Weather Report Spring 2018

Weatherhead High School

WEATHER REPORT

A high performing academy providing excellence for all

Spring Term 2018

WEATHERHEAD ON A WINNING STREAK! Students Rise to the Challenge MUSIC TO THE EARS Four Year 9 students beat over 14,500 students in the Ventura Design Museum Challenge, winning a competition to design a new product for the Design Museum shop in London. Sanjita Aktar, Emma Baldwin-Quirk, Libby Evans and Shiann Smith designed an ingenious poly-propylene reusable flower pot. The girls were one of ten shortlisted teams, invited to pitch their idea to a panel of expert judges in London and attended the celebration event with Mrs Pearson. The team will take part in the product development process and launch and will eventually see their product sold in the museum shop!

Talented Year 13 musician, Marco Cavaluzzi, entered the prestigious Southport Music Festival ERH GEQI ½VWX in the Pianoforte Solo Category with his performance of Prelude in C minor by Chopin. Marco was awarded the highest mark across the competition and was delighted to perform at the winners’ celebration concert.

Honorary Secretary, Sue Dexter, commented, “Marco was a sensation last night. What a lovely young man, with such nice manners. It was a great evening, and Marco’s performance was the pinnacle! Please congratulate him from us”.

Visit the school website www.weatherheadhigh.co.uk/podcasts to listen to a recording of Marco playing his winning piece.

Winning design

SQUAD GOALS

Our Under 13, Under 16 and Under 19 Gymnastics Squads competed in the Regional Milano Gymnastics Finals achieving outstanding results!

Congratulations to Sarah Clement Evans, Emma Jones and Katie Jones (the Under 19 squad) who took 1st place in the North West and will represent the VIKMSR MR XLI REXMSREP ½REPW 8LI 9RHIV 16 squad, comprising Lauren Ayers, Ella Greaves and Ellie Gordon, and the Under 13 squad (Sydney Martingell, Molly McCleod and Maya Wilcox) placed 3rd.

Weatherhead Gymnasts

Resilience Respect Reach Reward

Jumping to Victory Congratulations to our trampolinists, who took part in the Regional Schools’ Trampolining Championships. Both the Under 15 and Under 19 squads exceeded expectations and gained outstanding results: Maylin Tsang,Year 10 - 1st place (Under 15 category) Under 15 squad - 1st (team competition) Amy Cheevers,Year 11 - 2nd place (Under 19 category) Under 19 squad - 2nd (team competition) 8LI KMVPW EYXSQEXMGEPP] UYEPM½IH JSV XLI National Zonal ½REPW where the Under 19 squad was delighted to be placed 4th.

Lucy Cook, Year 11 came 6th out of 40 competitors and Amy Cheevers placed 10th in the intermediate category - fantastic achievements amidst tough competition!

Key Dates for Your Diary Monday 16th April School opens Friday 25th May School closes for May half term Monday 4th June School opens Thursday 14th June Open Evening Friday 15th June Open Morning Monday 25th - Friday 29th June Year 10 Work Experience Week Tuesday 3rd July KS3 Awards Evening Wednesday 11th - Friday 13th July Year 7 Conway residential Thursday 19th July School closes Thursday 16th August A Level results day Thursday 23rd August GCSE results day Monday 3rd September INSET (staff only) Tuesday 4th September INSET (staff only) Wednesday 5th September School opens (Years 7 to 12 only)

Weatherhead Trampolinists

A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE Congratulations to Year 8 student, Molly Nash, who won the 11-13 age category in the Christopher Salmon Poetry Extravaganza 2018 with her poem The Last Day of June. Molly wrote the ‘memories’ themed poem and scooped first prize of £100 and had her poem printed in the winners’ anthology of poems.

Visit the school website www.weatherheadhigh.co.uk/podcasts to listen to a recording of Molly reading her winning poem.

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WEATHERHEAD ON A WINNING STREAK!

Weatherhead in the Top Ten! The Department for Education ½KYVIW VIPIEWIH EX XLI FIKMRRMRK of the year showed that when compared with schools that have similar intakes, Weatherhead students’ GCSE results are the 8th best in the country. This is a wonderful achievement VI¾IGXMRK XLI XEPIRX ERH LEVH [SVO TYX MR F] WXYHIRXW ERH XLI support of their teachers.

Drum Roll Please ….

Three of the Ventura design team also took part in the Alu D&T Challenge, which teaches students about the sustainability of aluminium, allows them to get creative, put their design skills and technical knowledge to the test. Over 100 entries were judged by a panel of industry experts and whittled HS[R XS ½REPMWXW 8LI KMVPW were delighted to win the Packaging Category with their Water Aid Filtration Crate design and were also crowned overall grand prize winners! Congratulations to Sanjita, Emma and Libby! The girls were thrilled to win an all-expenses paid trip to Milan and £1,000 worth of equipment for school!

Senior Awards Evening

Arkwright Scholarship Sixth Former, Cerys Hunter, has been recognised as one of the UK’s future leaders in Engineering at an awards ceremony in London, where she was presented with an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship. The Scholarships ensure that the most talented STEM students stay engaged in engineering by assessing scholar’s academic, practical and leadership skills in STEM through a rigorous application, examination and interview process. Cerys said, “To be awarded the scholarship means a lot to me as it opens up opportunities in Engineering. The process was hard work - the application, exam and interview were new experiences and quite daunting. However, during the experience, I realised how much Engineering means to me and how excited I am to pursue a career in Automotive Engineering. I am thankful for this opportunity and the support that Arkwright is offering.”

Year 13 student, Poppy Leigh Heron, who was awarded a scholarship last year, has recently been accepted onto the second year of the programme.

Over 170 students were recognised for their success, effort and achievements at Senior Awards Evening. Vice Chairman of Tranmere Rovers FC, Nicola Palios, gave an inspirational speech to students and the audience enjoyed Marco Cavaluzzi, performing Chopin (his winning piano piece from the Southport Music Festival), a beautiful performance by Dance Company and a TSIXV] VIEHMRK F] +EFVMIPPI +VMJ½XLW

SSLT with Nicola Palios

Sports Awards Evening Students and staff celebrated Weatherhead’s sporting successes at our annual Sports Awards Evening. With over a hundred individual students and dozens of teams recognised for their achievements in Athletics, Football, Gymnastics, Netball, Rounders, Trampolining and Volleyball and the all-important award for ‘Team of the Year’. The gymnasts opened the evening with a fantastic performance and we were delighted to welcome former England footballer, Sue Smith, to the ceremony who inspired students with her sporting achievements and was keen to congratulate our rising stars.

Sue Smith with Sports Awards winners

ACHIEVEMENTS

3

We Are the Champions!

Weatherhead was been awarded NCS Champion School Status for the third year running.

Champion School Status is awarded to schools with 45 students or more graduating from the National Citizenship Service programme. This year Weatherhead exceeded the threshold, with over 100 students taking part. The 2-4 week voluntary programme is geared towards young people aged 15 to 17 years and is designed to advance personal and social development in three phases: Adventure, Skills and Social Action.

Miss Whelan accepts the NCS Award

WIRRAL CHILDREN OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS Weatherhead staff nominated all our CLA students for the Wirral Children of Achievement Awards, celebrating achievement across all areas of their home and school lives. The students enjoyed a celebratory party night at ;EPPEWI] 8S[R ,EPP [MXL E ZMWMX JVSQ *EXLIV 'LVMWXQEW GIVXM½GEXIW SJ EGLMIZIQIRX ERH KMJX ZSYGLIVW

Going for Gold!

We are delighted to announce that we have been re-awarded Gold Artsmark which recognises how the school engages students in the Arts. The award is a culmination of 18 months hard work to achieve a number of Arts related goals including offering live theatre to students, securing external funding for music equipment, offering theatre trips to students, securing high quality practitioners to run Art, Dance, Drama and Music workshops, continuing to provide performance opportunities for all our students and introducing Podcasts to the school website of musical performance and radio broadcasts.

Young Carers Support Group Members of Weatherhead Young Carers Support Group enjoyed a Christmas lunch party to celebrate the launch of the Young Carers Awareness Campaign in school. The group have created posters to display around school, which outline the role of a young carer.

Students are working towards the National Young Carers Award which they hope to achieve during this school year with the support of Miss Brough.

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ACHIEVEMENTS

ART

VENEZIA Year 12 Art students enjoyed a memorable trip to Venice, taking in the world famous Academia Gallery, the historically important Doges Palace and the beautiful Museo Correr. The group spent time soaking up the atmosphere of the beautiful, ancient city and were able to view all of the important tourist sites by day and at night and took a gondola ride on a very chilly Canale Grande! This cultural visit gave them a fantastic opportunity to communicate in a foreign language, try new food, become more independent and explore the city. The students took hundreds of photographs and gathered visual and written information which they will use in their Personal Investigation projects (as well as buying one or two of the obligatory Carnivale masks!)

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE

SIGN OF THE TIMES The HSC department hosted a successful Makaton sign language workshop for our Level 2 and 3 Childcare students.

The group discovered the history of Makaton as a form of communication, as well as learning some basic signs, how to sign nursery rhymes and the Hungry Caterpillar story. The students thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and have since practised their new skills at Weathertots (the school’s mother and toddler group).

Students enjoy Makaton workshop

WeatherFriends Students enjoy a rainy Venice

Art Attack!

Felt making artist, Ticky Lowe, delivered a Saturday workshop to 25 pupils from local primary schools and a group of Weatherhead students. The group learnt how to lay down bundles of combed sheep’s wool and by using warm water, washing up liquid and a lot of rolling the wool back and forward (to create friction) they produced felt! The primary pupils had great fun creating amazing, colourful pieces of work. Our A Level Fine Art students helped supervise the children and also had the opportunity to create their own felt.

Mrs Woods was delighted to launch our new monthly community project, WeatherFriends. Year 13 students baked scones and prepared afternoon tea for the residents of Victoria House Care Home. The residents thoroughly enjoyed their visit to the school, talking to students and participating in a game of bingo.

Careers Fair Students in Years 9 to 13 had the opportunity to discuss future careers in Midwifery, Childcare, Counselling and working with children and adults with special educational needs. Students talked to experts about their futures, which included members of the Weatherhead Alumni, who are working in the industry or completing further studies at University, as well as local employers and employees.

SUBJECTS

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MATHS

House Points League At the start of term, Miss Routledge launched the Maths House point system. Students in Years 7 to 10 were placed in a numeracy house, IEGL SJ XLI ½ZI LSYWIW MW REQIH EJXIV E WMKRM½GERX JIQEPI ½KYVI MR XLI ½IPH SJ 1EXLW

Caroline Herschel - an astronomer, whose mathematical calculations led to the discovery of Uranus.

Mary Somerville - taught herself Maths (when women were not allowed to learn Maths) then fought for women’s rights.

Ada Lovelace - XLI [SVPH´W ½VWX GSQTYXIV TVSKVEQQIV Florence Nightingale - her statistical analysis of healthcare provision revolutionised the healthcare system and led to a huge decline in unnecessary hospital deaths.

Maryam Mirzakhani XLI ½VWX JIQEPI XS [MR the Field’s Medal, the most prestigious Maths award.

Once a fortnight during form time, students complete activities to compete for house points. It has been a close competition for the QENSVMX] SJ XLI ]IEV FYX GSRKVEXYPEXMSRW XS 6,/ 86 %)0 ERH 0/ [LS WGSSTIH TVM^IW EX 'LVMWXQEW JSV ½RMWLMRK XLI XIVQ MR XLI XST spot! Here is our latest league table and the top forms for each year group - well done to Year 10 who are leading by almost 2,000 points!

Nightingale

5,006 points

Somerville

4,973 points

Herschel

4,955 points

Lovelace

4,802 points

Mirzakhani

4,483 points

Year 7

5,387

Year 8

5,746 Year 9

5,533 Year 10

7,553

7SBU

1,127

8KML

910

9AEL

1,558 10SPO

1,653

7RHK

1,043

8AMP

829

9SFU

1,370

10LK

1,446

7SWI

980

8TR

770

9HCR

1,014

10KEV

1,164

You can keep up to date with the House League via the Maths Twitter account @WHSMaths1

BOOKS TO AFRICA A big thank you from the Maths Department to everyone who supported their charity cake sale which raised £104 to help fund their ‘Books to Africa’ project, donating old texts books to children in Africa. A special thank you to the Year 8, 9 and 10 Numeracy Leaders and Subject Ambassadors who helped to organise and run the cake sale.

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SUBJECTS

CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR COMPETITION Well done to all our winners and students who took part in the Christmas advent calendar competition! Every day during December, a Christmas themed Maths problem was posted on Twitter for students to answer correctly and win daily prizes.

Weatherhead joined thousands of schools across the UK taking part in Number Day for a mega Maths-inspired fundraiser for the NSPCC. Students were encouraged to answer Maths problems located at various locations around the school and raised £153.21.

Congratulations to the winners: Year 7 - Mia Lamb and Annie Kirkham Year 8 - Eloise Moulton and Abigail Spamer Year 9 - Aimee Morrison and Rebecca Mercer Year 10 - Ashleigh Banks and Vicky Barker Year 11 - Lucy Bufton and Ryan McFaull Number Day winners

PERFORMING ARTS

Maths Counts!

MV *YRWXSR ERH 1VW +VMJ½XLW [IVI NSMRIH F] =IEV helpers, Mithujhana Nagenthiran and India Chase, to host a Gifted and Talented event for a group of Year 5 pupils from local primary schools. The pupils split into development teams and took on the roles of Architect, Accountant, Engineer and Builder. Their aim was to plan, buy, manage, construct ‘virtual’ buildings and subsequently sell, using Maths techniques. The team who made the QSWX TVS½X [IVI E[EVHIH TVM^IW ERH IZIV]SRI VIGIMZIH GIVXM½GEXIW ERH XLSVSYKLP] IRNS]IH XLI HE]

WEATHERHEAD’S GOT TALENT After rigorous auditions of over forty acts including hoolahooping, tap dancing, ukulele and piano playing, dancing and XLI 7M\XL *SVQ FERH NYWX X[IPZI EGXW [IRX XLVSYKL XS XLI ½REP of Weatherhead’s Got Talent. Year 9 soloist Casey Burton was crowned the winner, Annie Scott (Year 7) came second and Year 10 act, ‘El Dreamo Teamo’, took third place.

Over £160 was raised through ticket sales which bought much needed supplies for Wirral Foodbank.

SUBJECTS

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Weatherhead

Sixth Form Band at Weatherhead Unplugged

Inspired by MTV Unplugged, the 1YWMG HITEVXQIRX LIPH MXW ½VWX IZIV EGSYWXMG GSYWXMG event, Weatherhead Unplugged. The theatre was transformed into a relaxed jazz club atmosphere with cabaret style seating and the stage was set!

Over 100 students including soloists, duets, GCSE and A level students, Junior Choir, Sixth Form Jazz Band and Chamber Choir came together for an outstanding night, showcasing the raw talent of our students.

Visit the school website www.weatherheadhigh.co.uk/podcasts to listen to audio recordings of the event.

TRIPS All our Performing Arts students have the opportunity to experience live theatre and performances.

Drama students were enthralled

by Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers and were captivated by the QEKRM½GIRX LSVWI TYTTIXW MR War Horse, whilst Dance students were treated to a stunning performance by leading English Dance company, Rambert and Matthew Bourne’s acclaimed adaptation of Cinderella.

Dance and Drama Workshops GCSE and A Level Dance students enjoyed a series of choreography workshops with Wirral Youth Theatre to help them prepare for their solo and group performances. GCSE students were also fortunate to work with professional dancer and choreographer, Nikki O’Hara. The students loved the workshop ERH FIRI½XXIH JVSQ LIV I\TIVX KYMHERGI ERH MRWMKLX % 0IZIP Drama students attended a masterclass with award winning writer and director, Kevin Dyer, to help them with their script writing.

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SUBJECTS

Nikki O’Hare workshop

UPCOMING DANCE EVENTS ….

NATD Dance Exams

International Day of Dance will be celebrated on Sunday 29th April.

After last year’s success, the Dance department will be celebrating with two events; a Neon Disco at lunchtime on Thursday 26th April (open to all year groups) and for the more competitive, a Dance competition on Friday 27th April. Keep your eyes peeled for audition information!

Over 40 students recently took their Grade 1 and Grade 4 NATD Contemporary Dance I\EQW ;LMPWX XLI] await their results, the girls are preparing for their +VEHI ERH +VEHI I\EQW MR XLI 7YQQIV XIVQ

PSHCE

Year 8 Rush In

Be the YOU in Yourself

As part of the PSHCE curriculum for Drugs Education, Year 8 students enjoyed a trip to the Maritime Museum to take part in Rush, a drugs awareness workshop. The day provided a non-judgemental look at the consequences of drug taking and the effects of legal and illegal substances. Students watched a specially written drama piece and explored the issues and themes with the actors through theatre workshops. The programme plays an important part in our PSHCE provision at Weatherhead and offers a great experience for our girls, with many commenting that they would visit the museum again.

Year 9 students were encouraged to think of themselves when they attended a half day well-being event. The girls attended ½ZI [SVOWLSTW SR QEREKMRK IQSXMSRW TSWMXMZI FSH] MQEKI QMRHJYPRIWW LIEPXL] IEXMRK ERH QIRXEP LIEPXL ½VWX EMH 8LI EMQ SJ the event was to develop a greater understanding of well-being and mental health, know how to use ‘self-help’ strategies, develop personal resilience and understand the impact of healthy eating on positive well-being. The girls had a great day with yoga and riding the smoothie bikes proving popular!

Year 9 enjoy the smoothie bike

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK Students across all year groups were encouraged to create antibullying slogans and design posters to celebrate Anti-Bullying Week.

SUBJECTS CAREERS

9

ATHLETICS

FOOTBALL RESULTS

Year 7 and 8 athletes attended a Sportshall indoor athletics event at Wirral Grammar School for Girls. Stand out results were: 1st place

Olivia O’Neill

Year 7 (4 laps)

Olivia O’Neill & Molly McLeod

Year 7 (8 lap relay) 1st place

Mya Wilcox

Year 7 (2 laps)

2nd place

Ellie-Mai Bibby

Year 7 (2 laps)

2nd place

Molly McLeod

Year 7 (3 laps)

3rd place

Maizy Galer

Year 8 (2 laps)

2nd place

Maizy Galer & Ava Beach

Year 8 (8 lap relay) 3rd place

Eryn Andrews, Olivia Chapman, Macy Farrell & Ellie Markey

Year 8 (1 lap relay) 3rd place

Year 7 & 8 athletes

Under 13’s Reclaim Trophy in the Tranmere Rovers League Cup The League Cup is Tranmere’s all girls’ high school competition, which this year coincided with Girls’ Football Week, which aims to double the number of female players by 2020. Our girls competed against twelve strong teams throughout the tournament and [SR XLVII SYX SJ ½ZI KEQIW MR 6SYRH -R XLI ½REPW XLI XIEQ secured three impressive wins and a draw and went on to beat Neston High School 5-0 in the U13 Tranmere Cup winners last game to reclaim the title!

FIRST ROUND Weatherhead A 4 - 0 Weatherhead A 11 - 0 Weatherhead B 4 - 0 Weatherhead B 0 - 3 Weatherhead B 1 - 2 FINALS Weatherhead Weatherhead Weatherhead Weatherhead

BADMINTON Well done to Joanne Holland, Katy Hughes, Jessica Ross and Amber Piercy who competed in the KS3 Wirral Schools’ Badminton Tournament EX XLI 3PHIVWLE[ %GEHIQ] ERH GEQI ½JXL Congratulations to Lucy Cook, Alicia Francioni, Emma Hesketh and Taylor Pumford who came fourth in the Under 16 Wirral Schools’ Badminton Tournament.

The Autumn term interform football competition brought out the competitive spirit amongst students and their form tutors!

Teams from each year group competed to win the coveted title of Interform Football Champions. Congratulations to the 2017 winners for each year group: 7SAN

8KCL/PGR

9SFU

10SPO

11API

Year 8 winners

Year 9 winners

CROSS COUNTRY

10 SPORT

5 - 0 Bebington High Sports College 2 - 0 Wirral Grammar School for Girls 0 - 0 Neston High School 5 - 0 Neston

INTERFORM FOOTBALL

U16 Badminton Squad

Congratulations to Jenny Ryan in Year 7 who GEQI ½VWX MR XLI Wirral Cross Country Trials to represent Wirral in the Merseyside Cross Country Championships, where WLI ½RMWLIH MR XLI XST ½ZI EX E VIGIRX QIIX MR Calderstones Park.

West Kirby Grammar School B Hilbre High School Ellesmere Port Catholic High School West Kirby Grammar School A Neston High School A

Year 10 winners

SCHOOLS’ NATIONAL CUP UNDER 12’S Round 2 Weatherhead 10 - 0 Blacon High School

UNDER 13’S Round 1 Conceded Round 2 Weatherhead 7 - 0 Blacon High School Round 3 Weatherhead 5 - 4 Great Sankey High School Round 4 Weatherhead 5 - 1 All Saints Catholic High School Round 5 Weatherhead 7 - 6 Castlebrook High School Round 6 Weatherhead 2 - 1 St. Benedict’s Catholic High School

U13 squad

UNDER 14’S Round 2 Weatherhead 5 - 2 Rainhill High School Round 4 Weatherhead 2 - 0 Maricourt Catholic High School Round 6 Weatherhead 3 - 2 Thomas Telford School (penalties) Round 7 Weatherhead 3 - 0 St. Ivo School (Quarter Finals)

UNDER 15’S Round 1 Conceded Round 3 Weatherhead High School 4 - 4 Ormskirk School 9 WUYEH EX XLI UYEVXIV ½REPW

UNDER 16’S Round 1 Weatherhead 8 - 0 Cowley International College Round 3 Weatherhead 1 - 0 Woodhey High School

UNDER 18’S Round 1 Weatherhead 1 - 2 Ormskirk School

U15 squad

U18 squad

U16 squad

SPORT 11

NETBALL RESULTS WEATHERHEAD YEAR 7 2 - 3 St. John Plessington Catholic College Player of the Match: Sophie Kilbane WEATHERHEAD YEAR 7 5 - 5 Woodchurch High School Players of the Match: Ruby Betteridge and Jenny Ryan WEATHERHEAD YEAR 8 24 - 2 Woodchurch High School Player of the Match: Jen Neilson

WEATHERHEAD YEAR 8 10 - 4 St. John Plessington Catholic College Player of the Match: Elisha Harrison WEATHERHEAD YEAR 8 8 - 1 Woodchurch High School Player of the Match: Macy Brown

Year 7 & 8 Netballers

WEATHERHEAD YEAR 7 & 8 19 - 3 Birkenhead Park School Players of the Match: Jenny Ryan (Year 7) and Zoe Hughes (Year 8) WEATHERHEAD YEAR 9 9 - 15 Woodchurch High School Player of the Match: Jena Williams WEATHERHEAD YEAR 10 16 - 21 Woodchurch High School Players of the Match: Melissa Molyneux and Alicia Francioni WEATHERHEAD YEAR 10 13 - 20 Woodchurch High School Player of the Match: Bethan Gill

Year 8 Netball squad

WEATHERHEAD YEAR 10 & 11 6 - 1 Woodchurch High School WEATHERHEAD YEAR 11 24 - 2 Woodchurch High School Player of the Match: Emily Harding WEATHERHEAD UNDER 16 7 - 21 West Kirby Grammar School Player of the Match: Millie Jones WIRRAL NETBALL FESTIVAL (YEAR 8) Weatherhead 4 - 1 Woodchurch High School Weatherhead 0 - 7 West Kirby Grammar School

Year 9 Netball squad

Year 10 Netball squad Year 10 & 11 Netballers

12 SPORT

NETBALL RESULTS WIRRAL GRAMMAR NETBALL TOURNAMENT (YEAR 8 & 9) Weatherhead 2 - 2 Birkenhead Park School A Weatherhead 5 - 0 Birkenhead Park School B Weatherhead 1 - 1 Birkenhead High School Academy Weatherhead 1 - 5 Wirral Grammar Player of the Tournament: Jen Neilson Players’ Player: Jess Boote

WIRRAL SCHOOLS’ NETBALL TOURNAMENT (YEAR 7 & 8) Weatherhead 5 - 2 Wirral Grammar B

Year 7-11 Netballers

Weatherhead 6 - 0 Plessington High School Weatherhead 6 - 4 Birkenhead High School Academy Weatherhead 4 - 4 Birkenhead School Weatherhead 4 - 4 Wirral Grammar C Weatherhead 3 - 3 Upton Hall School Weatherhead 0 - 11 Wirral Grammar A Players of the Tournament: Alicia Evans and Elisha Harrison

NETBALL SUPER LEAGUE Our Netball squads had the opportunity to watch a Netball Super League match in Manchester. The girls enjoyed the fast paced game and were delighted to meet players Kathryn Turner and Sophie Morgan from Manchester Thunder.

Netballers meet Super League players

VOLLEYBALL Three Weatherhead teams with students from Years 7 - 12, competed in a ‘round robin’ tournament against Hilbre High School and came 1st, 3rd and 5th. The winning team comprised Jess Boote, Alisha Gibson, Jess Ross and Georgia Williams.

The tournament was a great experience for some of our girls who had never represented the school in sport before.

SPORT 13

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD SCHEME Weatherhead’s Duke of Edinburgh programme continues to go from strength to strength. There are currently 132 students working towards their Bronze Award, 46 are enrolled on the Silver programme and an impressive 15 students are working towards their Gold Award. A reminder of the expedition dates in the Spring term: Bronze - GROUP A Training

Corwen, North Wales

21st - 22nd April

Bronze - GROUP A Assessment

Loggerheads, North Wales

16th - 17th June

Bronze - GROUP B Training

Corwen, North Wales

12th - 13th May

Bronze - GROUP B Assessment

Loggerheads, North Wales

7th - 8th July

Silver Training

Settle

4th - 7th May

Silver Assessment

Kettlewell

25th - 28th May

Gold Training

Kettlewell

25th - 29th May

Gold Assessment

Llanberis, Snowdonia

17th - 21st July

In January, we launched radio ‘podcasts’ on the school website.

Friday lunchtime shows are recorded and uploaded on a monthly basis as well as recordings of the choir and musicians at Weatherhead Unplugged, the Winter Warmer, poetry readings and other musical performances.

Visit the school website www.weatherheadhigh.co.uk/podcasts to listen.

Students Get Active The Active Playground hut continues to be popular at lunchtimes, offering students the loan of sports equipment, encouraging them to keep active, during their lunch hour. Current favourites include swing ball, the giant parachute, the new table tennis tables and basketball.

14 EXTRA CURRICULAR

SIXTH FORM SUCCESS MMWW &]VRI ERH XLI 7M\XL *SVQ XIEQ EVI TVSYH SJ EPP SYV WXYHIRXW´ EGLMIZIQIRXW Congratulations to Marco Cavaluzzi on his winning performance at the Southport Music Festival, bravo to Elisha Tompkins for completing her 2YJ½IPH *SYRHEXMSR research project, well done to Cerys Hunter and Poppy-Leigh Heron for being awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship. More congratulations to Katy Barham on completing the CUSU Shadowing Scheme 6SWMI ,YKLIW´ WYGGIWWJYP [SVO I\TIVMIRGI EX Grant Thornton and to the Year 12 Scholars who participated in a Cambridge University project at Edge Hill University. Finally, well done to Drama students, Ruby Tuft and Cameron Bentley-Jones, who starred in a recent production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Little Theatre. Cameron was part of the main cast, whilst Ruby took one of the lead roles.

Former Head Girl Secures Place at Cambridge Congratulations to former Head Girl, Jade Franks, on securing a place at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge to study Education with English, Drama and the Arts. After gaining A*AA in her A levels in 2015, Jade opted to take a gap year.

“I went straight into the world of work, while continuing to pursue my love for theatre and writing in my spare time. My gap year quickly turned into three; I spent time travelling, working in universities in LA and Boston and auditioning for drama schools. Working in the education sector made me consider university; Cambridge was the only university offering Education with Drama, English and the Arts. I applied on a whim, had three interviews, plus an exam and I got an unconditional offer. I am still in shock and can’t quite believe it; I would like to thank all the teachers at Weatherhead who work so hard, especially those who encouraged and supported me during my time there. If I were to give any advice to students it would be to not feel any pressure to do what everyone else is doing. University isn’t for everyone, sometimes you RIIH XMQI XS ½KYVI SYX [LEX MX MW ]SY [ERX XS HS FYX MX´W MQTSVXERX XS KIX KSSH KVEHIW WS XLEX as many doors remain open in the future as possible.”

A STROKE OF LUCK! Talented Year 13 swimmers, Tori Sopp and Elliott Pickford, have had a very successful season with Wirral Metro %X XLI ½REP QIIX SJ XLI Cheshire Championships, Elliot won three golds, two silvers and two FVSR^I QIHEPW [LMPWX 8SVM ½RMWLIH third in the female points table, after collecting three golds and two silvers. Both swimmers train before school three days a week, as well as after school and at the weekend, which has ensured that Elliot UYEPM½IH JSV XLI )RKPMWL 2EXMSREPW and Tori for the British Nationals putting them amongst the top 20 in the country! Elliott has been offered a scholarship at Manchester University to study Sport and Exercise Science and Tori will be concentrating on her swimming fulltime after her A levels and working towards the Olympic trials.

Headteacher Miss Whelan said, “One of the best parts of our job is when a student returns to Weatherhead and tells us what they have been up to. It was so lovely to see Jade and to hear her wonderful news of gaining a place to study at Cambridge.” Jade is keen to stay in contact, to share her journey and support our current students.

We love to hear from all our ex-students so please keep in touch using the contact us page, our Facebook and Twitter pages or visit our Alumni page.

STUDENT SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM The SSLT have had a busy term, making their presence known around school and taking their leadership roles seriously. As well as speaking at Senior Awards and Sports Awards Evening, engaging with guest speakers and taking on lunch duties, they have found time to help organise charity events (including the Halloween disco) and present to whole year groups in assemblies.

SIXTH FORM 15

TEENS TAKEOVER! A dozen Year 12 students spent two months planning to take over the Lady Lever Art Gallery for a day with free, fun family activities. The group created a Murder 1]WXIV] XSYV [VSXI WGVMTXW JSV E JEMV]XEPI ³¾EWL´ performance, coordinated an 18th century WIP½I FSSXL ERH VER X[S EGXMZMX] [SVOWLSTW [MXL families, to create their own periscope cameras.

Students also read poetry, performed dances and played a piano solo. The day was a huge success with over 100 children and parents taking part.

One parent commented, “Weatherhead students were outstanding today at Lady Lever. We attended a camera workshop run by the students, they were amazing; so helpful, polite, hardworking and friendly. Absolute bowled over by their positive energy, enthusiasm and attitudes.

We loved you!” 10 of the students are now working towards their Silver Arts Award.

PINK DAY Pink Day tipped the £1,100 mark, raising funds for local breast cancer charities with a lunchtime show organised by Health & Social Care students, a cake sale and the sale of pink bands. Staff and students were encouraged to dress in pink for the day and there was stiff competition between Year 12 and 13 for the best decorated common room!

The money raised was donated to Wirral Breast Cancer Nurses and the Wirral Breast Unit.

16 SIXTH FORM

‘TIS THE SEASON …

SM\XL *SVQIVW PIH XLI [E] JSV XLMW ]IEV´W 'LVMWXQEW .YQTIV (E] XS VEMWI E[EVIRIWW SJ XLI [SVO SJ the NSPCC. Staff and students were encouraged to get into the Christmas spirit on the last day of term, wearing Christmas jumpers and accessories. Continuing to strengthen our links with AgeUK Wirral, students visited the Devonshire Centre (which offers WYTTSVX XS HIQIRXME TEXMIRXW ERH XLIMV JEQMPMIW XS NSMR MR XLI JIWXMZMXMIW [MXL VIWMHIRXW 8LI 7M\XL *SVQ XIEQ SVKERMWIH ER evening of bowling and a trip to see Cinderella at the Liverpool Empire which starred one of our student’s Dad, as Buttons!

Students visit the Devonshire Centre

EXTRA TIME The Sixth Form boys’ football team played friendly matches last term against Calday, Hilbre, Mosslands and South Wirral with some excellent performances. Despite a couple of early losses and a draw, the team ended the term on a high with a win against South Wirral which could be conducive to their new kit! The team are looking forward to taking part in an Under 19 Wirral schools’ tournament next term hosted by Birkenhead Sixth Form College.

SIXTH FORM 17

Author Week

Holly Smale

Weatherhead hosted another fantastic Author Week event, with three amazing visiting authors! Holly Smale shared her inspiration behind the incredibly popular Geek Girl series and showed us how bad experiences can be turned into brilliant opportunities. The lovely Patrice Lawrence (author of Orangeboy and Indigo Donut) joined Year 7 and 8 classes, talkingg about her life and sharing writing tips. Lastly, musician-turned-author Chris is Russell (author of Songs About A Girl) passed on his advice about achieving ng your dreams. Sadly, the legendary Frank Cottrell Boyce was unable to visit, but we hope to welcome him to school next term to tell us all EFSYX LMW EQE^MRK [VMXMRK GEVIIV [LMGL WTERW QER] FSSOW ½PQW XIPIZMWMSR R episodes and the Olympics opening ceremony. Students from all year groups had the opportunity to meet the authors, ask questions and havee their books signed as queues snaked around the LRC at lunchtimes. The authors’ books proved popular as ever, securing their place on the top ten borrowed books list with over 200 copies sold during the week.

LRC Manager, Miss Grainger, said, “Author Week may have been a bit shorter than usual, but it more than made up for it with fabulous visits from three amazing and inspirational writers! It’s been great to see so many of the authors’ books in reading lessons and to hear from so many students about how fun and motivational they found the sessions with Holly, Patrice and Chris.”

Patrice Lawrence

Harry Potter Night Weatherhead went wild for Harry Potter night, with a visit from some I\SXMG ERMQEPW ERH [SRHIVJYP QSRWXIV GVEJXW ½XXMRK MR TIVJIGXP] [MXL XLI ‘fantastic beasts’ theme. Over seventy excited students were sorted into Hogwarts houses and met some fantastic beasts from Animals Take Over including a spiky bearded dragon, slithering snake, terrifying tarantula, amazing owl and adorable sugar gliders. Students created their own Monster Book of Monsters sticky note holders, enjoyed a traditional Hogwarts feast and took part in a Harry Potter quiz, which was won by the “Mimble Wimble” team, who scored an impressive 100%. The big winners of the night were Ravenclaw, with the highest quiz score and the SJ½GMEP [MRRIVW SJ SYV ZIV] S[R Hogwarts House Cup!

18 LRC

World Book Day English staff dress up for WBD

Twenty four pupils from Greenleas Primary School visited the LRC on World Book Day to take part in exciting and creative literacy based activities. The children were treated to a reading from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by Miss Grainger who was dressed as Fluffy, the three headed dog!

They loved creating stories using an app, designed their own ‘fantastic beasts’, created book covers and completed Roald Dahl and Harry Potter themed cross words and word searches.

The LRC was packed at lunchtime with Year 7 and 8 students, who were invited to celebrate the day with fun book themed games and activities. The girls particularly IRNS]IH QEXGLMRK ½GXMSREP GLEVEGXIVW XS their correct literary work and guessing the correct characters of the English department who surpassed themselves with their costumes, ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Humpty Dumpty!

LRC 19

Competition Winners

Author Week winner

The LRC writing and drawing competitions are proving more popular than ever with hundreds of entries for the Halloween, Author Week, Christmas and Harry Potter themed competitions.

Halloween Spooktacular (Writing) Winner: Rebecca Rigg 7SHY Runners Up: Freya Crisp 9JWI, Jessica Hardman 8JG and Alice Mathieu 10LK

Halloween Spooktacular (Drawing) Winner: Arwen-Jayne Wallace 9RHN Runners Up: Juliana Birkby 7JRY, Bethany Byrne 7JRY and Lucy Dutton 7SBU

Author Week (Writing) Winner: Molly Nash 8AMR Runners Up: Sadiah Begum 7JRY, Eve Cameron 8KML, Jess Dutton 9AEL and Abi Veste 7EMS. Special Commendations: Emily Edwards 7SBU, Holly Ellis 7SBU, Emilia Grzeszczak 7KCH and Sophie Ireland 8TP.

Christmas winners

Author Week (Drawing) Winner: Romy Ward 9RHN Runners Up: Freya Beresford 7JRY, Lillie-Mae Foster 7SBU, Aaleyah Hussain 7SAN, Olivia McGuinness 8KCL/PGR, Lucy Smith 7SWI and Lydia Swift 8AMR.

Christmas (Writing) Winner: Arwen-Jayne Wallace 9RHN Runners Up: Sadiah Begum 7JRY, Olivia Harvey 7KCH, Imogen Nicholls 7STH and Jahida Parvin 8AMR. Special Commendations: Molly Astbury 7JRY, Lola Bradley 7JRY, Emma Dacosta 9AEL, Emily Dixon 8PCO, Alanah-Mae Rycroft 8SHO and Emily Taylor 7SWI.

Christmas (Drawing) Winner: Emi Henshaw 7KCH Runners Up: Katie Berry 8AMP and Erin Thomas 8RCO.

20 LRC

Fantastic Beast winner

REACHING HIGHER A group of Year 12 students participated in a three month long project orchestrated by Cambridge University. Working alongside other students, they produced a 20 minute presentation, which they presented to a group of academics. The girls studied a range of topics from insectoid-borne diseases to the nature of time.

OXBRIDGE ADMISSIONS Weatherhead played host to a number of Wirral schools and a Cambridge Admissions Adviser who came to talk to Year 12 students about the admissions process. Sandy Mill, from Magdalene College I\TPEMRIH XLI MRXVMGEGMIW SJ ETTP]MRK XS 3\JSVH ERH 'EQFVMHKI and the virtues of aspiring to higher education and how best to get there.

STUDENTS GET PSYCHED! Budding Year 10 Psychologists spent time working with a Psychology postgraduate from the University of Newcastle to learn more about the brain and human behaviour. The girls completed a number of challenges testing their memory, their powers of observation and assessing whether they were psychopaths! The session was extremely well received, with the group asking some intriguing questions and discovering more about an academic area which many of them hope to pursue in the future.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS Year 12 student, Katy Barham, joined hundreds of students from across the country to experience the Cambridge Shadowing Scheme.

Katy spent three days in Cambridge, shadowing undergraduates, experiencing lectures and generally soaking up student life. Katy really enjoyed the experience and has since decided to apply to Oxford to study History.

NUFFIELD BURSARY PRESENTATION EVENING For the last twelve months, Year 13 student Elisha Tompkins has worked with academics and professionals to produce a Chemistry research project, under the umbrella of XLI 2YJ½IPH Foundation. The foundation provides bursaries to budding Scientists to carry out research and pairs them up with leading scientists in the academic and private sectors. Elisha presented LIV ½RHMRKW EX XLI University of Liverpool before Christmas. A number of our aspiring Year 12 students attended the evening, some of whom have now applied to participate in the scheme MR ½IPHW VERKMRK JVSQ I\TIVMQIRXEP 4W]GLSPSK] XS 'LIQMGEP )RKMRIIVMRK

G&T 21

WORLD OF WORK

Year 7 World of Work event

Year 7 students enjoyed a World of Work event organised in conjunction with Wirral Young Chamber.

The carousel style event encouraged the girls to think about their future, possible careers, how to conduct themselves in an interview, what to wear for work and how to respond to interview questions, as well as other useful information to support employment.

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1. Miss Smith, Guidance Coordinator, conducts regular career interviews and gives advice to students about University course, careers paths and apprenticeships.

2. Year 12 students took part in the BIMA Digital Day designing and pitching ideas to industry experts on Anti-Bullying and Fashion, utilising technology and digital media.

3. Students experienced a taster day at Liverpool John Moores University.

4. Year 9 enjoyed a presentation promoting Computer Science as a career path.

5. Alex from Wirral Young Chamber spoke to students about the Travel and Tourism industry.

6. Keith and Bernice from Wirral Evolutions shared their knowledge of the HSC industry.

22 HIGHER EDUCATION & CAREERS

Grant Thornton W ork Experience Diar y by Rosie H ughes, Year 13 Monday 23/10/17

Introduction to wo rk experience and assigned a mento week. Tax, audit an r for the d advisor y emplo yees gave an over the different parts view of of accountancy. En joyed an introduct ‘personal brand’ ion to what it is, why it is important, how we can improve our personal brand to be successful in bu siness.

Tuesday 24/10/17

Introduction to au dit and tax to unde rstand the day-to ethics of auditing, -day life of an audit what materiality is or. Presentation on and how this can ½RERGMEP WXEXIQIR the affect the accuracy XW XLI HMJJIVIRX X]T and cause errors IW SJ EYHMX TYFPMG W what tax evasion in IG XSV EYHMX ERH GSQ and tax avoidance QIVGMEP EYHMX (MWG are, why it happen session on audit an YWWIH s and what it mea d tax which involve ns for companies. d hands on work TVSHYGMRK JSVQEP Practical evaluating a busin ½KYVIW ERH HSGYQ ess’ accounts and IRXW

Wednesday 25/10 /

17

Took part in a grou p project to deve lop negotiating an WIWWMSR SR EHZMWSV d team-wor k skills ] TVSHYGIH FVMI½R . Presentation and K TETIV JSV XLI FYW practical MRIWW [I WXYHMIH T VIZMSYWP] SR XE\ ER H EYHMX

Thursday 26/10/ 17

Day to prepare pr esentation for Frida y to a panel of Gra given relevant docu nt Thornton partne ments including a rs and manager s an set of business ac run in front of the d counts. After rehe people we had be ar sing all day, did a en working with all adjusted presenta practice week, received fee tion. My role was dback, developed to carr y out press business, what it wo and searches and analy uld mean for them se ar ticles based on to work with Gra th e nt Thornton as th eir accountants.

Friday 27/10/17

4VIWIRXEXMSR HE] 8VEZIPPIH XS XLI 1 ERGLIWXIV SJ½GI EX presentation appe XIRHIH E WIWWMSR S aling and what is im R LS[ XS QEOI E portant when pres We presented an enting. Used the re d the panel loved st of the day to pr it! complementing us good eye contact). epare. on our presenting Watched the othe sk ills (clearly spoken r pr esentations, went - concluding our fan , out for tea and he tastic week! aded back to Liver pool

BUSINESS MENTORS In conjunction with the Careers and Enterprise Company and Wirral Young Chamber, Weatherhead has been allocated four female Business Mentors who are working with a cohort of Year 8 students in order to inspire young females and encourage them to be ambitious when it comes to career planning. The mentors visit school each month, which will eventually culminate in a visit to the mentor’s place of work at the end of the programme. We are delighted to be working with Sally Anne Rogers from the Contact Company, Beth Pugh from North West Systems, Dionne Thomas and former Weatherhead student, Georgia Flynn, from Hi Impact.

HIGHER EDUCATION & CAREERS 23

CHRISTMAS 1.

December was a busy time with the PTF Christmas Craft Fair (1), Year 7 Christmas present appeal delivering over 180 presents to residents in local care homes (2) and Christmas concert at Mariners’ Park Care Home (3).

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CHARITY

Students wore spots for Pudsey and raised over £600 (1), Staff raised almost £300 taking part in Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning (2), Mrs Moretta coordinated ‘Toiletries for Teens’, donating boxes of essential toiletries to the Wirral Foodbank before Christmas (3), Ticket sales for the Weatherhead’s Got 8EPIRX ½REP VEMWIH [LMGL [EW YWIH XS FY] IWWIRXMEP KSSHW HSREXIH XS XLI JSSHFERO MR .ERYEV]

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Miss Evans and thirteen students, who have signed up to the next World Challenge expedition in July 2019, had a busy term raising essential funds for their trip with cake sales, guess the number of sweets in the jar, a Christmas gift wrapping service, a Christmas party for Year 7, a tombola at the Christmas Fair and refreshments at the Christmas concert.

Weatherhead High School Breck Road, Wallasey, Wirral CH44 3HS Tel: 0151 631 4400 Fax: 0151 637 1805 Email: admin@weatherheadhigh.co.uk Website: www.weatherheadhigh.co.uk