Latest Westgate News

Monday 11 August 2025 Year 6’s Vision for Westgate During Transition Week, our soon to be Year 7 students took on the exciting challenge of designing school shields that reflected their vision of a positive school community.

Tuesday 5 August 2025 Slough Chess Showdown Our Chess Club members travelled to St Joseph's Catholic High School to take part in the 2025 Slough Schools Chess Competition.

Wednesday 30 July 2025 Our First Ever Dance Showcase – 'Starstruck!' During our final term, we hosted our first ever Westgate Dance Show 'Starstruck'!

Monday 28 July 2025 Exploring Oxford’s Literary Legacy Our library ladies took 15 lucky students to Oxford for a visit with the Bodleian Libraries education team.In the university's printing room, they learnt about how books had been printed for five centuries, handled printing materials, and experienced the craft and labour involved in creating a printed book. After selecting and arranging letters for print, students were able to use the University's historic letterpress printing equipment to make a keepsake to print and take home.They then toured the Weston Library, home to the Bodleian's special collections, where they learned about unique items in their catalogue, the incredible conservation work they carry out, and they even made a quick stop onto the roof terrace!Following their wonderful experience in the Weston Library, the group then visited Blackwell's bookshop; a tremendous bookshop founded in the 1800s where J. R. R. Tolkein sold his first poem. Students had a great time searching the extensive shelves. From manga to Jane Auten

Monday 14 July 2025 Shutter Speed - Painting with Light Our photography students have been exploring the creative possibilities of shutter speed.

Friday 11 July 2025 Year 11 Prom 2025 Our Year 11 students arrived in style at the Copthorne Hotel; from luxury sports cars to even a fire engine! It was a stunning first glimpse of everyone dressed to impress, ready to celebrate one final special evening together as Westgate students.

Monday 7 July 2025 Year 11 Prom 2025: Arriving in Style What an unforgettable start to our Year 11 Prom last Friday! Our students arrived in style at the Copthorne Hotel; from luxury sports cars to even a fire engine! It was a stunning first glimpse of everyone dressed to impress, ready to celebrate one final special evening together as Westgate students.

Friday 4 July 2025 Exploring Spectroscopy at Reading University Our Year 12 Science students got hands-on at the University of Reading's Spectroscopy Masterclass; running real infrared spectrometers, analysing spectra, and solving molecular mysteries.They also had the chance to hear from inspiring academics about University life and future pathways in Pharmacy and Nutrition.

Thursday 3 July 2025 Extra-curricular Showcase Our students shone at the 'Extra-curricular Showcase'... from powerful dance performances and intense chess tournaments to lively debates and a magical outdoor showing of A Midsummer Night's Dream, students had the opportunity to highlight the incredible work they've accomplished throughout the year so far...We also saw amazing contributions from the entrepreneur club, science club, and our school band, it was a true celebration of our students' creativity and collaboration.

Friday 27 June 2025 Year 6-7 Transition Week So Far... What an amazing start to our Year 6 Transition Week!

Saturday 21 June 2025 Year 11 Leavers Day 2025 Memories, goodbyes, and new beginnings. Our Head of Year 11 gave a heartfelt goodbye presentation that included photos and special messages from teachers to send off our Year 11s on their leavers day.Students signed each other's shirts and said their goodbyes, marking the end of an unforgettable chapter. We're so proud of all the hard work they've put in over the years and into their final exams.Wishing every single one of you the best of luck in your future adventures. We can't wait to celebrate with you next Friday at Prom!

Monday 16 June 2025 Year 13 Leaver's Day 2025 We said goodbye to our incredible Year 13s on their Leavers Day. It's been an amazing two years; full of fun, growth, and unforgettable moments.As you head off to uni, apprenticeships, gap years (or beyond!), remember: the future is yours to shape. Aim high—not just for the moon, but for the stars!We're so proud of everything you've achieved and can't wait to see what comes next.You've got this!

Thursday 12 June 2025 From Island Man to Westgate Boy/Girl Our Year 8 students spent their English lesson exploring 'Island Man' by Grace Nichols, a powerful poem that captures the dislocation between two worlds.

Monday 9 June 2025 Resilience, Rain & Rewards for DofE A huge congratulations to all our incredible students who successfully completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition!Over four days and two nights, they hiked through the beautiful countryside around Chalfont St Peter and Penn near Beaconsfield, carrying all their kit, cooking their own meals, and navigating independently with maps and compasses.It wasn’t all smooth sailing — one day brought stormy skies and heavy rain, but their resilience, teamwork, and positive spirit carried them through. No matter the weather, they pushed on, supported each other, and stayed motivated.The practice expedition proved to be a big challenge for many, but by the time they took on the qualifying journey, it was clear how much they’d learned and grown. From building confidence to mastering outdoor skills, they absolutely smashed it!We’re so proud of every single one of you — your hard work, determination, and grit truly paid off.

Thursday 5 June 2025 Urban Regeneration in Action Our Year 10 Geography students went to London to complete their compulsory GCSE Fieldwork to support their learning for their Paper 3 exam next summer. During the day students were investigating two locations; Canary Wharf and the Olympic Park. To do this, they were answering the enquiry question of, 'to what extent have the regeneration schemes of canary wharf and Olympic park been successful&quest;'.

Monday 2 June 2025 EcoRequiemVR Takes on The Finals Six of our Year 10 students went to Plus X Innovation in Slough to compete in the Climate Change Conference Finals 2025. The competition was partnered by Orange Business, Equinox and Plus X innovation. Seven schools across Slough competeted after the iinitial stages which took place in Feburary-April. Each winning team was paired up with two industry advisors from leading companies to help and support the students perfect their pitches before the judges heard about their final idea.

Thursday 29 May 2025 FoW’s First Community Event We are delighted to share that our Friends of Westgate (FoW) have successfully hosted their very first event during the Year 7 Parents' Evening. It was a fantastic opportunity for our school community to come together in support of one another.Not only did the event help raise valuable funds to support future school initiatives, but FoW also provided much-needed refreshments throughout the evening.Parents, carers, students, and staff enjoyed the chance to pause, have conversations, and catch up in a relaxed and welcoming environment.

Wednesday 28 May 2025 Gaining Resilience with AbbVie A group of our Year 12 students visited AbbVie, a world class pharmaceutical firm located in Maidenhead.

Thursday 22 May 2025 DofE Bronze Expedition Weekend at Penn Farm This is the second year we have run the Bronze Expedition for Year 9's...

Monday 19 May 2025 A Morning of Dance with Prodigy Dance Our Year 8,9 & 10 Dancers welcomed Molly Southall from Prodigy Dance! Molly delivered a talk to the students about everything dance, from her training through Creative Academy in Slough to her experience in the industry.

Thursday 15 May 2025 Empowered & Prepared: Health & Safety As part of our ongoing commitment to student wellbeing, safety, and holistic personal development, we were proud to host a dynamic and enriching Personal Development Day for students across Years 7 to 12.

Tuesday 13 May 2025 Exploring the Heart of UK Finance at the Bank of England Our Year 12 students embarked on an educational trip to the Bank of England in London. This visit provided a unique opportunity to delve into the history and function of one of the world’s oldest central banks.

Monday 12 May 2025 Bilingual Yearbook with France Our Year 9 French learning students have been working with Jean-Baptiste Dumas School in Alès, and are now in the process of co-creating a bilingual school yearbook with our French teaching assistant Miss Aguilar.

Tuesday 6 May 2025 Chess Trio Advance in UK Tournament Checkmate! Over the weekend, three of our Year 10 chess champs attended the Delancey UK Schools' Chess Challenge Mega-final at St George's College in Addlestone — part of the world’s largest junior chess competition!

Thursday 1 May 2025 Exploring Healthcare with Thames Hospice Year 9 students had the opportunity to welcome representatives from Thames Hospice into their Health and Social Care lesson.

Tuesday 29 April 2025 Bridging Borders Through Letters to France After sending out our hand-written letters, we are excited to share that we’ve finally received letter’s back from our Year 9 pen pal’s in France!

Monday 28 April 2025 Lighting the Way for Art Students in London Our Year 13 Art students travelled to London via public transport for an inspiring gallery visit to support their Art exam preparation.

Friday 25 April 2025 ¡Viva España! Exploring Spanish Language & Culture at Sanpa A group of our Year 8 Spanish students recently had the exciting opportunity to take their language learning beyond the classroom during a trip to Sanpa Restaurant in Wokingham.

Friday 11 April 2025 Exploring Healthcare Careers & Community Impact with Thames Hospice Our Year 9 students had the opportunity to welcome representatives from Thames Hospice into their Health and Social Care lesson. The visit offered a valuable insight into the important work that the hospice does within the local community.

Thursday 10 April 2025 Warner Bros: Pathways to Film & TV Careers We were very fortunate to host Warner Brother Discovery outreach programme.