Teddington School Newsletter

Dear Families

What a wonderful few weeks it has been here at Teddington. Following the success of our Open Evening and Open Mornings, we were delighted to welcome just under 3,000 families through our doors.

It has been a pleasure to showcase our school to so many prospective students and parents, and I would like to thank our staff and students once again for the enthusiasm, professionalism and warmth they demonstrated throughout. They were exceptional ambassadors for our school community.

This week, Teddington featured in The Times under the headline "Welcome to Britain's First AI Classroom." It is fantastic to see the innovative work taking place across the school being recognised nationally. We are proud to be leading the way in exploring how new technologies can enhance teaching and learning.

Our Music department has been busy with students from Years 8 and 9 enjoying their residential trip to Brussels. We are also delighted to share that the Teddington Soul Band will be performing at The Exchange Theatre in Twickenham on Friday 16th October as part of a new youth music event. We hope many of our families will be able to come along and support our talented musicians as they perform on a professional stage and help raise funds for future opportunities for young performers.

Congratulations to our Year 9 rugby team, who continue to impress in the National Cup competition. It is always wonderful to see our students competing with such determination, teamwork and pride when representing our school.

I would again like to highlight the importance of excellent attendance. Year 9 remain in line with the national average at 94% but it is fantastic to see our Year 7, Year 8 and Year 10 students still exceeding our school attendance target and remaining well above the national average, with attendance figures of 98%, 95% and 95% respectively. With mock examinations beginning next week, maintaining excellent attendance is a key priority for Year 11. Currently at 93% there is a real opportunity for students to improve this further and maximise every moment of teaching, revision and preparation available to them. Every lesson counts. We encourage all Year 11 students to make the most of the support on offer.

Finally, I would like to wish all of our Year 11 and Year 13 students the very best as they begin their mock examinations next week. These assessments are an important milestone in preparing for the summer examination season and provide a valuable opportunity to identify strengths and areas for development. I know our students will approach the coming weeks with focus, resilience and ambition.

Thank you as always, for your continued support. I hope you enjoy reading the rest of this week's newsletter.

Kind regards

Paul Grills

Headteacher

🏃‍♀️🔬 Our Year 10 Sport Scholars enjoyed an inspiring visit to Brunel University, immersing themselves in the world of sports science!

We said goodbye to the German exchange partners on Thursday morning. It was a fantastic week, with many memories made, lifelong friendships formed, language skills developed and cultural experiences to remember!

On Tuesday evening this week, our Year 10 High Flyers delivered their projects from Year 9 at a presentation to parents, families and some exchange students from Germany in the school theatre.

Students were required to focus on a societal issue of their choice for these projects, and topics chosen included the benefits and risks of social media for teenagers; addiction, drug abuse and illegal substances; juvenile crime; lessons learned from the rise of dictatorships; artificial intelligence; radicalisation and indoctrination; and the oppression of minorities.

All projects were well-researched and presented to an enthusiastic audience. Well done to all!

At Teddington School, every day matters and every lesson counts. Our new Attendance League Tables will create some friendly competition between tutor groups, with rewards and recognition throughout the year for both excellent attendance and improvement.

Friendly Attendance Reminders

• Every day counts – regular attendance makes a real difference.
• Be on time – students should be in school and ready to learn by 8:30am.
• Keep illness absence to when it is really needed – if your child is well enough to attend, please send them in.
• Appointments – wherever possible, arrange these outside school hours.
• Report absence promptly – please let us know by 8:30am if your child is unable to attend.
• Talk to us – if attendance is becoming difficult, please contact us early so we can support.
• Aim high – our expectation is 97% attendance or above.

From next week, our Attend system will send text messages as well as emails regarding attendance. Please look out for these communications and read them carefully.

Thank you for working with us to make every day and every lesson count.

We are delighted to share that the Teddington Soul Band will be starting the new school year with a special performance at The Exchange Theatre in Twickenham on Friday 16 October. Doors open at 7pm.

The Exchange is launching a new youth music event, giving young people the opportunity to perform on a professional stage alongside other young bands and performers. This will be the first event of its kind, and we would love to see as many of our families as possible there to support our students.

All proceeds from the event will go towards funding future Exchange Sessions, helping to provide more opportunities for young people to get involved in music and live performance.

We hope you can come along and support the Teddington Soul Band as they take to the stage!

We're in Teddington Town news!

All parents of students who are new to the "High Flyers" programme this academic year in Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 are warmly invited to an introductory presentation on the programme in the school theatre on Thursday 15 October from 17:30 to 18:30. Parents are asked to arrive from 17:15. Students should not attend. A copy of the presentation will be sent to parents of all "High Flyers" following the event should any parent be unable to attend.

12 - 16 Oct: Year 11 & 13 Mocks

19 - 30 Oct: Half term

2 Nov: Students return to school at 8:30am

2 - 6 Nov: Year 11 & 13 Mocks

4 Nov: Ski Trip Information Evening

11 Nov: Theatre Trip "Curious Incident of the dog in the Nighttime"

11 Nov: Sixth Form Open Evening

11 - 13 Nov: Year 7 PGL Residential

12 Nov: Sixth Form Open Morning