Headteacher's Message
28 Nov 2025
Dear Parents, Carers and Students
I am writing to you following our Presentation Evening where we had the pleasure of celebrating the achievements of over 130 students from WSFG from years 8 to 12.
The aim of the evening was to further develop our culture of praise and achievement in the school and ensure that a wider range of students benefit from praise and rewards. We wanted to acknowledge students who work hard, embody our values and are great ambassadors for the school.
We are immensely proud of all our students, not just those who received awards last night. Teachers faced a very difficult task when we asked them for nominations because they had so many fantastic students to choose from. Prizes were awarded for character and commitment, as well as academic effort and achievement. We hope that the evening helped to recognise the efforts of a range of students and will inspire others to do the same. Students will never be awarded the same prize twice and we therefore intend for the widest range of students to be recognised for their commitment, progress and achievement during their time with us.
Saarah Patel, one of our ex-students, was our Guest of Honour and she paid tribute to the importance of friendship, belonging, learning how to overcome challenges and being inspired by her teachers during her time at WSFG. She reinforced what fantastic staff we have at the school and the difference they make to our students every day.
Punctuality
Since we have changed our school day, we have seen a significant improvement in punctuality to school with 43% fewer lates than this time last year! Thank you to parents and carers for ensuring your daughter arrives at school on time. There is still room for improvement, however, with some students arriving after 8.40, giving them little time to get to lessons on time by 8.45, after which they are marked in late. Please ensure your child arrives by 8.40, or earlier. They are welcome to attend Breakfast Club at 8.00 and the school gates open from 8.15.
Smartphone Free School
WSFG intends to be a Smartphone Free School in September. We want to use this opportunity to encourage students to make healthier, more age-appropriate choices, away from the addictive and sometimes harmful pressures of smartphones and the online world. Our school motto is ‘Neglect not the gift that is in thee’, meaning that we want all of our students to have the widest range of learning experiences in order to find their superpower, not be limited by an algorithm, or someone else’s vision of who they can be.
We will be sending out more information for what this will mean for students and families, as well as holding stakeholder consultations with parents, students and staff in the New Year. Please look out for messages on Edulink in January if you wish to be involved. There will also be Q&A sessions with members of the senior team for parents in the Spring term.
Parental Contributions
A huge thank you to all those who have already made parental contributions via Parent Pay.
In case you did not see it, here is the link to our previous letter
We will update you on how your contributions are being spent in the Spring term. The PTA will be exploring what parents see as priorities and will be guiding us accordingly.
Black History Month
In addition to assemblies, tutor time sessions, I ran a competition for Black History Month which resulted in some creative and insightful entries. Students who took part in our assemblies reminded us of some pivotal moments in Black British History, one of which was the Bristol Bus Boycott. It is a great example of how activism can change the world for the better and was a huge influence on the Race Relations Act of 1965 which was 60 years old yesterday.
There is an interesting article on art as activism here
As you will see below, a huge amount has been happening in school since I last wrote to you in October. A personal favourite was the visit to the Regents Cinema last week where I had the privilege of seeing our students on stage with Jacinda Ardern: a once in a lifetime experience!
Wishing you all a restful weekend. Stay warm: we may have snow at the weekend...
With all good wishes
