Dear Parent/Guardian,

After lots of preparation – in lessons, in PSE and (hopefully) at home – the mock exam period has arrived. I hope that students are looking to next week as an opportunity to see their hard work pay off, rather than as something to be dreaded!

This morning Year 11 students attended an assembly setting out the GCSE exam logistics which will be in place during the mock exams which start on Monday 9th through to Thursday 19th December.  

Each student has a copy of their personalised Mock exam timetable on Showbie, on which they should have identified which exams are relevant to them.   Please encourage them to show it to you and talk it through with them. 

Exam expectations and procedures

The exams will be supervised under GCSE exam conditions and the highest level of behaviour will be expected from all of the students. As will be the case in the summer exams, any students found communicating may be removed from the exam and a mark of 0 would be applied. This would include things like turning/ looking around, drawing on hands, gesturing towards other students etc. A Saturday detention will be the consequence in such an event. 

I am sure all students will meet these expectations and that the mock exam period will be a positive experience that helps develop their understanding of where they stand in relation to their final GCSE exams, which are now just months away.

School Day

The mock timetable requires that all students are in school every day from Monday 5th December by 8.30am for morning exams at the latest with the exceptions of Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th December where option subjects are being assessed. On these dates if students are only required in for lesson 4-5 they will need to sign in by 11.30am, if they are only required in for lesson 6-7 then they will need to sign in by 1.30pm.

Where students have ‘in school study’ this will be independent study with teacher supervision.  Therefore, students should ensure they have appropriate study resources for this time. 

In the afternoon, if a student does not have an exam, they will have ‘home study’ on their timetable and should be actively revising at home during this time. Students will generally be dismissed at the start on lunch.

Thursday 19th December

Year 11 students will be dismissed at around 1pm for the Christmas holidays after the Advent Service. 

However, if students have failed to follow exam regulations or expectations during the mocks they may be required to remain in school after the service has finished. 

Equipment

To prepare students for the exams in the summer, no equipment will be lent out for the mock exams, therefore, it will be important that they bring the excepted equipment for each exam. All equipment should be in a see-through pencil case and all water bottles should have labels removed.

Mock exam results

Mock results will be given out on Tuesday 14th January in PSHE.  These results will be available for you to review on the MCAS app later that day.

Year 11 Academic review evening

Please note that the Year 11 academic review evening will take place on Thursday 16th January from 4pm.  Further information will be communicated in the New Year.

I hope your son is fully prepared for his mocks and that his hard work pays off. After his mocks, please ensure that your son takes time to relax during the holidays, so he is refreshed for the final push to his GCSEs in the New Year.

Yours sincerely,
Mr Stansbridge
Year 11 Leader

RICHARD CHALLONER SCHOOL – EXPEDITION TO TANZANIA, JULY 2026: information evening 12th December

Dear Parents/guardians,

Today our students were given a presentation from True Adventure about an incredible opportunity for them to take part in an 18-day expedition to Tanzania in July 2026.

True Adventure organises life-changing adventures around the world for young people. What sets this apart from other school trips is that the students will have the added responsibility of earning part or all of their place on the expedition, by fundraising; they will also be given the opportunity to engage in the adventure before they leave the UK with termly meetings including responsible travel, country & culture and a training weekend where they will learn the skills needed to set them up for success prior to their time in Tanzania. Whilst in country they will also take on a variety of different roles including cooking for themselves, leading the team, and managing their group budget.

We are very excited about this opportunity as it will give students the chance to do something unique that will make them stand out from the crowd. The adventure experience will provide them with a wealth of new skills which they will find invaluable in school, at university and in the world of work.

During the assembly, the students have had their eyes opened to the possibilities that lie ahead for them if they decide to take part. We would like to invite you to join us for an information evening, presented by Tom from True Adventure, where you will have the opportunity to hear all about the amazing challenges that your son or daughter will have the chance to experience on our own school adventure. The information evening will be held on Thursday 12th December at 6pm. You can find out more about this incredible opportunity through our Tanzania expedition landing page.

https://true-adventure.co.uk/trip/richard-challoner-expedition-to-tanzania/

We do hope you are able to come along. We are sure you will find it interesting and see why the school values the outcomes of programmes like this.

Yours faithfully,

Miss McDonald and Mr McKenna

Dear Parents/Carers,

Please see links below regarding Year 11 Mock exams.

Click Here  

Click Here 

Many thanks

School Office

Dear Parents/Carers

As we approach the half term there are a few points I wanted to draw your attention to.

Mocks

Year 11 mocks will take place from Monday 9th December until Thursday 17th December.

The exception is MFL speaking exams which will take place between Monday 2nd – Friday 6th December where you son will receive a time slot for this exam on one of the days. Art will take place on Wednesday 4th December.

A mock timetable will be shared after half term from Mrs Costello.

Revision

Over the last year or so your son has been advised of different methods of revision in PSHE and lessons. Today I have asked your son to use a range of tools and methods in order to prepare for the mocks.

October half term is a key opportunity to get some extended revision completed. I have strongly advised that your son creates a revision timetable to manage his time (I have offered templates or ask your son to create his own version).

Whilst there needs to be some ‘down time’ over the half term a higher percentage of your son’s time should be towards his studies. (At his Christmas break there will be more ‘down time’)

Future pathways

Over the course of the term your son has received information about his potential options beyond GCSEs. Our careers adviser is working through the Year group to see your son in a 1:1 appointment. We hope your son is seen by the end of January.

If your son has had his appointment or yet to be seen, he can still access careers advice via the Year 11 drop in sessions Monday after school.

Careers Fair

As you might have seen we have our careers fair on Wednesday 13th November in the main hall. Your son will attend during lesson 7 and after school. To help parents develop further conversations with your son’s next steps I hope you join your son at 3.20. Please enter via the school office.

Kind regards

Mr Stansbridge

Dear Parent,

To support your son with his revision for English Literature, we are able to offer a pack of revision cards for each of the texts he has studied:

Shakespeare text – FlipsCo cards for their chosen text
An Inspector Calls – FlipsCo cards
Pre 19th century text – FlipsCo cards for their chosen text

Power and Conflict poetry – CGP revision cards

These will need to be purchased by Wednesday 6th November as we would like to order these in to support their revision for the mocks in December.

The total cost for these 4 resources will be £10.13 – a saving of over 50% on the individual purchase prices. It is not compulsory for students to have these resources, but they are helpful.

If you would like to purchase a set of these resources for your son, please log on to MCAS to do so. If you require financial assistance, this may be available on request. In this instance, please contact Mrs S Harvey, the school Bursar, or Mrs A Southall, the Pastoral Support Manager, who will deal with each enquiry confidentially and on an individual basis.

Yours sincerely


Tanya Cheema
English Subject Leader

Dear parents,

Richard Challoner School is committed to ensuring students have the best resources available to plan ahead for their future and as part of that students are provided with impartial Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance. This can be in lessons, through school events, the careers library and also through the Careers Lead and CEIAG Advisor, Mrs Stansbridge.

Throughout the year Mrs Stansbridge will focus on seeing students either in small groups or individually beginning with students in year 11 to help them think about important choices for post 16 education. Students in years 7-13 will also be offered opportunities as the year progresses and at key points in their decision making.

For year 11-

• 1:1 Careers appointments will begin. This is an opportunity to discuss future ideas and to ensure students have all the information needed to make an informed decision. Appointments will be posted on showbie and it will be the students responsibility to check that they do not miss their slot. Please join us in encouraging students to check their showbie and to think ahead about any questions they may have, or areas to explore.

• A pre-appointment google sheet has been circulated to students to complete in advance to help make the best use of the time.

• In January students will be seen to review mock exam results and appointments will happen during the months before exams begin. Students can use the careers email to ask questions and these will be responded to in a timely manner.

• Year 11 will also have their careers unit in tutorial time starting as of the end of September which will look at all the choices available post 16.

• Apprenticeship ambassador and College/T level talk before Christmas.

• 6th form assembly

• 6th form open evening.

• Year 11 drop in sessions in the careers office every Monday after school 3.30-4.30pm

• Information regarding other routes available through Careers Office and information on the careers pages on the website.

If, as a parent, you have questions or would like to speak to me please make contact through the email address below.

You can also help your son this year by-

• Help facilitate visits to open days. (students have been given an idea of open days for the year)

• Keep an eye of deadline dates of applications (e.g. Esher is end of September, The Brit School will incorporate auditions and for other colleges subjects do become oversubscribed)

• Speak and listen to you sons’ interests and next steps.

Introducing the concept of careers and future planning at an early stage does allow students to explore their strengths and help to make informed choices. Each year group will also have time in their pastoral programme to explore these themes in more detail. Students are also welcome to drop into the careers office at any break or lunch time Monday- Thursday.

There will also be support for school activities and arranging for professionals from varying careers backgrounds to come in and work with students to inspire and bring the working world further into education.

This year we are continuing to use our new careers platform called Xello. More information is available on the careers pages linked above and we hope to roll out a parent side later in the academic year to allow you to see your sons progress and career ideas. Students have access to this platform via their ipads and can use independently and during guided time in careers units

Please take this opportunity to talk at home about future plans and if you have any queries, questions or would like to support these activities in anyway please contact the school or email careersiag@challoner.kingston.sch.uk

If you are able to support in these activities through giving a talk, representing your company or industry or sharing stories with students please complete the following short google form- Click here

Please also visit the careers pages on the school website https://www.richardchalloner.com/careers where there will regularly be information regarding events or opportunities as well as some useful information for parents around career planning. There will also be videos available to help parents along the way with essential information or guidance on how to support careers education. I will write to you again with an update later in the academic year.

Yours sincerely

Mrs LJ Stansbridge

CEIAG Lead (Careers Education and Information Advice and Guidance)