Wear it Pink Day 2023 at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys

On Friday, November 3rd, we hosted our annual Wear it Pink Day event to raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer Now – a cause that's close to our hearts. We're proud to have supported this charity for several years, as several of our colleagues have directly benefited from their support.

Staff and students alike made a donation of £1 and sported something pink to school that day, creating a sea of pink as they walked in. In addition, we organised a Poly Bake Off where staff submitted their homemade desserts to be judged by a panel consisting of Ms Manley, Mr Evans, Ms Hoang, and Miss Redsell. The judges had a difficult job but ultimately awarded the top prizes to Ms Prescott for her Lemon Drizzle Cake, Ms Tomkins for her Victoria Sponge, and Ms Youngs for her Banana Bread.

During break time, we held a bake sale featuring all the delicious entries from the bake-off. We also organised a "Guess the Number of Teapots" competition where staff could donate and submit their guesses. Congratulations to Ms Tibble, who correctly guessed 67 teapots!

Thanks to everyone who participated in Wear it Pink Day, whether by baking, donating, or purchasing cakes. We raised an amazing £213 for Breast Cancer Now – thank you for your generous support! A special thanks to Mrs Hawgood for organising this event and going the extra mile to make it so special for our school community.

Click to download the Young Carer Information Flyer PDF

Bannockburn Primary School joins PolyMAT

We are very excited to announce that Bannockburn Primary School officially joins PolyMAT today, November 1st 2023. Bannockburn is a large and very successful feeder primary school to our existing two secondary schools and will be a key driver of our ambitions to develop our primary offer to other schools.

Bannockburn Primary School prides itself on fostering a unique and diverse learning environment that empowers students to reach their full potential. The school spans two sites, both located within the Plumstead area, offering a purpose-built nursery unit at the Manor Way site. Bannockburn is a school with high aspirations for pupils, their families and the community of Plumstead.

The arrival of Bannockburn means that we now provide education to over 3600 young people in the Thamesmead and Plumstead locality and can extend our work to achieve our vision of Success for Everyone through a cross-phase approach to the education journey.

Bannockburn’s longstanding success and popularity are driven by their caring culture which always puts children first. This was evident from our first discussions and it was clear that PolyMAT’s values of Care and Unity are already reflected in how Bannockburn look after their children and their community.

Our expanded partnership now offers the chance to design the learning journey “through the eyes of the child” and minimise disruption caused by the transition from primary to secondary. The benefits of staff collaborating between phases are considerable and we are all excited about the opportunities of working with our expanded “family”.

Rachel Ford, Headteacher of Bannockburn Primary School, said: “We are all excited to build on our partnership with PolyMAT; sharing an aligned vision to provide our school communities with new opportunities and quality experiences".

Tim Plumb, CEO of PolyMAT, said: “Bannockburn is the perfect school to be the first part of our primary offer, and we warmly welcome their staff, children and community into our partnership – this is a special day for our schools and our Trust”.

PolyMAT Welcomes Bannockburn to the Trust with a Sweet Surprise

This morning, our CEO Tim Plumb and COO Alexa Rendell visited Bannockburn's High Street and Manor Way sites to extend a warm welcome and to deliver some delicious chocolates. This visit commemorates Bannockburn joining our trust, and we couldn't be more thrilled about this partnership and what the future holds for PolyMAT.

Celebrating Black History Month with Ore Ogungbayi

As part of our Black History Month celebration, we had the pleasure of hosting Ore Ogungbayi. This year's theme is “Saluting our Sisters,” and Ore is a remarkable example of a successful, resilient woman. Ore shared her story of growing up as a child of Black Nigerian immigration, fostered by a white British family. She was recently featured in a Channel 5 documentary that explored the impact of "farming," a practice where over 70,000 West African children were fostered by white Britons between 1955 and 1995. The documentary sheds light on the controversy surrounding this official policy and the long-lasting effects it had on those impacted by it.

Despite the challenges Ore faced, she became a successful entrepreneur, author, life coach and public speaker. For over a decade, Ore has worked with our school, delivering workshops on public speaking. During her visit, Ore spoke about her success and resilience, and we are extremely proud to have her as part of our community. Ore, we salute you!

Synopsis of the documentary:

The Channel 5 documentary explores the experiences of nine individuals who were raised as part of the controversial "farming" practice. These individuals were fostered by white Britons between 1955 and 1995, and they share their stories of dealing with such a major change at a young age. For many of them, the workshop retreat was the first time they had the opportunity to connect with others who shared similar experiences. The documentary, called "White Nanny Black Child," is a personal, poignant, and sometimes unsettling reflection on identity, belonging, and the nature of family.

Woolwich Polytechnic Sixth Form will be hosting an Open Afternoon for Internal (WPSfB and WPSfG) students on Wednesday 8 November 2023. Students have been invited to attend one of two slots based on tutor group number. Tutor Group 1s have been invited to the 2:50pm slot; Tutor Groups 2s have been invited to the 3:35pm slot.

Are you interested in becoming a governor?

We are looking forward to hosting our Governance Open Morning on Thursday 12th October 2023 for prospective Trustees and ACMs (local governors). For more information about the event and to register click the link below:

Online Registration Form - Governance Open Mornings