Schools and Education

It’s hard to believe but we are back and in full swing for another Year at St Chad’s!

Much has changed in the school over the summer. After months of fundraising, we have managed to build a new outdoor gym complex for the children to use during break-times and lunch. This equipment will help to keep the children both in good physical and mental health. We feel very fortunate to have these facilities in our school.

The Year 2 classroom has been refurbished and has a fresh, modern feel, with more room and a brand-new media centre.

The new windows and doors have now been installed throughout school to better insulate and secure the premises. Hopefully, as you go past you will think the school is looking fresher and smarter.

However, as always, the school truly came to life when the children returned. It was lovely to see their excited faces as they entered their new classrooms and met their new teachers.

Our new reception children have settled in extremely well and I have loved getting to know them. Their enthusiasm and determination are an inspiration to us all.

On their fourth day of being at school, I asked them what they enjoyed the most. Here are some of their responses:

“I love building the train track and playing with the dinosaurs.” Charlie

“I like crafting unicorns. I crafted a real unicorn.” Edith

“I like making new friends.” Eliza

“I like playing with all of the grown-ups. I love them so much.” Benjamin

Whilst I was talking to them, there was suddenly a great commotion. When I went to investigate, the children enthusiastically showed me a little frog that they had spotted in our outdoor area. They were absolutely intrigued.

At the upper end of the school, Year 6 have already been on their first school trip to the Holocaust Museum. They were extremely respectful and the guides were amazed by the amount of knowledge they had already learned in their first four days of school.

Upcoming events

PLEASE CHECK ALL THESE DATES

8 Oct – Open Morning for Prospective Reception 2025 Parents

15 Oct – Harvest Service at St Chad’s Church

16 Oct – Y3 Stone Age Day

5 Nov – Y5 International Bomber Command Centre visit

5 Nov – Open Morning for Prospective Reception 2025 Parents

12-15 Nov – Y6 Residential to Norfolk

20 Nov – Y3 Hindu Experience Day in school

New Starters - St Chad’s Open Mornings

It will soon be time for parents to start thinking about choosing that all-important first school for children who are due to start in September 2025. We will be holding open mornings on Tuesday 8^th October and Tuesday 5^th November 2024. Contact the school office on 01673 860597 to book your place.

Mrs K Appleby Headteacher

Archbishops’ Young Leaders Award

We are also proud of our Year 2 and Year 4 pupils who worked hard during the final term on improving the school environment. Year 2’s social action project involved litter picking and weeding the grounds at the front of the school, whilst Year 4 complete a sponsored run to raise funds to improve the sensory area and weeded the wildlife area behind the EYFS area.

Investing in Our School

After months of fundraising, we have managed to build a new outdoor gym complex for the children to use during break-times and lunch. This equipment will help to keep the children both in good physical and mental health. We feel very fortunate to have these facilities in our school.

The Year 2 classroom will be undergoing a refurbishment this summer too. This will enable us to create more space within the classroom itself and be able to install a media centre for the class.

We will also be installing new windows and doors throughout school to better insulate and secure the premises. Hopefully, as you go past you will think the school is looking fresher and smarter.

For our latest news, you might like to check out our website https://www.dunholme.lincs.sch.uk/

Mrs K Appleby, Headteacher

It’s always such a lovely time of year when all the children come back to school after the summer holidays - big smiles, shiny shoes and lots of enthusiasm. All the Reception Class children came into school with no tears (only from the parents) on the first day, a great start to the term.

The Reception children are settling in well, getting used to our daily routine and their classroom surroundings. They already have a favourite day depending on which colour box their favourite toys are in.

Members of Key Stage One have blown Mrs Dodson away with their independence and fantastic attitude to learning. They have been great buddies to the new children, displaying one of our Hackthorn values – ‘Nurture’.

They are just starting their English, which for this term is ‘fairy tales’. At the front of the book is a little clue, a shoe, so the children have been looking at lots of different types of footwear in all shapes and sizes and have come up with some fantastic adjectives to describe them.

All Key Stage Two children had an exciting lesson when they returned to the classroom and their desks had been turned upside down. The children have been researching Stone Age cave art and are now doing some drawings on the underside of their desk just like Stone Age people.

Years 3 and 4 are studying the topic of the digestive system, looking at all the bodily functions. They have had great hilarity with their practical experiment, mushing up food through tights to make poo samples!

As we go to press, Key Stage 2 pupils are looking forward to spending the day at the Lincolnshire Showground to celebrate Lincolnshire Day.

We have an Autumn preschool activity in school on Friday, October 4 from 1.30pm – 2.30pm. If you have a child preschool age, it would be great to see you. Please just ring the school office to book a place on 01673 860295.

If you would like to come and visit us, please give the office a ring and we would love to show you around.

The Hackthorn Team

Lindsey u3a (Welton)

October, 2024 Newsletter (lindseyu3a.org.uk)

Lindsey u3a invites you to one of our monthly meetings and offers you the opportunity to join a wide variety of interest groups. Check out the interests available on the Group Guide page on our website lindseyu3a.org.uk

Our environmental group “Trojan Mice” whilst recycling used water filters, old spectacles, blister packs, batteries, ink cartridges and light bulbs has started a collection of unused toiletries initiated by one of our members, Paul Lock. He delivers them to the abdominal surgery ward at Lincoln County Hospital for distribution to patients in need. Unused and unopened items such as soap, deodorant, shower gel, shampoo and lotions will be gratefully received at any of our monthly meetings.

Lindsey u3a meets at Welton Village Hall usually on the first Thursday of the month. You are invited with no obligation to one of our meetings. Doors open at 9.45am for tea/coffee followed by a speaker at 10.30am. If you decide to come along for a look, tell someone on reception you are new and one of our friendly greeters will show you round and answer any questions..

On 3rd October Philip Caine will give us an interesting, humorous and inspirational account of his career “From Barrow to Baghdad” starting as a chef, then working on the oil rigs in the North Sea, Algeria, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Russia and finally with the American Coalition in Baghdad. Andy Blow will join us on 7th November with his talk about “ The Invention of the Tank in Lincoln” which includes some original film of their testing plus a lot of Lincoln’s social history and family life from over a hundred years ago.

We offer various interest groups run by members for members. Check out our website lindseyu3a.org.uk to see if anything appeals to you.

u3a members can also join various online talks, workshops and courses. You can find out more from www.u3a.org.uk

If you can’t come to one of our general meetings you could join us at the ‘Gardeners’ Retreat’ tearoom at Scothern Nurseries for a cuppa and a chat at 10.15am on the fourth Thursday of the month. The next coffee morning will take place on 25th October. Whether you’re a newcomer wanting to know more about Lindsey u3a or if you’re already a member and just fancy a cuppa, maybe a scone and a chat, do come along. Everyone is welcome.

Everything you need to know about Lindsey u3a can be found on our website lindseyu3a.org.uk. You will find a comprehensive list of our interest groups, where and when they meet plus news about visits of local interest or theatre visits, lunches and holidays arranged by members for members.

Should you require any further information about Lindsey u3a please contact Mandy Murphy Tel: 01673 565295

Email: mandy.murphy1396@gmail.com

Best Wishes

Sheila Nash

"William Farr Church of England Comprehensive
School is one of the best schools in the country at outperforming expectations for their pupils and improving their future prospects. There is plenty that other schools could learn from William Farr Church of England Comprehensive School's success." - Sue Williamson, Chief Executive of SSAT

Vision

William Farr C of E Comprehensive School aims to provide the highest quality of education whereby everyone is encouraged to strive for excellence in all that they do and each student is known, valued and achieves as an individual. We will know that we have achieved our vision when:

Every student has the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding through a broad and balanced curriculum Every individual is confident and behaves in a way that reflects the Christian principles on which the school was founded.
Everyone knows they are valued.

William Farr Comprehensive School is a Church of England school for 11 - 18 year olds, located in the village of Welton, near Lincoln. It was opened in 1952 on the site of the RAF Dunholme Lodge, a WW2 bomber station, which had been bought for £600 in 1946 by William Farr, the vicar of Welton. The school was named after him when he died in 1955. It acquired comprehensive status in 1974, and Grant Maintained status in 1992 - a scheme that was later abolished by the Labour government - and in 2000 William Farr signed up for the latest education initiative and attained Technology College status. It is also an associate school of the University of Lincoln. In 2001 William Farr achieved the distinction of having the best comprehensive school A-level results in England.
In 2006 William Farr received an outstanding award in every category in an OFSTED inspection, the best in the country. In 2007 the school changed it Specialist Schools ad Academies Trust status to a Science College and added the additional distinctions of being a Leading Edge School and A Raising Achievement and Transforming Learning school.
William Farr School is proud of its reputation for academic excellence and the high standards and expectations shared by all staff and pupils. We aim to provide a broad and balanced programme of study by which all pupils of whatever aptitude and ability can reach their highest standards of academic achievement and levels of qualification in public examinations and tests.

We recognise that pupils mature academically at different times and that their interests change. We are concerned that pupils maintain as comprehensive a study base as possible and our curriculum is specifically designed to prevent over specialisation. In this way our pupils can keep their post 16+ options open.

During the time pupils spend at William Farr the academic curriculum is organised to guide them into those subjects where they will develop the greatest sense of achievement and the best examination results

The organisation of subjects in each year may vary because it has always been school policy to allow individual
Heads of Department and their staff the professional freedom to decide the most efficient way to teach their particular discipline from Year 7 to Year 13 and the GCSE and A level examinations.

Academic work is but one part of the `whole curriculum' at William Farr. It is essential that parents join the staff
in ensuring that pupil attitudes to their studies are supported by the school systems of welfare, guidance and care. The development and outlook of pupils are enhanced further by active involvement in the many ‘extra curricular' activities on offer at William Farr.

A summary of each subject's curriculum is given below and we would emphasise to parents that they should always be aware that each year is not separate and isolated but part of a five or seven year integrated programme of study.

The result of the emphasis on quality and discipline can be measured by the consistency of examination success shared by all pupils at all levels of ability. In 2012, 77% of our entry gained 5+ GCSE‘s at grades A*-C including English and Maths, (the National average was 54%); and at A level, an average point score of 361 UCAS
points per pupil.

DFE Performance Tables.

http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/school.pl?urn=136415

Inspection Reports.

http://www.williamfarr.lincs.sch.uk/about-us/inspection-reports

Dunholme Village

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Dunholme St Chad’s

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL WEB SITE OF DUNHOLME VILLAGE, LINCOLNSHIRE