Headteacher's Welcome

Welcome to our school’s website. I hope it provides you with a sense of our ethos and a window into daily life at Woodmansterne. 

It is my great privilege to be leading Woodmansterne School. Our aim is quite simple, to inspire our children and young people to be their very best version of themselves. It is the responsibility of myself and my incredibly passionate, inspirational and committed staff to ensure our pupils are given the opportunities, motivation and direction they need to achieve this. I am intensely proud of the children and young people who walk through our school gates every morning, with their curiosity and excitement for the learning ahead of them, their individuality, independence, love of life, laughter, optimism and kindness.  

Woodmansterne is more than just a school, it is a community with a united desire to achieve great things and bring the best out of the children it serves. If you are looking for a school that only measures success by test results and performance tables, Woodmansterne is not the school for you. We believe our responsibility, to our children and community, goes beyond this. Our ethos is centred on instilling our core values and developing characteristics that inspire every single one of our children to be the very best version of themselves that they can be. We believe that by doing this, happiness and success will naturally follow. Good results are an expectation, our bread and butter, not our raison d'être. 

Woodmansterne’s journey from a small outstanding primary to a large all-though school has brought inevitable challenge and change: new pupils, families, staff,  buildings, new curricula, examinations, goal posts and Secretaries of State for Education! As a school we are brave, resilient and optimistic; our glass is always half full and our pupils, staff and governors embrace the opportunities that each day, each change and each challenge provide.  

We look forward to welcoming you to Woodmansterne School in whatever capacity you may visit in the future. 

Samantha Palin

Executive Headteacher