Congratulations to Y9 student, Leo D-C, who recently represented WES at the Devon Schools Cross Country. A superb performance saw Leo finish fourth in the junior boys' race. Leo’s next race will be the South West Schools Cross Country in February but his fourth position means he automatically qualifies to represent Devon Schools (and WES) at the English Schools National Championships later this term in Pontefract! Well done, Leo! We are so proud of your performance, hard work and training! #BestExe #WestExeProud

Students at West Exe School, part of the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust, have been taking part in a range of activities this week designed to have them learn more, and reflect on, the holocaust ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) on Saturday the 27th of January.  The 27th of January marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp and the theme of this year’s HMD is the fragility of freedom.

 The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust encourages remembrance in a world scarred by genocide, they promote and support Holocaust Memorial Day  to remember the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of people murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups and during more recent genocides. 

Throughout this week at West Exe School every student has attended an assembly on the significance of the Holocaust and genocide, based on resources and research from the Holocaust Education Trust.  Students also watched testimonies from survivors from not only the Holocaust but other genocides such as Rwanda and Cambodia.

 A group of students also took part in a live nationwide webcast organised by the Holocaust Education Trust and hosted by Natasha Kaplinsky OBE.  Holocaust survivor Hedi Argent MBE delivered a deeply profound testimony of her experiences under Nazi persecution in the late 1930s and students had the ability to ask Hedi questions through a live webfeed.

Hedi Argent was born in 1929, and lived in a suburb of Vienna in Austria, the anti-Jewish laws and backlash that accompanied Hitler’s annexation of Austria in 1938 were something Hedi remembers very well.  She remembers seeing Jews being made to scrub the pavements and having stones thrown at them. Hedi’s family arrived in England in 1939 and stayed in a safe house.  After the war, Hedi and her parents wrote to the Red Cross to try and find their extended family; they found out that most of their other family members in Europe had been murdered during the Holocaust.

In the centre of the school, the students are being asked to reflect on a visual representation of the proportion of people killed during the Holocaust, with symbols representing approximately 200,000 human lives. Students have been discussing the fact that it was not just the Jewish population who were persecuted during the Holocaust and were shocked at the total numbers of deaths.

To finish the week, Year 7 and 8 students are reflecting on individual experiences of Holocaust and they are researching and creating commemoration cards to be displayed around the school, in order to draw a more personal connection to the individuals who lost their lives. 

Julie Fossey, Headteacher at West Exe School said:

“I think it’s really important for young people to understand the history of the holocaust and to learn about more modern genocides.  Though these are difficult topics, it is right that we learn about them and take the time to hear the stories of those that survived these horrors.  There are not that many years left that children will be able to hear directly from a Holocaust survivor, so I am very grateful to Hedi Argent and the Holocaust Education Trust for making it possible for students to ask her questions.”

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust said:

“Holocaust Memorial Day is such a powerful day of reflection and I am glad to hear that students at West Exe have been engaging in a number of topical and thought provoking activities in the run up to it.”

 

Delighted to share our new and improved curriculum pages where you can read about our successes and delve deeper into our Framework of Excellence. 

Year 7 students from West Exe School, part of the Ted Wragg Trust, have recorded a Christmas jingle to be played on East Devon Radio this festive season.

The students will be spreading yuletide cheer across the airwaves after their jingle debuted on the local radio station this morning (13th December.)  East Devon Radio is a community radio station, based in Exmouth, the station was launched in 2006 coinciding with the Exmouth festival.

West Exe students also took part in Christmas Jumper Day on the 7th of December in exchange for a charitable donation and have also put on a Christmas concert with students singing a selection of festive carols.

Across the city at another Ted Wragg school, the Cranbrook Education Campus, pupils also took part in Christmas Jumper Day, and they have been collecting gifts to pass on to refugee families to make sure no child goes without a toy this Christmas.

The Cranbrook Education Campus hosts the EX5-Alive community hub which will be open on the 14th of December between 4.30pm and 6.30 pm and on the 21st of December between 10am and 12pm if anyone needs any support in the run-up to Christmas. 

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust said:

“I am delighted to hear that West Exe students have recorded a festive jingle for East Devon Radio and look forward to hearing it throughout December.  I am also so proud of the work Cranbrook pupils have done to ensure that local refugee families have a Merry Christmas.  The Ted Wragg Trust wants every child we educate to leave us a compassionate and thoughtful individual and thinking of others is at the core of this.”

Published 15/12/23

Students from West Exe School, part of the Ted Wragg Trust,have taken part in a water safety training course this month, as have young people from Lipson Academy and Honiton Community College, which are also part of the Ted Wragg family of schools.

Four Year 9 Sports Leaders from West Exe undertook the water safety training course and they are now ready to deliver their first Water Safety session to the rest of the Sport Leaders team later this term. 

The students took part in the training by Surf Life Saving GB, a Search and Rescue charity with over 9,500 members who help to make our beaches safer and more enjoyable places for everyone.

There are Surf Life Saving GB clubs nationwide which train people aged from five years upwards in search and rescue, beach education, lifesaving, and fitness skills, helping to create fitter and safer communities by the sea.

Julie Fossey, Headteacher at West Exe School said:

“I am so pleased that our students have undertaken this water safety training and I want to say a big thank you to Surf Life Saving GB for running the session.  It’s so important for young people to be educated on how to interact with the sea safely so they can enjoy everything it has to offer and it’s brilliant that the students will now be passing this vital info on to their peers.”

 

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Trust said:

“Everyone at the trust is delighted that students from several of our schools have now taken part in this workshop with Surf Life Saving GB.  We are blessed to be surrounded by beautiful coastline in Devon and I want our young people to be able to enjoy it safely and sensibly.”

Published 22/11/2023