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Woodlands Academy Getting on their bikes for Tanya When students from our Sixth Form heard that former student Tanya Henderson had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer which needed specialist treatment in America, they were only too happy to jump on their bikes to help. Tanya was a student based at Woodlands Academy for most of her time in Sixth Form and she was a leading light in all the school performances and musical events such as ‘Unplugged’. As such, she is well known to many of the current sixth form students who remember her from her time supporting them as young performers. The NHS agreed to fund Tanya’s 12-week Proton Beam Therapy treatment in Florida as well as allowing her mum to travel with her, but the students here wanted to help with the fundraising to allow Tanya’s dad to travel too, to support both her and her mum at a difficult time. WCSF students, lead by Harry Holles, Reuben O’Connell and Arran Pallan came up with the idea of an indoor cycling fundraiser with students and staff all volunteering to ride a certain distance or time to raise funds. The whole event was planned and then carried out within a four-day window. They set up two exercise bikes in the common room and, over one school day, lots of staff and students took part riding for a total of 11 hours and cycling over 500 miles. It was a hectic day which went on into the evening as they carried on cycling throughout the Governors’ Prizegiving ceremony and collected donations from generous parents on their way home. In total they managed to raise just over £1000 with more being donated by staff and children at Coventry primary schools, including a generous donation from Broad Heath Primary School, for which the family were very grateful. Head of Post 16, Mr Griffin, said “The whole staff were so proud of the students going out of their way and being so considerate of an ex-student who needed some support at a crucial time in her life. It was inspiring to see Tanya come in at lunchtime which was really motivating for the cyclists. She is so positive, so courageous and so determined to beat this terrible illness that you couldn’t not be inspired to take part.” Year 13 Engineering visit As part of their Engineering course the Year 13’s had to select an engineering company as a case study and were required to find out what legislations and regulations are in place, and how these have an impact on manufacturing. Students also had to identify how the change in regulations relating to energy efficiency and consumption have had an impact on their selected manufacturing company. They were welcomed at AW Precision by Andy Whitworth who is the Business Development Executive and grandson of the founder of the company. They began their visit with a Q&A session which enabled them to gather valuable information to assist them with their case study. Next they were given a tour of the company starting with the sales team and then they went to the manufacturing floor where they all had to wear safety goggles and listen to a health and safety talk. The students gained valuable knowledge on manufacturing and how legislation and regulations affect all members of a work force. Following the visit they had to write an essay using their findings, including a list of possible modifications they feel could improve performance of the engineered product or service. The positive way they presented themselves resulted in a number of members of staff commending them, and an invitation to give them a call if they were looking for an apprenticeship. Page 6
Issue 24 February 2016 Prizes galore at Prizegiving! In December we held our annual prizegiving ceremony. The school hall was full of delighted parents and proud staff to witness what was a fantastic night of celebration as we awarded many students with awards ranging from effort and achievement to subject specific awards. Headteacher Dr Harris said “I feel honoured to be the Head of this school and nights like our annual prizegiving ceremony are one of the most gratifying things about my role. To see so many students receiving awards in front of their proud parents was fantastic.” Our guest speaker, who also assisted with giving out prizes, was Mr Nick Eastwood, Deputy Chairman of Wasps Rugby Club. Mr Eastwood also delivered an inspirational speech to the audience which enthused the award winners and hopefully they will remember his wise words in years to come. Photos of all of the prizewinners are on our website. Maths test success! We have some fantastic mathematicians at Woodlands Academy and this year we have already had a lot to celebrate. A team of WCSF A’Level maths students entered the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge at Warwick University in November and finished a very impressive 7th out of 17 schools, which is fantastic considering some of the competitors were from the top fee-paying schools in the county. The team was made up of James Cook (Captain) and Nyle Patel from Year 13, along with Leah Normoyle and Keziah Fitzpatrick from Year 12 (photo, bottom right). On the night the team were supervised by a teacher from Kenilworth School who said what a great team they were to work with! Despite the challenge being designed for A-Level Mathematicians, eight Year 11 Woodlands Academy students bravely volunteered to take part and to test their maths skills. We were delighted that three of them were awarded bronze certificates which is impressive as the competition is aimed at students one or two years further on in their maths studies. The Year 11 bronze certificate winners are James Ashmore, Sher Singh Lulilidia and Max Jefferson who are pictured right, above. In total we had ten students awarded bronze and silver certificates which means they are amongst some of the best mathematicians nationally. Well done! Page 7
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