You may have heard that we are going to have a puppy at school starting next week.

We used to have a school cat - Tallulah - who was much loved, but she disappeared in 2017 and when last year’s Head Students went to the SPCA to talk about getting a replacement, they were turned down. They did not think it was fair to have an animal in a school when it was only going to be loved during the term time.  Their suggestion was to find a staff member with a dog they could bring to school but then take home again at the end of the day.

At last week’s BOT meeting, they approved that Penny Greenwood be allowed to bring her Golden Retriever puppy, Harvey, to school on a trial basis this term.  Harvey is only 9 weeks old so our hope is that he will grow up with the students and get used to them, as they get used to him.  If the trial goes well and he proves to have a suitable temperament, Harvey will become a permanent fixture at WGC.

Until he has had all of his shots Harvey will be based in Penny’s office on Level 1 of Tower Block, but all going well, we hope it will not be too long before he can be out and about at break times and students can help walk him and look after him.  Feeding him will not be allowed.

All the research stresses how good it is to have animals in work places, so we are all hoping this will be beneficial for everyone - including Harvey.

We are all looking forward to meeting him next week - in his school uniform bandana.