24/08/2023Open Evening 2023
Welcome to our Open Experience webpage – as a school that prides itself on being at the heart of the community we are really excited to share our school with you. This will give you a real sense of how we strive to create the best possible learning climate for all of our students.
The transition from Primary school to Secondary school can be a big change for students and we pride ourselves on the support we are able to offer students throughout the transition process, please have a look at our transition page here to see the support that our transition team can offer you and your child.
Thursday 5th October- Open Evening Book Here
Monday 9th October- Open Morning Book Here
Tuesday 10th October- Open Morning Book Here
*Open Morning booking will go live on Wednesday 20th September at 6pm.
Year 6 Welcome Video
Virtual Tour
Please click the image to view our virtual tour
Inclusion & Intervention
We know that choosing a secondary school is difficult for all families but even more so if your child has additional needs. If you want to talk to our SENCO about the support that we are able to offer then please use the form below.
Tour of The Den
Wider Curriculum
Personal Development
We at Waingels are committed to helping our students to develop into well-rounded individuals who are Kind, Proud, Resilient and Respectful. Through the formal and pastoral curriculum, we seek to help students to develop key knowledge and skills that will help them to aim high, to reach their aspirations and to become positive members of society. To learn more about this, please visit our webpage here.
Community System
Check out our Community System webpage here to learn all about how students can represent their community and earn points.
EPQ Alumni Student Testimonials
Giorgia Morettin graduated Waingels in 2018 with an A* in EPQ alongside an A* in Italian, A in Maths and Spanish and a B in Further Maths. She went on to Lancaster University to study Maths and is currently applying for a research based internship in Switzerland. Having a passion for Physics Giorgia decided to focus on this for her EPQ as it was not one of the subjects she chose for A Levels. Within this project Giorgia researched the theoretical Physics of others and used this to explore the expansion of the universe, concluding with an impressive and engaging presentation on her findings. She has since been able to draw on the research skills she used for this project and has credited her project as the start of her interest in a career in research. Her project will be used as evidence for her upcoming applications and we wish her the best of luck in securing her internship.
“The EPQ has allowed me to completely satisfy my curiosity for topics beyond those covered in the school curriculum. It is a great opportunity to spend time diving into anything which fascinates you and develop the skills to understand how to form yourself independently by researching into the chosen topic. The amazing support I received allowed me to learn how I can identify the best resources. Furthermore I was able to use my creativity with approaching a new topic in different ways, leveraging my existing skills. It is a long journey but it feels so rewarding to share in the presentation all you have been passionately working on for a whole year!”
Giorgia Morettin
Lydia Owen has always been passionate about architecture and at GCSE and A level she chose subjects that supported this aspiration. Taking on the EPQ Lydia was focused on doing a project that incorporated architecture in some way. During the process of narrowing down her project Lydia settled on a project to investigate the effectiveness of the architectural design of Waingels. Following extensive research, which included feedback from staff and students, Lydia presented her finding to the school’s leadership team and Governors and her research was instrumental to many of the changes that have been made throughout the school in recent years. Changes have been made to ensure that it is used to maximise student engagement in learning for example dividing some of the open classrooms and using glass for the new classroom in red and yellow zone to maximise the amount of natural light that comes through the building. With an A* for her EPQ project and Graphics, and A in Psychology and a B in Maths Lydia went on the Oxford Brooks University to train as an architect. In 2021 she graduated with a first class hons in BA Architecture and has started a new job at a local architecture firm.
"For me, completing an EPQ allowed me to expand an interest of mine outside of my school subjects; which ultimately led to my choice of university course. In retrospect, researching and writing an extensive project prepared me for the types of assignments, and independent working that I experienced at university."
Lydia Owen
Emilia Harrison graduated from Waingels in 2020 with an A in Psychology, an A in Business and a B in Spanish. During her time with Waingels she pushed herself out of her comfort zone to run for the Head Team which paid off when she was given a much deserved position as ‘Head of Kindness’. Emilia had a keen interest in Law and completed her Sixth Form work experience in a local solicitors which fuelled her ambition, also taking part in the extra curricular activity that Waingels offer the ‘Bar Mock Trial’, culminating with a day at Reading Crown Court where she was awarded 10/10 by the Judge for her closing statement. These experiences together with her enthusiasm to learn have now led her to start a Law degree at Cardiff University.
Useful Links & Documents
