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It is my great pleasure
to welcome you to this
year’s edition of ‘The
Westwoodian’, the West-
woodians’ Association
Newsletter and to thank
all those who contributed
to it.
While we celebrate each
day the achievements of
our current pupils, it is
always a pleasure to learn of former pupils’
experiences and achievements beyond School
and to see Westwoodians when they return or
indeed when I bump in to them in and around
Peterborough. They always speak of their fond
memories of the School and this year’s Reunion
provided a great opportunity to get together and
reminisce. It was also the most successful with a
record number of visitors coming back to School
and several year-group gatherings joining us too.
I would like to extend my thanks to all those who
have contributed to it and especially to the
Committee for their hard work in organising the
event. My thanks go to our Chairman, Mrs Vicky
Axe and Association’s Secretary, Mrs Ivana Zizza
for their work throughout the year.
As the last academic year started, the School
once again opened its doors in September, 130
years after it was founded. As always, new pupils
started in Reception for their first day at School
and there was both apprehension and excitement
as pupils began their first week in the Senior
School. It has again been a pleasure to share in
many of their rich experiences – from exploring the
Forest School area looking for elves and dragons
with Reception to being fascinated by the
Extended Project Qualification presentations of
our Upper Sixth.
Whilst academic attainment is important, it is
the breadth of experiences which contributes to
each individual’s progress. They have developed
leadership and teamwork skills as well as gaining
confidence through a wide range of activities. It is
always a delight to see so many take part in the
annual musical; this year we saw some amazing
performances in
Oliver!
Students continue to
excel in curriculum drama too and it was a
pleasure to congratulate Head of School, Abigail
Jessop on passing her New Era Examinations
Level 4 Diploma in Performance; an outstanding
achievement. The Chapel Choir was delighted to
be invited to sing Evensong at Leicester and
Peterborough Cathedrals this year with wonderful
comments about their performances and, in fact,
we enjoyed beautiful singing from all our Choirs at
the Carol Service in December and at various
other events across the city. It was lovely to see
Westwoodians also attend this special event and
you are more than welcome to join us on
Wednesday 14th December at 7pm.
This has again been a terrific year for the Sports
Department with success in a wide range of sports
for both teams and individuals. The commitment
and dedication of our students remain resolute
and have enabled them to make significant
progress in achieving personal goals and in
representing the School. Our dominance in indoor
rowing was maintained with two teams winning
gold and becoming National Champions as well as
teams gaining ten silvers and five bronzes in the
Concept 2 National Indoor Rowing Leagues.
This year has seen our lecture series grow
with inspiring presentations given by Dr James
Grime demonstrating a WW2 Enigma machine
and a number of staff delivering Prestige Lectures
as part of our Able, Gifted and Talented
programme.
It is during the less formal times of the year that
children get to know each other well and this is no
more apparent on the various trips and visits that
take part during the year. The Year 6 Bushcraft
residential that took place for the first time this
year saw a number of children ‘sleeping’ outside;
they returned having had a fabulous time but
rather tired! The Sixth Form trip to Prague was
brilliant too with nearly 40 Sixth Formers joining
staff on this amazing weekend.
Adrian Meadows
