3
Department. We said farewell to Mrs Cade-
Stewart, teacher of Latin, and to Mrs Scott who left
the English Department after two years’ service.
Miss Clifford, our Dance teacher, left the School in
September and we welcomed Mrs Purdy and Miss
Hurrell to teach the A Level and GCSE courses.
In the Music Department, we said farewell to
Mr Stafford, who after 11 years of teaching
Piano within the School left due to ill health.
Mr Stafford also led the Chapel Choir for a number
of years too. Mrs Peters, Brass teacher and
Mrs Ochala-Greenough, Singing teacher, also left
this summer to take on other posts and we say
farewell to Mr Crackle, who taught both flute and
classroom music.
Mr Helstrip joined the School in September 2003
as Network Manager and saw significant
change during his time here with the near
constant upgrading of the School’s network and
introduction of new technology, including the
recent iPad development. He retired this summer
after 13 years’ service and we wish him every
happiness in the future.
We welcomed Mrs Cupoli who joined us in the
autumn term as Homework Supervisor, working
alongside Mrs Langford to supervise pupils after
school.
We said farewell to our two Gap Tutors, Megan
Hood and Shana Williams. Both settled in to life
at TPS very quickly and soon proved invaluable
in their respective roles around the School. In
January, we welcomed two new Gap Staff, Gabby
Perry from Australia and Meg Petherick from
New Zealand.
Finally, after another successful year, I would like
to thank again all of the staff who worked very
hard to deliver so many wonderful experiences for
our boys and girls.
I hope that you enjoy reading this year’s
Westwoodian and we look forward to learning of
your news and seeing you in the near future.
During the summer we once again celebrated
the fruits of pupils’ labours, with excellent results
at Key Stage 1 and 2, GCSEs and A Levels.
Reception Foundation Stage Profile Scores were
again very good with more than 50% achieving
‘Exceeding’ in most areas and at both Key Stage
1 and 2 we have seen results which are far in
excess of the national standard. Pupils celebrated
outstanding GCSE results with a third of them
achieving an impressive 8 or more A* or A grades,
and 23% of all candidates gaining this in 10 or
more subjects. In total, over half of all the grades
were at A* or A (51%). At A Level all except two of
this year’s exams were passed and almost two
thirds of grades (65%) were at A* to C. Many
results were enhanced by excellent Extended
Project Qualification (EPQ) results, half of which
were at A* or A. My congratulations again go to
them all on their achievements.
Staff News
The role of a Bursar is a complex one, involving
safeguarding the financial health of the School to
leading health and safety, estates management
and many, many other areas besides. Chris
Charlton joined the School in September 2007 at
the same time that I took over as Headmaster and
as such we have worked closely together over the
last nine years. They do say that the relationship
between a Head and the Bursar is a crucial one
and I am pleased to say that Chris and I worked
well together and during the time have seen
considerable change and development while the
School remains in sound financial health. As he
left in August, we offered our thanks to Chris for
his service to the School and wished him and his
wife Sue a long and happy retirement together.
In February we welcomed our new Chaplain,
Revd Toby Sherring. Father Toby joined the
School from his post as Chaplain at St Hilda’s
Anglican School for Girls in Perth, Australia.
In the Preparatory School, it was a pleasure to
welcome Mrs Noone, teaching in Year 5, while in
the summer we said farewell to Mrs Quy who
worked as Teaching Assistant.
In the Senior School, we welcomed Mr Dyer as
Head of Business Studies, Economics and
Careers and Mrs Porsz re-joined the Sports Headmaster
