Our Year 7 students have joined us today with a fantastic attitude to learning and have represented our Personal Excellence values exceptionally well. I have been incredibly proud to see the way they have conducted themselves, supported one another and embraced the opportunities that a new year brings. It has been a very positive start, and I would like to thank our Year 7 students, staff and parents for helping to make it such a strong beginning. We look forward to welcoming Years 8-11 alongside Year 7 on Monday.

We said a very fond goodbye to Miss McCarthy at the end of last term. After an incredible 11 years leading Drama at our school, she has taken on a new role and we wish her every success for the future. Miss McCarthy has made an enormous contribution to the school and to the lives of so many young people. We are particularly grateful for the part she played in achieving such exceptional results in her final year with us. We thank her for her commitment, passion and dedication over the past 11 years and wish her the very best in her next chapter.

Although the school was quiet over the summer, there has been plenty happening behind the scenes. We have invested significant time and effort into improving our facilities and making the school work even better for our students and staff.   Much of the school has been repainted, giving many areas a fresh and improved feel. We have also built a new staircase in Drama, meaning that our lighting box can now be accessed from inside the Drama room. We have reorganised some of our office spaces to improve access and make them work more effectively for both staff and students.

We are also in the process of planning our second Food room, which we expect to have completed during this academic year. This is another exciting development that will give our students even greater opportunities to develop practical skills and enjoy a broad and ambitious curriculum.

Our senior team have some incredible opportunities happening beyond school, and we are incredibly fortunate that these experiences allow us to support others while bringing great practice and expertise back into our own school. Mrs Townsend-Smith continues to work two days a week for LSEAT, the Trust leading The Workplace in Bexhill and the pupil referral units in Newhaven and Hailsham. Her reputation for combining a genuinely therapeutic approach with the highest expectations makes her brilliant in this dual role. Miss Walters will also be supporting a local Trust through safeguarding consultancy, while Mrs May is working as Area Group Two Chair, driving school improvement across East Sussex, as well as leading the Eastbourne’s  Beach School bid with Mr Osborne supporting. These opportunities not only strengthen our wider educational community but also create fantastic opportunities for us to talent-manage and develop the next level of leadership within our own staff team.

This academic year is also an important one for Willingdon. We are due an Ofsted inspection as we approach five years since our last full inspection. Since then, we have had monitoring visits which have continued to recognise and sustain the very strong judgement we received.

This next inspection gives us the opportunity to be regraded, and we are genuinely excited about that prospect. We know that we are a great school. As with every school, there are always things we can improve and areas where we want to become even better, but I could not be prouder of our young people and our staff.  Strong communities need strong schools, and we want Willingdon to be a school that our whole community can be proud of.

As we look ahead to our inspection, I want to ask our parents and carers to stand firmly behind the school and our community. Your voice carries real weight. We want Ofsted to see what we see every day: young people who are capable, ambitious and respectful, alongside staff who work incredibly hard to give them the very best opportunities.

Sometimes Ofsted can be spoken about as though it is a threat when things go wrong. The reality is that an inspection judgement can have a significant impact on a school and the wider community. A poor inspection outcome can affect confidence in a school and, in turn, have wider consequences for a community, including perceptions of the area, house prices and investment.

That is why it is so important that we all rally behind our school. We want to show that this community deserves the very best and that together we are committed to achieving it.

We have a wonderful school, fantastic young people and dedicated staff. We are proud of what we have achieved, excited about what lies ahead and determined to keep making Willingdon even better. With the support of our whole community, I know we can do exactly that.

Your voice as parents and carers is really important to us and we hope this year that we can work in harmony together. We might not always agree, but your perception is valuable, and we will always welcome feedback, both positive and constructive. 

We would like to remind parents that any concerns, niggles or frustrations are important to us, and we would always encourage you to raise them with the school so that we have the opportunity to listen, understand and support wherever possible. If you have emailed the school and have not received a response, please contact talktous@willingdonschool.org.uk so that a member of the Senior Team can follow this up and ensure your concern is being addressed. We are always happy to meet with parents, as are the Head of Years (HOYs) and pastoral team, and we genuinely welcome the opportunity to listen and work together to resolve any issues.

We also regularly hold school tours and parent voice sessions, and we would be delighted to see you at these events, as they provide another valuable opportunity to hear your views, answer questions and strengthen our partnership with you.  There will also be some opportunities for you to come in for parent coffee mornings with senior leaders so you can feedback on any issues but you can also make individual appointments with staff if you have got something you wish to discuss.

Community Bulletins are sent out every Friday, and next week's edition will be filled with information for each year group following the first full week at school and also information on what is coming up in Term 1.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Best wishes,

Mrs May

Headteacher

https://gofund.me/944ecd100

Dear Parent/Carer,

We are writing to make you aware of some important changes to Free School Meal eligibility from September 2026.

From 1 September 2026, eligibility for Free School Meals is expanding, meaning that more families will be able access support. If your child is not currently eligible and your household receives Universal Credit, you may now qualify.

If you think you may be eligible, please apply as soon as possible.

Please note that applications are made directly through East Sussex County Council and not through the School.

You can check your eligibility and submit an application online using the following link:

East Sussex County Council Free School Meals Application Form

If your child is already receiving Free School Meals, there is no need to reapply.

East Sussex County Council will carry out eligibility reviews automatically before the start of the new school year.

If you believe you may be eligible, we would strongly encourage you to submit an application as soon as possible.

Private Counselling Service for Students

We are pleased to announce that our private counselling service will be available to our students again from September 2026. This is aimed at supporting their emotional wellbeing and mental health. This service will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

The counselling will consist of six sessions designed to provide support tailored to individual needs. Sessions will take place after school hours to ensure students are not missing out on education in their important final years. This service will be provided by Miss Lauren Clarke, who is a trained person-centred counsellor alongside working as Pastoral Support Leader with us at Willingdon Community School.

Please see the link for further guidance on what person-centred counselling entails: https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy/person-centred-counselling/

Details of the Service:

• Number of sessions: 6

• Cost per session: £50

• School subsidy: £10 per session (reducing the cost to £40 per session for parents)

• Total cost for six sessions: £240 (payable upfront)

• Availability: First come, first served (subject to interest)

• Timing: Sessions are 50 minutes, starting at 15:00

Please note that full payment for all six sessions will be required upfront to secure a place in the programme.

If you are interested in enrolling your child, please contact Miss Clarke on the below email address to ensure we can arrange the necessary support.

We believe this service will be a valuable resource for our students, helping them to navigate any challenges they may face.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Miss Lauren Clarke lclarke@willingdonschool.org.uk. 

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs E May

Mr A Webb

Miss L Clarke

We would like to remind all members of the school community of our expectations for equipment, uniform, and jewellery ready for our full return next week.

This information is included in the daily coaching time bulletin shared with all students at the start of each day. Please refer to this information to ensure your child is fully prepared and ready to start the new academic year. A reminder that a school bag is listed as a compulsory item and that mobile phones are not permitted and must be kept in a YONDR pouch or not brought into school.

Our uniform policy can be found on our website should you require confirmation when purchasing any new items - https://willingdonschool.org.uk/assets/Uniform-Policy-September-2025-1777449173.pdf

We do pass on information about community events/ organisations that may send in flyers to the school but please note these are separate from the school and we do not run checks on the organisations involved.

Dear colleagues

We are writing regarding bus service changes that will affect the journeys of some of the young people attending your schools. These fall into two main categories:

• Changes that were agreed some weeks ago and or are the result of problems that have arisen during the school holidays. These changes will affect those using the service from the first day of term next week;

• Changes made by Stagecoach, mainly to its commercial network but including certain services operated under contract to the County Council, with these having an introduction date of 6 September. Thus, services next week run to the timetables that were operational before the school holiday.

Certain changes requested by schools are included and fall into both the above categories.

The changes most likely to affect young people and staff using services to/from your school are detailed on the attached and are set out by school in alphabetical order. We would encourage you to share the details with your families and staff using your websites, email or whatever other forms of communication you have open to you.

It should be noted that we do not know the details of every journey undertaken by young people attending school so whilst the attached should cover the vast majority of journeys, there will be use of other services and those using Stagecoach services not mentioned under the heading for a particular school are advised to check for any changes on the Stagecoach website. Brief details of the Stagecoach changes and full timetables for all the adjusted routes are given here: www.stagecoachbus.com/news/south-east/2026/august/hastings-network-changes-from-6-september-2026

To confirm dates for changes for each school:

From start of term – Hailsham Academy; Heathfield Community College; King’s Academy, Ringmer; Uplands Academy; Willingdon Community School.

We hope this information is helpful to you, young people and staff.

Best wishes

Transport Hub

East Sussex County Council

Willingdon Community School

The closure of South Road, Hailsham for works undertaken by SGN has been affecting bus services running in and through the town and these changes will therefore be in place from the start of term. Stagecoach services 51, 52, 53 are now all running between Hailsham and Polegate via Ersham Road/Hailsham Road and Stone Cross. These are therefore currently able to serve the Gordon Road stop and that adjacent to the Catholic Church at the east end of South Road. No other stops in South Road are being served. Brighton & Hove and Metrobus services 28 and 500 are following an alternative route, omitting South Road entirely. All these routes are able to serve the main Hailsham town centre stops in North Street, High Street and George Street (as appropriate for their direction of travel) as well as stops to the north of the town centre. As would be expected, there are some delays to services.