Wetherby High School

If you saw 800 students and staff wandering the railway lines from Wetherby to Sicklinghall to Spofforth and back to Wetherby yesterday, you will know that they were completing the 9 mile sponsored walk to raise money for St Gemma's Hospice. It was a really hot day so the students showed great resilience and good humour and finished the walk smiling and with a sense of accomplishment. We have raised just over £5000 for such a worthy cause which needs as many donations as it possibly can. Well done to everyone.

Tomorrow is the big day! The weather looks perfect and the students are warming themselves up nicely. With a bit of carb-loading and an early night they will be ready for the sponsored walk tomorrow which they are completing to raise money for St Gemma's Hospice.

We are incredibly grateful for the enthusiasm and effort our students have shown so far and we have now raised over £3300 (including Gift Aid) which is amazing. However we would love to increase this total even further as it is for such a worthwhile cause.
If you would like to support our fundraising efforts, donations can be made via our JustGiving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/whs2026
Every donation, no matter how small, will help support the fantastic work carried out by St Gemma's.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity.

Wetherby High School's fundraiser for St Gemma's Hospice Help Wetherby High School Fundraising raise money to support St Gemma's Hospice

Students are taking part in the £5 Challenge and our Sponsored Walk, in aid of St Gemma's Hospice, which is taking place on 16th July. We are incredibly grateful for the enthusiasm and effort our students have shown so far and we have now raised over £2500 which is amazing. However we would love to increase this total even further as it is for such a worthwhile cause.
If you would like to support our fundraising efforts, donations can be made via our JustGiving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/whs2026
Every donation, no matter how small, will help support the fantastic work carried out by St Gemma's.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity.

Wetherby High School's fundraiser for St Gemma's Hospice Help Wetherby High School Fundraising raise money to support St Gemma's Hospice

Sports day yesterday was amazing. For the first time ever we took all our students to the John Charles Stadium in Leeds to compete for their houses. The experience was absolutely brilliant with our students running, jumping and throwing to the best of their ability. We are so proud of the effort, commitment and resilience our students showed, the friendly rivalry that was on display and the support given to all the competitors. A huge congratulations to the students in Bremner House who won the Sports day Shield. We cannot wait to do it all again next year.

Students are taking part in the £5 Challenge and our Sponsored Walk, in aid of St Gemma's Hospice, which is taking place on 16th July. We are incredibly grateful for the enthusiasm and effort our students have shown so far.
If you would like to support our fundraising efforts, donations can be made via our JustGiving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/whs2026
Every donation, no matter how small, will help support the fantastic work carried out by St Gemma's.
Thank you for your continued support and generosity.
Wetherby High School's fundraiser for St Gemma's Hospice
justgiving.com
Wetherby High School's fundraiser for St Gemma's Hospice

Wetherby High School's fundraiser for St Gemma's Hospice Help Wetherby High School Fundraising raise money to support St Gemma's Hospice

Last week, six of our Year 9 students travelled to London to represent Wetherby High School at the National Final of the Big Ideas Programme, organised by Solutions for the Planet.
On 4 November 2025, Year 9 students took part in the school's Big Ideas Day, working in teams to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems. From there, teams refined their ideas during Endeavour sessions, developing business plans, carrying out research, building partnerships and perfecting their presentations.
The scale of the competition was remarkable. Nearly 3,000 students took part, with 159 teams submitting Big Ideas. Just 57 teams reached the Regional Finals before only 12 teams earned a place at the National Final, held at the Palace of Westminster.
Before the finalists presented, 2 of the 159 teams received Special Awards. We were incredibly proud that Team Reach Reliable, received the prestigious Schofield Award, recognising the qualities of positivity, proactivity and collaboration.
Our second team, Monthly Matters, reached the National Final with their innovative idea to tackle period poverty and improve menstrual wellbeing in schools.
The team carried out extensive research, surveyed 50 students and developed a practical, sustainable solution with the potential to create lasting change.
The judges praised the team's evidence-based approach, well-developed business model, strong partnerships and practical solution to a significant issue affecting young people.
Following an exceptionally high standard of competition, Monthly Matters were deservedly crowned National Champions.
The team's work is already continuing beyond the competition, with meetings planned to explore how their ideas could help improve support for young people across the city.
To have one team receive a prestigious national award and another crowned National Champions is an extraordinary achievement. We are immensely proud of all six students, who represented Wetherby High School with professionalism, compassion and determination, demonstrating that young people really can develop ideas capable of making a lasting difference.

What a week we have had welcoming our new Year 7 students to Wetherby High for their Transition Days. Over the last 2/3 days they have had a really great time, meeting new people, making new friends, finding out their Houses, meeting their Coaches and Coaching groups, taking part in team building activities and enjoying their Sports Day where they competed for their House for the first time. Well done to everyone in Robinson House who won Sports day.

We are excited to be working with BAM and the DfE on our new school build and look forward to welcoming BAM on site to start work at the start of the summer break
A massive thank you to Councillor Lamb for his support with this project.

Fantastic news for Wetherby!

After many years of hard work by a great many people, I’m delighted that planning permission has now been granted for the new Wetherby High School.

This has been a long and, at times, incredibly complicated journey. I’ve been working to help make this happen for well over a decade, so it’s wonderful to finally reach this milestone.

While there are lots of people who have played a part over the years, I particularly want to pay tribute to the Headteacher and Chair of Governors. Their determination, patience and leadership have helped keep this project moving forward when it would have been easy to lose hope.

I’d also like to thank everyone from the Department for Education, Leeds City Council and the wider project team who have helped get us to this point. This really has been a team effort.

The next exciting step is getting spades in the ground. I’m advised that construction work is expected to begin very soon and I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated as the project progresses.

A new school will be transformational for generations of young people in Wetherby and the surrounding villages.

And once this is underway, my attention turns to the next big ambition for our town – securing a new leisure centre for Wetherby.

One step at a time, but today is definitely a day to celebrate.

On Friday night, Year 11 came together to celebrate the end of an era at Wetherby High. Their Prom was a wonderful way to celebrate their friendships, their success and all their memories of their school days. There was a fabulous array of arrival vehicles including a horse, go-carts and flash cars to accompany the beautiful dresses and smart suits our students were wearing. Staff and students came together for a wonderful evening of chat, dancing and food!
We are incredibly proud of all of our students and look forward to hearing of all their successes in their next steps.