Love Your School: William Brookes in Much Wenlock

Shropshire Star

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00:00So we're here at William Brook School in Muchwenlock, a school with a lot of history, a lot of pride

00:06and they're very proud about everything that goes on here. Let's go and chat to the new

00:10headteacher Ruth Shaw and see what she loves about this school.

00:15How have things been since you've took over as head here at William Brook?

00:20I've been acting head for about six months so I've had lots and lots of time to think

00:24about the changes that I want to make and I was in a really strong position last night

00:30of being able to share my vision with the school staff which was taken exceptionally

00:35positively last night which was really, really encouraging. It's been a great start, staff

00:40have been really, really positive about the appointment. I've had lots of parents and

00:46families reaching out with congratulations which has again just been really, really lovely

00:52and encouraging of the direction I want to take the school in. The children are really

00:55positive about things as well, they know me quite well now, they know what they're getting.

01:00Firm but fair, approachable but really high standards as well so they know what they're

01:06getting there and the governing body as well have been really supportive. So yeah, it's

01:11been a super start.

01:13Yeah, talk about vision, what is that and what is the direction that you want to go in?

01:18So for those of you that know the school already, you'll know that we have really strong Olympic

01:22links. So William Penny Brooks met with Pierre de Coubertin and the story is that Pierre

01:30de Coubertin then went and used what was going on in Wenlock with the Olympics to form the

01:36modern Olympics. So all of our houses and parts of the school are named after the Olympics

01:41and it's a really important narrative to the school but I think it's perhaps got a little

01:45bit lost recently so it's something that I'm very keen to get back. So I want William

01:49Brooks to be the go-to school for children who are talented sportsmen and women and the

01:56school that you know if you send your child to, they will get a really active physical

02:01outdoor experience which I think with modern children is really, really important. So at

02:06the moment we're looking at changing our curriculum so there's a much heavier focus on physical

02:12activity and enrichment at Key Stage 3 and at Key Stage 4. Our school values link to

02:18the Olympic values of respect, excellence and friendship which are very, very strong

02:22within the school already but our new vision statement is healthy body, healthy mind and

02:28I think with 21st century children, we've got very different children in front of us

02:32with very different needs and actually keeping them active, keeping them focused, keeping

02:36them healthy will mean that they will be much more engaged and ready to learn within the

02:41classroom. Yeah, you've got a lot going on in the sport world but also you've been winning

02:46awards for your gardening. What else do you love about William Brooks School? We're very

02:51outdoorsy, we have a really strong link with Duke of Edinburgh, we have an unprecedented

02:57amount of children who engage in that programme which we're very, very proud of and that will

03:02continue. We're looking at our alternative provision offer which at the moment is pretty

03:08non-existent and lots of schools are facing this challenge at the moment in the alternative

03:12provision, it's very, very expensive. So we're looking as we're moving forward into next

03:16year into creating our own sort of outdoor learning space that will link in with things

03:22like the work that we do at the Shrewsbury Flower Show, we have a thriving eco group

03:26as well so that children are encouraged to be outside with their hands in the soil and

03:32growing things and getting the rewards that go along with that, that's really, really

03:36important to me. At Key Stage 4 we're looking to introduce construction to our curriculum

03:42as well and we're also looking into creating an upcycling business that students will run,

03:51we'll get the furniture, they'll learn how to treat the furniture and upcycle it and

03:56then upholster as well and then hopefully we'll have some sales so they'll get the business

04:00side of that project work as well. So we're really thinking outside of the box to make

04:05sure that we're bringing our school into the 21st century.

04:08So Ruth, you were originally appointed Headteacher yourself and you've now appointed a new Deputy

04:13Head and you're both local to Much Wenlock as well which is a great story itself.

04:17Yeah, I think something really special about the new leadership team is that we are uniquely

04:23connected to our community. Claire was appointed as Deputy Head just this week but has been

04:30at William Brookes for many, many years and we were both students here. We were in fact

04:36students here at very, very similar times. I was here in 1993 to 1998 and Claire was

04:41here from 1992. So we were here, we weren't particularly friends, we didn't really know

04:48each other but it just shows you where life takes you, doesn't it really, those journeys

04:53but we do have a really unique connection with our communities. Claire grew up in Broseley,

04:58I grew up in Bildwars, we both still live locally and it gives us a really unique link

05:05and bond I think with the children that we serve because we understand their families

05:09in a way that perhaps others might not.

05:11Thanks.

05:12Right then lads, we're at William Brookes School today, you're all pupils here. What

05:17do you love the most about your school?

05:20Probably the PE department. Really good facilities, all that.

05:24Yeah.

05:25What about yourself lads?

05:26I also agree with the PE but I could also say the Geography department. My teacher Mr

05:31Brookes is very good and like keeps it a bit fun and like learning.

05:37I'd say probably the teachers in general, most of them are quite nice and there's certain

05:42aspects of the school which are pretty interesting which just make it a nice time here.

05:47We've took you out of art today, what sort of stuff are you working on at the moment?

05:50So right now we are doing monoprinting, so we've got these prints out and we've drawn

06:00on the back of them and then we're going over them to create these.

06:04Excellent, very good. Is art a subject that you like very much?

06:10Yeah, I really like art, it's one of my favourites.

06:14I also really like art as well because I like drawing football kits.

06:18Most of the time it just lets your mind run free.

06:22Yeah, that's great.

06:24And increasingly I'm trying to encourage our young people to be outside as much as possible

06:29doing things like planting and growing and we had huge success at the Shrewsbury Flower Show

06:35last summer actually, a student project got a gold award by a member of staff called Mark Jones

06:43who's really passionate about our children being green fingered.

06:48So yeah, there's lots and lots going on here and we're going to be developing an

06:51outdoor learning centre as well into next year.

06:54And these plants guys, these are some growing for this year's flower show, yeah?

06:58Yeah.

06:59Cool. Do you like kind of getting involved in anything outdoorsy at the school?

07:03Yes I do.

07:04Yeah, yeah. What are your gardening skills like? Do you help out at home in the garden?

07:08Admittedly no.

07:10Honesty is the best policy sir, sometimes ladies.

07:14Yeah, yeah, cool. And what are your favourite subjects here at the school guys?

07:19I like art the most.

07:21Yeah, yeah.

07:21I like PE.

07:22Yeah.

07:23History for me.

07:24All right, great stuff, cool.

07:25Well we wish you all the best in your future careers. Cheers guys, thank you.

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