RTS Parents' Newsletter 29 April 2022
Head Teacher's Message
As I mentioned last week, this week has seen our inaugural GCSE exams! This is an exciting milestone for the school to reach and I am extremely proud of our Year 11 GCSE students taking their French language orals, as well as those students taking their GCSE orals in Community Languages; and I commend their preparation and attitude. The remainder of the student body were also respectful and quiet around the area that the exams were taking place so thank you goes to them for their behaviour this week.
At the end of last term we said goodbye to Mr Harris, Geography, and this week we sadly said goodbye to Ms McKenzie-Onah, Science. Ms McKenzie-Onah has been with us for nearly three years and in that time has made a positive impact on the Science Department and driven the curriculum forward. We are also temporarily saying goodbye to Ms Mears, Art, and Ms Edwards, English, who are both heading off on maternity leave. I am sure that you will join me in wishing them well for this next exciting chapter in their lives.
Today we also held our postponed end of term Celebration Assembly and it is a privilege in my role as Head Teacher to hear the achievements around and across the school and to celebrate with our students. Congratulations to all of those who were awarded certificates.
A reminder that it is a long weekend and that school is closed on Monday 03 May due to a Bank Holiday.
Enjoy this additional day off and I hope that the weather stays kind to us.
Ms K Dooley
Dates for the diary
Monday 02 May
Bank Holiday - School closed
Wednesday 04 May
Early finish at 14:05 due to Year 7 Subject Teacher Consultation Evening
Parent Forum, 18:00-19:30
Contacting the School
If you wish to contact the school, the School Office is open (term time only):
Monday-Thursday - 08:15-16:30
Friday - 08:15-15:00
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.
Assembly Topics
Assemblies for next week:
RTS Values - The best version of me (Years 7-9)
Future Proofing (Years 10 and 11)
The RTS Way
The achievements of our students outside of school are growing!
Volleyball
George, Year 11, first started playing for Richmond Volleyball Club just over two years ago.
In that short space of time (most of which was during the pandemic) he has not only made it into the U19 England Squad; he has now won the National Volleyball Championship with his local club Richmond Volleyball. This weekend they won in three straight sets against Urmstan Grammar in an amazing match at the National Volleyball Arena in Kettering.
An incredible success both personally for George; and also for his teammates.
Football
A group of our Year 8 students are members of Whitton Wanderers Youth Football Club. Last weekend they were part of the Under 13s team who played in the Surrey Youth Cup final - winning on penalties!
That must have been nerve-wracking for their parents to watch! An amazing achievement for the whole team, and especially our Year 8 students who are part of that team - Alfie M., Dylan, Josh and Elliot. Congratulations boys!
We are exceptionally proud to share news of student activities outside of school and we wouldn't be able to do this without the support of parents - so thank you for sharing your news with us and the wider school community.
RTS Art Gallery
This week the Year 10 students had an A-Level Art taster session and were experimenting with Action Painting inspired by Jackson Pollock.
We just love the results and hope that you enjoy them too - and are probably thankful that this style of painting wasn't set for home work!
FORTS NEWS
Army v Navy Rugby Event Parking
On Saturday 30 April the Army v Navy match will be held at Twickenham Stadium with a 2pm kick off. We have a sold-out car park and are taking overflow bookings for the college car park. We could do with some extra help on the following shifts:
1-3pm
5-7pm
If you can help, please contact us on forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk and we will put you in touch with the rugby parking team. Thank you as always to everyone who helps on event days, a huge money raiser for the school.
Second Hand Uniform Sale – 04 May at Parent Forum
Our next second-hand uniform sale will be held at the Parent Forum on 04 May. Payments will be by card only and a price list is below. If you can help, please email fortsuniform@rts.richmond.sch.uk. If you have uniform to donate, this can be taken into the school reception. Thank you in advance.
Item Guide Price
RTS Blazer £10
RTS House Tie £2
RTS Jumper £5
Grey trousers £2-£4
Shirts – long and short sleeved £2
RTS Games mid layer £10
RTS Games top £4
Games shorts £4
FoRTS General Meeting – 25 May
Make sure you hold the date for our next FoRTS general meeting. Please do make an effort to come along and get involved – the more you get involved, the more we can do! We are planning this to be at 6:30-8:00pm in the RTS hall so it is a great chance to be back on site.
Your FoRTS Team,
Vanessa (Chair), Mark (Treasurer) and Carey (Secretary)
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:
Monday-Thursday 08.00-17.15 and Friday 08.00-17.00 - the phone number during these times is 020 8547 5008
Out of hours: 020 8770 5000
Hounslow Early Help Assessment
Telephone number: 020 8583 6600
Out of hours: 020 8583 2222
Email: earlyhelp@hounslow.gov.uk
NSPCC:
Speak to a counsellor 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Telephone number: 0808 800 5000, or text 88858
Email: help@nspcc.org.uk
Signvideo using British Sign Language (Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm)
Local News - Please note RTS does not endorse items included as Local News
Would you like to Train to Teach in 2022/23?
At Richmond upon Thames School (RTS) we are proud to take a lead in local teacher training programmes.
Have you considered training to teach in a local school? RTS is a member of the Waldegrave Training Alliance (WTA) who recruit trainees for Roehampton and St Mary’s University secondary teacher training. If you, or someone you know, would like to train to teach please consider applying to WTA. In shortage subjects trainees can access Bursaries of up to a maximum of £26,000. If you would like to inspire the next generation and train to teach in Teddington, Hampton, Twickenham and Richmond please email WTA@waldegravesch.org for more information, get help to apply and/or arrange a school visit to any of the alliance schools.
Share your views and help shape the future of SEND Support Services in Richmond upon Thames
Do you have a child with additional needs? Do you help or care for a child with special educational needs or disabilities? If so, Achieving for Children (AfC) are seeking your views about commissioning a Special Educational needs and Disabilities Information, Advise and Support Service.
Did you know that you have access to a free, impartial, and confidential Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service? A service that is also offered directly to young people aged 16+?
AfC are consulting to understand what parents, carers, children, and young people want future provision to look like.
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS) offers information, advice, and support for parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
It is a legal requirement that all local authorities commission a SENDIASS. In Kingston and Richmond, this service is provided by "KIDS", a national charity which provides a number of these services across the country. They have been delivering the SENDIASS for families in Kingston and Richmond since 2015 with the current contract due to expire on 31 March 2023.
Achieving for Children are hoping to complete a full co-produced consultation with families in Richmond and Kingston, which reflects the commitment to co-production in order to reflect the needs and views of service users.
AfC are running online and face to face consultations. Find out information about the consultation and complete the survey.
Swedish School - Exchange
The Swedish School are recruiting host families for Swedish exchange students, 16-18 years old. The students arrive on 30 August and stay 4-10 months.
In these days with everything getting more expensive, maybe you might need an extra income and might be interested in opening up your spare room to a student? Host families receive £760/month.
The Swedish School's 6th form is located inside The National Archives in Kew. Host families must live within 60 min by bus (according to google maps) from The National Archives.
The host family provides basic care and a room for the student as well as breakfast and dinner.
Everyone can be a host family, young and old, singles or couples, with or without children and we guide new host families all the way through the process.
Anyone interested can contact hostfamily@swedishschool.org.uk for more information.
Cricket
Hounslow and Whitton Cricket Club are looking for more juniors and teenagers to join our club to learn and develop their cricketing skills, make new friends and gain confidence.
We will always give discounts to those on low means to ensure cricket is a game for all and not just for those who can afford it, however we also provide discounts for those who complete volunteering with us eg. social media, website, scoring, and discounts for siblings and to encourage more females in cricket.
HWCC A5 Summer Leaflet.pdfTerm Dates 2021-2022
Full term dates and Inset day information is available on the website:
Bank Holiday: Monday 02 May
INSET Day: Monday 16 May
Half-Term: Monday 30 May-Friday 03 June