Welcome to this week’s Wildern Weekly. I am Mrs Burden, Subject Lead for Education for Life and Teacher of Religious Studies. I’ve been proudly part of this school community since 2012. Over the years, I’ve seen countless students grow into young adults, and I believe that these subjects are vital in helping make that journey successful.

 

My passion for these subjects stem from a simple, core belief: school should prepare you for life. While Religious Education teaches you about the beliefs that shape the world, Education for Life teaches you the practical, everyday skills needed to navigate that world safely and confidently.

 

The purpose of Education for Life is clear: it’s the dedicated time we have to equipt students with the knowledge, skills, and understanding they need to keep themselves healthy, manage their money wisely, and stay safe online and in relationships. This includes everything from understanding the science behind mental health and practising online safety, to learning about respectful relationships and making informed career choices. 

We look at the "big picture" of life and give students the tools to handle its challenges. We often say Education for Life  is the subject in which some parents say “we wish we had learnt this at school!”

 

My personal passion for teaching Education for Life is rooted in resilience and well-being. In a world that is ever changing, we are dedicated to ensuring every student leaves Wildern feeling self-aware, resilient, and confident in their identity. My aim is to make our lessons practical, relevant, and—most importantly—a space where our students feel safe to ask the tough questions. We’re here to help them grow into thoughtful, responsible, and well-rounded citizens ready for the world beyond school.

Whole School

Monday 20 October - Week B

Wedneday 22 October - Preloved Sale 3pm - 3.45pm

Wednesday 22 - Friday 24 October - School Productions

Thursday 23 October - Open Morning

Friday 24 October - Last Day of Term

Monday 3 November - School Open - Week A

Monday 10 November - Week B

Year 7, 8 + 10 

            No Key Dates

 

Year 9 

            Tuesday 11 October - Solomans Theatre Workshops

 

Year 11

Monday 3 - 14 November - Practice Exams

Further to the letter issued two weeks ago concerning the two-week half term in October 2026, please be advised that to accommodate this adjustment, the school day will be modified commencing September 2026. The School day will be Monday-Friday:  8.30am - 3.10pm

As part of ongoing works along the A334, excavation is required at the A334/A3051 junction. Due to underground services, a vacuum excavator must be used to ensure safety and prevent disruption. With limited space off the road, the excavator will be positioned on the carriageway, requiring three-way traffic signals.

 

Night works will take place from Monday 20 October to Thursday 23 October, permitted working hours between 8pm and 6am, with signals removed each morning. Please be aware that noise levels may be higher during these works. Acoustic barriers will be used to help reduce disruption.

Their webpage has been updated accordingly.

Botley Bypass | Transport and roads | Hampshire County Council

School Photograph Order Closing Date - Tuesday 21 October

 

Please be advised if you have NOT yet placed your School Photograph order, the order closing date is Tuesday 21 October  

 

Please visit www.smileYellow.com using the passwords on the Proofcard

Final Open Morning for 2025/26 Year 6 Students

 

Thursday 23 October - Open Morning  - 9.45am - 10.45am

For information & to book your space click here

Young Writers’ Poetry Competition

Year 8  English students will be writing poems over the next 3 weeks ready for submission to this year’s Young Writers’ Poetry Competition. The theme this year  is ‘I have a dream’ and deadline for all entries is Tuesday 21 October. 

No letters or reminders

Year 11 Practice Exams

Please find attached here the GCSE Practice Examination schedule for Year 11 in November. An individual exam timetable will be available on Edulink shortly, including information on rooms and seat numbers.

Exam Guidance For Students & Parents

Please click here to view the Exam Guidance for Students and Parents

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to and participated in the Rotary Shoebox Appeal 2025! We sent an amazing 146 shoeboxes that will make Christmas special this year. The most generous House overall was Paxton and a special mention needs to go to 7P1 who donated 15 boxes from just their tutor group, superb!

 

Such excellent kindness being shown!

The Wildern Wellbeing Changemakers are participating in the Mental Elf 2025 5k Festive Fun Run at Southampton Common on Sunday 7 December and would love you to join! This is organised by Solent Mind and people from across the area will be participating. We would like to organise a Wildern team of students, staff and their families! 

 

Run, walk, skip, dance, or wheelbarrow if that is your style! Join us in this festive 5K around Southampton Common to kick-start the season with joy. 

 

We encourage you to come in your best striped tights, but if you can’t find your pointed hat, don’t fret! You can still finish the run dressed as a fully-fledged Elf by stopping at our ‘Elf yourself’ stations at each kilometre.

You can find out more information here, including FAQs

• If you or your child would like to sign up, please do so here.
• Students will be supervised by their parents/guardians and not Wildern staff on this day. Just turn up in your best elf themed costume with your families and we will meet as one big group!
• So that we know who we can expect to see on the day, please also complete this very short form

Details about where to meet for team photos will be sent to participating members  closer to the event.  If you have any questions please email  t.ware@wildern.org 

 

It has been fantastic to see so many students showing up to school in an item of red clothing or entirely in red, and more importantly supporting a culture of showing racism the red card! We so highly value an inclusive culture and celebrate the brilliance of what we are together.

 

We have raised over £1000 today to support Showing Racism the Red Card! Thanks so much for standing for a better world together

We are so proud of all of our year 11 Art & Photography GCSE students for sitting their 10 hour practice practical exams last week. Everyone worked so hard and showed such determination, pride and creativity - well done!

 

Mrs Lynch and the Art Team

Haunting Hooks Writing Competition

 

Can you write an opening line in 50 words or fewer that gives us chills?

 

Our Haunting Hooks competition is now open! Students are invited to create a spooky story starter for the chance to earn eRefs and house

points.

 

You can collect a template from the library or decorate your own.

 

Entries should be submitted to the LRC by Monday 20 October.

For many, the start of the school term will mean mixing with different groups of people, which is why the autumn term is also known for its colds and bugs.

 

While it’s usually safe for parents and carers to send their children to school with mild illnesses, like a minor cough, runny nose or sore throat, there are steps you can take to ensure your child is better protected against illnesses, so they don’t miss out on vital time in school.

 

Here we take you through what you can do to reduce the chances of your child getting ill:

• Make sure your child is up to date with their vaccinations
• Protecting those who are most vulnerable
• Remind your child of basic hygiene measures
• Know when your child is too ill for school - The NHS has published guidance to help you decide whether your child is well enough to attend school, including information on a range of common childhood illnesses and conditions, such as coughs, colds, chickenpox, measles and headlice.

Basic hand, respiratory and cough hygiene measures have a big impact on reducing the spread of illness. You can find more detail on these in the guidance on preventing and controlling infections.

This autumn term, all school children in England (from reception to year 11) will be offered a flu vaccination in school. This can help protect children against flu, reduce absence and reduce transmission within the community.

 

Secondary students are also offered the HPV vaccine in year 8, MenACWY vaccine in year 9, three in one teenage booster in year 9 and MMR for children who haven’t already been vaccinated.  These vaccines help protect young people and the wider community against serious illness at a time when we are seeing the return of vaccine preventable illnesses circulating amongst the unvaccinated.

By following these simple steps – keeping vaccinations up to date, practising good hygiene, and knowing when to keep children at home – you can help ensure your child stays healthy and enjoys a successful school term.

We are lucky to have a variety of green spaces on our door step in and around the village. There are green spaces such as Coltsfoot reserve and parks such as Greta and Woodhouse. However it is these last two spaces that we have had reports of antisocial behaviour over the last 2 weeks during the evenings and weekends.

There have also been reports of older teens, college age, that have been involved in threats and aggressive behaviour towards younger children, some of who attend our school.

 

As the nights draw in, it would be good to talk to your children about being safe if they do go down any of our open spaces to meet friends. Are their phones charged? Do you know who their friends are? Speak with them about responsible behaviour and what to do if they are concerned. There are great APPs that can help you keep an eye on the location of your children as well. Life 360, Find My Iphone and Google Family Link, all allow family to keep in touch via location sharing. 

Work Experience Deadline - 30 November 2025

 

A reminder to all students that the deadline to upload your work experience placement details to Unifrog is 30 November.

 

It is important that all placements are submitted by this date, as the school must complete Health and Safety, safeguarding checks for every placement before approval is given. 

 

Please note that any placement not uploaded to Unifrog cannot go through the required checking process and therefore will not be authorised or approved as a placement. 

 

For those still looking for a placement there is still time. The Careers Team can provide advice, suggest employers and help you complete your Unifrog form. We are here to support you every step of the way, do not leave it to the last minute. 

 

For any questions or help please contact the careers team careers@wildern.org or students can visit us in the Careers Hub office opposite the library during any tutor time. 

See the huge variety of clubs that are on offer this half term! Sign up for these using the Clubs tab on Edulink.

DanceLive! Launch

Monday 20 October, 1.30pm (Break 2) MUH.

 

Students in Years 8-11 are invited to come along to hear about the event. Find out the theme and get the google classroom code allowing them to access the ‘casting phrase’ and key information. Casting will be held on Tuesday 4 November.

 

Initial Information:

Rehearsals: 3.15pm - 5pm every Tuesday

Sunday Rehearsal: 25 Jan 2026 - 9am-12pm

Performance Date: Tuesday 3 February 2026

Monday 20 October - Year 8/9 Basketball v Sholing School

Monday 20 October - Yr 7 Boys Football vs Redbridge School

Tuesday 21 October - Yr 7 Boys Football vs St Georges College

Tuesday 21 October - U14 Netball Tournament

Wednesday 22 October -  Year 11 Boys Football vs Upper Shirtley High 

U14 Girls Football Hampshire Cup vs Noadswood School - Lost 3-0

Yr 7  Boys Football vs Bitterne Park School - Lost 3-1

Year 8/9 Basketball v Bitterne Park School - Lost 87-8

Year 7 Boys Football Hampshire Cup 2 v 2 Costello College (Lost 12-13 on penalties)

Following our letter at the end of last term, work has started to improve our school kitchen. Over the past 18 months, we've been fortunate to secure Condition Improvement Funding, allowing us to update all electrics, water, and lighting across the site. This work is nearing completion and should be finished by the end of 2025.

 

The next crucial phase involves a complete renovation of our school kitchen. This work is scheduled to begin in mid-August and will continue until the October half-term. As a result, we'll have a very limited catering offer during this period.

 

Please remember, we can adapt the majority of meals to any dietary needs if we know in advance (your child can speak to kitchen staff by visiting the kitchen before 8:30am that day). Main A/B vegetarian options are always available - just ask Dan and his team.

We are able to offer:

• Sausage rolls
• Chicken burgers
• Beef burgers
• Warm paninis
• Jacket potatoes
• Cold baguettes
• Cold wraps
• Bottled drinks
• Biscuits
• Flapjacks

We encourage all families to use the free school meals eligibility checker, which can be found here, to determine if they qualify for this entitlement. 

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Tictok

 

Among children – and especially teenagers – TikTok boasts approximately 220 million users, providing a near-endless reel of short clips intended to entertain, educate and more. However, along with its enormous userbase comes a significant number of possible risks: Ofcom have dubbed it the most likely app on which teen users would potentially suffer harm.

 

With the platform reaching astronomical levels of success among the younger generation, it’s vitally important for parents and educators to understand the risks it poses. This guide lets you know about the most prominent potential dangers associated with TikTok and offers expert advice on how to safeguard youngsters who are navigating the site.

Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts

 

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Wildern School

Wildern Lane

Hedge End

Southampton

Hampshire

SO30 4EJ

 

01489 783473

 

#WeAreWildern