William Brookes School Blog

In our PSHE class, 9N, we are working on the giving nation project. We have decided to help raise money and awareness in aid of 3 charities; they are Cancer Research, Breast Cancer and Teenage Cancer Trust. To help raise the money we are doing a dance competition. The auditions have now passed and the finalists have been decided. The final is at lunchtime on Friday 6th of November.
Tickets are currently on sale and students are coming around forms in tutor time, they are being sold for £1.50. We hope you come along to watch the final, it will be a great show!

As work starts on the new swimming pool, Jaya and Rebecca celebrate their efforts in raising £335 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.  The girls came up with the idea to make people aware of the condition and to raise funds for suffering teenagers.

 

The swim lasted over an hour and covered 245 lengths of the pool, which is 6.125 kilometres (nearly 4 miles in old money).  “It was quite hard, but definitely worth doing”.

Both girls belong to Northgate Swimming Club and are very excited about the new swimming pool.

 

Let’s hope the new facility encourages even more people to aspire to Jaya and Rebecca’s swimming ability.

Congratulations to Matthew, a Year 10 William Brookes student who completed a 60 mile sponsored bike ride on Sunday 17^th May.

The ride began at New Street, Birmingham, 10.00 a.m. and finished a gruelling six hours later in Cheltenham.

Raising more than £300 for the following charities:- Autism West Midlands, Autonomy and Conductive Education.

The day was wet and windy and Matthew commented: “It was very hard at times with quite a few hills: some of them were long climbs, like the one at Broadway, but we all encouraged each other to get up them. There were about 300 of us taking part”.

Students have really made a fantastic effort for LEPRA this year.  In total we have raised £1,208.08 for 2008 (bit of a tongue-twister that one!).

As well as taking part in a massive fundraising ‘workout’, students used their own initiative to reach this highly commendable grand total.

LEPRA sent Karen Krstic to the school to present each student raising £21 or more with a T shirt.  In turn, we presented her with a large cheque for the charity.

Mrs Horsley would like to say a  BIG thank you to all those who took part or gave to the cause.

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. 

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.

Every September the 6^th form get together on Macmillan Coffee Morning to help raise money for cancer… and prove we can actually cook!

This year was no different with Sixth Formers really proving their culinary skills; from Beth Dawe’s Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cake to a simply huge chocolate cake, as well as all the fantastic efforts made by everyone else. It was a surprise there was any cake left for the school to eat after the staff and Sixth Formers were let loose on the cakes at break. 

So, due to the massive efforts put towards Macmillan Coffee Morning, £320 was raised just from the cake stall, and then Barclays very generously doubled the amount, bringing the total to £640!  

It’s fantastic to know that our school and 6^th form community is so ready to put so much effort towards helping a greater cause. 

Words: Beccy Moore Photo: Tom Jennings

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of parents, students, staff and other parties connected with the school, William Brookes has proudly taken receipt of its new 17 seat minibus. 

Many students involved in sports fixtures, performing arts, school visits and college courses from across the school will benefit from its use over the coming years.

Mr Renwick, Co-Head, is joined by pupils James, Chelsea and Francesca as Simon Griffin from Greenhous hands over the keys to the new vehicle.