RTS Parents' Newsletter
01 March 2024
Head Teacher's Message
As we move into March, and with it the first day of meteorological spring; we can look forward to longer, lighter days.
This has been a relatively quiet week in the school calendar - with the focus on Year 9 locking in their GCSE options choices ahead of the deadline next week. Every Year 9 student has had, or will have early next week, a one to one meeting with either a member of the Senior Leadership Team or their Head of Year. It has been a pleasure to meet my allocated students and they have come to the meeting engaged, prepared, and excited about their next steps. I have felt inspired by these young people and look forward to seeing them grow as they look to move into KS4.
Today is National Offers Day for Secondary School places; and whilst, in London, offers aren't released until later on this evening, we are with you as you may be waiting for an offer. We know that we are fortunate to have a great many siblings already in our community and look forward to hopefully welcoming more in September.
I hope that you have an enjoyable weekend.
~Ms K Dooley | Head Teacher
School Production - Beauty and the Beast
Meet our Trustees
John Kipps
John has taught in the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames since 1989, first in a Church of England Primary School and, since 1993, at Clarendon, Richmond's school for pupils aged 4-16 with moderate learning difficulties. John became Deputy Head at Clarendon in 1998, and Headteacher in 2006, remaining in this role until his retirement in 2023.
Over the years, John has also managed a number of other SEN provisions, including both Primary and Secondary SEMH settings and the Gateway, an inclusion centre for secondary aged pupils with ASD.
In addition to his Headship, John was also the first CEO of the Auriga Academy Trust, and proposed and opened Capella House, a Special Free School for pupils with Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties. He was involved in the project to develop the REEC site, (including the RTS, Clarendon and Capella House) from the outset, and has also overseen further building projects to provide expansion for Clarendon School due to open in 2025.
John sits on the Quality of Education Committee and is the SEND link.
Kingston and Richmond Achieving for Children Youth Awards
Last Friday evening it was the Kingston and Richmond Achieving for Children Youth Awards, held at Twickenham Stadium. Mr Barrett attended in a personal capacity and shared the following with us:
'I was literally blown away by the RTS showing. We had a number of students across all year groups nominated.
There were incredible musical performances by Christopher P. (Year 8) and Oliver (Year 7) who are part of the band 'A Bunch of Noise'; and were both nominated in the category of Artistic Achievement; Isla (Year 10) was also nominated in this category.
Jessica (Year 10) also gave an outstanding performance as the lead singer in the band 'Drop N'Run - furthermore, Jessica also won Artistic Achievement of the year!
Charlie P (Year 10), just missed out on Sports Achievement of the year; and Hano (Year 7) was nominated for Personal Achievement.
What brought a tear to my eye was Harry N. (Year 10) who not only presented the event (alongside three other young people from the borough); but picked up the final award for the evening - which was AfC Young Person of Year!
We are exceptionally proud as a school community of all of their achievements - especially as these are all done in their own time outside of school. They are true representatives of our motto - Excellence through Endeavour.'
Careers Corner
Virtual Parent & Carer Open Evening to DISCOVER! Creative Careers
A virtual evening where we will introduce you to the exciting future for the creative sector. Highlighting new opportunities available. Sign up here
We all want the best for our children but with the world of work changing so fast, it’s hard to prepare them for what’s to come. Did you know there’s one thing you can do right now to empower them, without it costing you a penny? Support them in taking part in work related activities.
Speakers for Schools is a UK-wide charity that gives young people from state schools and colleges fully funded opportunities to meet leading and local employers and gain valuable insights. We offer a quick and easy way for your child to find and apply for virtual and in-person placements with leading employers such as Virgin, TikTok, Bentley Motors, Tesco, Boots, the NHS, Vodafone and Spotify.
We are delighted to be partnered with the Discover! Creative Careers programme led by ScreenSkills and supported by employers from across the creative sector. Never before have careers across creative industries been more exciting, relevant or innovative.
During this session you’ll hear directly from creative industry employers about roles available and the importance of creative skills in the workplace.
Staff Charity Support
A request from Mr Verity:
I sadly lost my beautiful Mum to a short battle with cancer last March. Words cannot describe how wonderful my Mum was. She had such an impact on so many people's lives. She was loved so dearly, by so many people and will always be in our hearts
As it is coming round to my mum’s anniversary, I have decided to take on the Cancer Research March Challenge to run 62 miles in March. However, I’m upping the game to 100 miles.
I would really appreciate any donations for Cancer Research, please see the link in bio.
In loving memory of Jayne Verity
https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/stans-giving-page-20
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)
Friends of RTS (FoRTS)
FoRTS Volunteering
Would you like to become a member of the Committee?
We are looking for a Secretary.
There’s not much to it; send weekly newsletters to the school regarding FoRTS activities, take minutes and join in on some of the activities we do. It’s as simple as that! If you are interested please contact Carmelle at the general email address below.
Your FoRTS team,
Carmelle (Chair and Acting Secretary) and Jason & Somi (Treasurers)
General: forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk
Uniform: fortsuniform@rts.richmond.sch.uk
Parking: fortsparking@rts.richmond.sch.uk
Terms Dates 2023 - 2024
Full-term dates and Inset day information is available on the school's website:
Spring Term 2: Monday 19 February-Wednesday 27 March 2024
Easter Break: Thursday 28 March-Friday 12 April 2024
Summer Term 1: Monday 15 April-Friday 24 May 2024
Local News - Please note RTS does not endorse items included as Local News
Marzamemi Festival
There is a new festival we are launching this July, on Old Deer Park.
Bringing the beautiful seaside town of Marzamemi, Sicily to Richmond for an epic 2 day festival.
Get ready for a Sicilian summer getaway on your doorstep with live music & DJs, Italian banquets & food stalls, innovative fashion & homeware brands and plenty of fun for the kids.
Premium but family friendly. Marzamemi is the ultimate day of indulgence and fun for all.
Mark your calendars and immerse yourself in the magic of Marzamemi!
Easter Workshop - Make Believe Twickenham
Make Believe Twickenham are located right here at The Richmond upon Thames School. Along with their weekly classes, held on a Tuesday, they will run a Matilda Workshop this Easter. Please find details below.
Dramacube's Easter Holiday Workshops
We are delighted to announce bookings for Dramacube's Easter Holiday Workshops are now open!
Inspired by box office hit Wonka, 5-7 and 8-12 year olds will enjoy 3 delicious days filled with songs, routines and games plus perform in a scrumptious showcase.
Our Musical Directors and Choreographers will be running these popular musical theatre workshops in Hampton Hill, Walton on Thames and Twickenham.
Find out more and book at https://www.dramacubeproductions.co.uk/easter-holiday-workshops/
We look forward to seeing you there
Barracuda's Holiday Camps
With just 5 weeks until the Easter holidays, we wanted to remind you of your school’s special discount code. Parents just need to add SCHOOL10 in the promotion box to receive an extra £10 off a full week booking.
March is a key month for parents to organise their school holiday childcare and we experience high volumes of bookings. We wouldn’t want your school parents to miss out on this exclusive offer and would really appreciate it if you could promote this in your newsletters.
We still have discounted places available, but our prices to rise when places book up, so we advise booking early to benefit from higher savings. We also offer flexible booking and payment options such as accepting Tax-Free childcare and Childcare Vouchers and protecting bookings with Flex.
Mental Health Support Team for Richmond
The Mental Health Support Team for Richmond are running a series of online workshops for families, entitled ‘Helping Children with…’.
The last series was very popular and feedback was very positive. These workshops would be a great way to support your child at home if they are experiencing any difficulties in the areas covered.
Click on the first link to sign up; the second link is a follow up feedback form if you attend the session:
- Thursday 07 March: MHST workshop: Helping children with worries / Parent feedback form
- Friday 08 March: MHST workshop: Helping children with worries / Parent feedback form
- Thursday 21 March: MHST workshop: Helping children with resilience / Parent feedback form
- Friday 22 March: MHST workshop: Helping children with resilience / Parent feedback form
- Thursday 18 April: MHST workshop: Helping children with friendships / Parent feedback form
- Friday 19 April: MHST workshop: Helping children with friendships / Parent feedback form
- Thursday 16 May: MHST workshop: Helping children with challenging behaviour / Parent feedback form
- Friday 17 May: MHST workshop: Helping children with challenging behaviour / Parent feedback form
- Wednesday 05 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with screen time / Parent feedback form
- Thursday 06 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with screen time / Parent feedback form
- Wednesday 26 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with sleep / Parent feedback form
- Friday 28 June: MHST workshop: Helping children with sleep / Parent feedback form
KOOTH
KickstART - The Art Project with a kick
Free weekly art sessions for young people to take part in at Heatham House. Activities range from tie dye, calligraphy, dream catcher making, candle making and more.
Young people will also receive AQA Accreditation for each session they attend.
Book your place on KickstART - go to our Linktree.
For more information contact Danielle Hutchinson.
Click here to view the Kick Start Booklet.