Head: Mr Phillip Stapleton
01598 760000
Field Day
As is traditional on the West Buckland School calendar, we hold Field Day in September, where all year groups take part in activities and experiences outside of the classroom. It is a day to challenge minds, bond teams and boost communication and confidence. A big thank you goes out to all the staff who have arranged, accompanied and supported these expeditions.
Here is a snapshot of what some of the year groups experienced.
Year 9 had a CCF day where they took part in communication and team building activities.
Culture and a good soaking in Exeter
Year 10 headed to Exeter to take part in a trip of two parts: Exeter Cathedral and raft building. Needless to say, one was a bit wetter than the other.
One of our teachers, Miss Duckworth, said: ‘Students in Year 10 enjoyed their field day in Exeter, where they explored the beauty of Exeter Cathedral accompanied by a wonderful, guided tour by Mr Harper. The information and photos that they gathered will be the inspiration for a writing task in their English lessons in the upcoming week. We look forward to reading some of their pieces!
Additionally, they had the chance to go raft building – testing their constructions in the river Exe and having lots of fun jumping in and racing against each other. The sun was shining and the trip was a great success!’
Year 8 meet animals in the river and the zoo
Year 8 students visited the River Bray in Filleigh, with kind permission from Lady Arran’s estate. The students were comparing the abundance of freshwater invertebrates in riffles and pools by netting and then identifying the organisms found.
In the afternoon, they visited Exmoor Zoo and had a talk about the impact of invasive species on ecosystems as well as an opportunity to look round the zoo.
The children had a great time and returned to school tired but inspired.
Year 13 international students visit Exeter University
Around half of Year 13 students were off-site on Field Day, whilst the rest worked on their Extended Project and UCAS application at school.
International students visited the University of Exeter and were hosted by student ambassadors from Turkey, India and Hong Kong. The students had a tour of the campus, a personal statement workshop, sample lectures in business and psychology and a visit to the engineering laboratories. Importantly, our students learnt what it is like and what it takes to be an international student in a UK university. It was also the freshers’ societies fair which created an exciting atmosphere as our students work towards completing their UCAS applications. This visit is part of West Buckland School’s developing relationship with the International Recruitment office at the University of Exeter, a leading Russell Group university.
Year 12 have a leadership activity with Bray Leino
We were delighted to welcome local advertising agency Bray Leino back to school for the Year 12 Leadership activity, where this year’s brief was to design a marketing campaign for Rocks Squash. It is no exaggeration to say that Bray Leino staff and WB teachers were blown away by the students’ creativity and industriousness. The winning group were Kitty, Dasha, Anna, Amelie and Oscar. The coveted Bray Leino work experience placement was won by Tom. Well done to all those who took part and, with Careers Week almost upon us, it was a chance to practise soft skills such as teamwork and communication, which are so highly valued by employers.