RTS Parents' Newsletter 26 May 2023

Head Teacher's Message

Although we are a couple of days later than usual in sharing our newsletter - it shows just how busy we were in the last week of term! Looking back I am extremely proud with just how much staff and students have achieved over the last 6 weeks whilst navigating multiple bank holidays and strike days. We still have so much more to come in our last half-term of the academic year, and more to share!

Forgive me the indulgence of dedicating this newsletter to our second cohort, our class of 2022. They have weathered being the second cohort of a brand new school, home learning  and missing out on many trips and visits due to a global pandemic - but this year group have shown exceptional resilience, determination, good humour and a strong sense of cohesion. Their final assembly on Friday was one highly charged with emotion, much celebration and cheering; and one final resounding RTS Haka. We are incredibly proud of all that they have achieved and know that there is more to come. They still have three weeks of GCSEs after half-term to sit before we can celebrate them, and you, with their Graduation Ceremony. Please enjoy some of the many photos we took on their last full day in school - with the ice cream van, the traditional shirt signing, the assembly, and the final walk out of school to a staff guard of honour! It has been an utter privilege to be their Head Teacher.

Wishing you all a wonderful half-term break.

Ms K Dooley 

Dates for the diary

Contacting the School

If you wish to contact the school, the School Office is open (term time only):

Telephone: 020 8891 2985

Email: info@rts.richmond.sch.uk 

Please use the Parents Communications Summary for guidance on types of query and where advice may be found/who to direct your query to.

Year 11 Leavers Assembly

This was held on the last day of term and was the last full day of school before students headed off on study leave to complete the last three weeks of their GCSEs after the half-term break. Before the assembly students were treated to an ice cream van in the playground and they had the traditional shirt-signing session. Some of the shirts had been pre-prepared and had some incredible designs on them. 

During the assembly the students stood up and performed a resounding rendition of the RTS Haka one last time; heard a final address from Ms Dooley; listened to an emotion-filled send off from their Head of Year, Mr Kemp; had an inspirational thank you from the Head Students, Nora and Cameron; then there were some final words from Ms Wright; and a thought provoking poem from Ms Carrick-Steele - Year 11: Be Proud, Be You. Stoop were Ultimate RTS Champions for the years 2018-2023 and Mr Parfitt and his tutor group were besides themselves with jubilation! Mr Parfitt has been with this group for the whole 5 years and it is certainly a bond that they will all remember.

RTS staff then headed to the gate in advance of the students leaving and formed a guard of honour as we opened the school gates to send them on their way.  No one wanted to leave as we closed the gates behind them one last time - we are so proud of this group of young people and school will be a quieter place without them.

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RTS Geography Fieldwork

Year 7 Geography students recently conducted on site fieldwork to discover where is the best place to eat their lunch. Students used a range of techniques to gather their primary data around the school, such as hygrometer to measure humidity, thermometer to measure temperature, anemometer to measure wind speed; and a mirror to measure cloud cover - students will be using their data to present their findings and come to an overall conclusion. 

Strawberry Hill House

Just before half-term, as part of their English studies, Year 7 had the opportunity to visit Strawberry Hill House & Garden. Created by Horace Walpole in the 18th century, it has been open to visitors for over 250 years. This extraordinary building is internationally famous as Britain’s finest example of Georgian Gothic revival architecture and home to an increasingly important collection of paintings and objects - we are extremely privileged to have this right on our doorstep. Max shares his thoughts on the visit:

"When we started walking from school to Strawberry Hill House, many ideas and thoughts buzzed around my head like a swarm of bees popping up to my brain one by one. I thought of hidden passages, phenomenal paintings and dusty books on shelves. I was also thinking about huge rooms and wooden wonky floorings leading you everywhere you would like to go.

I’ve already been to Strawberry Hill House so I could already imagine it being like a church combined with a castle. It had massive spikes on the roof and huge windows made of colourful glass, inside there was a huge amount of history like paintings that came from all over the world, small statues looking and listening to you; and there were hidden passages leading into the darkness and unknown.

Going inside Strawberry Hill House was such a special treat to be given as it gave me an idea of what it was like 250 years ago and seeing history that only few people have seen. The trip was amazing and the tours were fantastic - my favourite bit was the costumes the people were wearing and the jump scares coming out of nowhere!"

Opal Coast, France

Year 7 and 8 students had an amazing adventure to the Opal Coast, France - for a day! It was an incredibly long day with a very early morning start and a late night return; but spirits were high all day! Students were able to experience a traditional French street market, they watched bread making, got extremely excited at a chocolate factory and soaked up the culture and good weather of a day in France! 

Duke of Edinburgh

Over the weekend of 20-21 May, Year 10 packed their rucksacks, grabbed their tents and their all important provisions and headed off into the depths of Surrey (Boidier Hurst Scout Campsite) near Box Hill for a weekend of walking for their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. 

The weather was beautiful and meant that students were so excited that they woke up at the same time as the birds...around 4am! Students had to cook for themselves and everyone was impressed with Rishi's selection of provisions for cooking - including olive oil, parsley, garlic and chili flakes! His culinary skills were amazing.  

There were lots of interesting encounters with wildlife and the escapade of the weekend comes courtesy of Heba: "This weekend has been great, the best bit was when after being chased by cows, Charlie sacrificed Kavin to save himself!" [No children were harmed during this event!]

The RTS Way

We have shared with you before the achievements of Aurelia in Year 7 and we are delighted to let you know that she is now in the Great Britain Aspire Gymnastics squad. She passed her national level 2 competition which means that next year she can compete at the British Championships. 

Well done Aurelia - you have shown such dedication and hard work and we are proud of you!

Safeguarding

If you have concerns in relation to a student at RTS or indeed with regards to your own child, you may want to contact Single Point of Access (SPA) which acts as a central information hub for all professional agencies in Kingston and Richmond.

Richmond and Kingston SPA

The SPA phone lines are now open as follows: 

Hounslow Early Help Assessment

NSPCC:

Speak to a counsellor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Local News - Please note RTS does not endorse items included as Local News

Just A Tribute Festival - The Stoop

For all you rock lovers, Just A Tribute Festival are holding an event at The Stoop on Saturday 17th June.  It is,  as the title suggests a festival of tribute acts featuring classic bands such as the Faux Fighters,  Wrong Jovi and headlining the Nirvana Tribute.   Check out their website and promotional video below.  As well as delicious street food vendors, they pride themselves as being a really family friendly day out, with a children’s stage with entertainment and  fairground rides as well as the main stage on the pitch.

justatribute.co.uk. 

Tickets and more details can be found on the link below or via the website. 

May Half-Term Camp

Looking for a May Half-Term for younger children with an older sibling at RTS? Then Mr Bowie's camp is for you! A local primary school teacher himself, Mr Bowie has been running sports camps at RTS now for a while and the camps are a huge hit with the children who attend. 

Contact Mr Bowie for full details.

School Uniform Suppliers - Summer Appointments 

SchoolDays - Whitton High St

From 1st June, SchoolDays will again be operating an appointment system during the summer months.

Book your slot early to avoid disappointment at : https://schooldaysllp.co.uk/index.php/booking-form/ 

Stevensons

Stevensons have released this year's appointment booking information. 

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They are also looking for young people to work in their Twickenham branch over the summer months. 

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Vacancy - Parish Administrator

Ss Philip & James Whitton with St Stephen’s Hounslow seek a Parish Administrator, to be based at Whitton. The role will involve the management of day-to-day activities of the two churches, including some financial duties, to act as PA to the Vicar, and support the churchwardens and officers in their roles. 

Hours: 24.5 hours per week - can we worked flexibly across Monday to Friday

Salary: £15.00 per hour plus Workplace Pension (c£28.860pa pro rata)

Those who are interested are invited to contact the Hon PCC Secretary, Mrs Lucy James, on secretarysspj@gmail.com for a full Job Profile.

Adult Diagnosis of ADHD

Are you interested in adult diagnosis of ADHD? Our next parents online seminar on 6th June covers this topic. 

June 2023

Diagnosis of ADHD in Adults

6th June, 2023 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM Europe/London

David Levy, Founder, ADHD Counselling UK

Book now

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Term Dates 2022-2023

Full term dates and Inset day information is  available on the website:

Parents' Calendar