Welcome to the Autumn 2025 edition of thisTerm@Wyvern. 

We are rounding up all the good news stories we've gathered this year and we hope you enjoy reading about all the activities and events we have had.

Coming up are articles about how Wyvern students and staff have been thinking of others, successes in competitions, examples of the great work that sudents are producing in subject areas, news from former students and our childcare centre, lots of lovely Christmas items and we start with a thank you to our outgoing chair of trustees, Lynda Smith.

Thank you Lynda

After her third stint as our chair of trustees, which started in 2018, Lynda Smith is stepping down. We want to pay tribute to her incredible work for the college.

As one of our trustees put it "Lynda, is not only passionate about Wyvern, but she genuinely cares about every aspect of the college and always remains solution focused, and good natured despite challenges. Her depth and breadth of knowledge is incalculable, and also refreshing at the same time. She is down to earth, practical, understanding, flexible and effortlessly empowers and motivates you to do your best and bring your best to the table". 

Another trustee gave another spot on summary: "Basically if you cut Lynda she would bleed Wyvern! Despite her huge experience and knowledge she has listened patiently to the uninformed ramblings of the likes of me and encouraged us to co tribute despite the fact she probably could answer all the questions and challenges herself. I have learned so much from her and yet still feel I have so much more to learn. She manages to be both calm and full of enthusiasm at the same time. She is the Wyvern Trustee Body personified."

And lastly from another: "My summary of what Linda has done for the college is that I think she has completely embodied every principle of the schools' Think, Care, Grow motto. She has lead with her head, thinking strategically, rationally and logically; planned meticulously, and freely shared her knowledge gained from years in the profession. She has genuinely cared with her heart- for students, staff, trustees and parents, showing compassion and empathy within every interaction, seeking to know people on a deeper level, radiating an infectious warmth and kindness. She has grown with the college through its onwards journey, pouring her soul into every college interaction with passion and purpose...learning from any setbacks but always looking forwards."

We are thankful for Lynda's leadership through a change of headteacher, the pandemic and beyond. Thankfully she will remain with us as a trustee but certainly deserves a bit of rest from chairing!

House News@Wyvern

This term began with a lively house assembly, where students were challenged to balance a party ring on their forehead and wiggle it into their mouth. Our second house assembly saw the whole school singing Sweet Caroline and competing to build the tallest tower of boxes — with Hippogriff winning both challenges. We also held a mini kindness challenge, using a name generator to randomly select students who won sweets.

This led to the launch of our school-wide Kindness Challenge. Each tutor group received £10 from the last non-uniform day and was challenged to spend the money in ways that spread kindness. So far, students have carried out many wonderful acts, including donating gifts to local care homes and hospices, supporting families in need, organising house football matches, providing treats for duty staff, and donating games to local children’s hospitals. We are incredibly proud of our students’ efforts. For more on this challenge - see our Caring@Wyvern Section below.

We also launched the Great Wyvern Switch Off, encouraging students and staff, alongside Dr Walker, to reduce their phone usage. It was refreshing to see how many students embraced the challenge, with some even deleting apps they were spending too much time on. Students who reduced their screen time were awarded P1s, and those with the greatest reduction in each tutor group received P2s.

Other competitions this term included a “Beat Mr Watson” penalty shoot-out at lunchtime, recreating a famous movie scene during tutor time, and our annual tutor room Christmas decorations competition. Students also took part in home-based competitions such as the Great Wyvern Bake Off, pumpkin carving, and a languages poetry competition.

We would like to finish by saying a huge thank you to all the students who took part in house activities, the parents who supported pumpkin carving and cake decorating, and, of course, all Wyvern staff who helped spread fun throughout the term.

Caring@Wyvern

Supporting Good Causes

We held two non-uniform days this term. At the end of the first half term the Wyvern Kindness Challenge was the recepient of all the £1 paid (see more below) . Then at the very end of this term Cancer Research was the supported charity.

Tutor group 7P2 held a bracelet sale at the end of November to raise money for Cancer Research and staff held a plant sale which raise £35 each for Breast Cancer Now and Prostate Cancer UK.

We have also have received a certificate from Simon Says for the money raised from the bake sale last academic year.

Meanwhile the Royal Horticultural Society have awarded Wyvern the next School gardening RHS award level 3 with a certificate and goodies-including a £50 garden gift card.

Our production cast and crew having been busy baking and selling to raise money for our upcoming production of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in February.

Spreading Kindness at Sunnybank Care Home

As part of the school Kindness Challenge, students from 7C1, 8G1, 8D1 and 9C2 visited Sunnybank Care Home to spread some festive cheer. The students handed out gifts and cake to the residents and delighted everyone by singing Christmas carols.

The visit was a wonderful success. The residents had a lovely time and truly enjoyed the company and performances, while the care home staff were extremely appreciative of the students’ kindness and effort. Our students did the school proud and showed just how powerful small acts of kindness can be.

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors

Wyvern College is pleased to be taking part in the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors scheme intiated by the The Diana Award charity. Their Anti-Bullying work encourages change in attitudes and behaviours for young people by young people. We have asked students at school to come forward and volunteer to be Anti-Bullying Ambassadors - working to raise awareness of bullying, support those that may be experiencing bullying and looking at wider aspects of wellbeing. Over 50 students have been accepted and in the new year they will have training to help them in their roles. As well as their amabassador jobs they will be working toward achieving our Community Badge. So exciting times ahead in 2026.

Extra Support for Students

We have a number of groups in college offering some additional support for students that are facing challenges in their lives.

The Bereavement Friendship Group are now the traditional dressers of our reception Christmas Tree. This year they created golden heart fans to commemorate the close ones they have lost. The result is beautiful.

Our Young Carers session produced lovely snow globes. Students came and enjoyed a hot chocolate whilst they crafted. They left with a little gift bag that had a hot choc sachet, sweets, a self care sheet and little origami star craft. 

51 students were invited to attend the Glow group sessions in the last week of term. It was a chance for students to take some time to do complete a craft and check in with staff. All students were given a gift which included chocolate, a gift of either smellies, game, or socks and 2 £5 vouchers (Waterstones and Love to Shop).

Supporting Fair Oak Infant School STEM Week. 

In October, a group of Year 9 & Year 10 students visited Fair Oak Infant School; they had prepped different activities for the Year R and 1 children to experience during their STEM week. The Wyvern students were polite, kind, engaging, and excellent with the children. They taught them about energy (Year R) and forces (Year 1) and asked them really thought provoking questions. They enjoyed the discussions with the younger children which sometimes ended up totally off topic! They were excellent role models and we were very proud of them all. 

Young Autistic Experts Panel

On the 30th of October, Wyvern students attend the Autistic Young Experts Panel. Our SENCO Mrs Weaver accompanied our representatives Reuben and Chloe. It was a lovely event that Osborne school has obtained charity funding to start.  All Winchester and Eastleigh schools were invited to join in. The idea is that this is the first meeting, and they will continue to meet either half termly or termly.  The panel seeks to give young autistic people a voice in identifying strategies that might be of benefit to all autistic student in their schools.

We then received a lovely letter regarding our participation in the panel.

I am just writing to say how impressed I was by two of your pupils, Reuben and Chloe. They represented your school at the first meeting of the Winchester and Eastleigh Young Autistic Experts Panel and were fantastic. They took on the role with enthusiasm and were a credit to your school. They will be contacting your senior leadership team soon to share feedback from the meeting.

Thanks for supporting your autistic pupils by allowing them to take part.

Carson, Osborne Outreach

Wyvern Remembered

This year marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two. In last term's newsletter we reported on how our History Club had helped to commemorate the anniversary of D-Day and joined residents at the Sunnybank Care Home to find out about the secret spitfires.

In November it was the turn of the whole school to mark the occasion with a 2 minute silence signalled and ended by our brass musicians in the college quad. Our Year 11 students and members of staff created a beautiful tribute of ceramic poppies that covered the lawns at the front of the school. We hope to make this an annual project, with our poppies spreading even further over the site as the years progress.

GreatWork@Wyvern

Titanic Tragedy Remembered

The sad story of the sinking of the Titanic is taught in Year 8 history lessons - they look at what went wrong and the social aspects of the events on that fateful voyage. The topic culminates in students creating a piece of artwork that represents this most famous of sea tragedies. The students can choose any physical media they feel best. This year saw an amazing quality of entry and we thought you would like to see some of these wonderful works.

A Chilling Story

Mrs Ellery want to recognise the great extracurricular activity of Sia in her 7 English class. Sia put her "scary" story assessment in for a competition. Read on if you want to enjoy a festive chiller!

Nightmare in a Nutshell                                             

The wind howled as the girl hiked through the mud as thick as tar. She had a fringe that disguised most of her face and long hazel locks that fell down to her waist. As she trekked through the dense, eerie woods, the bare branches of dead trunks shivered almost like they were petrified at the thought of what might be in store for her as well. Then she saw it.

A chill ran down her spine as she looked up in horror. Under the pearly, round moon, a towering, midnight-black house stood so tall in the fog that it reminded the girl of the haunted mansion she had seen in a film earlier that day. The blood-red, coffin-shaped front door looked identical to a gaping jaw that would swallow you whole and the cobwebbed windows resembled large, jet-black eyes that stared down, deep into your soul. She began to think she should turn back. But she couldn’t. There was something about this place that drew her in and wouldn’t let go. Suddenly, the castle of shadows groaned under the immense weight of rotting wood. That was it, she had to go home. However, when she opened her mouth to scream, no sound came out. This time, she was forced to turn towards the building. “Let’s just get this over with then,” she thought. The young adventurer advanced forward to the entrance, although she didn’t know why. It was almost like she was meant to be there. That there was something she was meant to see.

Now, at the archway, she turned the knob. There was a click. And to her surprise, it was unlocked. Screeching, the door swung open.

She stepped inside.

As soon as the child took her first breath inside the room, she immediately knew something was off. The air was stale; every surface was coated in dust and everything remained untouched as if frozen in time. Books remained open, just waiting for their owner to come back and finish them. But even though she wanted to leave, something was still pulling her. She walked up the moaning, chestnut stairs and stopped. Her jaw hung in shock. Eyebrows furrowed. In one of the rooms, a light was still on. That couldn’t be right. No one had been in this part of the woods for as long as anyone could remember. Still attracted, she stepped towards the room and pushed the door. It didn’t budge like a guard warning her not to go in.

Finally, the door broke free of its hold and revealed the terror inside. It all made sense. This was the reason no-one had ever been sighted in the forest before. Under the flickering lamplight, right in the middle of the foreboding room, a perished and pallid skeleton lay. Its hands cupped around its mouth as if making one final call for help.

Eyes widened in shock, the scream left her lips…

Year 10 Food Students Become “Fish Heroes”!

 Our Year 10 Food Preparation and Nutrition students have proudly taken their first steps in the Fish Heroes scheme — a national initiative designed to inspire young people to cook, prepare, and enjoy sustainable fish and seafood. The school was selected to be one or 200 to received 10kg of fresh live mussels. The programme aims to build confidence in handling fresh produce while also educating students about the environmental impact of the foods we choose. After a rocky start with the mussels not being harvested due to bad weather, we waited in anticipation the next week to see if they would arrive.

For their first session, students worked with mussels farmed offshore in Devon, learning why shellfish such as mussels are considered one of the most sustainable seafood options available. They explored how mussels are grown, the minimal environmental footprint of shellfish farming, and the important role these organisms play in keeping marine ecosystems healthy.

Students were guided through every stage of preparation:

- Cleaning and debearding the mussels
- Checking for freshness and safety
- Cooking them correctly so they open and release their natural flavour
 

Once prepped, students created delicious dishes using either a Thai green or Thai red curry sauce, with some groups also making their own homemade flatbreads to accompany the meal. The aromas drifting through the food room certainly drew plenty of interest!

For many students, this was their first time trying mussels, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Several commented on how surprisingly tasty, tender, and versatile mussels were — a wonderful outcome for a first session focused on broadening food experiences.

We are incredibly proud of the enthusiasm, teamwork, and open-mindedness shown by our Year 10s. Their willingness to try new ingredients is exactly what the Fish Heroes scheme aims to celebrate. We look forward to sharing more of their culinary adventures as the programme continues!

Celebrating@Wyvern

Esports Competition Win

On Tuesday the 14th October, I took a group of Year 10 Computing students to the Medhurst Esports event at the Hilton Hotel in West End.

We had a great day at competing in the tournament with Toynbee school, playing the game Rocket League, which led us to finally winning the trophy at the end of the tournament.

As well as playing in the tournament students got the chance to speak to various Post 16 representatives about their next steps in groups. They also had the chance to attend the technology fair where they engaged with local and national employers.

Overall, it was a great day out for the gamers!

Performed Swimmingly 

Our swimmers did a fantastic job at the Hampshire Swimming Gala held at Winchester Leisure Centre on Thursday 2nd October. With Year 7/8's coming in 3rd place, receiving a bronze medal in the Mixed Freestyle Relay. Followed by the Year 9/10's coming 3rd place receiving a bronze medal as well for the Mixed Freestyle Relay. It was great to see so much talent from our students and excellent courage and determination to compete against other schools and colleges. 

Well done to Freya, Niamh, Indie, Seth (all in year 7 & 8), Emily, Bobby, Ben, Jack, Rowan (all in Years 9 & 10), Amelie, Tilly, Isabella, and Louise (all in Year 11).

Celebrating Success in the UKMT Maths Competition for Girls

We are delighted to share the fantastic achievements of two of our students, Holly and Emily, who recently took part in the prestigious UKMT Maths Competition for Girls.

Both students demonstrated outstanding skill and perseverance, with Holly earning a Certificate of Merit and Emily achieving a Certificate of Distinction.

The competition attracts some of the most talented young mathematicians from across the country, making their accomplishments even more remarkable. Holly and Emily’s success is a testament to their hard work, dedication, and genuine passion for mathematics.

We are incredibly proud of them and look forward to seeing what they will accomplish next.

District Cross Country News

Well done to all the runners who took part on a sunny cold winter’s morning at the District Cross Country for years 9 to 11 (and exceptional year 8s) at Winchester. It was a talented field with over 60 runners in most races. Well done to all of the following:

Inter Boys - Hugo - 15th, Jasper - 24th

Inter Girls - Amy - 13th  

Junior Boys - Jack - 8th 

Junior Girls - Lyra - 6th, Alyssa - 14th, Fern - 19th, Flo - 26th, Sophie - 34th

Also congratulations to the Junior Girls who came second as a team out of 9 schools.

We are delighted to confirm that after the cross-country trials, 6 of our athletes have been selected to run for Eastleigh and Winchester at the County Champs at Wellesley Woodland Aldershot on Saturday 17th Jan. Congratulations to Hugo, Amy, Jack, Lyra, Alyssa and Fern.

Childcare@Wyvern News

Terms aren’t really a thing here at Wyvern Childcare as we are here 51 weeks of the year and we were really lucky during the summer to have a visit from a police officer, and as you can imagine the children found this really exciting and enjoyed the opportunity to look around the police car and we took full advantage of having a quiet campus, having the sirens sounding which all the children loved. We also took full advantage of the weather and took the children for several adventures around campus, also to visit the staff still working hard during the holidays!!!

September did see us saying goodbye to all our school leavers who transitioned to school, which is always a sad time for the staff but equally as exciting to send the children we have nurtured for the past few years off on their next adventure.  It also saw lots of room transitions and new starters within nursery and pre-school, and once the children had time to adjust and settle it was business as usual.

Along with the usual daily routine and activities you would expect of a nursery and pre-school, we have continued our fortnightly visits just across the road to Sunnybank care home joining the residents for a Debutots session, a morning of role play and storytelling which is loved by both the staff and children and we think the residents at Sunnybank quite enjoy themselves too.

We have also been fortunate this term to have been having visits from ICON sports coaching, running active sessions which is great fun and an ideal opportunity to burn off excess energy!

As you would expect Christmas brings great excitement in nursery and pre-school and we have spent the last couple of weeks doing lots of Christmas activities and making Christmas goodies to go home to parents.

Last Saturday we held our annual Family Christmas Craft Morning which concluded with a good old Christmas sing song around the Christmas Tree, an opportunity for the whole nursery, pre-school and their families to come together, which is lovely to see, and great time was had by all.

So as Nursery and pre-school end of year fast approaches, we are all very excited to welcome Santa in on Friday morning and then we end the day with our Christmas party.

Wyvern Out & About

Bronze and Silver D of E Students Present Their Summer Expeditions

Our Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Silver students proudly concluded their summer expeditions with a series of engaging presentations to parents, staff, and peers. These presentations marked the final step in their journey, showcasing not only the skills they developed but also the knowledge they gained along the way.

Each team chose a unique topic to explore during their expedition, reflecting the diverse interests and experiences of our students. From practical advice on first aid while walking to insightful discussions on nutrition during DofE, the presentations were both informative and inspiring. One group delved into the history of crimes in the New Forest, uncovering some fascinating tales from the region’s past, while others focused on the flora and fauna they encountered, highlighting the rich biodiversity of the area. A particularly popular topic was the wildlife spotted during their journey, with students sharing stories and photos of the animals they came across.

The event was a celebration of resilience, teamwork, and curiosity. Parents were invited to attend and were treated to a thoughtful and well-prepared showcase of the students’ hard work. For many, it was a moment of pride to see how far their children had come—not just in miles walked, but in confidence gained.

We were also thrilled to award certificates to those students who had completed their entire Bronze DofE awards. Their dedication across all sections—volunteering, physical, skills, and expedition—deserves special recognition.

Congratulations to all our DofE participants. Your commitment, creativity, and courage are a credit to our school community.

Behind The Scenes of Harry Potter

Some of our Year 10 Creative iMedia students enjoyed an exceptional behind-the-scenes experience at Warner Bros. Studios this week, including rare access to one of the studio’s “dailies cinemas” —the screening rooms normally used to view daily rushes during film production. Sitting in the same seats used by top filmmakers gave students a unique understanding of how scenes are reviewed, refined, and approved.

The highlight of the visit was meeting Gary Tomkins, the Art Director responsible for designing the Hogwarts Castle, Hagrid’s Hut and many other sets used on the Harry Potter movies. He shared captivating stories about how the wizarding world was created and offered valuable advice on pursuing careers in film, media, and digital design. Students were inspired by his creativity and impressed by the level of detail involved in professional art direction.

The trip offered an unforgettable glimpse into the realities of filmmaking and has left many students excited about future opportunities in the creative industries.

Allumni News

It is always great to catch up with former pupils and we have some lovely catch ups this term.

2023 leaver Jude got an A* for History, an A for Biology  and a B for Chemistry. He worked very very hard indeed throughout, showing a remarkable attitude throughout his studies. During that time he was playing his rugby still but he paired down all his other activities other than fitness stuff, to just get on with his work. So we are pleased for him that his efforts have been rewarded with those fabulous set of results !!!

He needed a AAB for his 1st choice Uni place at Loughborough - so he is now there to study Biological Sciences and play some good rugby, hopefully.

When his A-levels were over, Jude and his Mum went away for 2 weeks to Spain on a 200km hike on the Camino del Norte, finishing up in Santiago - something very special they can treasure forever.

Good Luck to Jude for his studies and rugby!

Meantime, our SEN Leader Mrs Bennet caught up with some of this year's Year leavers. 

Last night (13th October)  I attended a gig for students on the Itchen College Music Level 3 Course at The Joiners - a grass roots venue that has hosted the likes of Oasis, Muse , The Arctic Monkees and Ed Sheeran to name a few. 
 
We initially went to see Callum as he was supported by our department when at Wyvern.
 
There were four bands in all. 
 
Not only did we see Callum strut his stuff as the lead singer of 'The Callum's', covering hits from the Kinks, Rolling Stones and more (what a difference a year makes) but we also saw the amazing talents of Tia as lead singer and Lacey on the drums. What a pool of talent from Wyvern, but most of all it was a privilege to see how much they had grown in confidence, all looking so grown up and more comfortable in their own skin. We were blown away. 

Christmas@Wyvern

Enterprise Christmas Fayre

After the success of last year's inaugural event, it was great to see The Enterprise Christmas Fair back. Our Enterprise and Marketing Students made an amazing array of pocket money gifts to sell to their fellow students, college staff and visitors from our pyramid primary schools. The wonderful atmosphere was further enhanced by student musician performing on the stage. This has fast become one of the most enjoyable events in our calendar and is a great way to kick off the festive period.

Christmas Concerts

Wyvern singers represented the college brilliantly as part of the massed choir at the Barton Peveril Christmas concert at Romsey Abbey last night. We performed the spectacular ‘Gloria’ by Antonio Vivaldi, alongside the Barton Peveril chamber orchestra, chamber choir and soloists. Other choirs involved were the adult Rose Singers choir, Wildern choir, Kings school and the Hampshire Youth Choir.

It was an exquisite performance in a beautiful setting and very much created the festive mood. It was wonderful for our singers to be performing alongside Wyvern ex-students who were both singing and performing as part of the instrumental ensemble. It was fantastic to hear 2 ex-Wyvern musicians performing solos- Tom- on piccolo trumpet, and Felix - on soprano saxophone.

The Christmas concerts were a wonderful showcase for our fantastic Wyvern singers and musicians and all the work they have put in this term. All of choirs and ensembles performed including: string ensemble, flute ensemble led by the fantastic flute teacher Mrs Smith, Chamber choir led by our talented vocal teacher Mrs Musgrave, Choir, Groove Band, Rock Club, Concert Band.

Our new Training band featured year 7’s and more experienced musicians, including some students newly learning to play a second instrument- including 2 bassoons and an oboe! Arran - Year 11- made is conducting debut with the training band for John William’s Jurassic Park- featuring a sneaky entrance from our resident dinosaur… Concert band entertained with the epic ‘Back to the Future’ and a festive performance of ‘Sleigh Ride’. Adam - Year 11 - demonstrated skilful conducting, leading the concert band for ‘The Great Escape.’

It was fantastic to see so many Year 7’s performing as part of rock bands, newly formed this year. Both our Year 9 and Year 10 GCSE students performed as part of their class ensembles which brought together all of their skills and talents. We were entertained by a drama piece ‘ Operation- Save Christmas!’ directed by Miss Chatterley and comprising year 7-10 actors. Groove band brought the evening to a close with a lively Abba Medley bringing together all the hits in a skilful mash-up. The finale was a huge celebration, seeing all of our students coming together on the stage for ‘Merry Christmas, Everybody.’

Thank you to our students for all the time and dedication you put into rehearsals and practice, and thank you to parents and carers for all of your support with music at Wyvern.

Christmas Dinners

Our year groups held their Christmas dinners during the last two weeks of term. All the tutor groups decorate their tables and there is always a competition to see who can be the "best dressed". The results are weird and wonderful. Our dinners are made possible thanks to the amazing Caterlink staff in our cafe who produced 800+ Christmas dinners - as well as food to cover both breaks on those days for the other students. They also provided loads of festive treats throughout December.

Decking the Halls

The college had been awash with Christmas decorations - due in no small part to our Tutor Christmas Display Competition which saw house points up for grabs for the best decorated tutor bases. It was a tough contest with so many different kinds of display but the winning bases were 8C1,  8D2, 8G1, 10H2 & 8P1. Clearly Year 8 are particularly strong when it comes to interior design. The winner was............8D2

Meanwhile our Library looked fantastic thanks to our library's flair for crafting and decorating.