Woodham Community Technology College, Newton Aycliffe

Mr Steven Harness, Headteacher of Woodham Community Technology College is retiring later this year after 16 years at our school. The Governors have recently been involved in a recruitment exercise to fill this post and
Mrs Christine Forsyth has been appointed as the new Headteacher from September. Many students and parents will already know Mrs Forsyth as she has been Deputy Head for some years and more recently she has been Acting Principal since Mr Harness extended his role to support failing schools.

Mrs Forsyth

The Governors are very aware that we need a Headteacher who will take education and our school into the 21st Century, who will ensure that students receive an education that will enable them to be part of our community, who will inspire our students and give them the confidence and the skills needed to succeed, no easy task, but one Mrs Forsyth is overjoyed to take on. Mrs Forsyth has been instrumental in bringing the School Centred Initial Teacher Training to our town and school. This has now been up and running for 5 years and over 100 students have become teachers and many are employed in our school, the county and surrounding area. It is recognised throughout the country as a centre of excellence. The two secondary schools in Newton Aycliffe, Woodham Community and Technology College and Greenfield School and Community Arts College, together with Sunnydale Community College for Mathematics and Computing in Shildon are now a Trust, Aycliffe and Shildon Schools Educational Trust (ASSET). Mrs Forsyth works closely with the Headteachers of the other two schools to ensure the schools are best able to continue to serve our local communities and are able to offer the breadth of curriculum and progression for all students in the 21st Century, providing better opportunities for all our students.

Lastly and most importantly, Mrs Forsyth is passionate about education, students and our school; the motto of Woodham is "Achievement for All" and Mrs Forsyth will continue to inspire and motivate everyone in Woodham.

A 15 year old girl from Newton Aycliffe is on the verge of international recognition after being placed on standby to travel to Amsterdam to represent England in two fixtures against Holland. Anna Young has been named in the under-15's girls England football squad after attending trials at Hull University in October. Anna, who attends Woodham CTC, has being playing football since the age of 4, representing Heighington until the age of 8 when she moved to play for Darlington Spraire Lasses.

Anna's talent was identified by Middlesbrough Football Club at the age of 10 and she has been part of their Academy ever since. Her ability was recognised by her academy coaches who first recommended her for England trials for the under-15 squad when she was a year young playing in the under-14 age group. After narrowly missing out on a place in that squad she has continued to work hard in an attempt to represent her country. Anna is now the third footballer from Woodham to gain international recognition in recent times and she is keen to follow in the footsteps of Ross Turnbull (Chelsea FC) and Jason Steele (Middlesbrough FC) in becoming an England regular.

Anna Young

Eleven lucky students from Woodham Community Technology College are on cloud nine after the news that they have been selected to coach in America this summer on an American Summer Camp. This is part of the COACH USA programme that the college and Active Inclusion have put together.

The lucky students who were chosen from a large field of applicants from the college were put through a rigorous interview process before being offered a place on the programme. As part of the programme, and in the run up to flying out to America, the eleven students will be given access to an individually tailored coach education plan involving national governing body awards, practical coaching assessments and in house training from Active Inclusion. The students will also be marketing and launching their very own multi skills sports sessions every week in college for younger students to take part in.

The eleven students selected this year are: Josh Stephenson, Beth Gibson, Sam Jarps, Lauren Craggs, Max Aldred, Rhianna Bonas, Paul Heilbron, Amy Cossins, Josh Watson, Rebecca Harris, and Niall Smith.

Woodham links with Kendriya Vidyalaya, Khanapara (KVK) school in Assam, India as part of the 2012 London Olympics.

Organised by the British Council and Youth Sports Trust, the programme "International Inspiration" aims to deliver on the promise made by the London 2012 Olympic bid team in Singapore to inspire young people around the world through the power of sport. In February, the Principal and link teacher from KVK visited Woodham on a week long trip to look at our facilities and teaching methods. This was followed up by a return visit from the Head of Sport and Vice Principal of Woodham to Assam in April.

The links formed are centred around sport, but also include many other areas of the curriculum. Mr Oliver, Vice Principal of Woodham said "It is our intention to develop permanent links between our schools and explore the similarities and differences of our cultures through a variety of projects. We will now be training a number of students to become Young Leaders and they will deliver a sport based project that will have a significant educational impact in each other's schools. Our ultimate aim is for students from both schools to visit on another's countries."