William Brookes School Blog

The J L Edwards Memorial Trust was set up in honour of the late Jack Edwards, who died in 1968.  Mr Edwards was Headmaster of Much Wenlock County Secondary School for fifteen years and became a much loved and respected member of the local community. So much so, it was decided to dedicate his name to funding student projects which promoted courtesy, enterprise and endeavour (you may have heard those 3 little words somewhere before?).

Each year students put forward proposals to the selection committee, who decide how best to fund projects.  This time around saw Rhys building and servicing bicycles; Lucy, Rachael and Lauren designing a board game; Ashley and Daniel riding G-Force 40 times in one day; Mollie on expedition in the Lakes; Gabriella and Daisy in France and Lydia in Cyprus.

Our photo shows Ashley, Daniel, Daisy and Gabriella with their displays. The girls spent a few days in another part of the world, whilst the boys spent a whole day looking at the world upside down. 

With work about to start on setting up the construction compound in advance of the 2009-2010 new school building project, there’s a good deal of excitement and anticipation in the Much Wenlock air. The construction company, Kier Education, sent several senior project and site managers to talk to the students about safety around the worksite.

The message was clear: stay out of the site, unless you’re doing school work there and are with a member of staff.  Safety has always been a major factor for the new school build and we are pleased that the students have been reminded how seriously it is taken by the construction company.

William Brookes’ School Council has raised £500 for the British Red Cross by holding a non-uniform day.

Each year the council considers requests for support from many good causes, and the British Red Cross was one of the charities chosen this year.  The organization has been working with us every week for the past two years, helping students understand more about them and the people they help. 

Presenting the cheque to British Red Cross volunteer, Carl Hughes are Harley, Jodie, Emily and Liam. These students are now busy spearheading another initiative; to build Christmas Boxes. Watch this space for further news. 

If you would like to take part in any of the many activities provided by the British Red Cross, get yourself over to Room 6 on Tuesdays at 12.30pm. and don’t forget to bring your lunch.

You’d be forgiven for not recognizing this tumbleweed-tangled trio. These beehive-bonced students are just a small part of the greater effort to raise money for a variety of charities as part of their PSHE studies.

If ‘wackifying’ your hair appeals to you, bring in your £1 donation on Friday, 21^st November and feel free to freestyle your follicles!

Mrs Turner and Mrs Horsley explain a little more.

The Giving Nation Challenge is an initiative by the Citizenship Foundation, open to any school in England.

Here at William Brookes School, each Year 9 class followed the GN guidance on their website and used their resources to plan, check, carry out and evaluate their activity.

Each class chose a cause and made a decision on what they would like to do for their chosen cause.

All the classes have chosen different charities and are raising money for and awareness about their particular issues. Some of the activities have been completed and some are yet to be done. The list includes:

9T - Sponsored walk for Help the Aged;

9S - Fashion show and Wacky Hair Day for NSPCC and Childline;

9R - Obstacle course and 5-a-side football;

9M - Car Washing and Scrufts obstacle course challenge for RSPCA;

9N - ‘WBS Factor’ talent show for prevention of child abuse;

9L - Sponsored walk, arm wrestling, cake selling, checkout packing and football tournament.

The classes have worked in small groups to do various things, such as: contacting outside speakers; talking to the leadership team to support their activities; liaising with ICT staff to help promote their causes and asking staff for support. Students also have to plan and organise their events, from risk assessment to advertising and running a budget.

If ever you wanted proof that you’ve got to be ‘in it to win it’, here she is. Not only did Joanna scoop third prize for her Christmas card design, she’s also taken the same honours in a regional competition to promote use of public transport in the
Midlands.

The Year 9 student’s artwork will now be on tour throughout the West Midlands as a back poster on buses.  The design features children on a bus with green lights above their heads, ‘Think green, go green’ is the message. 

Joanna will attend a presentation next week to receive a framed copy of her finished design, along with £250 worth of art supplies for our school.

In her own words, Joanna recalls entering the competition: “Last term, I was asked in DT to design a poster for greener travel to go on the back of buses all around the West Midlands. My design was of kids on a school bus with green lights above their heads. Everyone in the class did one and Mrs Wild gave them in. Then, a few days after we came back, a friend of mine said Mrs Wild wanted to see me about winning something. I thought it was just a joke, but I was wrong! 14 people from schools all around the West Midlands have been chosen, and I was one of them! Imagine that!  There will be more art supplies for the school and my design will be on buses all around the West Midlands!”

The William Brookes Christmas Card 2008 Competition has been judged. The winning trio are Year 7 - Tom, Year 8 - Nicola and Year 9 - Joanna.  Tom’s first place design netted him £30, whilst Nicola landed a tin of chocolates and Joanna, a box of chocolates.

All of the entrants won prizes - each one rewarded with a tube of sweets for their efforts.

A big thank you to Mrs Hudson and Miss Taylor for organising the competition and providing the prizes.

We would like to warmly invite you to our Open Evening on Tuesday, 11th November.

After a welcome and introduction at 7 pm., you are invited to discuss subject choices with tutors and meet the students to find out what Sixth Form life is really like!

Head of Sixth Form, Miss Catherine Fisher, will also be on hand to answer any queries regarding further education at William Brookes.

Sixth form students were joined by Councilors John Everall and Yvonne Holyoak to watch a performance about driver safety today.

The Walking Forward Theatre Company included a Jerry Springer style interview with the play’s characters, involving the students (and PC Lippitt) in the ensuing debate.The touring performance is aiming to reach an audience of 1500 students throughout Shropshire by the end of this week.

‘Terry’ Springer puts student James Newman on the spot, as Elise Biddulph shoots him one of those ‘Now, who’s been put on the spot by a national TV presenter, regarding your reckless driving style’ looks.

PC Lippitt was on hand during the performance to add a sense of reality to the serious message the play was delivering.

Below: Councilors Holyoak and Everall with Shropshire’s Road Safety Officer, Malcolm Farrar (right).

This year’s Open Evening was as good as ever, with lots of activities, displays, demonstrations and sound advice from staff and students alike.

It was a very busy, exciting event and we hope you all left with a taste of what life is like at William Brookes School.

A big thank you to all the volunteers on the day.  Once again, you did us proud and it was rewarding to hear so many visitors commenting on how knowledgeable, courteous and enthusiastic students were.