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Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

It has been a full and energetic week in school, with plenty happening across year groups and more exciting developments on the horizon.

We are especially pleased to share that we are supporting important work with the Neighbourhood Board in partnership with Buzz Active on behalf of the secondary schools in East Sussex. This collaboration is growing quickly, and we look forward to sharing further details soon.

This week included two educational visits. Year 9 students visited the Imperial War Museum on Monday, and Year 7 enjoyed their trip to Hampton Court Palace on Friday. Both groups represented the school brilliantly and gained a great deal from the experiences.

Two Year 11 meetings took place on Monday and Wednesday, supporting students as they move through this crucial stage of the year. We also held our Parent Forum on RSHE on Monday evening, attended by seven parents, and we appreciate the thoughtful contributions shared.

Year 10 students have been completing the second week of their mock exams and have shown real determination throughout.

Parent tours were scheduled for Wednesday, 22 April, although no parents signed up on this occasion. The next tour will take place on Thursday, 4th June and we hope parents/carers can join us to look around the school.

Looking ahead to next week, GCSE MFL speaking exams will be taking place, along with IT and Travel and Tourism exams. Year 9 students will attend the Big Futures Show on Tuesday, giving them a valuable opportunity to explore future pathways. Two groups of Year 10 students will be out on their Duke of Edinburgh expedition across two days. We also look forward to the Year 9 and 10 author event with Breis on Wednesday, which promises to be an inspiring session.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement with school life. We look forward to sharing more updates soon.

Warm regards,

Mrs May
Headteacher

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Further reading

What parents of children and young people with SEND need to know

SEND reform:  putting children and your people first - GOV.UK

SEND Reform:  putting children and young people first - Department for Education - Citizen Space

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Parent Tours during the school day 2026

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🎉 Activity Day 2026 – Bigger, bolder, and better than ever before! 🎉

Get ready! Activity Day is making a thrilling return on Tuesday 21st July and this year we're taking things to the next level! With an incredible lineup of in-school and out-of-school activities and trips, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

From adventurous outings to creative in-house experiences, each year group has a fantastic selection to choose from. Full updated details, including transport, updated costs, and options by year group, can be found in the Activity Booklet attached.

📅 REMINDER: Trips go LIVE on ParentPay at 3pm on Friday 1st May 2025 - mark your calendars! Many activities have limited spaces, so early booking is essential to avoid disappointment.

🌟 Early Access Alert! Students who have earned Silver Award will get 24 hours early booking (Thursday 30th April at 3pm), and those with Gold Award or higher will unlock 48 hours early access!

(Wednesday 29th April at 3pm). Check the last page of the booklet for full rewards info.

Let the countdown begin - Activity Day 2026 is not to be missed!

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For age 13 years upwards

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NEW CLUB COMMENCING THURSDAY 30TH APRIL

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We are pleased to share that we have had another improved week for attendance. We strive for 95% attendance and above for all our students, as regular attendance plays a vital role in supporting learning and progress. Whilst we appreciate that students do sometimes become unwell, we encourage them to attend school and maintain good habits when they are well enough to do so. We would also like to remind families that holidays taken during term time will not be authorised, and we encourage all holidays to be booked during the official school holiday periods.

We would also like to announce that on Tuesday 12th May 2026 at 9:00am, we will be hosting an Attendance and Wellbeing Coffee Morning. This will be a valuable opportunity to discuss attendance, wellbeing and how we can continue to support our students together and further information will be shared in due course. Thank you for your continued support.

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Great to see Year 7 coaching group engagement with class reading books. See our Padlet library for details.

Sparx Reader

Year 7 have achieved 94% completion rate on Sparx Reader to 100%SRP. Remember that Sparx Reader deadline day is always Monday. Chromebooks are available in the library for students to complete careful reading at break or lunchtime.

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Year 9 Macbeth on Sparx Reader

This term Year 9 students are studying Macbeth in class and have an opportunity to boost their understanding by reading Macbeth on Sparx Reader. The challenge is open to all Year 9 students. Well done to the 38 students who have made a start on their Macbeth journey.

#inmyshoesWCS

This term’s #inmyshoesWCS reading challenge is focusing on the theme of moments of sadness. Students are supported by termly reading conversations in their weekly reading for pleasure lessons. See Edulink for further details.

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Author visit this month Year 9 and Year 10:

On Wednesday we are looking forward to welcoming performance poet, Breis. You can pre-order a copy of his book ‘Brilliant Rappers Educate Intelligent Students’ for £5 or a USB card of his new album ‘Stranger on Earth’ for £10. Both available to pre-order on ParentPay until Tuesday 28th April 3pm. Some copies will be on sale on the day for cash payments only.

Check out some of his work available in the library.

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tcain@willingdonschool.org.uk

pastoral-11@willingdonschool.org.uk

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

It has been wonderful to see so many students and parents/carers this week at our two Year 11 Exam Information Evenings. The idea behind the evenings was to provide final information to families ahead of the exams linked to the following topics:

Revision techniques

Dealing with exam stress

Ways that parents/carers can help

Exam processes on the day of an exam

Motivation for the final few weeks

We hope that you found the evenings beneficial and informative and thank all parents/carers and students who attended. If you have any questions linked to the information, please do let us know. You can find the information from the evening below if you were unable to attend. Just click on the image and scroll down.

Some of the key information that has been most questioned this week has been drawn out and highlighted below:

Students are expected to attend school on a full time basis, in lessons if not in exams, up to and including Friday, 5th June.

Following this date, students will be expected to attend lessons where they still have outstanding exams, if not sitting an exam.

Friday, 12th June will be the Year 11 Leavers Assembly for students at 11.30am, following the Chemistry Exam.

All students are expected to be available up to and including Wednesday, 24th June, this is the contingency day set out by the exam boards.

Our preparations continue for the upcoming exams. The Saturday morning independent study space continues this week and for the term ahead from 10-12pm. A reminder, to sign up to register your interest to attend, please complete the following form: https://forms.gle/E8BMuHPdi9kCv1oc9

This Saturday, 25th April, the Language Dept are also offering preparation support for the speaking exams that take place next week. We send our best wishes to students who are completing their speaking exams on Monday-Thursday next week as well as students who sit their ICT exam and Travel and Tourism exams next Friday.

Finally, information will be sent to all on Monday, 27th April regarding the Year 11 Prom. This will include payment details and all of the finer details linked to the timings and events of the evening.

The Year 11 Team

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Year 11 April 2026 Final Exam Information Evening - click on the image and scroll to view

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Year 11 April 2026 Final Exam Information Evening

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Year 11 Yearbook 2026 - Google Forms

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lgordon@willingdonschool.org.uk

pastoral-10@willingdonschool.org.uk

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Well done to all Year 10 students for successfully completing the second week of their mock examinations. Over the past two weeks, students have sat an impressive total of 22 mock exams, and the external invigilators have commented positively on the excellent conduct demonstrated throughout. Well done to the students that had missed exams and have demonstrated a very mature attitude working with the year team and the exams team to catch up and complete their missed exams throughout this week.

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This has been a valuable learning experience for students and an important step in preparing them for their final GCSE examinations next year. There is one final mock exam remaining on Monday – Art, we wish all students involved the very best of luck.

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Lesson walkthroughs across a range of subjects have also been very positive. Students have continued to demonstrate strong engagement and focus in their learning. A special shout-out this week goes to Mr Higgins 10AB2 Maths class, who showed excellent concentration and commitment when visited on Thursday.

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Finally, we would like to wish good luck to our Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award students who will be undertaking their two-day expedition next week including camping out for the night. This will be a rewarding and memorable experience for them.

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We hope all students are looking forward to starting their Work Experience placements 18th–22nd May, please remind your child to regularly check their school emails, complete their Work Experience placement agreement, and make telephone or email contact with their employer for the week to introduce themselves and discuss expectations for their week.

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Well done to 10GEL coaching group for winning the Sparx Maths homework competition this week with 10PHI close behind in 2nd and 10ARA in 3rd place! 46% of the 10GEL coaching group achieving 100% with their Maths homework and won the biscuits this week.

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Please promote our languages competition with your child if they study French or Spanish GCSE, it's online and students can access from home. Their school log ins will be put on Edulink and Google Classroom for them to enter.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Year 10 Team

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Mr Keast and Ms Johnson - Joint Head of Year 9

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lkeast@willingdonschool.org.uk

cjohnson@willingdonschool.org.uk

pastoral-9@willingdonschool.org.uk

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

It has been another positive and busy week in Year 9, and I wanted to take a moment to share some highlights with you.

On Monday, a group of our Year 9 students visited the Imperial War Museum in London. From all accounts, they were an absolute credit to the school, behaving impeccably throughout the trip. We even received a number of complimentary comments from members of the public, which was fantastic to hear. The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and it was clear from the photos that they had a really memorable day.

Back in school, students have been engaging in some important and meaningful discussions during coaching time, focusing on Stephen Lawrence Day. They have explored themes around racial equality, respect and inclusion, which were also reinforced in our whole-year assembly on Wednesday. I was incredibly proud of the maturity, compassion and respect shown by Year 9 during these conversations, values that sit at the heart of our school community.

A big well done also goes to 9TST, who were the winners of last week’s attendance challenge, achieving over 95% attendance. They enjoyed some well-deserved treats during coaching time on Thursday, a great reward for their commitment.

I would also like to make parents aware that Mrs Johnson will not be in school next week. In her absence, Mr Keast and Mr Shuler will be leading Year 9 and will be your main points of contact for any queries or support.

Finally, I would like to make you aware of a small update to our behaviour procedures. Moving forward, if a student does not attend a scheduled break-time detention, despite being reminded during coaching time and issued with a detention slip, this will now escalate to a next-day after-school detention (3:00–3:30pm). This will only apply to a small minority of students, but it is an important step in ensuring consistency and maintaining high expectations across the year group.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Wishing you and your families a lovely weekend.

The Year 9 Team

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aroche@willingdonschool.org.uk

pastoral-8@willingdonschool.org.uk

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Welcome to the end of our second week back after the Easter holidays. It has been a really positive start to the term, and it’s lovely to see students in such good spirits, helped no doubt by the fantastic weather.

I am particularly pleased with the maturity Year 8 students are showing. Behaviour data shows that level 2 incidents, such as removals and disruption in lessons, are at an all time low. This is a clear reflection of how students are growing and developing, and I hope this continues as we move into the summer term.

The school field is now open, and it has been great to see students enjoying the sunshine, getting fresh air, and using their energy positively. We are very fortunate to have such a beautiful school setting, and students are making the most of it in a responsible way.

Student conduct in lessons continues to be excellent. This has been consistently observed during learning walks conducted by myself and Miss Turner. In addition, uniform standards remain very strong. While there are the occasional minor issues, overall presentation is very positive.

During coaching time learning walks with SLT, we were also impressed with the level of engagement and the quality of work being completed by students.

Attendance has been outstanding. Last week, 8NWE achieved over 97.7% attendance, with an overall figure of 96% for the first week back. This is a fantastic achievement, and long may it continue.

Achievement points were slightly lower than the previous week, but still very strong at around 4,500 points. It is great to see students consistently being recognised for their positive efforts.

Congratulations to the following students, who achieved the highest reward points last week and will receive chocolate and treats:

Suki L

Ruby G

Oliver M

Calista S

Finn W

Well done to you all.

In addition, students with the highest attendance in coaching groups will be receiving cakes, another excellent incentive and well deserved.

I would also like to congratulate the following students, who have been invited for Hot Chocolate with the Head on Monday 27th April for their outstanding work in the “I Have a Dream” Young Writers competition:

Alfie G

Ashley G

Damien T

Lenny P

Oscar S

Their poems have been selected for publication, which is a fantastic achievement. A big thank you to Mrs May and Mrs Mallipoudy for supporting and recognising these students.

A quick reminder that several enrichment opportunities have recently started and are becoming available:

Our new cooking enrichment club has started, students are still very welcome to join. Please see Mrs Borrell for more information.

The Young Chef Competition in Eastbourne is also coming up. Students interested should speak to Mrs Borrell. Heats begin on Monday, 11th May, and we would love to see Year 8 well represented.

Thank you for your continued support. Wishing you a fantastic weekend, and we look forward to another positive week ahead.

Kind regards,

The Year 8 Team

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Mrs Naylor & Mrs Muller - Joint Head of Year 7

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lnaylor@willingdonschool.org.uk

pmuller@willingdonschool.org.uk

pastoral-7@willingdonschool.org.uk

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

This week has seen a slight dip in our attendance, please can we ask for your continued support in getting your young person into school as much as possible. We fully recognise there are times of illness that cannot be avoided, but if your child is presenting with a cold or sniffle, please can you encourage them to still give school a go, as often we find once in school, some students begin to feel a bit better. We can always send your child home later in the day if they continue to struggle.

This week also we have been made aware of some inappropriate TikTok content being created by members of the Year 7 cohort, including posts that target other students and misuse the school’s name. We would like to remind you that the minimum age requirement for TikTok is 13, and therefore no students in Year 7 should be using this platform. As parents and carers, you are responsible for your child’s mobile phone use and have the right to check devices regularly. We also ask that you reinforce with your child the importance of maintaining a positive digital footprint and behaving respectfully and kindly online at all times.

Lastly, a large number of our Year 7s attended a trip to Hampton Court and it was a great day for all involved. More information to follow next week (with hopefully some photos).

Have a lovely weekend.

The Year 7 Team

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ONLY A FEW SPACES LEFT

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Globe Theatre, Thursday 18th June 2026

Dear Parent / Carer,

The Globe Theatre, London, is showing a performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and the English department would like to offer your child the opportunity to attend. As the text is studied in Term 6 for Year 7, we are pleased to be able to offer the chance to Year 7 students.

We will travel by coach from school to The Globe Theatre at approximately 9am to arrive in time to have lunch, which students will need to bring with them, prior to the matinee performance. We shall then return to school by coach at approximately 7pm.  Students will need to bring a packed lunch.

The cost of this trip is £46.20, which includes return coach travel, the theatre ticket and insurance. Payment should be made via ParentPay. Places are limited so you are advised to make your payment as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. This will be available to book on Tuesday, 21st April from 3pm.

Poor behaviour/low attendance are not tolerated at Willingdon Community School.  The school reserves the right to cancel a student’s participation in a trip if behaviour /attendance does not reach our expected high standards.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Elliott
Teacher of English

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Community Posts

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