August 2006
A Level students at Writhlington School had another record breaking year as their results were published. The pass rate at the school was 100% for the third year in a row and the university points tally topped 300 for the second time in three years. The percentage of top A and B grades was over 56% and well over half the students gained at least 1 A grade. Twelve students obtained at least 2 A grades and three students scooped 3 A grades each (Natalie Folland, Russell Harwood and Apryl Parfitt).
In the national Guardian newspaper, Writhlington features in the top 150 in a league table of best performing schools based on average points score.
Headteacher Marie Getheridge said : "I am delighted with the success of our Advanced Level students. The 100% pass rate and the continued rise in the percentage of high level grades is a reflection of the hard work and diligence of both students and staff."
August 2006
Year 11 students at Writhlington School had their best ever set of GCSE results this week with 70 % of the year group passing at least 5 subjects at grade C or above. There were some outstanding individual results and over 75% of the grades were at A*-C.
Headteacher Marie Getheridge said: “This is our best ever year for examination results and reflects the continued hard work by staff and students. I am especially pleased that every single one of our Year 11 students has obtained GCSE qualifications and is able to pursue their career options at Post 16 level. The percentage of high level grades at GCSE level is well merited. All of our students have really worked hard and thoroughly deserve their success”
July 2006
 Assistant Headteacher James Fox was delighted to receive the award for "The Teacher of Enterprise" for the South West by Young Enterprise.
James said " I accept this award on behalf of all of the students and teachers at Writhlington Business and Enterprise School and would like to thank Young Enterprise for being such an important stakeholder in our school."
The award was in part recognition of the extensive range of business and enterprise activities that have taken place at Writhlington over the last year, in particular the extremely successful Enterprise Week where all students took part in various business events.
July 2006
Leavers' Day
 The Year 11 pupils arrived at 10:30am looking like a million dollars in their glad rags (see students photos). Some of them chose to arrive in style, even using a wedding car bedecked with ribbons.
After welcoming refreshments in the dining hall, they were entertained by Austin Drage, a pop star currently appearing in the E4 programme ‘Girls will be Boys.’
 After the performance, Austin joined the students for a buffet style lunch. Many thanks to the kitchen staff for the wonderful spread they put on.
The day was rounded off with a celebration assembly where the students were shown a DVD which was a compilation of photographs from their 5 years at Writhlington set to music. Ms Getheridge then made a speech and gave out several prizes.
 Finally, the students made a grand exit in every mode of transport from massive limousines to a horse and cart!
A good day was had by all!
June 2006
 Writhlington was successful in gaining Challenge Award status making us the only school in Bath and North East Somerset and only the thirteenth secondary school nationally to meet the standards of excellence required to gain the award. The award recognises outstanding teaching and the contribution staff make in providing challenging lessons for students of all abilities, particularly for gifted and talented. The standards met include those in teaching, learning, staff development, quality of student work and relationships with parents and governors. The award also recognises the school’s excellence in the arts,enterprise education, music and sport.
Writhlington is now a recognised centre of excellence in teaching and learning where students enjoy a challenging and stimulating learning environment. As a result of gaining the award the school will become a beacon of leading practice in provision for able students and has already been approached to host national conferences and share good practice at a national level. Staff have already been invited by other schools to present the work of the Challenge Award and support them in reaching these high standards of provision. The school will be presented with the award at a special ceremony at the House of Commons early in the autumn term.
June 2006
Our Student Council managed a very successful conference for Bath and North East Somerset secondary students and staff.
The title of the conference was :Challenge, Innovation and Enterprise
The conference was conceived with the following aims:
- To celebrate student achievement and innovation in learning across all Bath and North East Somerset secondary schools
- To enable Students to establish learning networks with each other and local organisations
- To develop project leadership and management capabilities of school councils
- To enable students to extend the boundaries of their own learning through active participation in learning workshops
- To promote inclusion and collaboration across the authority
There were up to 15 student delegates per school from 11 Bath & N.E Somerset secondary schools and in total over 200 people attended the conference, which included keynote speeches from local MP Dan Norris, a speaker from The Dyson Group of companies and successful former Writhlington student Yan Pugh Jones, who now works for AstonMartin Lagonda.
 Over 450 students from years 5 and 6 in eight of our local primary schools attended a wonderful award ceremony on June 20th to celebrate achievement and effort in Information Communication Technology. The ceremony was hosted by Writhlington.
All eight schools are members of the Writhlington Community Learning Federation - a group of schools working collaboratively to extend the boundaries of learning for all by developing ways to enrich the curriculum.
Each student received a certificate and the finalists won individual personal computers donated by local IT firm, Computer Village.
Speaking at the event, Mr Cattanach, Deputy Headteacher, praised all the entrants for the high standard of work entered in the competition and thanked parents and teachers for supporting the children.
May 2006
 The Orchid project has won a coveted Gold Medal in the category Lifelong Learning at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Showwhich runs from 23-27 May.
The invitation to exhibit at Chelsea follows a string of recent successes including a Gold Medal from the royal Horticultural Society at the London International Orchid Show in March.
The school’s exhibit at Chelsea (click to see photo) tells the story of the Orchid Project through plants, images and text. The display highlights the award-winning science research carried out on recent expeditions to Guatemala, Costa Rica and Brazil. This includes work that has won students a place at this year’s finals of Young Scientist of the Year.
The exhibit highlights our enterprise initiatives in Guatemala, India, Costa Rica and Gabon and how the school has linked these partners in the UK including The Eden Project, Bicton Park Botanic Gardens, AT Bristol and Hillier Garden Centres.
The exhibit also includes information about the habitats, status and cultivation of tropical orchids and demonstrates excellence in raising and growing orchids from all over the globe. Visitors to the display will also find out about the award-winning Young Enterprise projects run by students at Writhlington including National Prize winning companies Los Amigos del Bosqueand Brazil-Brasil.
 The orchid species in the display have all been grown by students and include many plants raised from seed. The display is supported with information about every species present including the natural habitat, conservation status, cultivation and other human stories, such as Encycliacochleata being the national flower of Belize.
There is a special focus on the diversity of species included in this display and how this represents the diversity in orchid species and the importance of protecting biodiversity especially in tropical forests.
 Teacher Simon Pugh-Jones has led expeditions to Guatemala, Costa Rica and Brazil, which have resulted in outstanding research. Student Callum Swift has been involved in the Orchid project since he was 11. Callum is the youngest person to be awarded an RHS Merlin Grant for his recent expedition to Guatemala where he worked with fellow student, Chris Ashman, who will also be at the show, to prepare a field guide to the orchids of the Yaxha Forest Reserve.
Chris has carried out research of orchids in the wild in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Brazil and was in the final of Young Scientist of the Year in February. He has also been awarded an RHS Merlin Grant in the summer of 2005.
May 2006
 Fever pitch hit a Science lab at Writhlington School this week as Ashley Davis and Mathew Clifford "kicked off" the Subbuteo World Cup held at the school. Twenty-four teams will battle it out on the green baize over the coming week, culminating in the Final in early June.
The competition was organised, refereed and managed by these two soccer mad Advanced Level students.
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