A thoroughly enjoyable evening on Thursday, as staff and students welcomed the year 6s from across the region to our Open Evening. It is always a pleasure to be able to showcase our school and the record number of parents and students attending took us a little by surprise. Nevertheless, with all subjects eager to show what we do, the evening passed swiftly as singers, caterers, actors , geographers and PE students all showed the younger ones what life at Wensleydale is all about. Notably those who had been chosen to speak to the assembled guests did us proud, a huge thank you and well done to Year 7s : Anya & James and our head prefects Tom, Imogen and Millie for being brave enough to deliver remarkable speeches. There was a good deal of interest from our current and potential parents about the changes to Post 16 in 2018, which are shortly to be revealed in more details. There was also great interest in our decision to trial a free bus service from Catterick area from September 2108 for 1 year. The cost to parents can be prohibitive and the governors have decided to see if this will help.
This week the governors also released their Annual Report to parents, which can be found on the governors section of our website. It shows how the board has been helping me with the strategic direction, vision and innovation. It also highlights some of our key successes and challenges over the coming years.
In other news, year 10 and 11 enjoyed a STEM event on Friday, where a number of businesses, organisations and post 18 providers ran carousel sessions for the students on the range and variety of careers opportunities there are among the STEM subjects. We are grateful to all of our visitors and hope to include additional events across the year. Finally, reflecting on my week as Headteacher it has been a very varied one! I have started to attend the ‘Elastic Band’ group on a Wednesday lunchtime. The group, led by Mr Hadfield, invites musicians of all instruments to join together and play. Dusting off my flute has been one of the most enjoyable parts of the week and getting to play alongside students and staff makes it even better. Mr Hadfield is planning on a concert – not sure I’m ready for that just yet. Friday also saw a marathon Yr 13 double Business lesson, as we wrestled with financial ratios and gearing. It just reminded me of why we do, what we do….the students are fabulous and keen to learn, even topics as potentially dull return on Capital employed (ROCE) – Tom, Jodie, Sarah, Jemma and Tash – you know what I mean.
