Wetherby News
Year 5 2010/2011
Friday 11th June 2010
Year 4 parents received a letter last night regarding Year 5 next year. Due to the unprecedented demand for places at the school, I have decided to divide these two forms into three classes of 15 boys from September. This will mirror the three classes of 15 due to start in September in Year 4.
We are now officially ‘full’ across the school. If an outstanding candidate, both academically and socially, applies to the school we will still assess him, but I am more than satisfied with the current quantity and quality of our roll. This time last year we had 104 boys in the school. This September we will have 200. In what are increasingly uncertain times for private education, that is a truly remarkable rate of expansion.
slapton sands 2010
Friday 28th May 2010
The Year 7 trip to Slapton Sands in South Devon was a fun filled week of geography field work which the boys thoroughly enjoyed! The majority of each day was spent outside investigating landforms, erosion, river flooding and a study of the River Harbourne from source to mouth. This was one of the highlights as the boys were separated into small teams and asked to investigate various aspects like the wet perimeter, bedrock size and water flow. The boys tackled this task with gusto and particularly enjoyed using the various instruments required to fulfil these tasks!
Our final day was spent walking along the beautiful Prawle coastline which culminated in a scavenger hunt amongst some rock pools. This brought out the competitive side of the boys as they desperately tried to fill their buckets with the sea life in half an hour! It was a super afternoon and the winning team included Edoardo Marolda, Andreas Conte, Edward Jordan and William Corsellis. Their winning animal was the velvet swimming crab, which had red eyes and was several different colours.
from the headmaster
Friday 28th May 2010
I do hope that the boys get the opportunity to have some fun and relaxation over the next week. Exams are important but rest, recuperation and time away from school are vital for healthy bodies and minds. We expect the boys to do as well as they possibly can but they should not be disheartened if they get a low mark. Rather, they should learn from their mistakes and rectify them the next time around. When your son receives his marks, please take our exam policy into consideration. Wetherby Prep examinations are created with an average mark of 65% in mind: above this and the exam lacks credibility. Scores in the high eighties and nineties look good on paper but, in reality, parents, boys and teachers would learn little from them and such figures would not be indicative of thorough preparation for the competitive entry requirements of secondary schools.
In Years 6 and 7, boys sit past Common Entrance papers and, again, their marks need to be taken in this particular context. The commonly agreed pass mark at CE is 55-60%, thus if your son gets in the high 40s, he needs only to find 10/15 marks over the course of a year to pass the exam. We apply the most stringent of standards to our exam marking. Based on last year’s CE results, our assessment criteria were typically a grade below final CE results. I hope that you will appreciate the manner in which our approach serves the aim of higher standards and avoids the risk of complacency.
We wish our Year 8 CE candidates the very best of luck. Last year’s exit group set a very high standard but I am confident that the ‘Class of 2010’ can do even better. Good luck to them and to all of our boys sitting exams after Half Term.
Rowing 2010/2011
Friday May 28th 2010
Mr. McClinton writes…
We have had a wonderful year rowing on the River Thames at Putney with our Year 7 and 8 boys. The uptake and interest has been excellent and the levels of commitment commendable throughout the year. I am planning for the start of the rowing season, September 2010 and am looking to our current Year 6 boys for a fresh uptake. The current Year 7 squad are exceptionally strong, I expect exciting things from them next year given the experience they have had. If you feel your son would be interested in this please email me at: john.mcclinton@wetherbyprep.co.uk
from the headmaster
Friday 28th May 2010
Our ‘new and improved’ website was launched yesterday. This is easier to navigate than the previous version and I want it to become the main focus of information about the school for current and prospective parents. All past editions of the Wetherbuzz will continue to go in the ‘Parents’ Area’, as well as letters regarding clubs, trips and fixtures. Revision Guides will be accessed from the individual subject pages and the interactive calendar will be the most reliable and up to date place to find details of all events. There is even a ‘twitter’ feed – this is not really my area, but I have posted a number of ‘tweets’ already and hopefully I will continue to keep them interesting, relevant and frequent!
By navigating your way through the site, you will see that there are a few pages that require further development. These will be updated over the coming weeks and I am keen that the site stays ‘fresh’. If you have any suggestions about ways we can improve the website, please email me at the School.
You will recall from last week’s Wetherbuzz that I was keen to develop the Senior Boys’ Common Room into a Fitness Suite. I am delighted to announce that two families in our School have come together to donate the full cost of this venture. This is incredibly generous and I have written personally to thank them on behalf of the whole School community – we will have an official naming and opening ceremony at the start of next term. My thanks also to a number of other families who have offered to donate money towards the School. We do have a ‘wish list’ of superb equipment that we will now be able to buy for the boys. From everyone involved with Wetherby Prep School, thank you!
fitness suite project 2010
Friday 21st May 2010
Over the years, many of you have asked whether there might be an item or project that would benefit both the boys and the school. Through the generosity of our parent community we have been able to buy many prizes and library books, as well as a trophy cabinet, honours boards and paintings of the school. This year a parent has donated the cost of the commissioned paintings that will soon be displayed in the library. More on this later in the term, as these are truly spectacular works of art.
We have many rooms in the school and I would like to develop certain areas to enhance the unique experience of being a Wetherby Prep boy. Over the summer, I would like to transform the Senior Boys’ Common Room into a custom-made Fitness Suite. I envisage a fully integrated and networked suite, offering rowing ergometers, treadmills and a dual, adjustable multi-gym. All the equipment would be connected to a “Hosand system”, recording each individual’s work-rate over time.
This would be an excellent opportunity to supplement and advance our existing rowing programme in the senior part of the school and to improve and monitor the fitness and conditioning of all senior boys. The suite would, of course, be made available to staff and our parent body.
We have had an incredibly successful year but the funding of a Fitness Suite is probably not something that can be secured from the Board at this stage! We estimate the total cost to be in the region of £15-20000. If you are interested in finding out more about this project and wish to learn about the break down cost of individual items, I would be very pleased to hear from you. With any luck, this exciting plan could be in place by September...
I do wish to stress, however, that this is not the start of an annual appeal for funds as such nor is a Fitness Suite something that a good Prep School ought to have and therefore something that should be provided out of school fees. This is, what I believe to be, a constructive response to requests from parents for something worthwhile to contribute to the school. It is also something that would add an awful lot to what Wetherby Prep has to offer.
Budding musicians
Friday 14th May 2010
Over the last term, a band has formed at Wetherby Prep. The boys have been practising hard, working together in the music practice rooms during their free time. It was great to see these boys performing their rendition of Michael Jackson’s ‘I Want You Back’ so capably in assembly this morning. It was a performance enjoyed by staff and pupils alike. Well done, boys!
The instrumental competition is coming up on the 17th of June. The sign-up sheet is on the board outside the music room. Make sure you put your name down, and keep practising!
