RTS Parents' Newsletter

This is the final weekend of revision for our Year 11 students. Monday sees the final full cohort GCSE exam - Physics. A few students will be back in on Tuesday however for the very last exam, which is Spanish. We are incredibly proud of their dedication and hard work over the last few weeks and it is always emotional waving farewell to them following our traditional leavers' assembly and shirt-signing.

Elsewhere in school, Year 10 have stepped up their position in school and have been head down with their GCSE mock exams. Geography students have also headed off on their practical GCSE field trip to Amersham. Year 9 showed their resilience by battling the elements last week during their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze expedition to the New Forest.

At the other end of the spectrum, this week we also welcomed into school our new Year 6 into 7 parents whose children will be joining us in September. It was a fantastic event and it is wonderful to start to put faces to names - as well as recognising those who already have children here. They are also now being sent the RTS Parents' Newsletter - welcome to the RTS Community!

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Ms Dooley | Head Teacher

Back in May, a team of intrepid students headed off with Ms Biswas-Tamosiunas to the TeenTech Roehampton Festival (original story in our April 24 Newsletter) and we are absolutely delighted to share that RTS was awarded Silver TeenTech Centre of Innovation status!

This has been awarded "in recognition of your school's commitment to giving students the opportunity to develop skills that will serve them well in the years ahead".

Judges comments on the projects that the students worked on and shared at the event were full of praise and included the following:

• "I genuinely think they are some of the best slides (in terms of design) that I've ever seen - and I've worked with a lot of professional designers. They fit the subject matter perfectly, and I particularly love the fact you've credited your design sources . If you ever want a job as a graphic designer, get in touch!!"

• It was interesting to read your research and you have identified an area for further exploration which raises some challenging questions."

• "There is a high level of scientific acumen shown within the presentation, which is appreciated, the team clearly put a lot of work into the research of this, utilising the work of Ivan Pavlov as a precursor to their idea...it shows maturity from the team to that they’ve thought about existing practices that could work."

Over two days in the New Forest nearly 100 Year 9 students faced all kinds of weather to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Awards. They headed off to Tile Barn Campsite and quickly pitched their tents before setting off on their first walk. Spirits remained high despite the weather and on return to camp the experience and 'fun' of cooking on camping stoves began! There were obviously a lot of s'mores/toasted marshmallows going on - and why not! Day two the weather was a little bit better and by the time all groups had made it back to camp they had completed approximately 12 hours of walking across the two days. The students should be incredibly proud of their achievements and the way that they represented themselves and RTS throughout the expedition. We are so proud of them!

A big shout out to the staff who supported the trip and clocked up some fair mileage themselves tracking the teams and ensuring that they were heading in the right direction (we worked out that Ms Carrick-Steele walked approximately 26 miles!). Ms Saxby, Ms Webb, Mr Murray, Ms Dunningham, Mr Crampsie, Mr Stallard, Mr Briggs and Ms Carrick-Steele - thank you! We have had some lovely feedback from parents and it really is appreciated to receive that.

During June Year 10 GCSE Geography students have been completing their GCSE river fieldwork in Amersham on the River Wye. Students measured the width, depth and velocity of the river in two locations to answer their enquiry question to discover how river discharge changes as we move downstream. We look forward to our next field trip to Stratford in October.

The Richmond upon Thames School (RTS) is holding our last Open Mornings this academic year. This is a fantastic opportunity to see the school in action - visiting lessons, meeting staff and students, and exploring the facilities.

• Open Morning: Wednesday 17 June 2026, 11:30-12:30
• The Richmond upon Thames School, Twickenham, TW2 7SL

• Please follow this link to book your place: Book Tickets

• View the RTS prospectus

With your continued support, we can achieve even greater things for our children and their school. You really do make a difference and we certainly cannot do this without you.

Please fill in this short form and we will be in touch.

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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 £1,348.91

Sign up here: Easyfundraising

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:

• Summer Term 2: Monday 01 June -Friday 10 July (finish at noon)

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

Dust off your violin, find your flute, or warm up your brass! We are thrilled to invite you to our Family Orchestra Day at St Richard Reynolds School.

Whether you’re a seasoned pro, a rusty returner, or a keen beginner, there is a seat in the orchestra waiting for you. This morning is all about the joy of making music together in a relaxed, friendly environment.

The Details

• When: Saturday 13th June

• Time: 10:00 -11:30am

• Where: St Richard Reynolds School TW1 4LT - Auditorium

• What: We’ll be playing a selection of accessible classics—no prior practice or preparation is needed! Sheet music will be emailed to you after registration.

• Tickets: £8 suggested donation payment can be made here (Concessions/Children go free)

Who Can Join?

Everyone! We truly mean "all welcome."

• All Ages: From children to grandparents.

• All Abilities: From Grade 8 to "I just learned my first scale."

• Instruments: All strings, woodwind, and brass players are welcome!

• All Non SRRCC under 18s must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the event

Please ensure you register using this google form by 15th May

We can’t wait to hear the sound of the community coming together. See you there!

Any questions regarding the day, please contact Katie Batchelor (k.batchelor@srrcc.org.uk)

We would like to warmly invite families from across our community to our upcoming Families Together Coffee Morning.

This event aims to bring local services, charities, organisations and professionals together under one roof, creating an opportunity for schools and families to connect with support services, gather information and build stronger community links to better support the families we work with.

Families Together Coffee Morning
Friday 26 June
9:00am–11:30am
Chase Bridge Primary School – Chase Hall/Terrace

Parents, carers, guardians, school staff and professionals are warmly invited to join us for a relaxed morning with tea, coffee, sweet treats and the opportunity to connect with others in our community.

We are pleased to welcome guest speakers from:

• MHST (Mental Health Support Team)
• Richmond Carers Service
• ADHD Embrace
• Pre & Post Diagnostic Service

A range of local charities and organisations will also be attending with information and support for families, including:

• Hampton Fund
• RUILS Independent Living
• Skylarks Charity
• Parenting Leads Richmond
• Space2Grieve
• Riverbank Trust
• East to West Trust
• School Nursing Service
• ELSA Team
• Purple Elephant Charity
• PCF Richmond

Mrs Gilbert (SENCO) and I will also be available throughout the morning for support and informal conversations.

To sign up for the event, please complete the registration form below:

https://forms.gle/3Q4Nxu8je4M4yyUP9

The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) have been offering a series of live, online webinars for parents called The Helping Teens with... series. In order to continue to make the webinars accessible and tailored to your interests as a parent, we would appreciate you sharing your views and giving feedback via this questionnaire. We would be very grateful if you could complete this by July 10th 2026.

The MHST is an early intervention and prevention service focusing on mild to moderate mental health difficulties such as anxiety, low mood and common behavioural difficulties. The Kingston and Richmond MHST is a schools-based multi-disciplinary team of psychological professionals including Clinical Leads, Creative Therapists, Mental Health Practitioners and Education Wellbeing Practitioners. We cover all schools in Kingston and Richmond.

We run different youth club sessions for a variety of groups, including for children and adults with disabilities.

Local bereavement charity, space2grieve is on hand, during both term time and school holidays, to provide free bereavement support for families living in the borough of Richmond.

When a significant person in a child’s life has died, parents and carers can feel overwhelmed and uncertain how best to support their children as often they are grieving themselves. In a Parenting Through Grief session, our experienced specialist bereavement supporters provide parents and carers with a space to talk it through, as well as key information and resources, so that they feel better equipped to help their grieving children. For children and young people, support is in the form of one-on-one sessions either in school or at our welcoming space at the ETNA Community Centre in Twickenham. The sessions are free, and available via self-referral.

For further information:

space2grieve.org.uk

0751 937 6363

Or email cypsupport@space2grieve.org.uk

It takes courage to ask for help. But for many young people who do, the support they need just isn’t there. Hundreds of thousands of young people are struggling with their mental health, but too many are being told to wait, struggling to cope and hitting a crisis point before they get help.

But things can get better. And Young Minds are leading the movement for change.

We provide young people with the tools to look after their mental health. We empower adults to be the best support they can be to the young people in their lives. And we give young people the space and confidence to get their voices heard and change the world we live in.

Together, we can create a world where no young person feels alone with their mental health.

The Helpline is a lifeline for parents, carers and children/young people who don’t know where to turn, or don’t feel listened to when their child is, or they are, struggling.

The timetable for the Summer Term 2026 is ready, and we are now taking bookings.

I have attached the full programme and individual flyers to this email, but this is what we have coming up this term:

These courses are only for families who live in the boroughs of either Richmond or Kingston.

One-Off Workshops (2 Hours):

• Digital Parenting: Managing screen time, boundaries, and online safety. Running at The White House (6 July) and Ham Children's Centre (14 July).

Please note: We will also be running online evening versions of both these workshops later in the term, with exact dates to be confirmed shortly.

Coming Soon (Dates TBC):

We are also working on dates for Triple P, Triple P Stepping Stones, The Incredible Years, Playful Parenting, Teen Life (from the National Autistic Society), and Talking Teens (from The Centre for Emotional Health). Parents and carers can be put on the waiting list for any of these courses.

A few notes on booking:

• Spaces are limited: We allocate places on a strictly first-come, first-served basis. If a course fills up, I can put people on a reserve list in case of any cancellations.

• Childcare/Creche: Creche spaces, where provided, are extremely limited. People need to let me know when they book if they absolutely cannot attend without a childcare space.

What to do next?

If any family wants to book on to any of these courses, please email Tom Maybey, Richmond Parenting Lead: tom.maybey@achievingforchildren.org.uk. Include your name, email address, contact number, child’s name and age, and postcode that would be really helpful.

Our courses are neuro-inclusive, relaxed, and pressure-free, attendees are always welcome to move, doodle, or just listen.

If anyone is specifically looking for the EarlyBird or EarlyBird Plus courses (for families of autistic children), these are run by a separate team within Achieving for Children. You can find more info and families can refer themselves here: https://kr.afcinfo.org.uk/pages/local-offer/information-and-advice/parenting-courses/earlybird-and-earlybird-plus-national-autistic-society-programme

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