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Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

We will be restarting our weekly video messages from next week. Apologies that these haven’t gone out for the past two weeks. We have had a very busy period preparing photographs for our new school prospectus and haven’t had the capacity to film yet this term.

A reminder that Thursday is an INSET day and the school will be closed to students.

Thank you to our Performing Arts students who worked with the Underwired Company on Monday afternoon and performed in assemblies. They were amazing. The club is free and runs every Monday. Students have been fortunate to receive free tickets to many West End shows, so it is certainly worth joining.

We are currently planning our Phoenix Festival on 20th July, which will be an incredible event. More details will follow soon.  You can find the information poster on page 8 of this bulletin.

A reminder about the circus event on Friday 3rd July – many tickets are still available. These can be purchased via the QR code on the poster (page  7), or by clicking on the link here www.pta-events.cp.uk/polegateschoolpfa.

KS3 exams have started well. Thank you for supporting your children in preparing for these; it has made a noticeable difference.

Our trip to The Globe on Thursday went very well, and many people commented on the exceptional conduct of our students. We were incredibly proud of them.

As temperatures rise next week, please ensure students bring a proper refillable water bottle each day and apply sun protection lotion before school. This will help keep them safe and comfortable during the warmer weather.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Kind regards,

Mrs May
Headteacher

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Warm weather and PE lessons

Dear Parents and Carers,

With the warmer weather finally here, can we please ask that you ensure your children are prepared to participate in PE lessons.

Students may wear sunhats

Suncream should be applied before school on a PE day

Students should bring a water bottle that can be refilled at breaks and lunch times

Sunglasses are NOT permitted (unless prescription).

WCS branded PE shorts should be worn instead of heavy joggers/ leggings (if students wish). Cycling shorts are NOT permitted.

Thank you for your support,

Miss Attrill

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The UK government will ban social media for under 16s. Alongside this, certain harmful features on other online services like livestreaming and strangers contacting children will be restricted for under 18s.

Click here for more information.

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My Health My School Survey 2025/26 Year 7-10

Dear Parents and Carers,

Your child is invited to take part in the My Health My School Survey to help schools, the local authority and local health services plan and improve services for young people across East Sussex.

The annual survey gathers insights into the health and wellbeing of children and young people and covers topics such as physical activity, emotional wellbeing, diet and healthy lifestyles.

What you need to know:

Participation is voluntary.

Students over the age of 13 can provide their own consent to take part in the survey if they wish to.

The answers given will be anonymised. The survey does not collect names or any other personally identifiable data.

Your child can choose to withdraw at any time, even during completion of the survey (at this point their responses would be deleted).

The survey will be taken online during the school day and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Survey data collected will be used solely for research and planning purposes. No individual child can or will be identified in any published results.

Find out more about more about My Health My School Survey.

Year 7-8 parents/carers PLEASE NOTE

Why we need your consent

In accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and our Information Sharing Arrangement with Leeds City Council, we must obtain your explicit consent before your child/children can complete the survey. Pupils over the age of 13 can give their own consent.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfxUIsq--UAW8IskYvTDzOSGm1n10A25oLvm6I7zZPqjtnutw/viewform?usp=header

All surveys will be completed in a RS lesson towards the end of term.

Kind regards

Mrs Stables

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Dear Parents/Carers,

Parent Forum

We are writing to invite you to our sixth Parent Forum this academic year.  These forums are a fantastic way to keep you updated with our school improvement plan and national educational policy.

Monday, 29th June 2026

6pm – 7pm - By Zoom

1.       SEND Changes

2.       AI

Please be reminded that these forums are not an occasion to discuss individual students. Please refer any individual issues to your child’s Coach or Head of Year.

If you would like to attend the above Zoom Parent Forum, please complete the below google form and a zoom code will be emailed to you.

Parent Forum - Monday 29th June 2026 at 6pm - SEND Changes and AI

If you are unable to attend this forum, we will place any relevant powerpoint slides on the school website for you to view.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs E May
Headteacher

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Changes to free school meal eligibility from September 2026

The government has announced that the eligibility criteria for free school meals, will change from 1 September 2026.

From that date students will be entitled to free school meals if their parents or carers receive any form of universal credit. However not all students who qualify for free school meals will be entitled to other associated school-related benefits (known as Pupil Premium funding).

Please apply now via the link to the East Sussex County Council portal if you believe you qualify. Free School Meals

Please note that if you are currently in receipt of free school meals, East Sussex County Council will be re-checking for eligibility under the new criteria, and you do not need to re-apply.

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Dear Parents and Carers,

It is now your turn! Please submit your entries by 5th July 2026.

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Dear Parents and Carers,

As we approach the final weeks of Term 6, there are a wide range of trips and enrichment opportunities taking place across the school. These experiences are an important part of building a sense of belonging and engagement for our students, and those who are absent may miss out on these valuable opportunities to connect and take part.

Well done to Year 9, who are currently leading the school with the highest attendance this term. It's fantastic to see such commitment as they prepare for Key Stage 4.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Holden

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Year 7 Literacy in Coaching Time

This Wednesday’s session focused on developing pronunciation of tricky words and emphasising key words in performance. A copy of the text is on Edulink for students to rehearse outside of lessons ready for their performance in two weeks.

Top tip: Rehearse your lines to build reading fluency. Try a loud voice, a whisper voice, slow pace, fast pace. Check your voice is clear.

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Year 7 Gold Reader Club

Super proud of the Year 7 students in Gold Reader Club who are completing extra careful reading on Sparx Reader to earn this award.  Some students are nearly at three out of the five stars now. Keep going!

Top tip: Support students to complete a few minutes of Sparx Reader every day to earn points regularly. Follow their Gold Reader pass progress by checking the home screen on Sparx Reader when students log in.

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Sparx Reader Deadline is Monday

Parents receive email updates from Sparx Reader on Saturdays. Please use these to check if careful reading has been completed.

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KS3 Reading Comprehension Assessment

KS3 students have started to complete this assessment in their reading lesson. It provides informative data on resilience and reading comprehension skills. Results allow us to praise progress and see where students need targeted intervention. For some students, the first part of intervention is building up resilience in reading a range of texts on Sparx Reader over the course of a year.  Regular careful reading will help students to be confident and resilient when completing this assessment. Sparx Reader work will help students to prepare for this assessment.

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Coming up Author Visit by Anthony McGowan

On Thursday 9 July, students in Years 7, 8, and 9 will take part in an author visit by Anthony McGowan. Head down to the library to borrow one of his books before the event. There are a few copies still available to borrow.

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Well done to 7EGA, 7RKO, 7SPA and 7ZKE who all logged their class reading on the year group library this week.

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The SSBA shortlist has been announced and book orders placed. KS3 students will be able to sign up to the SSBA club in September. This will involve reading the books on the shortlist, providing feedback and then voting for the winning book. A representative group of students involved will then go to the award ceremony in February, where there will be a chance to meet the authors. Look out for more notices coming soon!

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22/6/26

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lgordon@willingdonschool.org.uk

pastoral-10@willingdonschool.org.uk

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Well done to Year 10 for another successful week at school.

It has been a busy week, with a variety of events taking place and several visitors working with our Year 10 students. Some members of the year group represented the school in the annual Town Sports athletics competition, while others had the opportunity to meet Oliver Marlow from Eastbourne College and participate in the Fish for Heroes cooking event. These experiences provided valuable opportunities for students to develop new skills and broaden their horizons.

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During lesson walkthroughs this week, I observed excellent engagement in learning across a range of subjects. Students were clearly enjoying the activities taking place in lessons and demonstrated particularly strong teamwork in both Science and PE. It was pleasing to see such positive attitudes towards learning and collaboration.

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During coaching time this week, the focus has been on Pride Month. Students attended a Pride assembly led by Miss L Thérèse and have taken part in a range of activities during coaching time designed to promote understanding, respect and inclusion.

Year 10 students have also begun writing their personal statements for college applications during coaching time. This is an important stage in preparing for post-16 education, and students will continue working on their statements next week so that they are ready for submission alongside their college applications.

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Town Sports Athletics Competition

Well done to all the Year 10 students that competed in the annual Town Sports athletics competition this week. Students competed against students from all the other local secondary school at the Eastbourne Sports Park. A big well done to the Year 10 team for finishing 2nd place in the event. A special well done to Kristi Prifti for setting new competition records in the 100m and 200m sprint events. Kristi ran the 100m in 12.06secs and the 200m in 26.24 secs.

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Fish For Heroes

We were delighted for Year 10 students to take part in #FishHeroes! 🐟this week.

Our fresh Cornish sole was delivered by Chapmans Fish, ready for our Year 10 Food Preparation and Nutrition students to work with.

We were pleased to welcome Patrick Nzeli and Andy Barker from the Hospitality and Catering Department at East Sussex College, who demonstrated how to fillet the sole and prepare delicious goujons served with a homemade tartare sauce.

Throughout the session, students also learned about fish classification, how to assess quality and freshness, sustainability within the fishing industry, and smart buying habits when selecting seafood.

A fantastic hands-on experience that combined practical skills with valuable industry knowledge. Thank you to everyone involved in making the day such a success.

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Year 10 had a visit from Oliver Marlow from Eastbourne College on Friday 19th June. Oliver visited the school to share information about the scholarships and bursaries available at Eastbourne College and the application process for interested students. Well done to all the students that attended the talk for representing our school values of courtesy brilliantly.

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Well done to 10PHI coaching group for maintaining top spot and winning this week’s Sparx Maths homework competition with 10DLE close behind in 2nd and 10GEL in 3rd! 65% of the 10PHI coaching group achieving 100% with their Maths homework and were enjoying this week’s biscuits when I visited their coaching group on Wednesday.

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PE Shorts

Please can all students ensure that they are wearing the regulation PE shorts on the day’s they have PE lessons in school. As part of the school uniform policy, all students should be wearing the Willingdon Community School logo shorts. Students are not permitted to wear any other black shorts.  School shorts can be purchased on ParentPay and orders collected from the school reception.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to another successful week ahead. Please note that next week is Week A (Green Week) on student timetables.

The Year 10 Team

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📝 We Value Your Feedback!

Year 10 Work Experience Week - 18th–22nd May 2026

Thank you for supporting your child during their Year 10 Work Experience Week.

We would be very grateful if you could take a few moments to share your feedback.

Your reflections help us celebrate what has gone well and identify ways to continue improving the programme for future students.

Please take a moment to complete our Google Form

Work Experience - Parent Feedback

Thank you

Sarah Rooney

Careers Adviser

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Mr Keast & Mr Scowen - Joint Head of Year 9

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lkeast@willingdonschool.org.uk

dscowen@willingdonschool.org.uk

pastoral-9@willingdonschool.org.uk

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Awards Evening
Last week’s Awards Evening was a great occasion for us as a year team. It was a pleasure to celebrate the success of so many students for their academic achievements, personal progress, and outstanding contributions to school life. Their commitment and perseverance will hopefully inspire us as a year group moving into Key Stage 4.

Town Sports
We are equally proud of the year 9 students who represented our school at Town Sports this week. Their determination and sportsmanship throughout the day, embodied our school values and their efforts and positive attitude were a credit to the school. We commend them for competing with such enthusiasm and pride as Willingdon finished 3rd across the Eastbourne Partnership of 12 schools. Special mention to Sonny who won the discus with a throw of 36m and the shot putt with a throw of 12.95m. These are incredibly impressive and we wish him success for the rest of the summer in all the events he will be participating in.

Everyday Personal Excellence
Alongside these events, we continue to be impressed by the strong focus students are showing in lessons. This has been reflected in the increasing number of reward points achieved across the year group, recognising both academic effort and positive behaviour.

We are also very pleased with the number of students maintaining consistent, high levels of attendance. Well done to 9CEW for being the highest attending coaching group last week and to 9REL for topping the reward points table. Being in school every day significantly supports progress and helps students make the most of all the opportunities available to them and seeing them setting targets with their coaches on Tuesday morning linked to attendance, achievement points and progress shows what a good mentality is being created within the year group.  Perhaps most importantly, we are proud of the way our students support one another. It is evident daily, how they are demonstrating our school values, showing Ambition, Respect, and encouragement in lessons, around the site and during wider activities. This positive culture is something we value greatly and helps build belonging in the Willingdon Community.

Activity Day

Could we also please ask you to check that your child has signed up for activity day at the end of term 6. There were still some students who have not done so and we would not want them to miss out.

Have a great weekend

The Year 9 Team

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Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Year 10 Work Experience:  17th - 21st May 2027

I am writing to share information about Year 10 work experience, which will take place during the week of 17th–21st May 2027. We are asking students to source their own work experience placement by Friday 11th September 2026.

Work experience is a valuable part of a young person’s education. It helps students explore career ideas, develop confidence and employability skills, and prepare for future pathways including further education, higher education, apprenticeships and the workplace.

Finding a Work Experience Placement

We ask that students find their own placement, with your support. This could be:

A placement with a parent or other family member

A placement through friends or personal connections

An employer approached directly by the student

Sourcing their own placement allows students to choose something meaningful and relevant to their interests. It also helps them develop communication skills, initiative and independence, and gives them access to a wider range of employers.

If a student is unable to find their own placement, we do have a database of employers and will support them in securing a suitable option. However, please be aware that it can sometimes be challenging to match students to highly aspirational or specialist placements.

Please note:

Placements cannot take place outside the UK.

Students must not be placed somewhere that legally requires them to be over 16 (e.g. tattoo parlours).

Employers must have Employers’ Liability Insurance, unless the placement is with a parent.

Approaching an Employer Directly — What Students Should Consider

What are your interests?

What careers appeal to you?

Discuss ideas with family and friends.

Think about a placement that will be beneficial and rewarding.

Contact the employer (email, phone, visit or letter) to introduce yourself and ask if they would consider offering you a placement.

Emails must be sent from a personal email address, as employers cannot reply to school email accounts.

Explain why you would like to work with them and what you hope to gain from the experience.

Share any relevant information that may support your application (e.g. experience, predicted grades, clubs or activities).

Example Phone Call

“Hello, my name is ……… and I am a student at Willingdon Community School. I will be completing my work experience from 17th to 21st May 2027, and I am keen to gain experience with your company if possible. Is there someone I could speak to about this please?”

Example Email

Dear Sir/Madam (or use the contact name if known),

I hope you are well.

I am a student at Willingdon Community School and will be taking part in work experience from 17th – 21st May 2027. I have a strong interest in the IT sector (or alternative sector) and would be grateful if you would consider me for a placement.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

(Enter your name)

What Happens Next?

Students and parents/carers are encouraged to explore placement options over the summer holidays. We must receive confirmation of any placement by Friday 11th September 2026, as East Sussex County Council will need to complete suitability, risk assessment and health and safety checks.

Once a placement is confirmed, please email the following information to

srooney@willingdonschool.org.uk:

Name and address of the company

Contact name and email address for the employer

Your child’s name and tutor group

Students who are unable to find their own placement will receive support in school to help them secure a suitable option.

If you have any questions, please contact me via the email above or on 01323 485254 ext 281.

Kindest regards,

Sarah Rooney

Careers Adviser

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aroche@willingdonschool.org.uk

pastoral-8@willingdonschool.org.uk

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

As we complete our third week of the final term, I would like to say how pleased I am with the maturity and attitude of the Year 8 cohort. The year group is putting itself in a fantastic position as we head towards Year 9 and the increased responsibilities that come with it, including beginning to think about GCSE options, which will become a focus during the first couple of terms next year.

Behaviour across the year group continues to be very positive, with only a few minor issues. Thank you for your continued support in maintaining our high standards.

Uniform Expectations

I would like to remind parents and carers about the importance of students arriving in the correct uniform on the correct day. We have had a small number of students attending school in PE kit when they should be wearing full school uniform. We also ask that students wear appropriate school shoes. Recently, we have seen an increase in students arriving in trainers, which are not part of our uniform policy.

Although we are approaching the end of the academic year, it is only a six week break before students return, so if shoes are becoming worn, please could you ensure replacements are purchased so that we continue to adhere to school expectations.

Whilst the weather is currently very warm and students will not need school jumpers, we do expect blazers to be worn. Students are, of course, welcome to remove their blazers during the day when appropriate.

Attendance Success

Attendance was exceptional last week, with the year group achieving over 95% attendance, which is excellent.

A special congratulations goes to 8DBR, who led the way with an outstanding 97.25% attendance. Well done! Biscuits will be on their way shortly.

Reward Point Champions

Our highest reward point earners last week, each achieving over 40 points, were:

Damien T

Tochi O

Jude B

Thomas G

Fantastic effort from all of you. Chocolate and treats from the Year Team will be coming your way. Keep up the excellent work.

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Awards Evening

Congratulations to all of our winners at last week’s Awards Evening. It was a fantastic event, made even more special by our guest speaker, Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, whose inspirational story captivated everyone in attendance.

We were also treated to wonderful performances from two talented Year 8 students. India W gave an amazing vocal performance, whilst Henry  R showcased his musical talents on the trumpet. It is fantastic to see such talent within our year group.

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Sporting Successes

A huge congratulations to Calista SS, who represented the South Downs region at the County Championships last Saturday. Despite competing against older Year 9 students, she performed exceptionally well, achieving a personal best of 1.48m in the high jump and finishing in third place. An outstanding achievement and one she should be extremely proud of.

I would also encourage parents to contact me regarding any achievements or successes students have outside of school. We love celebrating our students’ accomplishments and sharing them with our school community.

Another major success this week came at Town Sports. As always, our Year 8 students represented the school brilliantly, winning many of their events and contributing significantly to the school’s strong overall performance. It is wonderful to see so many students participating and achieving success both in and out of school.

Educational Visits

This week, 48 students attended a pharmaceutical sciences trip to Brighton University. The trip was a great success and we look forward to offering further opportunities in the coming weeks.

Next week, a number of our students will be travelling to Ypres to visit important First World War sites, including Tyne Cot Cemetery. I have been fortunate enough to secure a place on this visit and am looking forward to accompanying students on what promises to be an incredibly valuable and thought provoking experience.

Upcoming Dates and Events

Sports Day – Wednesday 2nd July

Students will soon be able to sign up for events through their coaches. We encourage all students to participate and represent their tutor groups. There will be a wide variety of activities available to ensure everyone can get involved.

Activities Day

Activities Day signups have now closed. Students who did not select an activity have been allocated one. These include a range of options such as creative arts, board games, sports activities and film club. Further details regarding allocations will be shared later this week.

Thailand Trip 2028

We held an excellent information evening on Wednesday alongside Project Sport for families interested in the Thailand 2028 expedition. Whilst the trip has been very popular and heavily subscribed, we still have a small number of places available.

If you would like further information or a copy of the presentation from the evening, please contact me directly. We are aiming to secure places by the end of the academic year, so please get in touch as soon as possible if your child is interested.

Hot Weather Reminder

The weather is forecast to be very warm next week. Please ensure students bring plenty of water to school each day so that they remain hydrated. We also encourage them to make full use of break and lunchtime to refill water bottles and stay cool.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the fantastic weather.

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,

We have continued our visits to local primary schools today and want to say another thank you to the lovely volunteers who came with us to help answer all the year 6's questions about life at Willingdon- they spoke so well and were incredibly helpful so thank you! We were overwhelmed with the number of students who volunteered to help us with these visits, it is hugely appreciated and we wish we could have taken everyone!

The end of year assessments for English and maths are taking place for KS3 next week. For year 7, they have English on Friday 19th June and Maths on Monday 22nd June. We want to reassure students that this is just a normal assessment for staff to check progress and support class decisions moving into year 8. They take place in the main hall which prepares students for their GCSEs so it isn't so intimidating when they get there. We wish all the year 7s the best of luck!

With activity day fast approaching can you please ensure you have booked your child onto an activity. Coaches have been getting in touch with families who haven't yet booked on so if you have missed a call from them please can you get in touch so we can get students all sorted and avoid any disappointment from being randomly assigned a space!

The Year 7 Team

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