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Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been a particularly busy and exciting week at William Ford, with fantastic achievements from our pupils and ongoing opportunities to enrich their education.
Scholars programme graduation
A huge congratulations to some of our Year Six pupils who graduated from the Scholars Programme this week! Over the past term, these pupils have been developing their understanding of engineering and have undertaken a dissertation under the guidance of a PhD student. Their hard work culminated in a graduation ceremony at Cambridge University, where they celebrated their success alongside Year 8 pupils from a secondary school in Hertfordshire. During their visit, they also had the opportunity to tour the university, which we hope will inspire them to consider higher education in the future.
Lighthouse provision Tuck Shop launch
Our Lighthouse Provision pupils have been busy launching their very own tuck shop! In their first day of trading, they made an impressive £50 profit, which will be reinvested into special educational needs support. Given the success of this initiative, we are now looking to make it a regular weekly venture. This fantastic project not only supports the school but also helps develop entrepreneurial skills for the children involved.
Media coverage
This week has also seen some further media interest in our school. Many of you may have seen me on Channel 4 News on Monday, where I spoke about OFSTED, as well as on BBC Radio London. I hope that by raising awareness, we can play a small part in bringing about much-needed change to the current OFSTED framework. Following this, the cameraman from Channel 4 has kindly offered to return to William Ford to speak to our pupils about his career—an exciting opportunity that directly supports our careers education programme.
Safer Internet Day
Next week, schools across the country will recognise Safer Internet Day, designed to ensure pupils keep themselves safe from the numerous dangers that exist online. One of the most common issues we have to deal with at school is the inappropriate use of WhatsApp and social media. Last year alone, two pupil mobile phones were seized by the police and kept for about six weeks whilst they examined the contents of their galleries, Instagram, TikTok posts and WhatsApp groups. Many of these apps should not be used by children and those that do use them, especially when unsupervised, appear to get themselves into quite a bit of trouble! This year we are also calling on parents to model suitable mobile phone and internet use by carefully considering what you are posting about the school and members of the community who attend. Those that post such things may not share the contents of such communications with your children (I hope) but others may tell their children who report this back in school. Again, please model good online behaviours to your children and restrict what they access online.
Collective Worship
Our Peacemakers theme continues in Collective Worship this week, as we explore the importance of finding peace and reason in challenging times, focusing on Genesis 45.
I pray you all have a wonderful weekend.
Mr. David Huntingford
Headteacher
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Thank you to everyone who supported the Lighthouse Tuckshop this week. It was so successful that we have decided to make this a weekly event. Every Tuesday the Tuck Shop will be open. All items are 50p. Children will only be allowed to buy a maximum of 2 items each.
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We are excited to announce that starting Monday, 23rd February, we will be going live with the new system for preordering school lunches via ParentPay.
This system will make it easier for families to manage lunch orders and ensure that meals are prepared in advance. Please watch the video below for a guide on How to Book a Meal – Parent Support
Information will be sent soon, if you do not know your parentpay login information please contact the school office at office@williamfordschool.co.uk
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Year Three
Khadija 3F
Year Four
Quinn 4IW
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Year Five
Shiven 5W
Year Six
Claude 6B
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The Girl Who Planted Tree by Caryl Hart
I really like it because it is about a little girl that wants to help the environment. In order for the environment to survive and be a great place for other plants and trees and help people breath. I like how thoughtful and kind the girl is. It isn’t often that children think of others. I rate it 9/10 so have a read and tell me what think.
Desiree 3A
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07 Feb 2025
William Ford Pupils Graduate from Prestigious Scholars Programme at Cambridge University
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04 Feb 2025
Mr. Huntingford shares his views on the national news about changes to OFSTED.
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24 Jan 2025
This week Rodiatu tells us about watching the Watoto choir
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Year Three
What a fantastic week we've had! The children thoroughly enjoyed our Egyptian Day, and it was wonderful to see so many of them dressed up in such creative costumes. They had a great time learning and experiencing life in ancient Egypt.
What we have learnt about this week
This week, we had our round of Spring assessments in reading, maths, and SPAG. We will be sharing the results with you at the upcoming parent evening. In maths, we dedicated a lesson to revision, ensuring the children have a solid grasp of everything they’ve learned over the past couple of weeks. In PSHE, the children have started reflecting on their dreams and goals for the future, thinking about what they hope to achieve. In science, we’ve begun to group rocks based on their appearance and properties. Additionally, the children have been hard at work sewing their designs onto their Egyptian collars, putting their creativity and focus to the test!
What we will learn about next week
Next week, we will dive into our new poetry unit, where we will focus on The Sound Collector. In science, we will shift our attention to fossils, beginning with the fascinating work of Mary Anning. In maths, we will start learning about measurements, focusing on centimetres, metres, and millimetres. It’s set to be another exciting week ahead!
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Year Four
This week, year 4 worked extremely hard and made a great effort in all their subjects.
What we have learnt about this week In Year 4, the children undertook assessments and performed brilliantly, demonstrating their hard work and understanding of maths and English. In English, we began planning an instructional manual on how to make a dragonfly, encouraging creativity and clear communication. In Religious Education, our focus was on worldviews, where we examined evidence about various religions throughout history. Additionally, we explored the significance of iron and its superiority over bronze, enriching our understanding of material advancements in history.
What we will learn about next weekNext week in Year 4, we have an exciting array of activities planned. The children will continue their creative writing journey, focusing on their dragon manuals, where they can let their imaginations run wild. In Mathematics, we will further explore the concept of division, reinforcing their understanding through engaging exercises. During Religious Education, the pupils will research different worldviews present in our local community, which they will showcase on noticeboards. Lastly, in Science, the children will conduct an experiment to understand how sound travels and becomes faint.
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Year Five
We have had another lovely week in Year 5, with pupils giving their best effort, lots of fun in art and science, as well as pupils completing some of their Spring assessments.
What we have learnt about this week
This week in English, pupils continued to build their legend, based around and inspired by the theme of Beowulf. Pupils created a dilemma and a resolution for their legends.
In science, pupils were presented with an exciting investigation, to create a new energy drink bottle, for a brand-new energy drink for kids, that will rival the likes of Prime. Pupils decided which materials would be suitable, fit for purpose, safe and environmentally friendly!
In maths, we have completed 3 assessments, this week, mental arithmetic and reasoning papers and we are looking forward to seeing the progress of the pupils, as well as any areas for improvement.
What we will learn about next week
Next week is our final week, before the half term break, can you believe it!? We will be finishing up our legends in English, as well as our story Beowulf in Reading.
In maths, we will be moving on to fractions next week and in Science, we will be completing our science investigation, and constructing the pupils’ drinks bottles.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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Year Six
What we have learnt about this week
This week, Year 6 students worked on a variety of exciting topics. In English, they focused on editing their writing, identifying modal verbs, and analysing the authors' choice of language in Where the Mountains Roared and The Jungle Book. In Maths, they explored scale factors, similar shapes, and solved ratio problems. In History, they debated whether they would want to be highwaymen, considering the risks and rewards of this lifestyle. In Geography, students ranked high and low-priority landmarks to visit in South America through a Diamond Nine activity. Finally, in Art, they researched the style and themes of one of the artists they’ve been studying. A great week of learning and discussion!
What we will learn about next week
Next week in Year 6, students will be engaging in a variety of exciting lessons! In English, they will write a negative hotel review, practicing their writing and critical thinking skills. In Maths, they will work on proportion problems, explore recipes, and start a new unit on decimals, focusing on place value between whole numbers and decimals, as well as revising arithmetic. In Computing, students will delve into AI and ethics, gaining a better understanding of this rapidly evolving field. In RE, they’ll continue exploring religious perspectives on life after death. Lastly, in science, they’ll learn about Carl Linnaeus and his contributions to classification.
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Each week, staff select three children from each class who have shown effort and commitment to upholding an aspect of our school vision, shown at the bottom of the page. Congratulations to this week’s ‘stars of the week’ for their tremendous endeavours!
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Working diligently
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Acting generously
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Promoting peace
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Year Three
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3A
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Name: Mahnoor
For: increased focus and participation in lessons this week.
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Name: Seif
For: always wanting to help others
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Name: Teddy S
For: displaying a calmer attitude in class this week.
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3F
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Name: Emmanuella
For: working diligently during testing week and always trying her best
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Name: Harleigh
For: helping others to make their Egyptian collars in DT
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Name: Jack
For: trying his best in all lesson and managing his emotions when things get difficul
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3M
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Name: Hafsu
For: working hard in all lessons and producing some very pleasing R.E. work
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Name: Faith
For: showing great kindness and care to another member of the class when they were upset
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Name: Amira
For: her calm and peaceful presence and her lovely manners
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Working diligently
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Acting generously
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Promoting peace
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Year Four
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4L
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Name: Suriel
For: working hard to improve her written English
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Name: Medhi
For: always being a friendly member of the classroom
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Name: Giorgianna
For: being a peaceful and calm pupil in the classroom
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4IW
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Name: Quinn
For: working hard in all the lessons this week
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Name: Mikail
For: showing kindness and sharing resources.
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Name: Rosy
For: promoting peace and always ready to learn.
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4N
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Name: Hunter
For: orking diligently in his tests this week.
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Name: Azowa
For: being kind and helpful in the classroom
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Name: Maxwell
For:a much calmer approach to all lessons this week
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Working diligently
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Acting generously
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Promoting peace
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Year Five
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5H
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Name: Sanjel
For: making such a great effort with his descriptive writing this week.
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Name: Shalom
For: sharing lots of great lesson ideas and suggestions with me
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Name: Parker
For:always being such a polite member of our class.
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5P
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Name: Orisha
For: Showing amazing creativity and gaining independence in class.
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Name: Chikamso
For: Always being willing to help and support others and working well within a team.
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Name: David Joshua
For:Calmly approaching his studies even when things are hard.
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5W
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Name:Rosie
For: working diligently and giving 100% effort when completing her assessments.
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Name: Urshita
For: always acting generously and producing a fantastic piece of art.
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Name: Mia S
For: promoting peace and trying her very best, during assessment week.
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Working diligently
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Acting generously
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Promoting peace
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Year Six
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6B
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Name: Charlie
For: Great effort across a range of lessons.
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Name: Jasmine
For: Excellent listening and sharing of ideas in maths
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Name: David
For: Excellent effort and behaviour in maths.
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6I
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Name: Milda
For:Working extremely hard in all areas of the curriculum
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Name: Amina
For: Always being helpful and kind to others.
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Name: Ranell
For: Having a positive attitude during lessons.
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6L
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Name: Ajwa
For: putting maximum effort into every lesson!
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Name: Eliza
For: Working collaboratively in group sessions
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Name: Michael A
For: His calm and peaceful attitude in English
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