Webberzine Spring 2025

Welcome to the spring edition of Mary Webb School and Science College’s Webberzine.

This term we have been exceptionally busy ahead of the spring holiday, due to a number of factors. There have been a lot of GCSE practical assessments this term, in Spanish and French, Food Preparation and Nutrition, Dance and Drama. We have also seen the return of our annual trip to SkillsFest in Birmingham on our Curriculum Day in February. The whole of Year 9 and Year 10 visited the NEC for this fantastic showcase of the world of work opportunities to inspire our students. On our STEAM Curriculum Day, our students engaged in a broad range of activities, which Mrs Jones, our Director of STEAM, will report on later in the Webberzine.

Our annual Trenches Trip took place in March, where some of our Year 9s joined up with students and staff from Belvidere School to visit World War One battlefields in mainland Europe. Led by Mr Bird, Ms Keeling and Mr Finch supervised this trip, enabling our students to take part in this enriching experience of such a pivotal point in human history. Mr White and Ms Goodier also took our students to mainland Europe, to the mountains of Italy for our bi-annual ski trip. It is such a privilege for some of our students to be able to go on this trip, which took place in the February half-term.

Staying with the active theme, our girls’ football teams enjoyed incredible success in the Shrewsbury High School girls’ football tournament. With our U13 team winning their category and our U15 team being crowned as overall champions.

Back in school we held a baking competition and cake sale to support our fundraising for World Book Day, so we could enhance our library’s book collection, with books selected by our students, our ‘bought for you, by you’ collection.

Occasionally, we say goodbye to members of staff at the end of the spring term, and on this occasion, we’re saying goodbye and passing on our best wishes to Mr B Seager, our Drama Teacher and creative director of our termly Showcases. Mr Seager has been with us since September 2018 and has given his all to our school community over the past few years. During his time with us, he has also turned his hand to teaching art and more recently he has enjoyed success teaching Year 7 History. Mr Seager is looking for new challenges, beyond the classroom and we wish him every success in his new endeavours.

We also get to welcome new teachers to our school, and this term is no exception. We Mrs Rees, Ms Wells and Mr Tryhorn have become regular faces this term and I know they will be with us for some time to come. There is a profile on one of these teachers in this edition of the Webberzine.

As I bring this introduction to a close, I want to conclude by highlighting the significant achievement made by one of our Year 11 students. Ben Cockerill was a recipient of the Shropshire High Sheriff Outstanding Young Citizen Awards of 2025, for his volunteer work, which includes coaching, organizing and refereeing at Shrewsbury Storm Basketball Club. Our congratulations to Ben for this recognition of the contribution he makes to the community of Shrewsbury, recognition he thoroughly deserves.

On behalf of the students, staff and governors of the Mary Webb School and Science College community, I hope you all enjoy a restful and relaxing Easter break.

Year 7: Building and Designing Rocket Cars

First, we went around to three different Classrooms to learn about different aspects of the race car we would build later on. We learnt about aerodynamics then the three of Newton’s laws.

Then we went back to our original classrooms to begin our project. We started by designing our cars in groups of three to five people. Then we continued by making sure our design was unique, lightweight, and aerodynamic. Then we had to draw the outline of our shape onto the bio-foam block so that our teacher could cut it out. After that we began decorating our cars with all manner of things including: fins, colours, wheels, and other personal touches.

After a long time of working on our masterpieces they were taken away and put on the track ready to be raced against many others. One of the highlights that happened during this experience is one of the racing cars exploded, making the crowd burst into endless laughter!

The winners of the steam day in 2025 out of all the year seven group were Ala, Flo, and Niamh. At a record-breaking time of 0.83 seconds!

Overall our favourite part was seeing the cars race (and explode). It was an incredible experience we had a wonderful time and we were glad to take part in this experience. We would definitely recommend it to other students who join Mary Webb.

May Lee, Henry Shepherd, Savannah Robinson, Jake Moore

Year 8: RAF Cosford

On the 20^th of March, we went on an adventure to RAF Cosford. The home of planes. We were all excited and curious.

The 1^st activity we did was called ‘Repair’, where we had to make our own design to maintain the object when dropped from a height. What me and Isobel did was to make a case and we spent only £18 (fake money) which was the least out of everybody. When it was our turn, our object was dropped at a metal ledge and luckily, it survived! It was time for the results, turns out we were 1^st place and received a medal.

The 2^nd activity we did was called ‘Space Rover’ where we had to also make our own design to collect asteroids using a Bluetooth control device. What we did was making two scoops and a little face. We named it as AC (asteroid collector). It was time for the game and we only got 1 asteroid which was okay!

The 3^rd activity was a rocket design where we competed to see who’s rocket flies the furthest. We managed to get 3^rd place. Our design was like a spear with fins to make it streamlined. Our two teachers (Mr Bird and Mrs Bunn) also competed but they got last place. It was really funny to witness and it was a fun activity!

In conclusion, we think that it was a very fun day! We honestly miss it and wish to come back soon! It went very quick and the staff there were very awesome and kind. They reassured us to do our best and we did!

By Zia and Isobel (8C)

Year 9: STEAM Day

For the STEAM curriculum day, we began the day with an assembly, learning about how important STEAM is in future jobs. Three people came in with inspiring jobs including a nurse, an inventor and a flight lieutenant who talked about how their jobs involve STEAM.

After, we began programming robots using Micro-bits to help NASA with a Mars project. The Mars project included us programming the robot to move forwards, backwards, turning left and right and stopping. We also programmed the robot to avoid obstacles, receive radio signals and dance!

Some groups continued programming and using AI to make the robot recognise hand movements that can command the robot’s actions. This would have allowed you to move the robot via one of the Micro-bits using your hand while the other was connected to the robot.

Overall, this session really immersed us into the world of Micro-bit programming and how AI can be developed to refine robotics.

Ola M and David J

On steam curriculum day all of the year nine and year ten students had to go down to assembly. There were three people come in there was a woman who was a nurse, the second person was a mechanical engineer and lastly there was a man who was part of the RAF.  Out of all of them the one that I found the most interesting was the Nurse, she had a really nice story of how she became a nurse, she said that she joined Mary Webb school at the end of year nine and she said she wasn’t really good at school especially science but she had a dream and that there were lots of nice teachers that helped her a lot and that dream finally came true. She said to us in the hall that if we had a dream we have to try our best and never give up and it may happen.

After the assembly I was put in a group with Nirvana Powell and Will Sanderson this time there was lots of other people with very interesting jobs. The first person we went to was the Mechanical Engineer we were talking about how to store electricity from a wind turbine, after that there was a whistle that was blown and we had to switch to another person this time it was a young woman called Jasmine and she worked at a pub we had to try and figure out how much they get paid and how many hours she worked. There were other people and we had to do other activities I really liked the one with Jasmine.

In the afternoon we had to go to the science block, the first activity we had to do we learnt about rocks and then we were able to crack a geode open with a hammer. We had to use face protection and put a towel over the geode on a brick and hit it as hard as you could. It smashed showing the crystals inside, which we got to keep. Then we went to another room and we tried to show how fossils are made. We also heated up a rock and then put it into water and kept doing this until bits fell off, this shows how weathering breaks down rocks.

By Borislav, Lexi and Natasha

Year 10: STEAM day – Graffiti Artist

We started off the day by practising graffiti writing with Nick, this was the basis for our vinyl’s which we then proceeded to decorate and personalise with our names and in our favoured styles. We used a range of materials like carbon paper for tracing, posca pens for drawing and outlines and pictures for inspiration. This set us up for the day of spray painting the lockers.

First, we geared up with overalls and paint respirators, took our shoes off and helped lay out dust sheets to protect the floor. We also lined the lockers with tape to protect the walls. This then allowed us to get creative choosing our colours and design. Nick (the graffiti artist) helped us design and structure the layout of the lockers. We experimented with different techniques and textures, this allowed us to have a full array of artistry.

Our motifs for the ocean themed locker was focused on pollution and the harm of plastics and climate change to the environment. Our presentation of the locker showed ocean life as it is now compared to what it will be if it continues down the path it’s taking. Our approach for decorating was mainly freehand and included lots of detail to the habitats and animals. We also incorporated facts and statistics.

Our motifs for the society and social media locker was concentrated on the effects of social media and books and how they change the human brain. We showed this through a portal which was a book. The social media part of the locker is the doom scrolling side, this showed the different social media platforms that were used by teenagers of this generation. We also used stencils to create the planets.

Keeley Dawes 10C

Logan Darbyshire 10C

Year 10: STEAM Day

At the beginning of the day, all Year 10 students were gathered in the main hall to listen to three inspirational speakers. They all informed us about different careers in STEAM that may interest some people for their future lives.

After break, we went to the art department to draw a two-point perspective picture. We followed a certain list of steps in order to create the image.

After lunch, we went to the sports hall to do some sports activities that link in with the STEAM industry. First, we got into teams and did a relay race on the rowing machines. Then, we used a machine that tested our reaction speeds by pressing buttons as fast as we could. After that, we tried out the machine that tested the speed of the football we kicked.

Finally, we took part in an activity where we had to construct a structure that could withstand earthquakes and hurricanes. We also had to make the structure as tall as possible.

An early morning sent us to Aston University where we were to compete in the West Midlands event of the First Tech Challenge. After being the first team to arrive, we set to work finishing the robot for inspection, and as other teams arrived we handed out the cookies that Ola had made to show our gracious professionalism and help us to introduce ourselves to fellow competitors, who we knew could end up being our alliance team mates.

We failed our first inspection because, at full extension we exceeded the maximum height; apparently, we risked toppling over and being disqualified! After borrowing some heavy chain from another team and duck taping it to the front of our robot we passed inspection. In our first game, we lost having only driven the robot for 5 minutes. Just before our second game we managed to snap two teeth off one of our small gears, preventing our arm from reaching the necessary height to score points, meaning we lost that game as well.

As our builders worked hard to fix the problem another donation from another team meant we had the exact part to replace the broken gear. As a result, we won our last three games with some excellent skill and perseverance shown by the drivers. Finishing fourth, we went into the alliance selection confident of making it into the final rounds. Luckily, we had previously worked well with the top placing team and they asked us to join their alliance, which we quickly accepted.

Reading is of the upmost importance here at Mary Webb School. The average reading age for GCSE examinations is 15.7 years. We want to give your children the best possible chance during their time at school, their exams, and in preparation for life after school, so that more opportunities will be open to them.

We can’t stress the importance of reading in a child’s life enough, not only for the reasons stated above, but because of the social, developmental and mental health benefits that reading for pleasure can have.

Here are but a few of the many reasons we should try to read more:

• Books develop your language skills and expand your vocabularies
• Reading books improves your spelling
• Books help you to travel and experience different cultures
• Books make you think, they widen your consciousness
• Books develop your critical thinking skills
• Books develop and nourish the imagination
• Books entertain and offer an escape – they can make you laugh and cry
• Books offer comfort and can be a good companion

Apart from the educational benefits of reading more, research from the National Literacy Trust has shown us that children and young people who like to read are three times more likely to have better mental health than those who don’t.

Research shows that reading for just 10 minutes a day can make a huge difference. Not only is it a brilliant way to relax and unwind, reading can also help boost your mood, provide an escape from the pressures of life and even reduce stress levels.

With all that in mind, we have been very busy this term in our school library creating a space and activities to entice students to read more for pleasure, and to engage more with our library facilities.

World Book Day March 2025

We decided to do something a little bit different this World Book Day, and run a ‘Bake a Book’ competition, followed by a cake sale at break and lunch time.

We were inundated with entries. Despite my 8 years working at the school, I will forever be taken back by the sheer enthusiasm, determination, and supportiveness of both students and their parents when it comes to school events and raising money for the school and our students.

Thank you in particular to Henry Shepherd, Thomas Evans, Lily Hilton, Owen Jones, Will Mew, Daisy Padden, Millie Butler, Rhys-Darcy Mellor, Elias Olsen, Alex Weston, Eric Ash, Emma Kultanova, Sienna Chapman, Blessing Makomva, Izzy Clark, Matthew Clark, Alfie Medcalfe, Miss Oakley and Mrs Hughes for their delicious, amazing cakes!

We were blown away by both the level of creativeness and deliciousness of the entries, and also the support from the rest of the school in purchasing cakes and praising the students involved. We raised in excess of £850 from the bake sale and non-uniform day, which is amazing!

The winners were:

Thank you to Paige Bevan, Henry Shepherd, Lily Hilton, Willow Morris, Austyn Fleming, William Robinson, Izzy Clark, and Charlie Robinson for unveiling the new books! The students were chosen as they all made invaluable contributions when it came to choosing the new books and games.

We would like to say a big thank you to Izzy and Matthew Clark, and also to their parents Mr and Mrs Clark. As a family they made four cakes, which I can personally testify were delicious! Izzy’s Harry Potter inspired cake sold within 5 minutes.

Over their time at Mary Webb the Clark family have always given 100% when it comes to contributing to school life and events. Izzy and Matthew are both keen readers, they’re always giving book suggestions, donating books, and helping out in the library. Both have taken part in the ’50 books to read before you leave school’ challenge, Izzy only has 4 more books to read on the list, with Matthew not far behind!

They will both be missed in the library when they leave this summer!

Restricted section

Inspired by the restricted section in the Hogwarts school library, we created our own. The section is comprised of books with more mature content, aimed at age 14+, as well as those who have obtained wider reader permission from their parents/guardians.

Thank you to Miss Swancott for the incredible widow art!

Accelerated Reader

As you will be aware from the last edition of the Webberzine, there has been a big push on Accelerated Reader since September, with a new incentive scheme being introduced.

Students have been busy quizzing all term, and there has been amazing progress, they should all be very proud!

A huge congratulations to Henry Shepherd in year 7 who has read over 3 million words since September!

I really enjoyed going to Newfoundland’s Park. We stood next to the “Danger tree” where the Canadian soldiers were told to go in no-man’s land, most never got there. There were 93% casualties that day. I enjoyed the other museums in Belgium too.
By Adrian Draugjalis

On the second day we visited Vimy Ridge. It is a massive Canadian memorial made of huge carved white marble blocks. It has two huge spires that are decorated with various statues that represent different aspects of human life and resilience. It sits at the top of a ridge once occupied by German soldiers that the Canadians took. It really stands out on the sky line and is an important site of memorial and grief for the great war. It was an amazing trip that really opened up my knowledge of the world.
By Aidan Llewellyn

I was very lucky to participate in the March 2025 trenches trip. We were privileged to get the opportunity to go to Sanctuary Wood, also known as hill 62, and explore the amazing sites. We got the chance to walk through the original, renovated trenches that were used in the First World War. But before we entered the trenches, we walked through the interesting museum. There were real photographs of the First World War, original weapons and even medals. I would recommend this trip to anyone who is interested in the first world war or history in general. It was a once in a lifetime trip and I made unforgettable memories.
By Lily-Mae Green

The day in Belgium was great, the best part was the chocolate in which you have the opportunity to indulge in Belgian chocolate. The shop owner was very nice offering a discount. Right outside the chocolate shop was a fun fair where we were allowed to walk around before we visited some museums. I would recommend the experience to anyone who’s interested in history (or chocolate).
By Tara Jackson

I was lucky enough to take part in the 2025 Marry Webb and Belvidere trenches trip. One of my favourite trips we did there was when we went to Belgium, we spent some of the day in the city of Ypres. The first thing we saw was a WW1 memorial called Menin Gate. This was built to commemorate missing British and Commonwealth soldiers. Inside of the memorial there were thousands of names of soldiers who had not been found. It was incredible to see the vast amount of names there. Later in the evening, we attended the Last Post ceremony, which has been held every day since 1928 (apart from WW2). I was lucky enough to be chosen to take part in this ceremony. It was an incredible experience. I would recommend this trip to anyone interested in WW1 or history in general. It was a once in a lifetime trip and I made memories I will never forget!
By Grace Kinsey

Huge congratulations to both Mary Webb U14’s and U16’s Girls Football teams, who took silverware home on Wednesday 5^th March, by winning the Plate and Cup competition, as part of the Annual FA ‘Let Girls Play’ Tournament hosted by Shrewsbury School. A fantastic achievement.