Easter Prayers

Lord, by the Easter mystery you touch our lives with the healing power of your love. You have given us the freedom and the promise of eternal life. May we celebrate your gift, and find joy in it forever in heaven. May each of us make your love known in all that we say and do. May we give to others the sense of hope that you give to us. Amen.

Risen Lord Jesus, the truth of your resurrection echoes throughout this Easter season. Help me, my family and friends to grow strong in faith and know your presence. Amen.

International Week 2007 "Every Child Matters"

On Monday 5th March 157 students and teachers from 6 countries descended upon Featherstone for the 7th annual International Week at St. Wilfrid’s. Visitors, old and new, came from partner schools in Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Ukraine. Our partner school in Spain joined us for the first time, whereas our German partner school was visiting for its 18th year!

On Monday afternoon some of our primary feeder schools got the week off to a great start by taking part in the 2nd Primary Song Extravaganza. The event was organised by Jane Johnson, Primary Languages Coordinator and gave the students the perfect opportunity to show off their languages skills.

Over 100 hundred of our guests were hosted by families of students at St. Wilfrid’s. This gave our international guests the chance to experience life in an English home. Our English families made our students feel so welcome that most of them didn’t want to leave at the end of the week.

This year’s theme was “Every Child Matters” and international students, alongside students from St. Wilfrid’s, worked in teams on an exciting project. It was their task to adopt a virtual child from cities including Johannesburg, Bangkok, Marseille and Sarajevo. During the week, groups researched their given cities to create a life for their virtual child. On Thursday, all of their hard work was exhibited in school to Year 7 students. The exhibition was also displayed to specially invited guests, including the Mayor of Wakefield, on Thursday evening.

During the week students actively involved themselves in a range of other activities, including cookery workshops, origami making, Bollywood dancing and yoga sessions. Excursions also took place to York and the National Coal Mining Museum.

Perhaps the most memorable and lively event of all was the International Song Contest on Wednesday evening. Thirteen superb acts took to the stage to battle it out for the winning trophy but there could only be one winner. Our partner school in Lodi, Italy won the contest with a song and dance routine.

The week was not only an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to experience life in England, but also a week to build long-lasting friendships and take away very happy memories. We definitely succeeded in doing this and many of our partner schools enjoyed the week so much that they have already started planning for next year!

Ian Storey
Head of the International Dimension

Matthew's British Biology Olympiad success - wish him luck!!

The BBO is a competition open to all 6th form colleges in the country, and about 1500 people sat the first exam. Sixth form student Matthew Stammers received a Gold Medal from the first round, and was selected to sit the second paper. He has subsequently finished in the top 12 candidates,and has been selected for the practical training at Birmingham University over Easter. Four people will then be selected to represent Britain in the International Biology Olympiad in Canada.
This is an outstanding achievement for Matthew. The vast majority of successful competitors are from the top private schools. The exam papers are extremely difficult, and include material that is far in excess of what we do at A level. Matthew has shown a phenomenal understanding of the subject, and we wish him luck in the next stage of the competition.

Year 7 Reconciliation Service

On Thursday 15th March 2007, all members of Year 7 were given the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as part of the school’s Lenten preparation. The School theme for the year is “Back to the Father” which ties in well with the theme of “Repentance and Reconciliation” for the second year of the Diocese of Leeds Come and See renewal process.

At the start of the morning, there was a reconciliation service for all of Year 7, led by Mr Russell, with readings by members of 7Fisher. Students were reminded of the story of the Prodigal Son, and of the importance of the Sacrament. After the service, four of our local priests, Canon Maguire, Fr McGeough, Fr Reilly and Fr Powell spent the morning at school, hearing confessions from students. The priests said afterwards that they were impressed with the honesty of the students, and the way that they had been prepared to receive the sacrament.

England Rugby Union Triumph for Joe

Congratulations to Joseph Quinn in Year 11 who has been selected to represent England at Rugby Union at U16’s.
He has been selected as first choice Second Row and will be playing against France, Wales and Scotland over the Easter period.
This is an awesome achievement for Joe who plays for Leeds Tykes U16 Academy.
Good Luck Joe, we wish you well with the fixtures.

Cook off competition!

On Thursday 15th February Charlotte Thorpe and Ben Oldroyd went head to head in a competition cook off at Wakefield Restaurant Brasserie 99. The competition was held as part of the Wakefield Rhubarb Festival and was organised by the Primary Care trust to help promote healthy eating in schools and to highlight the importance of eating fresh, seasonal, locally produced ingredients. Charlotte and Ben were each assigned a chef to help them prepare their own two-course meal for the competition judges headed by Wakefield Lord Mayor Cllr. Darren Travis. After a great deal of discussion and taste testing Ben was awarded first prize with Charlotte the runner up.

The following Saturday, Ben cooked his winning menu again in front of an audience of 80 in the marquee erected for the festival in the city centre. Ben said that although there were far more people watching him in the marquee he found the actual competition day had made him much more nervous. Both Ben and Charlotte had an amazing experience and coped admirably with the pressure of such a high profile event.

Careers Fair

In February we held our first annual Careers Fair in the newly built Newland building. A variety of employers and Higher Education institutes attended the two-day event and were able to talk to and advise pupils with their career questions and career opportunities.

Pupils in Years 10 and 11 attended the event to assist them with their post-16 options and long-term career goals. Members of the sixth form were particularly interested in the assistance and advice offered from the Cambridge school liaisons officer who was able to share valuable knowledge about what makes a good University application with pupils.

The organisations that attended the Careers Fair were from a variety of industries such as catering, finance, the motor trade, the local council and trading standards to name a few. The Armed Forces were represented with all three forces in school and found themselves to be very busy and for their stalls to be well attended. Higher Education Institutes also attended the event including Trinity and All Saints College, University of Huddersfield and Cambridge University. The Higher Education Institutes handed out prospectuses to the pupils and discussed the courses available.

Pupils enjoyed the two-day event and came away with free pens, pencils and other promotional gifts, but most importantly a clearer idea of the opportunities available beyond their time at St. Wilfrid’s.

Samantha Pullan
Careers Co-ordinator

Army Exhibition North Trip

During the summer term 2006 a group of Year 9 and 10 pupils visited the Army Exhibition North held at Catterick Garrison Barracks in North Yorkshire. The annual three-day event showcases the different regiments, trades and careers available with the Army.
Pupils were able to talk to serving soldiers about their job roles, sit in heavy machinery and tanks, fly down a zip wire, complete a simulated parachute jump and join in many more activities that they normally would not get to do.
The pupils had a fantastic day and gained a lot from the experience.

Samantha Pullan
Careers Co-ordinator

Careers Team

Here at St Wilfrid’s we are lucky to have a well-resourced and staffed Careers Centre, which is located on the middle corridor in the Lindesfarne building. We have a variety of information available for young people to access including University prospectuses, career guides and DVD’s showing different job roles.

The Careers centre is staffed by Miss Pullan Careers Co-ordinator, Sally Hodgkinson Careers Personal Advisor from Connexions and the recently appointed Tim Dowey Intensive Personal Advisor also from Connexions. Sally’s job role includes advising young people on a range of options available to them both at post-16, post-18 and Year 8 pupils choosing their GCSE options. Tim’s job role includes assisting young people who have barriers to learning and offering them additional support.

The resource is available for pupils in all year groups to access during break and lunch times. If you would like to speak to a member of the team please contact through the main telephone number for the school.

Samantha Pullan
Careers Co-ordinator

Kickboxing Superstar Beth!

Who would believe that polite and charming Year 8 student Beth Billington is in fact a champion Kickboxer! Beth is THIRD in the World for her weight and has titles of 1st in England and 1st at British Championships. From Kinsley Hotel where she trains with tutors Ian Womersley and Debra Hicks she has travelled as far as Switzerland, Spain and Canada to represent her Country. Beth continues to have fun attending Team Strikes Club where she trains.

St Wilfrid’s Achieves Safe Mark Award

The safe mark award scheme was seen as a ideal opportunity to extend recent improvements in behavioural standards beyond the school gate.

The safemark consultation phase involved students, bus drivers, teachers, governors and local police. Safemark’s aim is to reduce unacceptable behaviour on buses and to improve the quality of the journey to and from school.

Joshua Angell and Valentine Nguhi, pupils from school, travelled with Mr Ray Rowett to collect the award from Councillor Mick Downes (Leeds City Council) at a ceremony held at Metro House Leeds.

Great Britain Water Polo Youth Team

With 14 years combined experience at water polo it's not surprising that pupils
Shaun Greatorex and Elliot Thompson have been chosen for the Great Britain Youth Team. They've both played for County and two weeks ago attended youth academy trials and were selected for the Country team. Both keen sportsmen they will attend training at Millfield School in April followed by an exciting trip to Bulgaria in the summer to represent their country!