Walton-le-Dale News 2017

news 2017

in North Lancs Training Group’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ inspired competition

in this edition...

learning for life

Our students showcase their creative talents

PRIMARY DAY CELEBRATING 60 YEARS DANCE FESTIVAL A MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER

and much more!

HIGH SCHOOL

news 2017

FIELD TRIP

Year 11 Geographers enjoyed a day in glorious sunshine in Bowness on Windermere collecting data for their controlled assessment. As part of their course they are investigating the impact that tourism has on this honeypot site. This involved speaking with visitors about what attracted them to visit Bowness, interviewing local businesses about how important tourism is to them, investigating which were the busiest places for tourists and traffic as well as finding out what attractions are there.

They are now back in the classroom, number crunching and interpreting all our data and findings.

Badminton

Geography

WALTON-LE-DALE

Congratulations to our Under 14 Badminton team who are runners up in South Ribble. Well done to Matthew, Daniel, Adam and Josh.

Gymnastics NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

n h o c i l wit

NEWS e b o

g i l e th ttin he se as t c. ne w usi do m ell .

W o all t

a w e

se ho l t n, al Lio to e the the of on in nd e ents m ld d el e h a o ud e W volv itc e. S r st som ls, in e W rob ge ed skil s th ard oun trat g nd t, a W r y ns ctin es a rea nd ou mo rb a m re g a de pe ostu we ting su c s gh

r d r

h t &

Congratulations to the gymnastics team who came back from the national finals with one BRONZE medal and one GOLD medal.

Staff at Walton le Dale were delighted but not surprised to see the shocked face of M Bateman collecting her exam results. As she opened up her envelope her worried frown turned to open mouthed shock!

Melissa’s certificates showed 8 A*s and 2 As, a superb achievement.

Melissa of course was not the only one to achieve outstanding results at Walton le Dale, with other notable excellent results coming from Ben Usher, Zoe Gosling, Harry Mills and Olivia Yeo, for example. The number of students achieving 5 A-Cs, including English and Maths, is the highest ever and staff were also pleased to see almost every student achieving at least 8 qualifications. This is particularly impressive at a time when national results have declined significantly.

Tony Hill, the Headteacher said: ‘Youngsters now face a great challenge in achieving high results as the Government continually change the goal posts and make it more difficult for them to achieve the highest grades. Students have to work harder than ever before. This year group were phenomenal in their work ethic and deserve the results they have achieved. I am incredibly proud of both them and our staff, not simply because of the results but for their attitude and commitment. It has been a real pleasure to have this set of young people in school and see them grow in so many ways, and then see them rewarded with grades which reflect the excellent progress they have made’.

Summer

GCSE results

teddy bear protest

Our Amnesty International group recently organised a teddy bear protest in our garden to protest on behalf of Syrian refugees and against the conflict in Syria. TWO HUNDRED teddy bears were part of the protest. The group made the following announcement: ‘In light of the recent teddy bear protests across the world and to unite against Assads’ horrific war crimes on the lives of many innocent children in Aleppo , we at Amnesty at Walton wish to stage our own Teddy bear campaign. This is to raise awareness of the 100,000 children currently living in Aleppo. Assad has openly told media that his intentions are to cleanse the city and keep cleansing it until he’s wiped it clean! Chemical weapons have been used and many children have lost lives. Those living there are in constant danger, poverty and suffering horrific trauma.

Rather than waste these teddy bears we are hoping to send them to ‘teddies for Syria ‘, a charity organisation who take teddies and soft toys to children in Syria’.

Holocaust

cadet

news...

christmas

salvation army food parcels Proceeds from our Christmas Sale enabled us to purchase a good amount of food to donate to the Salvation Amy and young people 16-19’s who were very appreciative.

of the year...

Congratulations to Ryan who has been made ‘ Cadet of the Year’ for his Air Training Corps squadron.

“Dear Friends, We would like to thank you so much for your kindness at Christmas. We were able to provide food or gifts to everyone who were referred to us this year. Once again thank you very much for your support” Salvation Army.

The annual Santa Dash took place and raised £290 for St Catherine’s Hospice.

Well done to all those who took part.

SANTA DASH!

christmas operation child shoe boxes Students put together 101 shoes boxes to be sent to third world countries as part of the `Operation Christmas Child’. Well done to everyone.

Community Christmas

Party

A fabulous Christmas Party was held again where invited guests from local care homes, Sue Ryder Foundation and grandparents of our Year 7 students attend.

Great Britain Team Olympic Parade Manchester Gifted and Talented pupils from PE experienced a memorable evening when they came face to face with some of the biggest names in sport - the British Olympic Team and British Para-Olympic Team.

The group were inspired by the dedication and determination shown by the athletes in achieving the country’s historic medal haul at the Rio Olympics. May be one day one of our Gifted and Talented pupils will represent the nation just as their sporting heroes did in Rio!

Year 7 Netball

THE FIRST TEAM HAVE WON ALL 7 OF THEIR MATCHES

They are treated to a meal and entertained by students at the school. This year we were also delighted to have a local string quartet to entertain the guests.

e r i h s a c n a l hools sc festival

rm in ll to perfo Guild Ha . The theme n o st re P ain at the stage ce Festival once ag e dance group ents took and th Our stud shire Schools Dan ...” w White and the noA the Lanca al was ”Once Upeost ry of “Sno l and teachers, iv th st g fe of the of tellin emely wel ssed derful job went extr h were very impre ell did a won The performance w tc a e w g u to h e A n”. e night. s who cam Huntsma nd friend fessionalism on th during rehearsals a rs re ca parents, vel of pro r their hard work t the Guild Hall. ntastic le a fo with the fa all the performers ning performance n done to and a stu

dance

After half a term of intense training and commitment, the girls showed it had paid off with some fantastic results. Teachers and parents were impressed with the gameplay and the enthusiasm of the girls.

We would like to congratulate the 2nd team as well who never gave up when they went behind, and showed real determination to succeed. Our opponents struggled to get the ball past our solid defence to even attempt a shot! A huge well done to both teams, we are looking forward to further matches.

Overall a fantastic set of results that they should all be proud of.

To commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day this year 14 Walton le Dale High School students took part in a live webcast with Mala Tribich along with other schools and organisations across the globe. Mala is a ‘Holocaust survivor’ who experienced it first hand.

“We were all truly inspired and touched by Mala’s story, she is a truly remarkable woman thank you for sharing”.

A large group of students and staff spent their lunchtime commemorating the Holocaust. The event was organised by our Amnesty International group, and included the reading of poetry and a period of silent reflection.

Memorial Day

Lancashire came fourth and will now represent Cross-country Sam ash m. championships Lanc ire. Congratulations Sa

t Lancashire championships.

Well done to our 2 finishers in the recen students - Sam and Katie - did The conditions were atrocious but our not give up ...

WALTON-LE -DALE HIGH S CH

WALTON-LE-DALE HIGH SCHOOL

news 2017

OOL

The school has a number of facilities that are available for hire, either on a regular basis or for a one off event: • Full sized astroturf • Large sports hall • Drama Theatre (with additional drama space) • Small dance studio • Gym space • ICT rooms • Classrooms, including those suitable for art classes • Music room, including sound proofed ‘studio’ If you are interested in using any of our facilities please contact Stacey Eckersley, Business Manager, at the school.

07969497352 s.eckersley@waltonledale.lancs.sch.uk

We have just received news of two former students who have just gained FIRST CLASS DEGREES. Congratulations to Adam Lee (Maths) and Rebecca Smith (Architecture).

We always love to hear how former students are doing so please contact us using head@waltonledale. lancs.sch.uk.

ping to e are ho en day w examples of p o e th f o ith As part m hall w ork along with a museu ear. To w s 60th Y open create ise books and it share te ra b rc we can ele rking an school c will be holding taff on old exe ries wall where of your time wo e th s e s e c n e 2017 se occasion, we students and s uly. a memo ri ble expe y 6th J mark this urrent and past memora g at the school.

Thursda in day for c or study

y r a

m i pr

We will try to add this information on the community section of our website.

NEWS

HEADTEACHER WRITES As you will be aware I am retiring at the end of this academic year. I have had a fantastic 13 years at Walton le Dale and I will very much miss everyone at the school.

Over those 13 years I have witnessed many changes in government educational policy, many of which I do not agree with, but throughout we have always maintained our strong ethos based on the need to treat every child as an individual and support their personal, social and academic development.

The key to this has been the strong positive relationships seen across the school. It is this that I will miss, together with the daily contact with students. This newsletter I am sure gives you a flavour of our school.

In those 13 years we have developed a very strong staff team with the same values. This is why I have the confidence that Walton le Dale will remain a child centred school. I am therefore extremely pleased to say that Mr James Harris, deputy head at the school, will be the new headteacher from September. Mr Harris knows the school extremely well, having been deputy head between 2007 and 2011, and recently returning as deputy after gaining headship experience elsewhere. I am absolutely sure the school will continue to go from strength to strength under his leadership.

e ith Alic n w our ‘ i a g rt in re g da hel ing pa en we eetin s a r m k , , d w r a l y day ren t . Chi stor atte te stic child heme of the Mad H e Whi a a t l n h e e ’t A fa derfu rland ersion as th Dum, t t the T and n e wo ond our v s such edle ate a made in in Wited to acter d Twe y also army, k part had inv h char Dee an n. The card nd too ldren ing wit edle d so o laying rts, a er chi out us staff Twe bit an de a p jam ta al. Oth (with aths Rab ty, ma ir own rts’ tri oquet d by M Par le the f Hea lay cr rtaine sto Jack o e to p e ente nd’. the chanc s) or b berla the ingo n Num flam lice i in ‘A

tor oordina reers C School, ers, Ca h th ig a H M f Sue -Dale proud o alton-le from W are extremely d so hard e e said “W nts who work food and de creative our stu fantastic on their eas. id n desig ry n was ve t at the same u mpetitio se a c w o The co ing for them, b honestly say ls sh o o h g n n a sc c n. I challe te of inspired cal high much fu ry minu w 10 lo Wonderland’ time so ll enjoyed eve arch) sa 10th M roup’s ‘Alice in we a – t a th th (6 k aining G ip Wee ndish the day. nticesh orth Lancs Tr ith outla l Appre N Party w Walton-leNationa tive talents in r’s Tea m e o tt fr a H a rs ne ad their cre ion. h. Win ate a M tit e to cre stand to matc ch student. compe halleng a NLTG c innovative cake d iPads for e e th p n u ophy a and an ts took Studen table settings ed a school tr iv recipes, h School, rece Dale Hig ith perform w perience to m was our own bulous ex fa ho a w of as w ne It singers (o rt in the open air on to take pa ofessional sing in the ach Opera Tower. pr ing teacher) and to milies and d by Outre garden at Hoghton oon with fa ng te rn si vi te in af e er ay nd the oir w Su in ch ul ed s. ol tif as rm au ho gr The sc re a be tel” perfo ng on the d Act, whe sel and Gre ds picnicki us in the 3r opera “Han real frien ren’s’ chor students back into ild n ch re e th ild th ch as d Bolton ne to rt. e performed rned the gingerbrea ok place at ch as Well do to The choir a ch tu l hi p w te d Gre (some les su Hansel an who took hearsals, ditional ro ring the re perform ad gingerbread trees). children. Du choir were asked to ing ov m d an e ), th iries University dancing fa

I

I

Brindle Road Bamber Bridge Nr. Preston PR5 6RN TEL

01772 335726

uring

cased d

show e talents ek v ti a e r c We ool High sch Apprenticeship l a n o Nati

Best wishes, Tony Hill

I

Furt h even er deta t our will b ils of th e w com ebsite shared e ing o mon ver the via ths.

day

PAST STUDENT

lettings

s r a e y 0 6 g n i t celebra

Y

R O T S R E ...COV

Hansel Gretel

&

www.waltonledale.lancs.sch.uk