Dear Parents, Carers, and Friends of The Woodroffe School,
Thank you for taking the time to read through our latest edition of ‘Rough Notes’.
Our students are now in the middle of the examination season, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish them the very best, I know they will be amazing.
Students up and down the country have been affected by the pandemic and I feel for them all. This is the first time since 2019 that students will have completed a full summer examination season, and this is on the back of two disrupted and difficult years. Our students have been resilient. They have continued to work hard despite the challenges and have managed to remain positive. Our students have been well supported and looked after by our talented staff team and I am grateful for what they have done despite the pressures they have been under.
The last two years have been incredibly challenging for all and we in education have felt the impact of the pandemic keenly. Despite what is reported in the press and shared by individuals in positions of power, the education sector has been adaptable, resilient, innovative, and extremely hard working. The 26th of May marked national ‘Thank a Teacher’ day and I would like to extend my thanks to all the staff at Woodroffe, not just the teachers, who do such an amazing job supporting our students. I would also like to take a minute to recognise colleagues up and down the country who have been equally brilliant throughout the pandemic. Thank you all.
This month, the waiting was finally over for my charity skydive. On Saturday the 14th of May, I completed my tandem jump from 15,000ft, almost 3 miles up! There was a slight delay on the morning due to cloud cover but, as soon as the conditions improved, I was up, up, and away.
What an incredible experience. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to do this and at the same time, raise a lot of money for a very worthy local charity. So far, with your help, I have managed to raise £2,086.25p in support of Axminster and Lyme Cancer Support.
https://localgiving.org/fundraising/DanJumps/
Our year 11 had a colourful send off during their leavers assembly as they celebrated their time together at Woodroffe.
Year 13 enjoyed their own leavers festivities by way of a celebration breakfast. We send our best wishes to both year groups, you have been fantastic.
An old lectern, hidden away for many years, was delivered to its new home with custodian Kathryn Haskins of the Alexandra Hotel and Restaurant ensuring its safekeeping.
Thanks to Heather Britton of Lyme Regis Society for the historical research and finding it a more suitable new home.
This month, our year 10 students participated in their Employability Day, planned and organised by Mr Holding with the support of our career’s advisor, Marc Truyens. The students participated in a range of activities designed to support the careers development programme and students’ readiness for the next stage of their education and/or employment.
The final solar panels of our decarbonisation project were fitted in the last few days of last month. Almost 500 hundred have been fitted across the site helping to reduce our carbon footprint.
The Ten Tors returned this year after a two-year break due to the pandemic and Mr Loveland received his silver award for 17 years’ service, what an achievement!
Our two teams did a fantastic job and successfully completed the challenge, keeping up the school record of all teams, past and present, successfully completing the course. A huge well done to the teams and the staff who made it possible.
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:
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 take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and encouragement.
Best wishes,
Dan Watts
Headteacher