Matthew Arnold Newsletter

Welcome to this edition of our school newsletter. I have said it before and I will say it again—it is truly a privilege to work alongside such a dedicated team of staff who consistently go above and beyond for our young people. Their commitment, care and professionalism are at the heart of everything we do. However, a school would not be what it is without its students, and ours continue to impress us every day with their enthusiasm, resilience and character.

I would like to extend a particular thank you to staff who have been supporting our Year 11 students through their exams this week. It has been wonderful to see the determination of our students and their genuine desire to do well. They should feel proud of the effort they are putting in.

As the main GCSE examination period begins next week, we wish all our Year 11 students the very best of luck. We know they will approach this important time with the same positivity and focus they have already shown.

For our other year groups, this final summer term is a fantastic opportunity to reflect on their progress so far and to continue building towards the end of the academic year with purpose and pride. There is much to look forward to across the term, and we encourage all students to make the most of every opportunity.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Ms Ruse

Monday 11 May - Year 11 GCSE exams start

Tuesday 12 May - Year 9 Brilliant Club Graduation (Southampton University)

Thursday 14 May - Year 7 Parents' Evening

Monday 18 May - Year 10 Speaking Exams start

Thursday 21 May - Year 8 Parents' Evening

Friday 22 May - Food Technology Trip to Belgium departs

Thursday 21 May - Year 9 rounders tournament at Bishop Wand

Would you like to be part of a friendly group of parents/carers and school staff to help organise events throughout the school year?

We have launched the Friends of Matthew Arnold School, a group that meets once a term. It’s a great way to:

• Meet other parents and carers
• Support the school community
• Help plan and run events (as much or as little as you would like!)

Whether you are a seasoned event organiser or just want to lend a hand occasionally, we would love to hear from you. Please contact info@matthew-arnold.surrey.sch.uk if you would like further information.

Save the date - Our next event, a quiz night for families, will be held on Friday 10 July, 6.30pm. Further details to follow.

We would like to thank our parents and carers for their continued support in improving school attendance. Thanks to our strong partnership with families, attendance continues to improve and places us among the top‑performing schools nationally.

We work closely with you to ensure that all students attend school every day, as we know that regular attendance is key to academic success, wellbeing and positive future outcomes. We firmly believe that, during term time, school is the best place for children to be, giving them the greatest opportunity to learn, grow and succeed in the future.

When attendance does drop and concerns persist, the school is obliged to act in accordance with the Department for Education’s statutory guidance, Working together to improve school attendance. In these circumstances, the school follows the local authority attendance process, working in partnership with the local authority, which retains responsibility for decisions relating to formal and legal attendance intervention.

Just to remind parents/carers that if they take their children out of school without authority for 5 or more days (which do not have to be consecutive), then the following will apply:

1. If you have not incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children in a rolling 3 year period since 19 August 2024, then the penalty notice will be charged at the rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80.00 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

2. If you have incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children since 19 August 2024, the rolling 3 year period will be activated from the date of the first penalty notice and the second penalty notice will be charged at the flat rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. There will be no reduction for payment within 21 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

3. If you have incurred 2 penalty notices relating to this child/children in the rolling 3 year period since the first penalty notice was issued, then you will NOT receive a third penalty notice – Surrey County Council will have no option but to consider a prosecution, per parent/carer per child, in the Magistrates Court under s 444 Education Act 1996.

Surrey County Council is not responsible for authorising pupil absence and therefore cannot withdraw any Penalty Notice requests without the written permission of the Headteacher.

Students in Year 10 will complete their GCSE English Speaking and Listening Endorsement during the period beginning Monday 18th May and continuing until Friday 12th June.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the English Department.

Please see below the timetable for our extra-curricular clubs. We encourage all our students to take part in the wide variety on offer!

The bi-annual Matthew Arnold International Football Tour took place across 5 days during the Easter holidays, the destination this time: Porto! An intense training and fixture schedule, alongside great food and a great FC Porto matchday experience made for a memorable trip. Thank you to students and parents who have shown their gratitude for the 5 staff who made this trip possible. We are proud to call our students part of the Matthew Arnold community.

50 students from Years 10 and 11 went to see a production of Macbeth at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking. In GCSE English Literature, students study Macbeth as part of the Shakespeare component, where they analyse an extract from the play and explore its themes, characters and language in depth. This helps develop their critical thinking, writing skills and understanding of classic literature. Not only did students see the play being performed, but there was an explanation of key scenes which will be invaluable for their GCSE exam.

Thank you to the staff that gave up their evening to support the students in this extra revision opportunity.

10 students from Year 8, competed against a range of other schools to create and present their plans to create an eco-friendly island for the company Zero Petroleum. The day also involved a tour around the Zero Petroleum factory, making petrol from water and carbon dioxide, and getting to talk to the scientists who work there.

The team were commended for their creativity, knowledge and ability to respond to the panel of judges watching their presentation. However, despite the strong effort by the team, we came a very close second, achieving a score of 88/100, only 4 points behind the winners!

After a 100% record in the league, the Years 8 and 9 girls team went to Ashford Town looking to finish their season off with silverware against Thamesmead. A tight first half saw MA take a 1-0 lead through a great strike from the edge of the area from Darci W. The momentum shifted after half time with Thamesmead scoring a lovely equaliser before Sienna I kept the game level with an important save. MA turned up the heat to finish the game and took the lead through a Poppy R back-post finish from Darci’s corner. Not too long after that, it was rinse and repeat with a second goal for Poppy and a second, corner assist for Darci to finish the game off and the girls came away with a 3-1 victory.

Mr Howes’ player of the match: Darci W

Our Year 7 football team won the Borough Cup Final beating Magna Carta 4-1. The team performed extremely well over the season and will look to start the year well in Year 8 as they begin their quest into County and National Cup success! Well done to all involved!

Our Year 10 football team took on Sunbury Manor in the Cup Final at Ashford Town. Goals were spread about between the 16-man squad resulting in a 9-0 victory.

As a team in league and cup they totalled; 43 goals scored, and let in 1 in a total of 7 games in the Borough competition. Well done to all the boys who represented our A and B teams. They will compete in the ESFA and Surrey Cups next year, and we hope for continued success.

On Saturday 18th April, Sector 4 Middlesex Wing took part in a commemorative parade marking 85 years since the formation of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, as well as celebrating the proud heritage of the Middlesex Regiment.

The parade, which included the Wing Band, marched a short distance before concluding with a church service at St Mary’s Church, Staines.

A number of distinguished guests attended the event, including Member of Parliament Lincoln Jopp, the Officer Commanding Middlesex Wing, and Deputy AOC No. 2 Group RAF, Air Commodore C. O’Grady. The school was also represented at the service by Ms Ruse.

We are especially proud that four Matthew Arnold School students — Charlotte D, Leah B, Isla. P and Phoebe C — took part in this high-profile military event, alongside former student Dexter R.

The first Matthew Arnold School House Chess competition took place last week. The houses Crowns, Swords, Oaks and Swans took part against each other every day for a week. Year groups challenged their peers in head to head games battling their best way to ‘check mate’.

The results of the competition saw Oaks being the outright house winners, followed by Crowns, Swans and Swords respectively.

We look forward to another competition in the new school year!

These textile portraits by Year 8 students are inspired by Bisa Butler’s vibrant quilted artworks. The students have carefully selected textiles to express personality, culture, and emotion, creating a powerful visual narrative.

In this final project, Year 10 students investigated portraiture and identity by creating artworks inspired by family members and self portraits.

Students have been delving into Shakespearean England in Year 10 and are studying one of the most dramatic plays, Macbeth. They are carefully annotating key quotes, analysing language and making links to historical context.

Huge congratulations go to Myla-Rose H (Year 7), Jessica W and Lacey F (Year 10) who recently starred in Shrek the Musical at Colnbrook Village Theatre Hall. Congratulations also goes to Olivia S-H (Year 11) who starred in 'Around the World in Musicals' at Beck Theatre in Hayes. What a superb achievement, well done girls.