Willington News

It was lovely to see so many parents at our information evenings, and I hope that you found them useful. These events are important to bring us together as a community and understand how we are all part of the children's education at Willington. I mentioned how I had spent much of my summer holidays cleaning LEGO and sorting it, and now that we have had a full week of it in action, I can see how it will grow into an amazing addition to our curricular experience. My own experience this week has been with Year 5, and the manner in which they enjoyed exploring this new provision was delightful to watch. Thank you again for all your donations.

As many of you know, this week saw the first second-hand uniform sale of the year, and it was a roaring success, raising a substantial amount of money. Please do read the POW page where the new chair, Quinn Domingo, introduces the new format and outlines the focus of our fundraising this year. If we do indeed manage to hit the target we have set for ourselves, then I am sure you will see a noticeable difference in a very special area (I won't say what, here - please read the POW page!).

This week also saw the beginning of our enrichment clubs, before school,  after school and during the day. It is amazing to think that we offer 77 clubs across the week, which I believe is living proof of how the children's education continues beyond the classroom. There is a very good reason why we call it enrichment, and you can actually see how the children are taking part in a variety of clubs outside the academic sphere which stretch their imagination and challenge them both physically and mentally on many occasions. I would urge you to continue sending the children to these clubs so they can take full advantage of the Willington experience. I do understand, however, that sometimes you have to have your fingers at the ready to ensure you enrol on time; unfortunately, that is the nature of signing up for clubs that are very popular.

This morning I had the pleasure of visiting Trinity School in Croydon, where Headmaster Al Kennedy gave us a brief talk about their move to co-education in September 2027. This will be yet another high-quality co-educational school that no doubt some of our boys and girls will attend in the future. Whilst some of the buildings may not be as visually appealing as other schools, what happens inside certainly is of high quality. Their music department especially has a quality which you would find hard to match in most other schools. I travelled there by tram from Wimbledon station, and it was a very simple journey. If you are interested in Trinity for the future, please do get in touch. They have an open morning on Saturday 4th October.

The Oates afternoon kicked off this year for Year 6, where they visited Ranmore Common, and by all accounts it was another successful afternoon that was not dampened by the torrential rain they experienced. We also saw our volunteering under way with a small group of Year 4 pupils collecting donations outside Waitrose for the Dons Local Action Group. Here's to another successful year raising much-needed funds for them.

The Sports Department will be busy this weekend as we take football squads to Surbiton and Hampton respectively, and I wish them all the best of luck and hope they have great fun competing with other schools.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. KB