Our News items

Bee Active Fun at Lunchtime , by Miss Booth

Date: 28th Mar 2019 @ 3:40pm

The children had great fun at lunchtime today. Jake from Bee Active bought along his speaker and the children were able to dance away to the gorgeous sunshine! 

Mrs Massen even led the children back into school in a giant conga line! 

Chess Champions , by Miss Booth

Date: 27th Mar 2019 @ 9:28am

During celebration assembly today, we welcomed our chess teacher Mr Blackburn to joins us.  Mr Blackburn had lots of certificates to give out for the competition he has been running over the past term in chess club and it was wonderful to hear how impressed he was with all of the children who have been attending. We really do have some super chess stars! 

We were also thrilled to hear that Esme is our school champion. Esme has most definitely taken to chess like a duck to water! She has taken part in a number of competitions now, always scoring very well! 

 

Fun at yoga club! , by Miss Booth

Date: 6th Mar 2019 @ 3:38pm

Yoga club looked very relaxing and lots of fun this afternoon with the children playing 'Yoga Jenga'. The children chose blocks, which had a different yoga position on each. There was even a golden ticket, where the child who picked this cube could take their pick of their favourite pose to ask the rest of the children to perform. 

The children and Mrs Cosgrove all worked very hard!

Young Voices , by Miss Booth

Date: 12th Feb 2019 @ 6:49am

Well, we had an amazing time at Young Voices 2019!

On Monday 11th February, the school choir travelled to Manchester Arena to perform in the Young Voices concert with hundreds of other children, in front of lots of parents from many different schools.

The children sang lots of different songs (along with dancing) including 'Any Dream Will Do', 'Viva La Vida' and 'The Greatest Showman' medley. It really was a pleasure to take the choir to the concert as they were so well behaved and really were the stars of the show!

Here are some photographs for you to enjoy of the children having an amazing day at the concert!

We cannot wait until Young Voices 2020!

Scooter Skills, by Miss Booth

Date: 17th Jan 2019 @ 4:07pm

Our new ‘scooter skills’ club has already been a huge hit with our infant children. The children loved their first club; learning how to scoot around safely! 

Woodcocks' Well Christmas Service , by Miss Booth

Date: 19th Dec 2018 @ 12:59pm

Well, what a lovely morning we have had here at Woodcocks' Well in our annual Christmas Service. We always feel that our Christmas service really kicks off the start of that festive feeling and we think you'll agree that the children's gorgeous singing gave everyone that warm, tingling, Christmas feeling once again!

A huge thank you to everyone who was able to attend our service and for your kind and generous donations for The Salvation Army, our Rose Queen collection and to the PTFA. 

From everyone here at Woodocks' Well, we wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year. 

Trampolining at Eaton Bank , by Miss Booth

Date: 30th Nov 2018 @ 12:55pm

Recently, children in year four along with some year five children visited Eaton Bank Academy to take part in a trampolining lesson. 

The children had an amazing time and learnt lots of new things and a sport that they might not have tried properly before. Mrs Andrews was full of compliments about the children, how well they worked and how polite and well mannered everyone was - which is always wonderful to hear. 

 

Rotary Club Art Competition , by Miss Booth

Date: 14th Nov 2018 @ 2:18pm

Well what an exciting assembly we had yesterday! 

We were lucky enough to welcome Rod Goodier, from the Congleton Rotary Club to our school, who came to present some prizes and certificates to the children. Earlier in the year, during the summer term, some children from our school took part in an art competition, held by Congleton Rotary Club. The theme of the competition was ‘my favourite month’ and the children were allowed to use any artistic techniques and resources they wanted. 

We had some amazing entries and we really don’t know how the judges chose a winner...but they did! 

Lots of children received a certificate and a sample prize off taking part. Emilia (last years, year six) was a runner up, as was Teddy in year three! 

And our winner was Elliot, who as you can see from the photos was extremely proud of himself! Elliot was presented with his artwork, which had been framed and an artists painting set. 

Bikeability training..., by Miss Booth

Date: 4th Oct 2018 @ 3:32pm

What a fabulous first day our year 3 and year 5 children have had completing their Bikeability training. 

Wedding Bells , by Miss Booth

Date: 24th Jul 2018 @ 12:25pm

A huge congratulations to Miss Nutty and Miss Rigby who are getting married this summer (not to each other!) 

We wish them lots of love and happiness for the future. 

 

Drama Performance, by Miss Booth

Date: 13th Jul 2018 @ 6:07pm

This morning, the children of Woodcocks' Well, along with some of the parents, were lucky enough to see the after-school drama club performance. 

The children in the after-school club have been working extremely hard together discovering poetry, which they feel passionatley about.

The children worked in pairs and small groups to perform some of the poems they had previously worked together to find or even write. We must say we were very impressed with everyones performances, as well as their choice of poems to share. 

 

 

Summer Reading Challenge , by Miss Booth

Date: 13th Jul 2018 @ 5:38pm

Listen up mischief makers! It's back! The challenge we love most at this time of year...The Summer Reading Challenge. 

This is an amazing (and free) reading activity for your children to take part in over the summer at any library around the country!

See the download below for further details...

 

Year 5 fair trade workshop at Eaton Bank, by Miss Booth

Date: 20th Jun 2018 @ 9:18am

An enterprising group of children consisting of our year 5 children visited Eaton Bank for an insight into World Trade.

After an interesting insight into life at Eaton Bank School and it’s Geography Department our children split into teams representing countries around the world. Each team was given a pack and some children were most indignant to discover that the contents of the pack were not fairly split country by country. The aim was to manufacture perfect paper shapes and sell them to the world bank (teacher) in packs of five. Trading was allowed but not any stealing of other team’s shapes! Our children showed such clever manufacturing techniques and enthusiasm for trade ...the atmosphere was electric with competitive spirit. We were surprised to discover that our results mirrored real life trade, in that the country’s that started with least resources worked so hard that they ended up making lots of money through trade. Well done to all pupils who took part.

A Royal Feast , by Miss Booth

Date: 8th Jun 2018 @ 3:37pm

On Wednesday 23rd May the children at Woodcocks' Well enjoyed a feast fit for a queen (or a Prince and Princess!) to celebrate the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. 

Luckily, the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed a lovely luncthime on our netball pitch and playing on the school field. 

 

Sports Day!, by Miss Booth

Date: 8th Jun 2018 @ 12:48pm

Well what a wonderful afternoon we all had at our school sports day yesterday! 

The weather was on our side and it was wonderful to see so many parents, grandparents, friends and family at the event. 

You can see from the photos below what a fantastic time the children had too. Well done to everyone for working so hard. 

A visitor from Botswana., by Miss Booth

Date: 22nd May 2018 @ 9:10pm

On Monday 22nd May 2018, children were delighted to welcome Mr. Robert Cismas, a missionary from Botswana; introduced to Woodcocks’ Well and accompanied by Mrs Winterton of Mow Cop Community Church. In preparation for his visit, the children made welcome cards, researched facts about Botswana; making factfiles and sketching African animals to create a display.  They also learned a new Ghanaian song to sing during the assembly. Needless to say, Mr   S  was thrilled by the warm welcome bestowed on him. He shared with the children pictures of the schools supported by his mission in Botswana, African animals, the types of food grown, collected and eaten by the local African people and answered lots of questions asked by the children. The assembly closed with a prayer. The timing of Mr Cismas visit coincided perfectly with the marriage of Harry and Megan; the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who spent happy times, during their courtship, visiting Botswana.

The Killer Mile..., by Miss Booth

Date: 14th May 2018 @ 7:50pm

Last Thursday (10th May) many of the children from Woodcocks' Well took part in the infamous Killer Mile fun run! 

Thank you so much to all the families and friends who came along to support the children and of course those children (and parents!) who took part! 

The race, as always, was a huge success! All of the children completed the run in great time and Emilia from year 6 needs a special mention as she was the first girl to finish the under 11's race overall! 

Well done Emilia!

We were also thrilled to see and support Alycia's younger brother, Elliot, who completed the race using his small powered wheelchair and raising money for the amazing charity Designability. Elliot was such a superstar, he even appeared in The Sentinel, which you can read below. 

 

 

We're the kings of Mow Cop Castle!, by Miss Booth

Date: 13th May 2018 @ 7:59am

 

We're sure you will have seen the new additions to our playground and will agree at how wonderful they are! 

The Sentinel also heard about our these amazing structures and you can read more below...

 

We're the kings of Mow Cop castle! This school's new playground is INCREDIBLE

Pupils at Woodcocks' Well CE Primary School now have their own version of the castle ruins

Children are enjoying lessons in their very own castle after a replica of a well-known landmark was installed in their school grounds.

Roger Davis crafted the seven-foot high version of Mow Cop castle after being approached by Woodcocks’ Well CE Primary School to design an outdoor feature.

As a former pupil of the school – which is located near to the 18th century folly – he wanted to create something unique out of wood.

It was unveiled this week and now sits at the highest point in the grounds, so pupils can take in the panoramic views and look down on their school ‘kingdom’. It is even set against a craggy backdrop, just like the ruins that inspired the design.

The replica castle at Mow Cop

The original Mow Cop castle

Teaching assistant Ruth Stoker said: “It looks lovely. We’ve already used the castle for a couple of lessons, including preparation for SATs.

“We hid questions about spelling, punctuation and grammar around the castle and they had to find them.”

Roger Davis and four-year-old pupil Sam Webber

Roger Davis and four-year-old pupil Sam Webber

 

The round tower and mock fortress can also be used at playtimes, with children able to climb inside, scale the walls or rest their books on the wooden brickwork.

Eleven-year-old pupil Callum Carter, from Kidsgrove, said: “We can also play games in it. We were pretending it was a dungeon.

“As we’ve already got Mow Cop castle, we might call this one mini-Mow Cop. It’s great.”

Roger Davis with pupils from Woodcocks' Well CE Primary, in Mow Cop, and the castle he created for them

Roger Davis with pupils from Woodcocks' Well CE Primary, in Mow Cop, and the castle he created for them

Sam Webber has visited the stone castle remains and is impressed with the replica. The four-year-old, from Mow Cop, said: “I like climbing up to see it. But the real castle is broken.”

Neaveh Findler also likes the idea of ‘owning’ a castle at school.

The 10-year-old, who lives in the village which straddles the Staffordshire-Cheshire border, said: “It’s cool. You can see the real castle from up there.”

Roger Davis, from Wooden Wonders, with his replica of the castle

Roger Davis, from Wooden Wonders, with his replica of the castle

Roger makes bespoke educational resources through his company, Wooden Wonders, and has created a wide range of products for local schools.

The 50-year-old, from Kidsgrove, said: “I’ve done a wooden bottle oven before and have also made storyteller’s chairs, mud kitchens and playhouses.

“When the headteacher approached me about making something for this school, I got the idea for the castle. It’s pretty much to scale, although I haven’t measured it against the actual castle.

“I printed off a picture of the castle while I was making this one in the workshop. It took me about a week to make.”

The original Mow Cop castle was never used as an actual defensive fort. It was built as a summerhouse in 1754 for Randle Wilbraham, who lived at nearby Rode Hall.

Now owned by the National Trust, it has Grade II-listed status.

 

Support for small schools, by Miss Booth

Date: 4th May 2018 @ 8:10am

Fiona attends Church of England's meeting on supporting small rural schools

Tuesday, 1 May, 2018

        

Fiona said:

"It was important for me to be at the Church of England's meeting yesterday on the need to support small rural schools - they are the cornerstone of many local communities like the wonderful Woodcocks' Well Church of Primary School high up on Mow Cop in my constituency where I always get a really warm welcome from pupils, parents and dedicated head teacher Julie Massen - www.woodcockswell.cheshire.sch.uk "

The full report can be found at www.churchofengland.org/education .

 

Wear A Hat Day, by Miss Booth

Date: 12th Apr 2018 @ 2:13pm

Well what a day to spend our last day of the Spring term. The children all came to school wearing their very smartest hats to support 'Brain Tumour Research'. 

The children donated £1 to wear their favourtie hats for the entire day - and what a wonderful array of hats we saw! As you can see from the pictures below, the children even made it into the Congleton Chronicle with their head wear! 

As soon as we've counted up all the pennies donated, we'll let you know the total. 

 

Our wonderful Easter service , by Mrs Timmis

Date: 29th Mar 2018 @ 1:52pm

We held our Easter Service this week which was enjoyed by all, please see some of the comments below which we would like to share with you...

"The Easter Service on Monday morning was brilliant and very well attended by Parents, Grandparents, Governors and Friends of the School. The Songs were sung very well and the Easter story came across clearly we also had tea and cakes provided." Marion Cook -School Governor

I just wanted to say how the entire Easter service was a delight to watch this morning, the crowning jewel has to be watching the upper school perform the sing and sign version of A Thousand Years. They did such a wonderful job learning all of the signs and ensuring they were then in order and in time is very difficult, it really was beautiful to watch!! Thank you woodcocks’ for your hard work and effort!!    Anna Copeland - Parent

 

A huge thank you to the junior children, for performing the song 'A Thousand Years' using Makiton Sign Language, in support of Down Syndrome Wareness Day.  If you missed it, take a look at the wonderful video below. 

 

Chess Champions, by Miss Booth

Date: 6th Mar 2018 @ 5:09pm

April update

 

 

Our after school chess club is proving to be a huge hit with the children at and we have some fantastic players from year 6, all the way down to year 1! 

Some of the players are taking part in a tournament, which is currently at round 4 (there are seven rounds in total). Haydn is sat at the top spot at the moment, being the first one to reach a score of 11. Well done Haydn! Keep a look out to see how the children get on!

World Book Week and a visit from Rachael Lindsay, by Miss Booth

Date: 1st Mar 2018 @ 9:04am

Well what an exciting day at school we have had...and it had nothing to do with the snow! 

As you may know, this week is World Book Week, and to celebrate, we invited local author Rachael Lyndsey into school. Rachael has written six books in total, including Warrior Troll, Of Pipes and Potions and Stolen Secrets, and is currently writing her seventh book. 

Our day began with a whole school assembly, where Rachael introduced us to her trolls - the many characters in her books. She also told us a little about each of her books. We could have quite happily sat and listened to her stories all day! 

Oak and Maple Class were extra lucky today as they were set to work with Rachael a little more in their classrooms throughout the day, focusing on her first book; Warrior Troll. 

Oak Class spent the morning with Rachael, firstly learning how to speak in troll (keep an ear out at home!) and translating some sentences from troll to English and from English to troll, which was slightly more difficult. The children then looked in more detail at the cottage that the two characters, Tom and Hildie, lived in. They created aerial pictures of the cottage based on the descriptions given in the book. 

The children loved listening to several chapters of the book read by Rachael and were absolutely enthralled with the story line. Rachael just had time to share with us the treasure chest Tom had found at the bottom of the lake when out fishing! 

Unfortunately, the snow then ruined our fun and Maple Class didn't have the opportunity to take part in their writing workshop. However, this is already in the process of being rearranged. Upon her return, Rachael will once again be selling copies of her books, which she will personally sign, for £7.00. 

Thank you once again to Rachael for a wonderful morning. 

 

 

 

Bee Active , by Miss Booth

Date: 26th Feb 2018 @ 12:12pm

Well what an exciting morning the children had today. We welcomed Ben Mills from Bee Active to our assembly, along with his friend the bee! 

Ben talked to the children about the need to be active and also about a really important subject in our society today, which is childhood obesity. Ben will be working more with our school over the rest of the spring term and into the summer, in lunchtime clubs, after school clubs and lessons. 

Bee Active will be holding a series of complimentary after school clubs for all year groups in the up coming weeks and parents are invited to come along too! 

Please see the attached letters for the information you will need to book your child onto these sessions. 

You can also take a look at the videos below to see some of the fun we had in assembly this morning! 

A royal visit..., by Miss Booth

Date: 6th Feb 2018 @ 5:01pm

As you may know, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall recently made a visit to Congleton. Children from each of the Congleton schools were invited to welcome them to Congleton and Daisy and Luke were lucky enough to be chosen from Woodcocks' Well. 

Daisy and Luke arrived at the town hall in plenty of time and spent some time working with the other children on a 'bees project'. After Prince Charles and Camilla's arrival the children listened to a short speech made by Prince Charle's and even got the chance to shake Camilla's hand. 

As you can see from the photos attached, it was an extremely exciting day and one we're sure the children won't forget in a hurry! 

 

 

Woodcocks' Well CE VA Primary School

Church Street, Mow Cop Stoke-on-Trent, ST7 3NQ