On Wednesday 29th November, we welcomed back the Class of 2023 to school to be presented with their GCSE certificates and to celebrate their fantastic achievements during their time at Woodhey.

The evening started with a welcome from Mr Watson, who congratulated the year group on achieving the best results in the School's history, and also on their transition into excellent young people who have exceptionally bright futures ahead of them, before a musical interlude, featuring Woodhey's very own Brass Group, Dance Group and a superb solo by Ivy Mill. Following this, we were delighted to welcome PGMOL, FIFA and Premier League Assistant Referee Natalie Aspinall to school as our guest speaker.

Natalie shared tales of her refereeing career, the bumps in the road that she has overcome and the successes that this has led to, from officiating at World Cups, to spending, currently, two years assisting as both on-field Assistant referee and Assistant Video Referee on one of the best football leagues in the world, the Premier League. Natalie ended her talk with wise words of advice for our students: 'Do not let anyone define you or tell you what you cannot do or who you cannot be. Set your goals, be determined and work hard, and you will succeed.'

Natalie then had the honour of presenting students' GCSE certificates, and a number of other awards, including: subject awards for both excellence and progress, achievement awards to the top twenty outstanding performers across all subjects, form tutor awards, student ambassador awards, and then our main awards of the evening:

  • The Frank Bennett Trophy for Academic Performance, awarded to Oliver Morris
  • The Martin Braidley Cup for Progress, awarded to Madeleine C
  • The Music Contribution Award, awarded to Toby Anderson
  • The Sporting Achievement Award, awarded to Charles Proffitt
  • The Service to School Award, awarded to Jacob Ramsbottom
  • The Kathryn Dobson Prize for making Outstanding Progress in Maths, awarded to Charlie Foster

Mr Donnelly, the year group's Head of Year, reflected in his programme notes about how proud he was of the way the year group had overcome significant challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic, and how hard they worked throughout all of their five years. He summarise: 'You will always be a part of the Woodhey family and we will remember you fondly.' A view echoed by all at school.

Well done once again, Class of 2023, on a great five years, and best of luck for the future!