Warbler December 2019

WARBLER 

NEWSLETTER 

THE WILNECOTE 

SCHOOL 

December 2019 

Issue 17 

1

WELCOME 

Wilnecote Warbler 


WELCOME 

Welcome to this latest edition 

of the Wilnecote Warbler. 

Amazingly I have now witnessed 

the publication of twelve editions of the 

Warbler, having been the very proud 

Headteacher for two years in January 

2020. When I think over the last two years 

and see the evidence of the great times 

that happen here reflected in our in-house 

publication, I am amazed at how fast time 

flies, of how much excitement we pack into 

each half term and of how we often forget 

the achievements we were so proud of 

when they first occurred. This time of year 

is one of reflection. A time to review our 

achievements before embracing the New 

Year and its new starts. I hope that 2019 has been good to you all and I would 

like to take this opportunity to wish every member of The Wilnecote School 

family a very happy Christmas and a wonderful 2020. 

Best wishes 

Sian Hartle 

Thank you to all the 

people who contributed 

over the past few weeks 

towards the Food Bank 

donations. 

2



WELCOME 

PASTORAL WELCOME 

It’s so hard to believe that we are already at 

the end of our first term of this academic year. 

It has been such a busy term that the weeks 

have flown by. In the Pastoral Team, there have 

been some changes with Mr. Simpson being 

appointed Director of Student Standards and 

Miss. Julius becoming Head of Peel House. We 

wish them all the best as they settle into their new roles. 

This term has seen the introduction of several new initiatives, including the introduction of 

Student Ambassadors. It was fantastic that so many students applied to be part of this team of 

students, who will work together to improve school life for everyone. The successful candidates 

will begin their new role in the new year and the pastoral team are really looking forward to 

working with them. 

Another very successful team of students is our Junior Leadership Team, who organized a range 

of fundraising events to raise money for Children in Need in November. They worked brilliantly, 

supported by Mr. Adams, to put on events, which entertained and engaged students as well as 

raising money for a worthy cause. 

Over the last two weeks, Year 11 students have completed their PPE assessments. These 

assessments will provide students with a clear idea of where they are currently at and can be 

used to help students focus future revision and target setting. Well done to each one of you for 

all the hard work that you have put into not only the exams themselves, but also all the hours of 

revision and work in lessons. We are very proud of you. 

Attendance continues to be an area of focus for the pastoral team, as research shows that good 

attendance throughout your school career goes a long way to achieving examination success. 

We were very proud to hand out so many attendance certificates, both at half term and at the 

end of term, for students who achieved above 97% attendance. Congratulations to everyone 

who received a certificate and if you didn’t get one this time, you can start afresh in the new 

year as there are many more opportunities to achieve. 

Another area of focus is uniform. Whilst many of you continually do yourselves and the school 

proud by wearing correct uniform every single day, we need to continue to keep standards high. 

Therefore, we have been focusing on belts, shoes and skirts this half term. We will continue to 

focus on different aspects of uniform throughout the year to ensure that standards remain high. 

In order to ensure that the majority of students who do the right things every single day are 

rewarded for all of their hard work and effort, we have introduced Value Points. This has been 

really positive as it has given staff the opportunity to show much they value students who 

continually work hard and are a credit to the school. We are very excited about the prospect of 

awarding some VP badges in the new year. 

We hope that you have a wonderful, restful Christmas break and return to school in the new 

year with renewed energy and enthusiasm to continue the great start that you have had to this 

academic year. 

Mr. Herbert, Miss. Julius & Mrs. Ager 

3

STAFF 



We are pleased to announce that Mr Simpson has become 

Director of Student Standards and Miss Julius has taken 

over the role of peel’s Head of House. In true Warbler style 

we asked the question you wanted to know and the questions you 

never thought you would want to know. 

Miss Julius - Head of Peel 

What do you enjoy most about your 

new role? 

I love having the opportunity to help 

students and get to know them as 

individuals. 

How are you adjusting to it? 

I am learning a lot, it is very different to 

my previous role so there is a lot to learn 

but I really enjoy it. 

What’s the funniest thing that’s 

happened to you whilst at Wilnecote? 

I don’t know, the London residential visit 

had loads of funny moments and every 

show has its own hilarious events, but 

trying to get Ruby up onto the top of the 

Beauty and the Beast set in her wardrobe 

costume is definitely something I won’t 

forget. 

What’s your favourite crisp flavour? 

Salt and Vinegar 

What was the last song you listened to? 

Dakota - Stereophonics 

If your life was turned into a film, what 

would the title be and who would play 

You 

I have no idea, someone really small! 

What’s your favourite takeaway? 

I don’t really have one, finding a vegan 

takeaway is tricky. 

McDonalds or KFC? 

Scone 

Do you have a quote you live by? 

It’s nice to be nice 

What is your favourite joke? 

Anything that hasn’t been told to me by 

Carl. 

4



STAFF 

Mr Simpson - Director of Student Standards 

What do you enjoy most about your 

new role? 

I enjoy working with all students across 

the three houses at The Wilnecote 

School. I particularly enjoy working 

with the Pastoral Team and building 

relationships with parents. 

How are you adjusting to it? 

It’s been full steam ahead and days seem 

to fly by. I now have different tasks so I 

have been learning how to do them with 

the support of other members of staff. 

I’m still working very hard in ensuring 

that I’m doing everything I can for our 

students. 

What’s the funniest thing that’s 

happened to you whilst at Wilnecote? 

Well there are two significant things 

that have recently happened. Firstly, I’m 

absolutely useless at skiing, I spent a 

lot of time spectacularly falling over on 

the school ski trip in Austria. Secondly, 

the Children in Need talent show, say no 

more. 

What’s your favourite crisp flavour? 

Ready Salted – Quite boring, I know. 

What was the last song you listened to? 

Razorlight – America 

If your life was turned into a film, what 

would the title be and who would play 

You 

It’s a long long road – Arnold 

Schwarzenegger 

What’s your favourite takeaway? 

Tough question, it all depends what 

mood I am in. I’ll say my favourite is 

Chinese. 

Scone (long o sound) or scone (silent 

e)? 

Scon with the silent e 

Do you have a quote you live by? 

If you don’t laugh you will just cry! 

What is your favourite joke? 

I saw two crisps on the side on the road 

the other day, so I pulled over in my car 

and asked if they wanted a lift? They 

replied ‘No thanks, we’re Walkers!’. 

5

HISTORY 



Wilnecote History Advent Calendar 

Though you will obviously have some catching up to do……below is an advent calendar of events 

which are all related to topics studied by Wilnecote students in History across years 7-11: The 

Norman Conquest, Medieval England and Crime and Punishment through time (year 7), World 

War One, the Suffragettes and Nazi Germany (year 8), and Medicine Through Time, Elizabeth 

I, The Cold War, American Civil Rights and the Vietnam War (GCSE years 9-11). Some are key 

events that are central to these topics (eg December 1st,, 9th, 13th and 14th) whilst some are just 

strange reflections of the times (eg December 10th). Either way….enjoy the trivia. 

December 1st: 1955 – Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to 

give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger, sparking the 

Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

December 2nd: 1961 – Fidel Castro declared that Cuba was to 

adopt a Communist government. 

December 3rd: 1967 – Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s 

first heart transplant operation. 

December 4th: 1154 – During the reign of Henry II, Adrian IV was 

elected Pope, the only Englishman ever to hold the position. 

December 5th: 1952 – The Great Smog began in London, leading 

to the deaths of 1000s of Londoners and, eventually, to the 1956 

Clean Air Act. 

December 6th: 1956 – During the Soviet invasion of Hungary, a 

water polo match between Hungary and USSR at the Melbourne 

Olympics was called off because of Hungarian protests about the 

invasion. 

December 7th: 1916 – Following the losses at the Battle of the 

Somme, Britain’s Prime Minister, Asquith, resigned and was 

replaced by Lloyd-George. 

December 8th: 1987 – President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Leader 

Mikhail Gorbachev signed the INF Treaty, to get rid of intermediate 

range nuclear missiles. 

December 9th: 1979 – The World Health Organization declared 

that, after a number of worldwide vaccination campaigns, smallpox 

had been completely wiped out. 

December 10th: 1951 – the Communist government in Hungary 

banned posters of Santa Claus and replaced them with pictures of 

Russian tractors holding gifts. 

December 11th: 1961 –A US aircraft carrier arrived in Vietnam; the 

first direct involvement by USA in the Vietnam War. 

December 12th: 1961 - Martin Luther King Jr & 700 demonstrators 

were arrested after a Civil Rights March in Albany, Georgia. 

December 13th: 1577 – Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth at the 

start of his journey round the world (only the second person in 

history to achieve this). 

December 14th: 1918 – British women voted for the first time in a 

general election. 

December 15th: 1961 – Nazi SS General Adolf Eichmann was 

sentenced to death for his role in the Holocaust. 

December 1st: 1955 

December 5th: 1952 


6



History 

December 16th: 1969 – Parliament voted to abolish the death 

penalty in England. 

December 17th: 1538 – The Pope excommunicated Henry VIII after 

he declared himself Head of the Church of England in order to 

grant himself a divorce from Katharine of Aragon. 

December 18th: 1916 – the Battle of Verdun ended after 10 months, 

with 543 000 French casualties and 434 000 German ones. 

December 19th: 1569 – The Earls of Westmorland and 

Northumberland fled into Scotland, signaling the end of The Revolt 

of the Northern Earls. 

December 20th: 1963 – the Berlin Wall is opened for the first time 

for West Berliners since 1961 allowing them to use day passes to 

visit relatives in East Berlin. 

December 21st: 1846 – anaesthetics were used for the first time 

in Britain by surgeon Robert Liston in an operation to amputate a 

leg. 

December 22nd: 1991 – Romania ended years of Communist 

dictatorship by ousting their Communist leader, Ceausescu. 

December 23rd: 1962 – Castro started to free the 1113 prisoners 

captured in the failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. 

December 24th: 1914 – First air raid on a British town when a 

German plane dropped a single bomb on Dover. 

December 25th: 1066 – William the Conqueror was crowned King 

of England. 







December 21st: 1846 


7

English 



V 

Accelerated Reader continues to be used by Key Stage 3 to support and encourage reading. 

In addition, we have had a kind donation of new books for the library which have proved to be very 

popular. If you need some ideas of books to read, please check out www.schoolreadinglist.co.uk. It 

has suggested reading lists for all age groups. You can always look up titles on Amazon to read the 

reviews and star ratings before choosing. Don’t forget to use the school library and the Swap ‘n’ 

Drop shelves, too! 

Year 11 English intervention will recommence after school on Tuesdays after Christmas, starting on 

January 7th. All Year 11 students are very welcome! 

ED PARRY 

Author Ed Parry came in to speak to the year 8’s about his fantastic book, ‘Golem’, and lead 

a workshop in creative writing skills. Ed is experienced in writing poems, songs and books. 

The classes learnt about his style of writing. He thinks, he plans, then he puts it into a form of 

writing. Following this, he edits then edits again. The final stage is him and the publisher editing it 

through one more time before it gets sent out for people to buy. 

During the workshop, Ed spent time developing students skills on how to start the creative process 

of writing. The students started off with a sentence and built it up to start their stories. Each student 

wrote a line, folding the paper and passing it to the next person. Each person came up with different 

parts of the story ranging from settings, characters and descriptions through to conclusion. They 

were handed back the piece of paper and spent the remainder of the workshop creating stories. Ed 

and the teachers were very impressed with the outcome- great stories ranging from horror through 

to comedy. 

After the workshop, we spoke to some students about their view of the lesson. Mia Sleigh said “I 

enjoyed the workshop and enjoyed listening to Ed talking about how he became an author.” “When 

Ed came in, he was really nice. He told us what came into his head to help him start writing. He helped 

us write some random stories.” Said Brandon Cass. 

Ed talked about his favourite books. He likes Harry Potter books because of their structure and the 

build-up of suspense and tension; he also likes the Harry Potter books because you don’t know what 

may happen next. Ed started off singing and writing songs. After that, he started to write poems 

then slowly he moved on to books. Parry became a teacher in his 20’s, but he fell of a chair and really 

damaged his spine, so he tried to give up, but he realized that he could still write so he carried on his 

career of being an author. He encouraged everyone to be creative, even in difficult times. 

The year 8’s would like to thank Ed for coming in and giving up his writing time to come and speak 

to us. I got a lot out of the workshop and this has inspired me to start writing myself (starting with 

this article.) 

Caitlyn-Grace Thompson (Year 8) 

8



M.F.L 

GERMAN EXCHANGE 

On Monday 2nd December at 8:00pm, many students set off on a 16-hour long journey to Bad 

Laasphe, Germany. 

The exchange students arrived at Germany at around midday on Tuesday. They were all 

exhausted from the journey, but were very happy to have finally arrived – the students got acquainted 

with old friends, and others met their new partners for the very first time. The host families were very 

welcoming and the students all settled in quickly. 

Wednesday was group project day, which took place in the school. Students gathered in small groups 

of their friends and exchange partners, and started to plan a performance which they were set to 

show in front of the host families on Saturday. Performances included PowerPoint presentations, 

videos about the trip and even a play! 

On Thursday, the pupils and their partners went on a fun group visit to Siegen. All students could 

experience part of the city in small groups of their choice. At the end of the day, they went back to 

their host families and spent the remainder of the evening with them. Everyone had a great time 

going to all sorts of different German shops! 

The students all got to experience a German pupil’s school life on Friday. They were in the school from 

07:30 until 13:30. Everyone got to take part in a range of different lessons and activities including 

Maths lessons and Science lessons as well as English lessons. When they got home, they received 

sweets, chocolate and small gifts from St. Nicholas. 

On the Saturday, students spent a whole day with their host families. The host families took them to a 

variety of different places. These ranged from activities such as ice skating to going to the Christmas 

market. In the evening, the students and their exchange partners showed their host families the 

performances that they had planned on Tuesday. 

Finally, all of the pupils said their last goodbyes to their host families before they set off on the long 

journey back to Wilnecote at 20:00. 

9

SCIENCE 

SCIENCE NEWS 

Stuff you didn’t know you didn’t know! 

If you dropped a hippo off the side of a ship, 

would it sink? 

Despite their semi aquatic existence, hippos are actually not very 

good swimmers. They don’t have streamlined bodies or flippers 

and although their toes are webbed, their legs are short and fat. 

They mostly move with a sort of slow-motion gallop across the 

river bed. For this to happen they need to be denser than water. 

Most mammals are naturally buoyant, but hippos have especially 

dense bones to help them stay on the bottom. And because the 

buoyancy is always equal to the weight of the water displaced, it 

remains the same regardless of depth. So once the hippo starts 

sinking it is doomed to make a one-way trip to the ocean floor. 

If you have any questions that have been bugging you, please 

pass them to any member of the science department and we will get you an answer. 



Calculators - Please remember that all Y9, Y10 and Y11 students 

are expected to bring a scientific calculator to all Science lessons. If 

If they don’t, they will be issued with a half hour detention for lack 

equipment. 

Don’t Miss - this year’s Roya; Institution Christmas lectures. This 

year’s lectures are given by Dr Hannah Fry, who will be revealing 

hidden power of maths in everyday life. They are all on BBC 4 at 8.00 

How to Get Lucky is on the 26th December and How to Bend the 

Rules is on the 27th December and How Can We All Win is on 

28th December. 

18% 

In Numbers 

of 

the 

pm. 

the 

The number of vertebrates that have been 

traded on wildlife markets. 

30 years 

The time frame in which humans will find 

evidence of extra-terrestrial life, according 

to Noble Prize-winning astronomer Prof. 

Didier Queloz. 

22 Hours 

The amount of time koalas spend asleep 

each day, in order to digest their diet of 

eucalyptus leaves. 

10



CRAFTING FOR CHRISTMAS 

Our Year 7 crafters have been as busy as elves preparing 

for Christmas. 

After school, on a Tuesday, the Library becomes a 

workshop, Christmas tunes are playing and we are having a lot 

of fun creating and making bead decorations. As a team we are 

attempting to make the biggest bead Christmas tree, so thank 

you to those staff who have helped by adding a row of beads. 

Individually, beginners have started with a small Christmas 

decoration moving on to more complex designs. As students 

become more absorbed in the design and making there is a 

sense of purpose and then excitement as someone shouts out 

with joy and jumps up proudly showing their decoration to the 

group. 

Mrs Taylor, Student Support, said “after school clubs such as this 

can be very effective in promoting positive mental health.” 

As well as learning a new skill and having fun, sessions such as 

this are so good for a child’s emotional well-being. Achieving 

and creating boosts self-esteem. Children become absorbed in 

the craft, forgetting worries, and when the brain is focused on an 

enjoyable task, anxiety and stress reduce. 

Mrs Hinckley is keen to extend the use of the library and to offer 

additional opportunities for our students, “It is heartwarming to 

see students working as part of a team, helping each other and 

having the opportunity to make new friends.” 

So Year 7 - keep beading ............ and Happy Christmas every 

beady! 

CRAFT 

11

Children in Need 



CHILDREN IN NEED 2019 

For children in need 2019, The Wilnecote School organised two charitable events and a 

non-school uniform day to raise money for this excellent cause. This included an ‘I’m 

a teacher get me out of here; where teachers volunteered to eat gross dishes while 

students cheered them on and laughed at their comical reactions. The highlights of the event 

included Mrs Ager turning a little green and holding back the food she had just ingested! A 

big shout out must go to Mr Faulds who has a stomach of steel. This was clearly proven on 

the final challenge when all teachers were handed a splendid concoction of liquid and he 

was the only teacher to down the whole thing!!! 

The day before the I’m a teacher challenge, there was a ‘Teacher Talent Show’ where 

teachers performed their chosen talents (however eccentric they may be). Within the show, 

students were entertained by excellent singing, and variation of instruments from amazing 

guitar playing to a fantastic rendition of the flute and a hilarious performance from both Miss 

Ager in her flamingo costume. Students will never be able to get the image out of their head 

of Mr Adams, Mr Stevenson and Mr Booton singing You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling to Mr 

Simpson-who looked way too comfortable dressed as a woman. 

Mr Adams, Deputy Headteacher, commented “It was great to see the students and staff 

getting so involved in Children in Need. It is an event in the school calendar that I look 

forward to every year. The total raised is a great achievement and I would like to thank the 

students, staff and parents for supporting this event” 

In total, as a school we raised, £1388.44. After a week of entertainment, fun and laughter, 

we are delighted with this result and thank the junior leadership team and all staff for their 

contribution towards a fun, light hearted day of fundraising. 

12



£1388.44 

13

Geography 



ECOSYSTEMS 

As our students grow up in an increasingly global world, the effects of the lifestyles we lead 

have an ever growing impact of the world we inhabit. This term in Geography the year 8’s 

have been understanding the ecosystems around our planet and the fragile nature of the changes 

we make to them. We have been concentrating on tropical rainforests, especially in the wake of 

the tragic wildfires in Australia early last month. One of the activities we did involved the group 

creation of the rainforest structure, showing the complex relationships between the plants and 

animals. The standard of the creations was extremely high and the time, effort and dedication 

shown by everyone in lesson was outstanding. At the end the students had a deep and embedded 

knowledge of the rainforest and the follow up on rainforest destruction led to a passionate 

response from everyone in class. 

The winners from the competition are shown on this page. Everyone on here receives VP points 

for their work and if you have been awarded 1st, 2nd or 3rd, place please see Mrs Gibson for your 

prize (palm oil free). 

SENECA 

In order to support the learning, 

revision and development of 

study in Geography, GCSE 

pupils are being asked to sign up 

and join an online classroom. This 

can be used alongside lessons, 

homework and other revision. 

Pupils need to use the class code 

specific to their individual class. 

Year 9 have already started to 

join up and the current top 5 is 

as follows: 

Year 11 should use the sign up details on this page to join over Christmas and complete their first 

assignment ahead of revision beginning after the holidays.. Merry Christmas all, Mrs Gibson. 

14



P.H.S.E. 

DENIS COLEMAN 

Sixteen-year-old musician, Denis Coleman, came to the Wilnecote 

school. Denis started music when he was five years old and he 

also plays the violin. On November 15th, Denis performed some 

of his hits to the year 8’s. Coleman is a singer, songwriter and 

producer; he was originally from America and moved to London 

when he was 8. 

During the assembly, Denis entertained the year 8’s with a small 

concert, singing some of his recent hits like ‘Imperfect’, which is 

a great song about anti-bullying. During the concert, he stopped 

to bring awareness to mental health and drug issues. Denis gave 

great advice on websites to visit, who to talk to and how to cope 

with the pressures of life. 

“He was very passionate and confident in performing to us 

and explaining the difficulties of drugs. He also spoke about 

difficulties that he has gone through. I felt that it was an amazing 

experience to have because we got to understand from someone 

close to our age, the symptoms of mental health and drug taking. 

In my opinion, it was amazing how he had come and explained 

personal experiences with us year 8’s. It was amazing as he was 

so kind and generous,” said Abigail Fraser 

Mr Simpson, Director of Student Standards, commented “We 

would like o thank Denis for coming in to talk to our year 

8 students. It has been excellent to see how our students 

responded to a peer close to their age coming in and talking 

about his personal experience and offering good solid advice to 

our students.” 

15

P.E. 



COUNTY CROSS-COUNTRY FINALS 

Following the success of The Wilnecote School in the District League events, a squad of runners 

faced the challenge of competing in the county championships at Rowley Park in Stafford. 

With the Year 8&9 girls team winning of the league events and holding the District title for the 

second year running, the pressure was on to gain county places and earn themselves a medal. 

Despite earlier rain in the week making the long course heavy going, the weather was surprisingly 

fine – a perfect late afternoon for cross-country running. 

With new debutants representing year 7 the girls were understandably nervous and took the 

advice given by staff and the experienced Year 8 & 9 girls and set off on their warm up routine. 

The course is challenging in length and in terrain with several hills making pacing difficult to control 

but practice on these sections helped to settle the nerves. 

Team captain Tammy Powers provided the reassurance for the year 7 girls’ team-consisting of Elle 

George, Olivia Brown and Rose-performed well above their personal bests. 

True grit and sheer determination helped them comfortably complete the course successfully in a 

respectable 5th place overall – not bad considering the route is over twice the district distance. 

A special mention must be made to Elle George who excelled, just missing out on a county place; 

and to Olivia Brown who had never run anywhere near this distance before. 

As for the year 8 & 9 girls, consisting of Lottie McLaren, Tilli-Beau Tyson, Faith Goldsworthy and 

Caitlin Couchman they stormed home, producing the most impressive runs and winning second 

place overall. Second place in the county is seriously impressive, reflecting the hard work and 

dedication the girls demonstrate every week in training. Quite rightly, the huge silver medals they 

received were seen around the school the following day. Very well done girls, really impressive stuff. 

The two stars of the event were Oliver Goldsworthy and Lottie McLaren, whose quality and fitness 

showed as they managed to apply the correct tactics in their respective events; both earning 

themselves a place in the county cross-country team. 

Oliver and Lottie, we are extremely proud of your performances and are very grateful for the 

inspiration and encouragement you give to others. You are both fully deserving of your county 

places and we look forward to hearing about your performances as part of the Staffordshire Crosscountry 

team. 

16



P.E. 

DISTRICT SPORTSHALL CHAMPIONS 

This years’ sportshall athletics series has seen repeated success for our athletes. The year 

7 teams have followed the lead of the year 8’s, making every training session count and 

maintaining high levels of fitness. 

Despite recent maintenance to the sportshall hampering the last few weeks of preparation for the 

district final, the commitment of the year 7’s, supported by the year 8’s, enabled them to prove 

their potential, with the boys team finishing 3rd and the girls team just missing out on 1st place by 

3 points. Our experienced and dedicated Year 8 sportshall athletes have once again gained the 

District titles to ensure another chance at the county crown. 

Both boys’ and girls’ teams dominated events on the track and the field. The boys finished 7 

points ahead of the next placed school and the girls a whopping 21 points ahead-beating their 

overall score from last year by 12 points. 

Fingers crossed for success in the county championships in the new year. With the year 8 girls 

currently holding the runners-up county title there is everything to compete for. No pressure girls, 

but we want to get that elusive 1 point and bring back that gold medal. 

Year 7 Boys: Jacob Fletcher, Xavier Banet, Alfie Sippitts, Harrison Ensell, Lewis Gilbert, William 

Reeves 

Year 8 Boys: Isaac Oxford, Jacob Williams, Rees Scoggins, Bobby Farley, Henry Shakespeare, Alfie 

Allatt, 

Year 7 Girls: Tammy Powers, Elle George, Sophie Madeley, Rose Kennedy, Remi Iommi, Madelaine 

Parkin, Erin Fryer, Leonie Spencer, Holly Lear and Ruby Baker. 

Year 8 Girls: Tilli-Beau Tyson, Izzy McRoberts, Evie Gledhill, Phoebe Hepburn, Macey Jewkes, 

Oyebola Sonuga, Faith Goldsworth, Lilly Caswell and Amber Gibbons 

DISTRICT BADMINTON CHAMPIONS 

The KS4 girls’ badminton team blitzed the district badminton finals, winning every singles and 

doubles match they played. The most impressive statistic was the number of matches where 

the opposition failed to score a single point against the Wilnecote team. 

An outstanding set of performances – seriously impressive; lets get the practice in for the county 

finals in the new year! 

Team: Abbie Hitchman, Joanne Reynolds, Emily Lowe, Tali Davis and Georgia Davey. 

DISTRICT NETBALL CHAMPIONS 

The Year 7 netball squad took the district title for the winter series by beating every school 

they played in a cold and dark tournament. The squad showed their improvement since the 

opening game in October; shooters were on form and the defensive players reacted quickly 

by anticipating the pass of the opposition. Let’s hope they don’t enjoy too many selection boxes 

and remain fighting fit for the Spring series in the new year. 

FEARLESS FUTSAL 

The Year 7 futsal team suffered just one defeat in their recent tournament, winning 1 game, 

drawing 3. It was great to see those new to the game growing in confidence and recognising 

their improvement. A strong performance from all players produced some very competitive 

matches. Next year’s target – no losses. 

A super performance girls – well done! 

17

PERFORMING ARTS 



CHRISTMAS CONCERT 

On Monday 16th December 2019 the Wilnecote School held their annual Christmas Concert 

at Holy Trinity Church. Students from across the years performed a variety of Christmas 

themed songs and readings. 

Year five students from Wilnecote Junior and Dosthill Primary School attended an afternoon 

performance before members of the public arrived to enjoy the evening performance and mince 

pies. The Year five students enjoyed their afternoon, as their teachers commented, the students 

‘had a fantastic afternoon and really enjoyed all of the performances … you have really inspired our 

children.’ 

Mr Hyden said ‘It was a fantastic opportunity for students to develop their performance skills as 

well as enjoy a good old fashioned Christmas sing song In addition, we were able to raise funds for 

both the Holy Trinity Church and St Gile’s Hospice from the evening collection, Thanks to all who 

donated so generously. Overall it was a lovely day, which left everyone feeling festive and ready for 

the ‘big day.’ From the Performing Arts Department-‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and a 

prosperous New Year! 

18



STUDENT SUCCESS 

CHEERLEADERS 

Here at the Wilnecote school, we like to celebrate 

excellence inside and outside of school. Beth Oates 

(Year Eleven) and Alexie Essex (Year Eight) both take 

part in cheerleading in their team, Coventry Dynamite. Beth 

has been doing cheerleading for 5 years and Alexie has been 

doing it for 3 years. They both enjoy it because it is healthy 

and creates adrenaline. 

The cheerleading stereotype is very different to what it 

actually is, it’s not just poms poms and American football 

games. Beth and Alexie have to train at least 2-3 times a 

week and work together in a team to make sure everything runs smoothly. Cheerleading consists 

of acrobatics, gymnastics, dancing and stunts to entertain the crowd. To take part in cheerleading 

you not only have to physically fit, but also mentally fit, as it is a lot of hard work and you have 

to perform dangerous stunts that could go wrong if you’re not focusing-so you also have to 

have confidence when performing. During a stunt, there are 4-5 people all working together. This 

includes: bases and back spot, who support the flyer when she is in the air by the ankles and foot, 

front spots, who are there for extra support, and the flyer who is lifted into the air and performs 

tricks. 

However, you have to be careful when cheerleading as it can lead to injuries. For example, Alexie 

pulled tissue muscles in her back and whilst Beth was doing a jump in a routine, she ended up 

pulling muscles in her leg and back. A lot of trust goes into cheerleading as they have to rely on 

each other to make sure everything runs smoothly so the team have to make sure they have a 

strong bond and all get along. 

Beth is currently training to be junior coach, which allows her to teach the junior groups. Next year, 

Beth will be doing her qualifications to become a coach. In the future, they both hope to train to 

become coaches and run their own club. However, before that they want to compete in the world’s 

championships. They both compete in an average of 5 competitions a year and even got to travel 

to America for the summit championships, where they were placed 20th out of 60 international 

teams at junior level 3. 

We wish them luck for the future and hope they achieve their dreams when competing in the next 

competitions: BCA, Legacy Cheer and Dance, Jamfest, Bournemouth Nationals and their upcoming 

showcase, where they perform routines to their friends and family. 

19

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Warbler December 2019

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