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!