A Message from the Principal
When you first visit Westholme you immediately sense the warm, family atmosphere from the students and staff. This wonderful, vibrant community is a fabulous place to learn and achieve; it is hard to imagine a school that does it better. The magnificent rural setting and first-class facilities provide a stimulating environment that is simply inspirational.
As we celebrate our Centenary year in 2023, Westholme continues to provide a distinctive educational approach, rooted in our unrivalled holistic excellence that educates the whole child. We place an equal importance on academia, sport and the creative and performing arts, and offer a plethora of experiences inside and outside the classroom that enables us to foster confident, well-rounded young people.
Our extensive co-curricular provision is the cornerstone of our distinctive forward-thinking educational ethos and I encourage every Westholmian to think beyond their boundaries, take pleasure in challenging themselves and simply love every single minute of finding their element!
From September 2022, all students have been educated within the Wilmar Lodge campus on Meins Road following the construction of a new state-of-the-art Prep building. This exciting development has been a landmark moment in Westholme’s history providing a seamless education for our whole school family on one site.
Soon you will be able to experience for yourself how our innovative educational philosophy fully prepares each individual student for success in the rapidly evolving 21st century workplace.
I very much look forward to welcoming you to Westholme.
Dr Richard Robson, Principal
KEY DATES 2023
Primary School visits: week commencing 15 May – week commencing 12 June
Year 7 Induction afternoon and evening: 21 June
Pre-loved uniform sale for new parents: 4 July
New pupil Induction day: 5 September
Parent’s Welcome Evening and Meal: 13 September, 5pm – 8pm
Year 7 PGL trip: 22 and 23 September
Performing Arts
At the heart of Westholme is our professional theatre providing an amazing, real-life West End experience for all students to develop their confidence and essential communication skills. Equipped with state-of-the-art stage lighting and incredible sound, students regularly have the opportunity to study all aspects of theatre: perform; learn technical skills; stage manage; design sets and make costumes. The theatre is breath-taking and our students are so fortunate to utilise it every day!
Our recently refurbished Music Department, equipped with a brand-new recording studio, enables students to study Music Technology up to A Level. Our stunning ensembles include our impressive swing band, orchestra and multiple choirs alongside a variety of smaller ensembles bespoke to individual talents. We also partner with the National Youth Orchestra, industry leading musicians and vocalists and performers in London’s West End.
Science and Engineering
Contrary to most schools, students at Westholme experience practical, hands-on Science lessons every week. They are encouraged to be curious, test hypotheses and apply their investigative skills in our outstanding laboratories.
Many students have graduated from our INSPIRED Sixth Form to study Maths and Science at Oxford, Cambridge and top Russell Group universities, creating the next generation of Scientists. Students have also recently landed coveted places on Level 6 degree apprenticeships in Engineering at top UK businesses.
STEM opportunities are vast at Westholme. Students enter national Maths competitions and many take Further Maths at GCSE and A Level. Beyond Year 7, Science subjects are taught discretely which is significantly different to most schools. We believe that this provides excellent knowledge and understanding of the deeper principles of Science preparing for GCSE, A Level and beyond.
We actively inculcate 21st century transferable skills such as curiosity, independence and problem-solving skills. Students immerse themselves in our popular Medical Society, Engineering Club and Greenpower Society, alongside regular stimulating, educational trips. A favourite destination is CERN, one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research.
Sports & Outdoor Pursuits
Sport is central to Westholme. We challenge all students to excel physically as well as socially through Sport. We are renowned for our excellent facilities including our impressive 20m swimming pool, 7 hard courts for tennis and netball, floodlit astroturf, sports pitches, sports hall and exciting new strength and conditioning gym coming soon! From fell running to Olympic hopeful equestrian riders – we truly encapsulate ‘Sport for All’ at Westholme!
We employ ex-professional athletes on our staff as full-time coaches in a variety of sports including football, hockey and netball to ensure we are able to compete nationally throughout the year.
A number of our Sports Scholars access elite pathways and we support every student with professional ambitions by utilising links with representative teams, professional coaches, scholarship programmes, personalised support alongside sports leadership opportunities and qualifications.
Creative Arts & Technology
Championing creativity provides a well-rounded education. At Westholme, we passionately believe in our students developing the essential 21st century skills of imagination, adaptability and resilience. The Creative Arts, including Photography, Food & Nutrition, Product Design and Textiles, are all taught to A Level as our holistic philosophy ensures they have equal status within the curriculum.
Life skills are honed through the application of practical artistry at Westholme, stimulating professional artists are welcomed regularly and students become technologically advanced as they are prepared for the 21st century workplace. We invest annually in high-end machinery to provide students hands-on, practical experiences and inspirational teaching staff consistently explore new opportunities for inspire our students. We provide numerous clubs and activities available on a weekly basis such as the tremendously popular Lego Club!
World Languages
World Languages at Westholme are vibrant, flamboyant and gregarious! We know that knowledge of languages develop the essential 21st century workplace skills such as improving critical thinking, becoming culturally aware and increasing resourcefulness. Westholme students are provided with the opportunity to learn French, Spanish, German, Mandarin and Latin to GCSE and A Level. Throughout the year there is the option to take part in exciting international trips around the world to hone their language skills and make memories for life!
Our language teachers are equally charismatic and passionate about their subjects, using media, role play and songs to bring their subjects to life. In English, students are encouraged to take a central role in the lessons, participating in analysing texts from Shakespeare to broadsheet newspaper articles. Equally, our extensive co-curricular provision encourages students to be debaters, journalists and poets. Classics is the jewel in our crown and our students love crafting villas and showcasing their understanding of classical civilisations – our talented teachers can often be seen with sword in hand educating our students about gladiatorial battles! We are proud to be diverse at Westholme ensuring our students become true global citizens.
Family Ethos
From the first moment you visit Westholme, everyone comments on the warmth of our community. Students are kind, courteous and sociable. With 100 students in each senior year group, everyone is known, supported and teachers develop strong relationships with each individual student.
Our students love coming to school! Over the last 100 years, life-long friendships have been formed and a close-knit alumni community has been developed. This is what Westholme has become known for and why we have a high number of applicants applying to join our Westholme family.
Academic Rigour
We are proud to be the highest achieving school in Lancashire. Inspirational teaching and personalised programmes ensure our outcomes are simply exceptional. We are committed to providing the highest quality of education with 1:1 support and help each individual student requires to excel in their academic studies.
Teachers are on hand outside of lessons to stretch and challenge academically gifted students to achieve national success. There are opportunities to apply for our Academic Scholarship Programme when joining Year 7 and Year 12 which can be done either online or through our Admissions team.
Holistic Excellence
Our all-round educational philosophy is the raison d’être of Westholme. We pride ourselves in ensuring that equal value is placed on subjects, clubs, societies, activities and experiences inside and outside the classroom to provide a total educational experience for all of our students.
Our unique Holistic Enrichment Programmes provide opportunities from real-life business enterprise opportunities to founding national charities. Students acquire the essential 21st century skills alongside top academic accolades; this was described by a previous Head Boy as, ‘the best of both!’
Celebrating 100 years of Westholme
