Rotherham Students in Tall Ship Finale

Daniel Moorhouse and Stephanie Suggitt, both aged 16, of Wingfield Business and Enterprise College in Rotherham, celebrated the finale of the Tall Ships Youth Trust Voyage of Achievement, funded by the HSBC, when they sailed under Tower Bridge London today (Wednesday 13 July) while manning the yards of Tall Ship Stavros S Niarchos 45-metres above the River Thames.

They were among a crew of 48 students from 24 schools from across England who set sail from Newcastle 10 days ago on a voyage which took them to Leith in Scotland and the Dutch port of Scheveningen before their arrival in London. During the voyage they worked in teams to scale the ship’s masts, scrubbed decks, kept watch and practiced man overboard and other safety drills - all around the clock.

They were specially selected to take part in the voyage by their school, which set the selection criteria. They have great memories of the voyage which they described as a ‘once in a lifetime experience’, the new friends they have made and the hard work involved in working together as a team.

Commenting on their experiences, Daniel said:” It’s been a very interesting and unique experience. My biggest challenge was climbing across the yards to set the sails above the sea.” Added Stephanie: “It’s been a great experience, hard work and tiring but I have met friends that I know I will stay in touch with.”

Rotherham's Best Dish

Daniel Fenwick (Y8) has successfully gained a place in the Rotherham's Best Dish competition.

His dish was Spicy Chicken & Pepperoni Pasta Melt.

The Extended Services Go For It! Scheme provides funding to support certain children to take part in up to 2 hours of out of school activities per week and up to 30 hours during holiday periods. 

If your child is eligible you should have received a letter from RMBC and/or Wingfield informing you of this. The letter will also have had enclosed an Activity Request Form, a  list of
example activities your child could take part in and a Go For It! Guidance for Parents and Carers leaflet. 

Choosing and Booking Activities 

Eligible children can choose from the activities the school already offers on site or activities available elsewhere such as swimming lessons, karate, music lessons, football and gymnastics. 

The funding is also able to pay fees to attend clubs such as the Scouts, Cubs, Beavers, Brownies and many other organisations, even to join a local football team or drama group. The funding can also purchase a pass for activities. 

To book activities which incur joining fees or equipment costs, such as uniforms you will first need to discuss this with your child’s school. 

To enable eligible children to take part in activities all parents/carers need to do to is follow these four easy steps:-

1. Contact the activity/club provider to confirm days, costs and times and that a place is available for your child.

2. Complete the Activity Request Form with your child's chosen activity/club details.

Microsoft and Autodesk are offering free development & design software to students for use on their home computer.

Dreamspark gives you access to:

Expression Studio 3 (web design, photo editing etc),

Visual Studio 2008/2010 (programming and development tool),

XNA|Game Studio 3.1 (Develop your own games for xbox live, comes with 1yr subscription),

and lots more.

If you are interested, ask your Business or ICT teacher, or at the IT Support office.

Autodesk Education Community gives you access to:

Autodesk Inventor Professional (The same software used in Technology for prototyping),

Autodesk REVIT (Used by Construction),

Autodesk 3D Studio Max (3D design and animation package - 6 month license),

Autodesk Maya (used in the film industry to create 3D effects),

and lots more,

If you are interested login to the VLE and find 'Autodesk Education Community' on the menu on the left hand side. This will take you to Wingfields sign-up page.

All students can now access their work from home, to do this login to the VLE and look at the 'My Wingfield' area on the left hand side of the window.

A guide on how to use this feature can be found here (pdf)

Horticultural Instructor Lee Bestall reports on the story behind the creation of the Wingfield Horticultural Training Centre

Back in November 2006 I was invited to a meeting along with Michael Goldenburgh and the assistant head teacher Bryan Picton.  Working alongside Michael, I was given a brief to design an area where the students could grow a selection of vegetables.  Within an hour, we had more than doubled the size of the plot, and included a large fruit growing area.

Wingfield is a well-respected and achieving Business and Enterprise College which lies at the heart of the local community and within the North-West Rotherham Education Action Zone. Working in partnership with local businesses, our primary schools, community forums, post 16 providers and other secondary schools, the college is able to offer an extensive range of opportunities to young people and the wider community, providing excellent opportunities for all our students to achieve their potential

The recently acquired specialism will enable the college to provide a coherent and vibrant programme of high quality education, and offers a wide range of qualifications and opportunities to promote Family Learning. With the increased investment in business technology, through the new status, the college
is in a strong position to equip students and our community for the world of work.

The new building offers state-of-the-art ICT provision to support our well-equipped curriculum areas. The site also provides a range of sporting facilities, workshops, a theatre which also serves as a community performance venue and a horticultural training centre for use by students and the wider community of Rotherham. Our off site provision at the Greasbrough Vocational Centre provides vocational education in construction to Wingfield students as well as those across the Local Authority.