There were celebrations this week as the Profound and Multiply Learning Disabilities (PMLD) new outside play area was opened by the Kirkdale family.

The Kirkdale family donated towards the funds needed to create the outside area and opened the new facility in memory of their brother Francis.

Francis sadly passed away in 2019, but he had attended Newick House School in the 1970’s.  Newick House School merged with Court Meadow School to form Woodlands Meed in 2012.  The plaque to remember Francis reads ‘The support you received here as a pupil shaped so much of the man you became....’ and it was because of this the family wished to support Woodlands Meed and the pupils who are benefiting from the specialized support they received today.

Mark Kirkdale said ‘We are delighted to see what a fantastic project our donation has helped create, to know that lots of pupils will benefit from this outside area for many years and what a lasting impact this will have is a lovely way to remember our brother Francis.’

The new covered and fully wheelchair accessible area enables the pupils to be outside whatever the weather and the wheelchair accessible swing provides the opportunity for  users to experience the movement of a swing and enjoy lots of fun and has been very popular so far.

As well as the generous donation from the Kirkdale family, fundraising for this area came from the result of the hard work and generosity of some Woodlands Meed parents and supporters.   Woodlands Meed parents Anna & Richard Ball organized and ran a Fundraising Ball and Cuckfield Bonfire have generously donated to Woodlands Meed for many years to projects like this.

Adam Rowland, Headteacher, thanked those responsible for the fundraising and commented ‘This just would not have been possible without the remarkable generosity of the Kirkdale family and the outstanding fundraising efforts of Anna & Richard Ball and Cuckfield Bonfire Society.  We are hugely grateful for all their considerable efforts and those who generously supported them along the way.  This outdoor area has already made a huge difference to the outdoor learning and play opportunities for our pupils and will continue to do so for many years to come’.

On the 16th February, our ks3 cricketers represented our School Site at the annual table cricket competition at The County Ground in Hove, home of Sussex Cricket.

Our students arrived at the County ground in Hove, home of Sussex County Cricket club, full of excitement and keen to do well in the day’s activities. The competition was made up of four strong teams; two from Woodlands Meed including students from KS3 and KS5, as well as two teams from Manor Green College.

Match one saw our KS3 team take on Manor Green College team A. The match was played in great spirit, with both teams encouraging one another.  This teamwork led to Woodlands Meed winning the first match, outscoring their opponents by 10 runs.

Match 2 was the battle of Woodlands Meed, seeing our school and college teams go head to head. Again both teams played with great enthusiasm and showed real respect for eachother.  The school team took the win narrowly outscoring the college by 5 runs!

 With one final match to go and knowing a win would secure the title, the school team were positive about achieving the victory they needed.

The final match was played against Manor Green colleges team B. The excellent attitude of all who took part          continued throughout the whole day, and we were treated to another excellent contest. Woodlands Meed delivered a fabulous all round team performance to win their final match by 15 runs.

With the final matches played and the results in, our school team finished the tournament unbeaten, scoring an amazing 809 runs in total for the day and were crowned champions!

 All the staff were so impressed with the students attitude, behaviour and positivity. They all demonstrated great communication, perseverance, independence and teamwork skills. We need to mention our two sports’ leaders, who were brilliant in their roles as scorers and umpires. The students can be immensely proud of themselves and we certainly are. They were a credit to the school and each other.

All going well the team will now be entered into the regional finals where if they can continue their success and win, would progress to the national finals which are held at the home of cricket Lords.

Once again I cannot speak high enough of our students they were and are fabulous!!

Three films made by pupils at Woodlands Meed have been accepted into the Oska Bright Film Festival 2022.

‘Get the Baguette’ and ‘Rosie’s Dream’ were made by a performing arts, music and media class collaboration and the other film ‘Infiltration at Bakura’ was created by Jake, who created an incredible stop motion animation from Lego.

Arts Lead Teacher Gabrielle Woerndl was delighted with her pupil’s success

‘I am so thrilled that our film maker’s effort have been rewarded by being chosen for the Oska Bright Film Festival this year.  Our students have created some brilliant work and to be part of the festival to share this with other film makers is just fantastic.  To be chosen from 600 entries is a huge achievement for all those involved’

With less than 5% of disabled people working in the UK film industry, the Oska Bright Film Festival, is driven to make change happen. Working internationally with industry partners and funded by the BFI, the BAFTA qualifying Oska Bright Film Festival, promotes accessible screenings, runs training for venues and develops skills for aspiring filmmakers.

Oska Bright Film Festival puts people with Learning Disabilities, Autism or Aspergers where they should be, on the big screen. They show bold, exciting and different work from voices you might not have heard before.

The festival is managed and delivered by a team of ten learning disabled artists, all passionate about film and exhibition. It is presented by the award winning learning disability art organisation Carousel, which brings learning disability arts to the front.

The Oska Bright Film Festival runs from 16-22 March 2022, in Brighton and across the UK and online.

An incredible year of fundraising in 2021 resulted in the most amazing start to the New Year for Woodlands Meed. 

Haywards Heath Golf Club Men’s Captain, Niall Addison, presented a cheque for £35,531.56 to Chair of Woodlands Meed Governors, Marion Wilcock, at the New Year’s Captain’s Drive in on New Year’s Day at Haywards Heath Golf Club. 

The Golf Club raises money each year for the Captain’s chosen charity and 2021 was a record breaking year, due to an incredible amount of hard work and the kindness and generosity of the Club’s membership.

Woodlands Meed are extremely grateful for this incredible donation that will enable a Rebound Therapy trampoline and therapy space to be installed at the School Site. 

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Well Done B1 & B2!

B1 & B2 completed The Brighton Marathon at the weekend already raising over £1,000 for Friends of Woodlands Meed!

Woodlands Meed Deputy Head Teacher, Tom Brown and his friend once again have completed a full marathon dressed as the Bananas in Pyjamas to raise money for Woodlands Meed.  You might just spot B1 & B2 in some future marathon events too, keep your eyes ‘peeled’!

There’s still time to sponsor them and thank you to everyone who already has!

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tom-brown54