5th January - English Text
5th January - English Text
18th December 2025
Dear Parent
Your son will be studying a modern novel this coming term and, for pupils in year 7, this is “Trash” by Andy Mulligan. While this novel will be used for their end of year exam, we also use it to begin to prepare pupils for the important skill of making useful annotations in a text book, something that is essential at GCSE. This is a skill that is revisited each year across KS3. Good annotations will help pupils prepare their own revision prior to their end of year exam and so it is important that your son does have his own copy.
We have sourced copies of the text as inexpensively as possible and the cost will be £6.37 instead of the normal retail price of £8.99.
I would be grateful if you could log on to MCAS to pay for your son’s copy of the novel by THURSDAY 9TH JANUARY 2026. If you require financial assistance or need to extend the payment deadlines this may be available on request. In this instance, please follow the link below.
https://forms.gle/FgxEekRfFUcLqpsc8
Yours sincerely
Tanya Cheema
English Subject Leader
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Would your son like to start learning the clarinet or trombone?
We are keen to support more pupils in learning an instrument, particularly woodwind or brass. Year 7 and 8 pupils have the opportunity to borrow a clarinet or trombone from the school at just £50 for the academic year. We currently have one clarinet and four trombones available on a first come first served basis (and warmly welcome any additional donations).
To take advantage of this offer, pupils must sign up and receive clarinet or trombone lessons with Kingston Music Service or the Saturday Morning Music Service here at Richard Challoner School for the academic year. The £50 fee helps to cover maintenance costs, and instruments must be returned by the end of the current Summer Term.
To find out more or to register your interest, please write to Mr Leach at mrleach@challoner.kingston.sch.uk.
Outside of this offer, please be aware that music lessons happen Monday to Saturday at Richard Challoner on a range of instruments and singing. Find out more on the following websites:
Kingston Music Service - https://ukkingston.speedadmin.dk/registration#/
Saturday Morning Music Service - https://www.richardchalloner.com/smms
Kind regards and I look forward to more pupils having music lessons this year,
Mr A Leach
Subject Leader for Music
Richard Challoner School
Dear Parents,
Thank you for finding the time to join us at the recent Welcome Mass.
We are keen for our parents to be involved in and support our school community and there are a number of ways in which you can do this.
Community and Fundraising
Join our Challoner Lotto. Contribute £10 per month and stand a chance to win a quarter of the pot each month. The last winning draw was for £1,122.50 I attach the terms and conditions of the lotto, if you would like to sign up please click on the link here:
You could also use easyfundraising (www.easyfundraising.org.uk) when making online purchases or join The Friends of Challoner (FOC). You can contact the Chair of the FOC by using the link on the contact us section on the school website here: Click Here
Over the last few years a number parents have helped the school through match funding schemes. If your company operates a match funding scheme and you would be willing to help, please contact the Chair of our FOC as above.
Finally
I would like to repeat how impressed I have been with the start that your sons have made to life at Challoner. It really does bode well for the future.
I am looking forward to getting to know you and your sons over the next seven years.
Yours sincerely,
Sean Maher
Headmaster
Dear Parent/Guardian
During this academic year your son will be involved in several projects, in both Design Technology and Food and Nutrition, requiring certain materials which, when used in large quantities, are a significant drain on the limited resources available to the school. As you are no doubt aware, school budgets are under severe pressure as costs continue to rise and Government funding lags behind.
It is therefore common practice to charge for finished products which are then taken home. In order to streamline the collection of such money I am proposing a one off payment of £13.50 for the year, which will allow students to take home any finished products without further charge and provide all the required ingredients for Food and Nutrition lessons.
I hope that you agree this represents tremendous value for money, as well as providing your son with a varied and stimulating curriculum.
I would stress that although this donation is entirely voluntary, in times of financial strain in education, resources are limited. Your donation will ensure the best possible range of resources being available for your son when he works in these areas. We have pushed this payment back until the spring term knowing the considerable financial demands that the start of each new academic year makes. Payments should be made through Bromcom in the usual way and we would ask that your contribution is made before the end of Spring half term.
If anyone requires financial assistance please contact the school bursar using the email below stephanie.harvey@challoner.kingston.sch.uk
Thank you in anticipation of your support in this matter.
Dear Parents/Carers,
As your son begins to use his new iPad at home, we wanted to provide some helpful information and resources to ensure a safe and positive experience.
I have created a video that talks you through the setup process for an app you can use to apply restrictions at home, should you wish to do so. You can find the video here:
The iPads are also filtered by a system called LightSpeed. This means that certain websites will be automatically blocked, and any harmful or inappropriate internet use will be flagged to our safeguarding team. Please be aware that after school hours, the team will not routinely respond to flagged activity but will follow up on any concerns the next school day.
As with any devices your son may use at home, we strongly recommend establishing good routines for the following:
Downtime: Establish a clear time when devices should stop being used.
Charging: We recommend charging devices in a central location, away from the bedroom.
Monitoring: Routinely monitor your son's device to ensure it is being used appropriately.
There are many other apps and systems available for phones, game consoles, and computers. Information for your specific devices can be easily found online.
While many adult websites are blocked in the UK, please be aware that a VPN (Virtual Private Network) app can easily bypass these restrictions. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you do not allow your son to use a VPN unless you are very clear on its purpose and necessity.
Please also keep an eye out for emails from Mrs. Southall (our Safeguarding Lead), as she will often circulate details about particular websites or social media trends that you may want to monitor.
Please remember that while we cannot be responsible for device use outside of school, we are always here to help. If you have any specific concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your son’s Year Leader or a member of the Safeguarding team.
Kind regards,
Mr. Henderson
Deputy Head
Dear Parents/Carers of year 7,
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 7,
• Careers appointments will be in the summer term if a student or tutor requests one. Please join us in encouraging students to think ahead about any questions they may have, or areas to explore.
• If, as a parent, you have questions or would like to speak to me please make contact through the email address below.
• Year 7 will also complete their careers unit in the summer term. This will be about preparing them for year 8 and thinking about how the last year has developed them and what they would like to know more about as they get older. Students complete a booklet which is on their ipad with information on showbie.
• Year 7 will also discover links to careers through such activities as engineering day in conjunction with the Design and Technology department.
• National Apprenticeship Week in February and National Careers Week in March are celebrated in school with activities taking place during tutorial time and materials are placed on the website in advance.
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. I will write to you again with an update later in the academic year. This year I am also excited to introduce a weekly newsletter in association with The Careers People, which will be published on the careers pages of the school website and circulated to students which will give information on national and local events as well as spotlights on varying careers.
This year we are continuing to use our 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.
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.
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.
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 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
Yours sincerely
Mrs LJ Stansbridge
CEIAG Lead (Careers Education and Information Advice and Guidance)
Dear Parents/Carers of year 7,
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 7,
• Careers appointments will be in the summer term if a student or tutor requests one. Please join us in encouraging students to think ahead about any questions they may have, or areas to explore.
• If, as a parent, you have questions or would like to speak to me please make contact through the email address below.
• Year 7 will also complete their careers unit in the summer term. This will be about preparing them for year 8 and thinking about how the last year has developed them and what they would like to know more about as they get older. Students complete a booklet which is on their ipad with information on showbie.
• Year 7 will also discover links to careers through such activities as engineering day in conjunction with the Design and Technology department.
• National Apprenticeship Week in February and National Careers Week in March are celebrated in school with activities taking place during tutorial time and materials are placed on the website in advance.
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. I will write to you again with an update later in the academic year.
This year we are continuing to use our 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.
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.
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.
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 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
Yours sincerely
Mrs LJ Stansbridge
CEIAG Lead (Careers Education and Information Advice and Guidance)