Welcome to the first edition of Rough Notes for the new academic year. Thank you for taking the time to read our monthly publication.
I would like to thank our students, parents, carers, and staff for making the return to school this September so positive. The students have returned incredibly well and have hit the ground running, year 11 and 13 have a big year and have very much set the tone for the year ahead. We wish all our students sitting exams this year the very best and look forward to supporting them through their journey.
For the first time since 2019, the summer exam series returned, in full, to pre-pandemic expectations. This meant no adjustment or additional support and a return to 2019 gradings. I am aware that many feel this was unjust, after all, not all areas of the UK took the same approach and those sitting exams had still been affected by the disruption of the pandemic years. Despite this, our students performed incredibly well, and we were delighted to be able to celebrate the success of our students with them in person during August.
We are immensely proud of our students, and we wish them the very best for the future. We continue to offer our full support and assistance to all students in the coming days and weeks, following the release of the GCSE, Level 2, A Level and Level 3 results. These have been challenging times and together we succeed.
Our school has a long track record of academic excellence, and this year is no different. Our students have achieved incredibly and will continue to do so in the future.
We are amazed by the resilience and perseverance shown by our students. We also recognise the additional anxiety caused by the events of the past years and thank our parents and carers for their continued support.
Our staff worked incredibly hard to ensure that our students have been cared for and have continued to receive the best education possible. We have ensured that students have been given every chance to succeed and pursue their chosen next steps.
Students should be reassured that the grades they have received have been fully earned and are the result of their hard work, dedication, and perseverance.
GCSE Examination Results 2023
| % English 4+ | % Maths 4+ | % English 5+ | % Maths 5+ | % English & Maths 4+ | % English & Maths 5+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset 2019 | 76.9% | 73.3% | 59.9% | 47.2% | 66.7% | 40.8% |
| National 2019 | 76.1% | 70.2% | 60.8% | 49.3% | 64.9% | 43.4% |
| Dorset 2023 | 74.2% | 71.2% | 58.1% | 48.3% | 64.9% | 41.3% |
| Woodroffe 2023 | 85% | 77% | 72% | 53% | 73% | 50% |
| Measure | % |
|---|---|
| Students achieving 8 subjects at 4+ including English & Maths | 63 |
| Students achieving 8 subjects at 5+ including English & Maths | 40 |
| Students achieving 8 subjects at 7+ including English & Maths | 10 |
There were some truly outstanding performances.
Over 600,000 students received GCSE results this year.
- 125 got grade 9 in more than 11 subjects.
- 1 student from Woodroffe was amongst these.
- Congratulations Finian on your 13 grade 9s.
Over 600,000 students received GCSE results this year.
500 got grade 9 in 10 subjects.
1 student from Woodroffe was amongst these.
Congratulations Noah on your 10 grade 9s.
- Celeste - 10 GCSEs at grade 9/8
- Frankie - 10 GCSEs at grade 9/8
- Alex - 9 GCSEs at grade 9/8
- Ethel - 8 GCSEs at grade 9/8
- Chloe - 7 GCSEs at grade 9/8
A Level Examination Results 2023
| 2023 | A* | A | B | C | D | E | U | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 21 | 45 | 76 | 69 | 48 | 28 | 6 | 293 |
| % | 7% | 15% | 26% | 24% | 16% | 10% | 2% |
| Number | % | |
|---|---|---|
| A*/A | 66 | 23% |
| A*-B | 142 | 48% |
| A*-C | 211 | 72% |
| A*-E | 287 | 98% |
There were some truly outstanding performances too.
Students joining Cambridge and Oxford from Woodroffe:
- Tilly - studying English at Oxford.
- Iris - studying English Literature at Cambridge.
- Amy - studying Chemical Engineering at Cambridge.
- Rob - studying English at Oxford.
- Freddie - studying Philosophy at Cambridge.
Further study ahead:
- Kate – 3A* studying Maths at Bristol.
- Lucy – 3A* studying Maths at Bristol.
- Louis – 2A* & 1A Graphics at Kingston.
- Chloe – 2A*, 1A will be studying Marine Biology.
- Charlotte – 2A* & 1B studying Maths at Southampton.
- Philip – 3A grades will be studying Chemical Engineering at Manchester.
- Martha – 3A grades in English Literature, History and Psychology.
Freddie studying Medicine at Bristol. Eve, back from South Africa to study Sociology at Birmingham.
A special note of thanks
As a school, we have been very fortunate over the years to have been in receipt of generous donations given for the benefit of our young people. We are very grateful to all those who have generously given to the school.
This July, the Marine Players, very kindly made a donation to the Drama department. The money, as directed (no pun intended) by the Marine Players, will be used for the purpose of enhancing the education of school children in Drama. The donation will be ring-fenced for this purpose and will principally be for the purchase of items of capital equipment in the Drama Studio, or for the purchase of scripts/licences for future productions. Thank you so much for your generosity.
Last year had many highs and I think these were wonderfully encapsulated in our July ‘greatest hits’ edition. If you have not yet looked, I whole heartedly recommend you do so, it’s full of fantastic articles about our wonderful school and the activities of our students and staff.
We have had a very positive start to school this September. The phased return enabled us to support students more effectively whilst ensuring that they got the time they needed to be able to hit the ground running.
There have been many smiles on the student return. For those who found the transition a little more challenging, our ‘Safeguarding and Wellbeing’ team are working hard to support them, ensuring that they are able to return to learning confidently in school as quickly as possible.
The positive return has been boosted by the return of some fantastic activities provided through our extra-curricular programme. Year 8 students spent time at Carey Outdoor Education Centre where they participated in lots of fun team building activities and personal challenges, creating some great memories along the way. I enjoyed my visit and had a good time joining the students for some of their activities.
Our wonderfully supportive PTFA helped 157 families this summer providing 905 items of uniform. In addition, they raised £1000 in donations to help provide further support and have had a considerable amount of (new without tags) socks, tights, underwear, white vests, and t-shirts donated by Tesco Seaton. Thank you for what you have done, it is hugely appreciated. If you need any uniform support, please visit:
Preloved Uniform - Woodroffe School PTFA
We will again be participating in the national ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ event taking place on Thursday the 19th of October (nationally 20th October but we are closed for staff training), look out for further details coming soon.
Our 0pen Day was a huge success and was enjoyed by 171 families and over 500 guests on the day. It was great to see the school alive with so many visitors. A huge thanks to our 6th Form students who did a fantastic job as guides during the day.
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.
Сподіваюся, вам сподобається наше останнє видання “Грубих нотаток”. Якщо ви хочете дізнатися більше про нашу школу, новини чи події, відвідайте веб-сайт школи, який, я впевнений, вам буде корисний. Крім того, для регулярних оновлень, чому б не заглянути в наші соціальні мережі:
Woodroffe can be found on Twitter & Instagram.
Best wishes,
Dan Watts
Headteacher