RTS Parents' Newsletter

Welcome back to school for the Academic Year 2025-2026!

Even after 27 years of teaching I love the first full day back - a school really comes alive with the sound of students and the routine of lesson changeovers, break and lunch times - and of course, home time! Getting back into set timings takes some longer than others after the long summer break, but routine, consistency and familiarity are so important in a school. Although we have some changes this term with the mobile phone pouches and getting changed into sports kit at school - these too will become second nature and form part of the structure and order of the school day.

It was lovely to see our new Year 7 students full of excitement and confidence as they arrived at school on Wednesday - buoyed by their team building experience at Thames Young Mariners on Tuesday. Although the weather wasn't necessarily on their side this year - the rain didn't dampen their spirits.

It was also fantastic to see the other year groups return - there are always some impressive growth spurts during the holidays and it is a pleasure to see how much the students are developing into young adults.

We look forward to a truly successful year - just a reminder that this newsletter will no longer be sent out every Friday but is moving to bi-weekly. Do follow us on Instagram and Facebook for regular updates; and, as always, keep an eye on your emails and the website for other information.

Enjoy your weekend.

~Ms K Dooley | Head Teacher

GCSE Results

A huge well done to our students, alongside our staff and parents, on achieving an impressive set of results in the GCSEs this summer. They secured an outstanding set of results that we know you will join me in being immensely proud of. As students begin their next steps, whether remaining with us at RTS Sixth-Form Plus or moving on to pastures new, they do so carrying the rewards of their commitment and hard work. The full news release can be found on our website.

New Sports Pitches

As stated in the Head Teacher's Welcome Letter at the start of term, we are thrilled with our new sports pitches that were completed over the summer break. This means our play space has doubled, giving students much-needed and valued additional space during unstructured time, as well as expanding the range of sports we can offer within the curriculum. With our four astro-court Multi-Use Games Areas, tarmac court, sports hall, and activity studio, each year group can now enjoy more dedicated play space during unstructured time.

Mabel was permitted onto the pitches for a one-off photo shoot, but she is not allowed on there at any other time! For our new families - Mabel is our School Welfare Dog and she comes into school with Ms Wright, Deputy Head, on most Fridays.

Save the Date!

The MFL department, in collaboration with FoRTS, are planning to organise an international evening at RTS to welcome the new Y7 and also new in-year families to our RTS community and to celebrate international languages and cultures. The idea is that we would have an after school event (starting from 18:45) celebrating all the varied cultures and nationalities that RTS is made of.

We will have tables set in the Atrium and parents and members of the community are invited to bring in food from their respective countries. There will also be some fun activities for everyone to enjoy. All Y7 (and those new to the school in other year groups) families are welcome to attend the event that will be taking place on Thursday 17 September.

Open Evening

Our next large scale open event for prospective families takes place on Wednesday 24 September, 18:00-20:00. If you have younger children in years 5 or 6, please do come along and support your school and let them see where their older siblings come to school! Spread the word amongst your primary schools and book your tickets here.

Welcome Back!

We at FoRTS (Friends of RTS PTA) hope you all had a relaxing summer break.

A little bit about us if you’re new to the school. Together, we’ve raised an astounding £46,414.00 — that’s a breathtaking 310% over target! Even more remarkably, we’ve proudly contributed £36,625.00 directly to school enrichment expenses, making a meaningful impact on the lives of our children.

These milestones aren’t just numbers. They represent countless hours of dedication, teamwork, and heart — all thanks to our wonderful community of volunteers. Every event, every moment of time given, every ounce of support has helped create a better environment for our students.

If you would like to donate an hour or two of your time at events, uniform sales or parking please click here to join our WhatsApp group

Upcoming Events

Save the date: Wednesday 17th September for our much-loved International Food Evening and FoRTS AGM (timings to be confirmed). It promises to be a beautiful celebration of community and culture.

Pre-loved uniform: upcoming sales for your dairy TBC

FoRTS volunteers run bi-monthly uniform sales on Fridays, 14:30-16:00. We will confirm the dates for this academic year as soon as possible.

Please keep an eye out here for upcoming sales.

Please pay by card wherever possible but we do also accept cash.

Easyfundraising

We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who has contributed to Friends of RTS through #easyfundraising. Your support is invaluable in helping us achieve our mission.

If you haven't signed up yet, the process is simple and completely free. With over 8,100 brands participating, a percentage of your everyday online purchases will be donated to us—at no additional cost to you. Join us in making a meaningful impact today.

So far we have raised £1,076.05

Sign up here: Easyfundraising

FoRTS Volunteering

Join FoRTS by clicking here. It’s as simple as that!

Your FoRTS team,

Carmelle (Chair and Acting Secretary) and Pino (Treasurer)

General: forts@rts.richmond.sch.uk

Parking: fortsparking@rts.richmond.sch.uk

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)

Full-term dates and Inset day information is available on the school's website:

Autumn Term 1: Wednesday 03 September-Friday 24 October
INSET Day: Friday 10 October - School Closed to Students
Autumn Half-Term: Monday 27 October-Friday 07 November

Parents Calender

Parent Calendar Summary

Please find the Parent Calendar Summary for 2025-2026. Please check this regularly as some dates and times may be adjusted throughout the year.

You can also add the parents/carers calendar to your electronic diary.

To add the calendar to your digital calendar, follow these steps:

Click on the link provided to access the calendar.
Once the calendar opens, look for an option to ‘Add to Calendar’ or ‘Subscribe to Calendar.’ This option is usually at the bottom or top of the page.
Select this option, and you may be prompted to choose your calendar application (such as Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, etc.).
Follow the prompts to add the school calendar to your preferred digital calendar.

The school events will now appear in your digital calendar, allowing you to keep track of important dates alongside your own schedule.

London Scottish - Pre Season Rugby Training

My name is Darren Bartlett and I head up the Junior Section at London Scottish and we are actively recruiting for new players from Y7-Y10.

If you or anyone you know would like to come and give rugby a try, we would love to see you. Every Wednesday evening, 1830 : 2000 at Kings House School Sports Ground, Riverside Drive, W4 2SP.

Please contact me at Juniorsconvenor@londonscottish.com or get in touch on 07939140056 and I would be happy to help.