William Ellis School Parent Portal - NEWS AT WES

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Spring Term - 6th June 2025

Welcome to our latest news update, including an invitation to our summer International Evening, an update about Year 10 exams and events happening in Camden now and over the summer for students and their families.

Our flagship International Evening takes place on 1st July this year, and we can't wait to welcome you all - whether you are hosting a stall or performance or curious to see what's on! There are more details in the WESPA section below.

We hope that those of you celebrating Eid this weekend will enjoy gathering with loved ones to share in the festivities. Eid al-Adha is a time for prayer and family, but is also seen as an occasion for generosity and charitable giving. We'd like to invite families observing Eid to consider supporting our school community with a donation, which would enable us to enhance educational opportunities for less fortunate students and provide resources that benefit the entire school community. Any donation, no matter how small, can make a difference to the educational and extra-curricular provision that we can offer to the students in our care, and we would be very grateful for your support. Donations can be made at any time to the School Fund via ParentPay.

Donations can also be made throughout the year every time you shop online. Our school is registered with easyfundraising, which means you can raise money when shopping online at no cost to yourself. All you need to do is set a profile with easyfundraising and download the app.

You can find our easyfundraising page at: easyfundraising|William Ellis Highgate

Transition to secondary school: Camden Moving On Event

It was great to meet so many year 4 and 5 students and their families at the Francis Crick Institute yesterday evening, to talk to them about what secondary schools in Camden, including William Ellis, have to offer.

If you have a younger son in primary school, please do come along to one of our Open Mornings later this month or in September - more information can be found at https://www.williamellis.camden.sch.uk/secondary-transition

Year 10 Exams

Year 10 exams will take place between 19^th -27^th June. Families have been sent the exam schedule today, along with some guidance on how to support your son's revision before and during the exam period.

These are not "mock exams" but they do provide an important assessment of the work completed at this point halfway through the GCSE course and the grades achieved will give students, families and teachers the best measure of progress to date.

During the exam period students will attend school at normal times and attend lessons when not in exams. Students with afternoon exams will have early lunch at 12:40pm.

The exam timetable can also be found on the Year 10 page of the school website.

If you have a particular concern about your son, leading up to or through the exam period, please reach out to your son’s form tutor in the first instance.

Camden's Summer University

Enrolment for Camden's Summer University opens next week. This annual programme of events and activities includes film-making, cookery, sports, creative writing, introduction to British Sign Language and clay work, and is open to all young people aged 13-19 who live or go to school in Camden.

Please see the Camden SU website for further detail of courses on offer.

William Ellis Fantasy Premier League

As the Premier League season drew to a close, it brought with it, the end to the William Ellis Fantasy Premier League season.

Defending champion, Mr Levitt once again taking the crown in a hard fought battle for top spot. Trailing by some distance at Christmas, he surged up the league to be named champion for the second year in a row. Will anyone be able to stop him next year?

Well done to everyone who took part, especially those 17 players who managed to score over 2000 points, that is some achievement!

If you would like to join our league next season, look out for the league code that is sent out on Satchel One in September.

Camden Music Youth Voice panel - members wanted!

Camden are looking for young musicians to join their Youth Voice panel. The panel will be a group of passionate young people who enjoy discussing ideas for change, taking part, and working as a team. They will meet to suggest ideas for making Camden's music services for young people even better.

The Youth Voice panel will take place at Crowndale Centre, 218, Eversholt Street, London. NW1 1BD on Thursday 19 June, 4.30pm to 5.30pm. For students: if you are interested please email (written or audio) three reasons why you think you would be a brilliant panel member, and your first idea for change, by Wednesday 11 June to Caroline.Jeyaratnam-Joyner@camden.gov.uk.

Grow a love for reading! Camden's 2025 Summer Reading Challenge!

This summer, The Reading Agency invites children to step into the magical world of Story Garden, the 2025 Summer Reading Challenge theme. With stunning artwork by illustrator Dapo Adeola, children will uncover stories that celebrate the great outdoors and the power of imagination. Available for free in public libraries and online, the Summer Reading Challenge helps children stay engaged with reading during the summer holidays. Young people taking part can discover new books, earn rewards, and enjoy nature-inspired events and activities.

Grow your imagination and love of reading with the Story Garden Summer Reading Challenge!

Camden Dads Father’s Day Celebration – 14 June

Camden Dads invites families to join a Father’s Day celebration on Saturday 14 June, from 10am to 3pm, at Castlehaven Community Park, 26 Castlehaven Road, NW1 8PU. This free event is for Camden dads, male carers, and their families. You will need to register via this link to book your child’s place in the football tournament.

The Annual Pitt Lecture: Baroness Lola Young on 60 years of the Race Relations Act

Camden invites you to join an inspirational evening, held in honour of Lord David Pitt, who dedicated his life to medicine and politics, tenaciously fighting against racism and discrimination. Cultural advocate, life peer, and lifelong champion of social justice, Baroness Lola Young will reflect on the lasting impact of the UK’s Race Relations Act in what promises to be a powerful and thought-provoking conversation. The Annual Pitt Lecture is part of Camden Council’s Windrush programme and takes take place on Thursday 19 June, 7pm to 9pm at the Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AH. Find out more and book.

Windrush Homecoming Celebration – free community event on 22 June

Camden's Homecoming Celebration returns for another vibrant day of Caribbean music, carnival costumes, arts, crafts, sports and delicious food. This one-day, free event is a chance to celebrate and explore Camden’s rich Caribbean heritage, culture and community spirit. There is no need to book, just turn up on the day. The event takes place on Sunday 22 June, 12noon to 7pm at Talacre Town Green, Talacre Road, NW5 3PH. Find out more.

Free online webinars for parents and carers

Camden and Islington are hosting a free online webinar for parents exploring adolescent to adolescent relationship abuse, including coercive control and emotional abuse, how parents and carers can spot the signs and how they can talk with their children and young people if they’re worried, as well as what to do if young people are being abusive to their partner. It runs on Wednesday 25 June, 6pm to 8pm – find out more and book your place.

The boroughs are also hosting a free webinar for parents and carers about emotionally-based school avoidance on Thursday 12 June, 6pm to 8pm, aimed at parents and carers Find out more and book your place.

If you have any questions about either of these wabinars, please email VRUREFERRALS@islington.gov.uk.

Camden Community Wealth Fund - opportunity for local businesses

The Camden Community Wealth Fund was launched earlier this month and the team is running a series of support sessions to help local business owners get ready to apply for investment. You can find out more about these sessions at CamdenCWF2025.eventbrite.com

Yours faithfully,

Izzy Jones

Headteacher

This Week's WESPA Round-Up:

International Evening - we need help!

Dear William Ellis families,

International Evening is fast approaching and we need your help! The evening will be on Tuesday 1st July from 5pm and is one of the biggest events in the WESPA calendar. It is an evening where we celebrate all the wonderful cultures that make up our school and community.

Families

Everybody is welcome and we want as many families as possible to share something special. This can be something from the country you are associated with, a country you love travelling to or a culture you know something about. It can be a piece of music, a piece of art, a dance, a poem, a story, a photo album, a collection of memorabilia, an item of clothing, words/phrases from your language - anything you wish to showcase on the night. It's that simple! You can go as little or as large as you want and we take responsibility to set you up with a table so you can display your bits and pieces. If you're feeling brave and would like to take to a bigger stage, do a dance routine, a music piece, or something that teaches others about your cultural heritage, we would love to hear from you too. We will have a stage set up indoors and would love to invite some of you (your children, families, friends) to take to the mic.

Food

The high point of International Evening is the sharing of food. So please bring in a dish or two to share on the night. This can be a cake, a bake, a salad, a snack, a non-alcoholic mocktail/drink or for those budding masterchefs, something more substantial. Nothing is too big or small and everyone's dishes will be greatly welcomed and shared (on a communal table) for everyone to sample. Religious and dietary requirements respected.

Volunteers

Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers! We need lots and lots of these please - before, on the day and after the event. This is the only way we can help make the International Evening as fun, cultured and seamless as possible. So please let us know if you have a spare hour, day or week - there are jobs to suit everybody.

More information will follow but for now if you have any questions or would like to get involved, please do not hesitate to get in touch on WhatsApp or over email williamellispa@gmail.com

Best wishes,

Team WESPA