Woodhouse Grove School news in brief
There's a lot happening at the Grove! Below you'll find a brief round-up of some of the latest news. You can find more on the News and Events page of the WGS website>>
Sporting Stars at the Grove
The School welcomed two star pupils this year; Dalton Polius, a 17 year old cricketer from St Lucia, and Alex Kirk, a member of the Leeds Carnegie Netball squad.
Dalton Polius: "An outstanding display"
Dalton was 'spotted' by Mr Frost during the recent 1st XI tour to the West Indies. In the fixture against Castries High School, Woodhouse Grove scored 290 for 5 in 40 overs. In reply, Dalton scored 170 runs in Castries winning total of 294 for 9.
To quote one member of our squad, "with Castries losing two early wickets, the game seemed to be heading the same way as the first, until a young St Lucian, Dalton Polius, decided to treat the crowd to an outstanding display, which saw him reach 169 runs with shots to all areas of the ground.
When we finally managed to get him out, it was too late, he had done the damage and almost chased down our total on his own, leaving his team needing only three from the last two overs, which they achieved with one wicket remaining.
It was only after the game that we learnt that he was a West Indian international and from what we witnessed, rightly so! Although we had lost, team morale was still high and we realised we had witnessed a special player."
Dalton has already made a big impression in West Indies cricket. In July 2007, he represented the Windward Islands in the National U19 competition in St Kitts having previously played for the West Indies U15 team and is hoping to make a big impression this summer on the cricket field.
Alex Kirk scoops OCS Young Sports Person Award
Lower Sixth student Alex Kirk has become only the second netballer to scoop a prestigious OCS Young Sports Person Award and was named the OCS Young Sports Person for the North East, beating several other candidates and sports to take the honour.
The OCS Young Person Awards celebrate sporting achievement and supports young athletes across the UK.
Alex collected a cheque for £2500 at a celebratory event in the OCS Stand at the Brit Oval.
Alex, who plays goal attack with Netball Superleague team Leeds Carnegie, is stunned by the award. 'To be honest, it's just a bit of a shock, I really never expected to win out of all the applicants but it will help me such a lot. I intend to purchase a laptop so I can work as I travel and keep up with my schoolwork'.
Rising star Alex has already toured southern Africa with the U21 netball team and been selected for the England 'A' open age squad. She hopes to be the youngest member of the England Netball squad at the World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. Alex is a future England Netball star and a real role model.
Inspectors give schools a glowing report
In March 2007, the Grove welcomed two teams of Independent Schools Council Inspectors to the Grove and Bronte House.
Following a few days of thorough examination of all areas of the school including pupils work, lesson observation and lengthy discussions with staff, pupils and parents, the team produced long and comprehensive reports which covered all aspects of school life, clearly identifying the schools' many core strengths and confirming what we already know - that the schools add value!
"The best inspection report the Grove has ever received"
Headmaster David Humphreys was delighted with the reports. "It is without doubt the best inspection report the Grove has ever received. The Inspectors recognised that Woodhouse Grove School is successful in achieving its aim to provide opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and skills across all areas.
"They confirmed the quality of teaching, extra-curricular activities and pastoral care throughout the school and commended staff and pupils for the contribution they make to the happy and purposeful community they found here. In a good number of areas of school life there were examples and evidence of the very best that any school could offer."
Praise for Bronte House
The Inspectors had equally high praise for Bronte House: 'pupils are exceptionally well cared for and their personal development is excellent. A broad curriculum is provided with opportunities for all pupils to learn and achieve well. The extra-curricular programme is outstanding. The pupils' behaviour and attitudes to learning are exemplary and relationships between all the school communities are very strong.'
The report highly praised the Grove for meeting its aim of providing an education which recognises the contribution of all pupils, in whatever field, with success and concluded by saying 'the academic achievements of pupils have continued to develop, with many pupils, of all abilities and ages, achieving academic standards which fulfil or exceed their potential.'
Mr Humphreys concluded: "The Inspectors recommendations to support further school improvement are very limited indeed, the one 'next step' has already been identified and a new faculty system has been implemented, however, we won't be complacent and anything we can do to improve the education we provide, throughout the school will be something we will want to continue to do."
New Music and Drama Building
Anyone visiting school recently will notice that work has already started on the new Music and Drama building and will be finished, all being well, by late October 2008.
The building will be attached to the back of the theatre and will provide a large drama and dance studio, a large music rehearsal room, a modern keyboard and composing room, several classrooms, acoustically engineered practice rooms, offices and a recording studio.
It will certainly rival similar facilities anywhere else in the area and the school is increasingly excited about the impact this new building will have on the performing arts provision.