Life in the Junior School

Do you know your Tyrannosaurus from your Triceratops? Reception certainly do! Returning to the classroom after the Christmas break, they were greeted by a new dinosaur den which they have had lots of fun playing in.

Plenty of dinosaur-themed learning activities followed as the children enjoyed learning all about prehistoric reptiles. They drew pictures and discussed their favourite parts of The Dirty Great Dinosaur by Martin Waddell, which they found very funny in places.

Year 1 Artists

In Art this term, Year 1 have studied the works of Italian artist, Arcimboldo, and French artists Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse. They learnt lots of facts about each artist including about their life growing up, early influences and the style of art they eventually became famous for producing.

Life as a Roman

Then it was time to plan their own dinosaur adventure stories by setting up new scenes with their small dinosaur figurines. With the help of their dinosaur friends Reception also learnt lots of adjectives such as bumpy, scaly, noisy, and long – well done everyone!

Year 3 have thoroughly enjoyed their Humanities studies this term and are now experts on all things Roman! The children discovered how life in Britain changed considerably as the Romans established trading routes and eventually invaded and stayed in Britain. Life in Britain underwent considerable change as the Romans set up housing and a very successful army. Year 3 studied lots of different aspects of life creating mosaics, enjoying a Roman feast and learning about the many Roman gods and goddesses that were worshipped.

The term’s highlight was the day Titus, a Roman Centurion, visited the Junior School. The children were able to try on pieces of Roman armour and handle some weapons and artefacts. They were also instructed how to go into battle and tried out several of the battle formations using shields to create different formations to fend off the enemy.

Year 2 on Safari

A visit to West Midlands Safari Park provided a wonderful conclusion to our Spring term learning. Throughout the term, Year 2 had been studying Kenya and Africa in their topic work and art studies, as well as writing about animals in their non-fiction writing. Tour guide Adam was impressed with the facts that the children could recall as he took them on a guided coach tour of the park. The children learnt all manner of fascinating facts including the fact that all the new animals born in the park in a given year have a name with the same initial letter.

In 2023 this is the letter L, and sure enough a baby zebra born the day after the WGJS visit, was named Lola.

Lily was wondering if any might share her name in the future!

In the afternoon the children had the chance to get up, close and personal with meerkats, lemurs and penguins before watching a sea lion show - the clear highlight of the day.

Mrs D’Arcy was most impressed with the lovely pieces created by the children in the style of each artist – from pictures made with natural materials to still life using watercolours and Matisse-inspired fruit collages our Year 1 artists have a fantastic gallery of work to look back on this term.

River study

Year 4 have produced some fantastic river models in their Humanities lessons. They used card to build the river, painted it and then labelled the key features. They then carried out their own research before writing a nonchronological report on a chosen river, including the Nile, the Ganges and the Amazon. To end their topic the children were tasked with designing their own flood-proof home and came up with some fantastic designs!

Mars Bar Tectonics

Following on from their super presentations on natural disasters, Year 5 have been discussing the layers of the earth. They were very focused when they heard that they were going to be using chocolate to help them learn about tectonic plates! Working in groups the children created slides to show the three different movements: convergent, divergent and transverse/conservative with the visual aid of oozing mars bars!

Turn over to read about Year 6’s adventures in Arthog...

Year 6 Adventures in Arthog

At the end of January, Year 6 enjoyed an action-packed few days in Arthog, Wales. Their teamwork skills were tested to the limits and the many challenging activities such as gorge walking and orienteering provided some wonderful adventures.

After tucking into a filling breakfast, the groups were split into underground mining, canoeing, gorge walking and hiking for the first full day of activities.

Mr Palmer’s group scrambled energetically up the floors within an old slate mine, ate lunch by candlelight and found out about the history of the slate industry before emerging at the top of Wrysgan mine, then hiking back down to the minibus.

Burgers and curry to cater to all tastes were wolfed down at dinner before the last activity of the day – the night line –which allowed students the opportunity to show their leadership skills.

After a winding journey and plenty of ‘ooohs’ and ‘aahhhs’ at the beautiful Welsh scenery, Year 6 arrived at Arthog Centre just before 1pm. The children soon knuckled down to the hard task of making beds – not as easy on a top bunk as some found out – their first foray into teamwork!

The first day’s activities ranged from balance games in the rope area, to rope swing group work and a quick walk to the beach. A hearty dinner was followed by a lovely night-time walk along the Fairbourne railway.

Meanwhile, the other groups both had a wonderful time gorge walking and canoeing – two perennial favourites. The gorge provided its usual thrills and spills of freezing water in wellies and culminated in the infamous ‘gorge splash’. Canoeing on the lake was great fun; ball games and races were enjoyed and no matter what the boys say – Mrs Jones won the race!

Miss Gibbons’ group loved their hike over the ‘dragon’s back’ hill of Pared y Cefn Hir with lunch inside a temporary shelter, before making a bushfire and finishing off the day with some beach dune scrambling.

‘Wacky Wednesday’ as the instructors now refer to it, saw the children starting to get a little tired from the challenging activities and later nights. However the day was still as action-packed as any other. The grey, slate town of Blaenau Ffestiniog is well known for its slate mines and two groups went into the Wrsygan mine.

Miss Gibbons’ and Mr Palmer’s groups ventured to a beach slightly further away with excellent ‘slab’ type rocks for scrambling and climbing. The students enjoyed finding crab claws, as well as trying the challenging harnessed climbs as the waves crashed into the shore just metres away.

The evening’s activity was a quieter one: a fun, mini orienteering exercise around the centre, which tired legs, minds and bodies hugely appreciated!

On the last full day Miss Gibbons’, Mr Cothey’s and Mr Palmer’s groups finally got round to the canoeing and gorge walking activities. Canoeing was tricky, with the wind determined to blow everyone onto the far side of the lake. Gorge walking, as ever was exhilarating with some brave souls fully submerging after the mini natural water slide.

Climbing on the beach with Ms Guidotti’s group allowed the opportunity to scale a large rock slab and attempt some ‘weasling’ through boulders which provided some hilarity.

Mrs Jones’ group ventured a little higher into the wind for their climb, with some children proving that scaling the heights in the cold was very much their cup of tea.

In the evening, leader Jay, a legendary storyteller, regaled the children with the story of the Welsh faerie folk under the waterfalls of a Cadair Idris, followed by Abraham Wood’s travellers’ tale of poor old Jack the farmer. It was a wonderful end to a busy week.

Volunteering in Morocco

Following our successful return to overseas trips in the Autumn term, we were pleased to run two more trips this half-term – a welcome return to the ski slopes in Austria and a brand-new volunteering opportunity in Morocco.

The exciting Moroccan link was forged by French-speaking Head, Alex Frazer on a recent visit to meet with Saâd Baddou of Association Aghbalou, an educational charity, and staff at L’École de Douar Shib, a primary school 15 miles outside Marrakech.

Normale Supérieure de Marrakech (part of the Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech) who are currently studying for teaching degrees; they helped them by translating in Arabic and French when communication barriers arose.

It is believed that this is the first time that anyone has brought school students from overseas to teach and as a result the project attracted the interest of the Moroccan Education Minister and local press. We felt very privileged to be a part of the work that is being sponsored by Association Aghbalou to embed additional educational programmes in the school. Investment has already benefited L’École de Douar Shib with better classroom and playground facilities and our visit was also to serve as good publicity for the inspiring work that is happening there which is certain to have a measurable impact on pupils’ academic and pastoral development.

Ski Trip to Obertauern

Ten eager Lower Sixth students were quick to sign up for this once in a lifetime experience and began six weeks of training with Mrs Grigat-Bradley, learning useful teaching skills to equip them for the classroom. Arriving in Morocco, they enjoyed a day of acclimatisation and cultural activities before beginning their programme of teaching. This consisted of three hours of English tuition every morning with other subjects such as Art, Music and Sport taught in the afternoon. Students were supported by students from L’École

Maisie, who is interested in becoming a teacher, found her interests in education were furthered by her time in Morocco and shared her experience: “The children in my class didn’t speak any English but they were able to learn from us and start using words and phrases both inside and outside the classroom. It was rewarding to see the growth in their use of language by the end of the week. It has certainly made me even more determined to pursue a career in teaching.”

This life-changing opportunity has made a truly memorable impression on all the students involved and we look forward to continuing this partnership and seeing many more students benefit from these visits.

Early on a Saturday morning a group of 41 students and six staff, set off to Obertauern for a week’s skiing and other fun activities. After a day of travelling, a warm welcome greeted the group who then set off to explore their rooms before enjoying a traditional Austrian meal.

A fantastic week of skiing was enjoyed by all, with great conditions despite some unusually warm weather. With four ski instructors assigned to the party, there was something to suit everyone based on experience and skill level. Everyone made excellent progress during their four hours of lessons each day. Both beginners’ groups were skiing all the way down the mountain by the end of the week, and the intermediate and advanced groups tackled many of the harder black slopes on offer at Obertauern.

Après-ski was equally enjoyable with plenty of fun activities arranged for the evenings. The first night was spent bum boarding before enjoying hot chocolate under the stars. Other activities during the week included a quiz and fun challenges and activities in the hotel, a pizza night in a local village where students made their own individual pizza, sports games, bowling and the standout favourite – a visit to the local water park.

On the final day there was just time for a four-mile hike to a local café to enjoy a hot chocolate before catching the coach to the airport.

Skiing was obviously the highlight, but the combination of all the evenings’ activities made for a wonderful trip which was enjoyed by all and will be fondly remembered for a long time. All the instructors, and several members of the hotel, commented on the politeness and thoughtfulness of all of our students, which we were very proud to hear.

Art at WGS

This term our WGS artists have been treated to some fantastic opportunities to meet with professional artists. Jamie Millichamp (2019 OW) delivered a Zine workshop with students from across the Senior School. A Zine is similar to a magazine but with a difference - Zines are usually self-published by the writer/ artist/creator rather than commercially sold. They are a collection of images and text, sometimes as a collage, and can be photocopied to make distribution easier. Students explored what a Zine is and how to make one from a single sheet of paper!

Towards the end of term, award-winning contemporary British Portrait Painter, Jane French ran an oil portrait painting workshop over in the Art Studio for our Sixth Form artists. They also benefited from her guidance on the portraits they would be including in their A Level portfolios.

Our Sixth Form Viner Society students led Year 10 artists to select a theme and develop their idea using their chosen materials. They worked as individuals and in small groups to independently create three-dimensional works. Each piece reflects a subject that was important to them, with work showcasing concepts linked to relationships and the environment. Students’ work will be exhibited as part of a regional project at Newhampton Arts Centre.

Photography Trip

At the beginning of March, WGS artists met artist Tom Hicks to learn about his ongoing urban photography project, ‘Black Country Type’ which focuses on words and typography within the post-industrial Black Country landscape. Tom took the students on a short photo walk around the city to capture their own photos. A selection of the work produced will be displayed at Wolverhampton Art Gallery this summer.

Building on traditional Fine Art skills, our own Viner Gallery opened its doors with a Lower Sixth Exhibition combining soft pastel, oil paint and sculpture to explore a diverse range of themes and subject matter from Shakespeare to Horror cinematography.

The Art Department are now busy preparing for the annual Summer Show on Saturday 1st July which traditionally brings together the final pieces of art produced by our A Level and GCSE students. The large scale A Level pieces are all individually hung from the roof of the Hutton Theatre, providing an extraordinary setting for some truly exceptional pieces of work. GCSE student work will be displayed in the spacious Viner Gallery.

Congratulations to all our artists!

U11 Boys on Top Form

Our U11 boys’ football team have continued to enjoy an incredibly successful season following their win at the Plate Competition at the IAPS Nationals in November.

On Wednesday 18th January, they won the Cup at the annual Matty Thacker Football tournament at Winterfold School. Over the course of the day, the team were victorious in all eight of their games, keeping a clean sheet. Their outstanding team performance led to qualification for the Cup Competition which they proceeded to win 5-0 with a thoroughly dominant display in the final.

Following on from this success they went on to win the ISFA Seven-a-Side Midlands competition. The major tournament, hosted by Repton School, saw 13 teams from across the region battle it out to become Midlands Champions. The teams were split into two groups, with the WGJS team facing high quality opposition including RGS The Grange, The Blue Coat School, King’s St Alban’s, The Elms, and Leicester Grammar School.

After winning three of their group matches and narrowly losing one, the team needed to win their final match against RGS The Grange to qualify for the semi-finals. It was an incredibly tense game, but WGS managed to come from 1-0 behind to win 2-1; with thanks to Ted who scored a fantastic equaliser and Harry who scored a freekick in the final minute. The whole team performed exceptionally and played their part in the eventual win, well done Harry, Owen, Zane-Cole, Nolan, James, Aarin, Jayden and Ted.

In the semi-finals, the boys beat a formidable Warwick Junior School team 1-0, progressing to the final where they beat The Elms 1-0. By winning the competition, the team have qualified for the ISFA National Finals which will take place at St George’s Park (the England team’s training centre) on 2 May.

Thank you to Mr Griffiths who has coached the team to success and congratulations to the boys - we wish the team the best of luck for the National Finals.