students. Everyday, large numbers of students participate in a wide range of activities as indicated on pages 68-69.
In addition, the Physical Education department continue to offer a huge range of activities to all year groups. It is great to see our students participating in range of sporting opportunities and I know, the PE staff, including myself, have enjoyed being able to offer these clubs once again.
Recently, year 12 geography students were able to participate in two fieldwork days with Leeson House in Dorset. A great opportunity and experience for students which hopefully marks the return of some of the broader curriculum experiences (picture opposite).
I am very pleased to announce that Ellyn Kendall is a Key Stage 5 finalist in the national ‘Poetry by Heart’ competition. Ellyn had to learn a pre-1914 and post-1914 poem by heart and make video recordings of her performance. One of the poems, ‘Birmingham River’, was incredibly challenging to learn but she chose it because of her connection to the Midlands. Ellyn did this during lockdown, combining her love of English literature and drama (picture opposite).
There are ten finalists in this category from around the country. Ellyn is invited to the national showcase event at The Globe theatre in London on 19th July, we wish her the very best for the finals.
Finally, our year 11 and 13 students, as well as some in year 10 and 12, will be participating in their final milestone assessments across this half-term. We wish them the very best and know that they will achieve great things, keep going, you are almost there!
I hope you enjoy our latest edition of ‘Rough Notes’. Should you wish to find out more about our school, news, or events, please visit the school website which I am sure you will find useful. In addition, for regular updates, why not look at our social media outlets:
Woodroffe can be found on Twitter and Instagram.
The Woodroffe School Headteacher can be found on Twitter - @HeadteacherTws
The Woodroffe School can be found on Twitter - @WoodroffeSchool
The Woodroffe School on Instagram – woodroffeschooldorset
Finally, I would like to thank you all for your continued support, your messages and kind words mean a lot to the staff at Woodroffe and help during these challenging times.
Take care and stay safe,
Dan Watts
Headteacher