Spring Term Bulletin

Dear Learning Alliance colleagues,

Warm greetings to everyone as we return after the holidays. I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable break with family and friends.

We had a busy half term in the run-up to Christmas, welcoming Wheeler students in year 12 into college for a study skills day. We also opened our application process for the new cohort of 24 that will join us this year and received 70 applications, some of whom we will be interviewing very shortly.

We invited schools in the Student Alliance to a successful online session for prospective Oxbridge students, an MMI prep day for medical applicants, a Taking Maths Further Day, and our first Outdoor Education day of the year, which saw students from The Winston Churchill School bravely tackling the high ropes course (below).

And there is plenty to look forward to as 2023 gets underway. Between now and half term, we will host two Oxbridge online sessions, an online session for students interested in doing an EPQ, two study days and online sessions for Wheeler students being delivered by Steve Beckles-Ebusua (better known as Orange Tie Man), which will cover topics such as confidence, self-belief, goals, targets and stress.

The Teaching Alliance held a Maths SSSG looking at intervention strategies for Year 11s, an Inclusive PE day looking at engaging all students in meaningful, positive and progressive experiences of PE, and an EPQ SSSG. We also held the inaugural Uncharted conference, the first in a series of events which aim to help teachers fall in love with their subject again and understand better how what they teach in the classrooms is applied in the wider world. Science was the topic and we were lucky enough to attract a diverse range of speakers including a computer programmer, an air accident investigator, a climate scientist, a space scientist and a underwater engineer. It was a fascinating evening which reminded us all that what we teach in the classroom has real-world relevance. As one of our speakers said: “It doesn't matter how much you spend on an airplane, it won't fly if it doesn't follow Newton's First Law!” This great event will be followed by a maths Uncharted, to be held in March.

There is lots coming up this half-term too, including a free afternoon session on Active Classrooms, which will encompass tools, techniques and strategies for embedding physical activity into everyday classroom practice. Aimed at teachers and middle leaders in all schools, it is on Tuesday 24 January at Uplands Primary School.

Wishing you, your staff and pupils all the best for the term.

Best wishes,
Paul

Core Programme

February 1: Wellington College University Fair for Year 12 students

February 1: Oxbridge online session for students in Years 10, 11 and 12 interested in finding out more about Oxbridge

February 6: Oxbridge online workshop for Year 12 students

February 8: EPQ online session for students in Year 11 interested in finding out more about EPQs

March 13: Oxbridge online information session for parents

March 23: Taking Maths Further Day for Year 10 students

Wheeler Programme

All years

6 March: Online session on Planning for the Future – effective goals, target setting, getting things done.

24 April: Online session on Anxiety and Stress – the difference between anxiety and stress, what is anxiety and how do you overcome it, the brain under stress, overcoming stress.

Year 13

January 24: Study Day

June: Graduation Day and ceremony

Year 12

March 8: Study Day

Year 10

February 7: Study Day

May 23: Study Day

June 25-29: Residential Stay

Teaching Alliance

Inter-school Support

24 January: Active Classrooms

25 January: Science SSSG online

26 January: SEND Teachmeet at Wellington College

7 February: Dance Teachmeet online

8 February: Computer Science Teachmeet online

21 March: Uncharted Maths at Wellington College

CPLD Programme

6 February: Tough Conversations, at Wellington College

9 and 22 February: Public Speaking – 2 half-days at Wellington College

21 March: Mentoring, at Wellington College

Making connections
Around 50 students from partner schools were able to go inside the Big Gold Box, which landed at Wellington College in late November. Connected to countries including South Africa, Uganda and Bangladesh, they were able to talk directly to people on the other side of the world, asking and answering questions. Topics included power cuts in Johannesburg, anti-littering efforts in Kigali and the conditions endured by Rohingya refugees living in a camp of one million people in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Students were particularly interested to hear many refugees had to fake identity documents to get an education outside the camp. Visiting schools included Bohunt, Tomlinscote, Easthampstead Park, Sandhurst and Ranelagh (pictured above).

Email: wcla@wellingtoncollege.org.uk
Twitter: @WCLA_UK
Website: wcla.wellingtoncollege.org.uk (still in development but live)

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