Autumn 1 Half-Term

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New beginnings are something that we at TCW embody. TCW is a new start, a new opportunity to reinvent and reconsider what it is that you want from your educational life.

At TCW we want to support all of our students in their journey towards their plans and dreams for their futures. Each new student is given every opportunity to discover who they want to be and what they want to do, and our goal is to facilitate this in every way we can. We understand that discovering who you want to be takes time and work, that is why we approach each student as individuals with infinite potential; undefined and unrestricted we allow our students to explore their passions, their interests, their heart's whims, until we land on something that lights up who they are. We extend this exploration of self to all of our students, not just those newly joining us. We welcome our students to express when they want to make a change and encourage them to explore and start afresh with new experiences, new interests, new beginnings.

One of our students working at a local farm in their Animal Care class
 
Candy apples created by two of our students at our Bermondsey Site

This half-term we wanted to encourage our students to put into practice our theme of New Beginnings. We gave our students the opportunity to explore new interests and to step beyond what they are familiar with and into new exciting places! We saw many of our students making a shift from learning at home and in local libraries to coming onsite and joining group lessons, meeting new people, and making new friends, as well as engaging with new subjects that we offer onsite like Cooking and Hospitality.

 
Nick's Paint Pour with Lucy (left), Painting by Tilly (right)
 

Autumn 1 Assembly

We concluded Autumn 1 half-term with an assembly where we had the opportunity to look over all the amazing work and progress our students have done across the half-term.

Andy, one of our Assistant Heads, introduced our Creative Contributions: we want all of our students to be a part of our community and we use the Creative Contributions section to celebrate any of our students who choose to participate and the work that they have done across the term. We got to see spoken word poetry, artwork, student constructions, student-made music, and so much more.

A highlight of the assembly was seeing a live performance by one of our students who had produced and choreographed a song with an accompanying dance.

Andy, Assistant Head
 
Performance by Theo (upper left), Student Structuring Nails (lower right)
 
Claymation by Rafe
 
 

Each year we like to celebrate Black History Month and encourage our students to engage with the topic as much as possible. This year has been no different and we got to see our students really exploring the resources and learning opportunities that we provided for them.

Some of our students explored Black History Month through art and even went on a trip to the Tate Britain where they saw a celebration of black British artists.

Other students looked at influential black figures within Britain: both historical figures and current figures.

 
'No Woman, No Cry' - Chris Ofili (at the Tate Britain)
 

World Mental Health Day

Tuesday 10 October 2023 was World Mental Health Day. We wanted to show our support by participating in and fundraising for Hello Yellow. We had lessons themed around mental health to help show our students the importance of looking after their mental health.

Lots of our staff and teachers came in wearing something yellow and our school counsellor ran two short sessions called a 'Pause Space' to allow staff time to check in with themselves and reflect on their work and show appreciation for their colleagues.

Staff participating in Hello Yellow