21138 Waingels Prospectus

Better Never Stops

Welcome You read this at a very exciting time for our school. We are in the process of implementing and embedding a new culture and set of values while at the same time we are celebrating another year of outstanding achievements by our students.

Our A Level results of 2017 place us in the top 10% of schools nationally for progress and at GCSE we have another excellent set of results with 75% of students achieving the “basics” of good passes in English and Mathematics and a positive progress score. We are a high performing school and are very proud of our record over many years.

Waingels is a Comprehensive Community School, which has been serving Woodley since 1970. In 2011 it was completely re-built as part of a Building Schools for the Future £30m grant and our award-winning, eco-friendly design has created an outstanding spacious, light and technology-rich learning environment. In the spirit of our motto, Better Never Stops, we have recently made further improvements as we strive for an optimum climate for learning.

We hope you like what you read and what you see. If you have not yet had the opportunity, then please pay us a visit. You will find us very happy to welcome you.

Mr T Bartlett Principal

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Culture & Values Waingels is a very successful 11 to 18 Comprehensive school serving its local community.

• I am prepared to learn.

Our successes and achievements can be attributed to our commitment to establish and grow a Better Never Stops culture, providing a safe, inclusive and rich learning environment where students feel safe and valued, founded on respectful relationships for all.

Learning at Waingels takes place in a climate of mutual RESPECT where diversity and difference are celebrated. Students strive for excellence in everything that they do and take PRIDE in their achievements, effort and conduct. We challenge our students to be independent, RESILIENT and responsible learners; to embrace challenge, to learn from disappointment and failure, and to accept the challenge that getting better never stops.

We are proud of our students’ progress and effort and set high standards and expectations. We value kindness and expect all members of our community to be KIND, courteous and considerate.

We all belong to a community and work together as a team in a spirit of cooperation, collaboration and support.

Our values underpin our Waingels Ready expectations that we have for everyone within the Waingels community. These expectations form the basis of everything we do, and everything we believe in as a school and as a community.

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• I am proud of my achievements, efforts, and successes.

• I am a positive member of the Waingels community.

• I will respect myself, others, and our drive to learn and grow.

• I will build resilience, remaining focused and on task.

• I will be responsible for speaking and acting towards others in a kind way.

Quality First Learning Throughout their time at Waingels, students will experience quality first learning as a result of excellent teaching in the classroom and beyond.

Students tell us they enjoy learning; lessons are fast-paced and challenging; students are encouraged to explore and question, to be curious and independent, and all this takes place in classrooms which are spacious and full of natural light and abundant with technology.

Our students are resilient and responsible learners who embrace challenge and work together to develop their understanding and skills. Our staff nurture and support students to ensure they reach their full potential and are prepared for the next stage of their education.

Homework is used to give students the opportunities to consolidate and extend their classroom learning and practise skills and techniques. A mixture of short and extended tasks are used to enrich and enhance the class based learning, helping students to develop as independent learners who can manage their time effectively. A homework club is staffed after school each day and this is very popular with students who initially wish to seek informal support and learn to develop good habits with the completion of homework.

We value the positive relationships between staff and students which are based on mutual respect. We aim to motivate and enable our students to be learners who are ambitious and committed to excellence in the pursuit of academic achievement and personal development.

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Curriculum Our curriculum provides a broad and balanced learning experience for our students across all years.

We see our curriculum as being broad and balanced, with our resources carefully planned to flow seamlessly from the moment students join us in Year 7 until the point they leave us at the end of Year 11 or 13.

In Year 7 and 8 students are taught Mathematics, Computing, English, Science, Religious Studies, Physical Education, History, Geography, a Modern Foreign Language, Art & Design Technology, Drama and Music. These classes are taught by subject specialists to enhance the learning experience.

What makes Waingels different from other schools is that by Year 9, students have been able to tailor their Arts, Design & Technology and Performing Arts curriculum. This means that they are able to spend more time on the areas they enjoy the most, which allows their talents to flourish.

In Year 9 students formally begin the GCSE curriculum in Mathematics, English and Science and they choose their GCSE options. We do not ask them to make these choices in year 8 as we feel this narrows choices too early. These GCSE subject choices mark the transition towards the all-important final assessments in Year 11.

We are very proud of the extra-curricular activities that we have on offer within our school. Every year our Performing Arts performances are of the highest quality, and the excellence of our Art & Design department is evident throughout the school. Our students’ talents extend also to the field of sport, with many county athletes. We have many other after school clubs ranging from Trampolining to expeditions in China & Mongolia, and ski trips to Utah – there is something for everyone.

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Achievement for All Staff at Waingels are committed to supporting an inclusive education, built around mutual respect and kindness for every member of our school community.

Staff at Waingels are always prepared to give additional help and guidance for those who need that little bit extra in order to succeed. We provide enhanced support for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and for those who have particular gifts and talents. We run a “Triple A” programme for our most able students who we would expect to achieve 3 Grade A – A Levels. Our Inclusion and Intervention Team work closely with students, parents, teachers and specialist agencies to ensure that all students are able to fully participate and make the most of every opportunity that is presented to them. The Inclusion and Intervention Team’s vision is that every student should be a responsible and positive learner who is resilient to change.

Waingels is proud to offer students ‘The Den’ which hosts a range of specialist provisions including a Learning Zone, Nurture Zone, Sensory Zone, Wellbeing Zone and Medical Zone. The Wellbeing Zone is home to our full time School Counsellor who is always available to support and guide our students. We strongly believe that alongside educational excellence, it is necessary to equip every student with the skills needed to achieve the most in life and to thrive academically, socially and emotionally.

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Creative Arts & Sporting Excellence All students learn a wide range of practical, performance, creative and physical skills across years 7 to 9 to broaden horizons and nurture talent.

We encourage all students to take at least one of these subjects at GCSE:

Drama

Graphic Design

Photography

Media Studies

Art

Product Design

Food

Music

Physical Education

Textiles

These subjects give students an opportunity to be creative, to express themselves, build confidence and be practical and active. Through the curriculum or in after school or lunchtime clubs and activities, we want all students to get involved and take part.

The Performing Arts department puts on an annual production involving 150 students – a rich and polished mixture of drama, music and film, while the choir, orchestra and drama club put on shows throughout the year.

Art and Design offer a rich and varied curriculum and a wide range of extra curricula opportunities.

Our Gallery is used to display students’ work on a rolling programme. Many of our students go onto study A Level Art courses where they produce some outstanding results, experimenting with ceramics, oil paint, stitching, photography, printmaking, 2D and 3D Design. Recent A Level graduates have gone onto study Architecture, Textiles and Fine Art, won national competitions, and had exhibitions in London.

Our well-equipped sports facilities enable all students to experience an expansive curriculum, which inspires them to be creative, challenged and to excel and we compete in a wide range of sports throughout the year. We pride ourselves on the array of enrichment opportunities that we offer with professional sportspeople, Olympians, extra-curricular fitness clubs and residential trips.

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We want our students to be active citizens, to be creative and to stretch and challenge their abilities at all levels.

Sixth Form “The quality of the 6th form is outstanding”.

In 2017, our students achieved results that place us in the top 10% of schools in the country for progress. At A-Level, 84% of grades were at the gold standard of A* - C. Furthermore, the average grade for vocational qualifications is a distinction.

We provide young people with an exceptional academic platform, which gives them a strong start in life and a launch pad for the future, wherever it may take them. Most choose to go to University. Last year this included Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic at Cambridge and Economics at UCL, Textile Design at Nottingham Trent and Drama at Royal Holloway. Other students have chosen to take up modern apprenticeships with Microsoft and British Airways.

The Sixth Form Centre is a hub of activity and opportunity, with extensive ICT facilities, the Library, two supervised silent study rooms a Common Room and coffee bar. We have a fantastic team of dedicated and highly skilled teachers and Sixth Form tutors, ably led by a Director of Sixth Form Studies, and supported by a full time School Counsellor and Learning Manager.

We are great believers in the maxim “you reap what you sow”.

The more you put into Sixth Form life, the more you will get out of it. There is an abundance of opportunity whether it is to develop leadership skills on the school council or through the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme; to travel the world with Venture Force, who have, in recent years visited Southern Africa, the Amazon basin and Mongolia; or giving back to the school through Community Service.

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Student Voice We have an active school council with elected representatives in each year group led by the Senior Team – a group of 6th form students including the Head Boy and Head Girl and their deputies.

The School Council has been influential on many decisions including school uniform, improvements to school buildings, the canteen, anti-bullying, social spaces and many more. Joining the school council is a great opportunity to build confidence and develop leadership potential and to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard.

We regularly seek and use feedback from students to influence our training for staff and value the input of students’ ideas in our quest for continual improvement.

The student body, in an exercise of citizenship and democracy, elects the School Council and the Council, under the leadership of our senior students, holds an annual residential conference to establish priorities and develop action plans, which are then shared with and monitored by the Principal and Governors.

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Waingels Road, Woodley, Waingels Road, Woodley, Reading RG5Reading 4RF RG5 4RF Tel:0336 0118 969 0336 Tel: 0118 969 on Twitter @WaingelsCollege  follow us  onfollow Twitterus@WaingelsCollege

www.waingels.wokingham.sch.uk www.waingels.wokingham.sch.uk