RTS Parents' Newsletter

As we enter the last week of the Autumn Term, there is much to reflect and look back on over the last few months. It has been a busy term - new beginnings, new challenges and new friendships for Year 7 students - alongside mock exams, growing maturity and deepening friendships for Year 11. Every year group has shown their potential and we look forward to seeing that potential grow and develop when we return in January.

If you follow our social media accounts (links at the end of the newsletter), you will have already seen that today we had the privilege of a visit from local Twickenham MP for the Liberal Democrats - Munira Wilson. Full details are on the post, but the event was very much student led and I am incredibly proud of our ambassadors and their enthusiasm and willingness to be involved; and also their honesty and openness when speaking with visitors. They truly delighted in speaking with Munira and telling her all about the school and showing her their classrooms and teachers.

Although this is the last newsletter of the term and the year, we have much to look forward to next week with Christmas Lunch, Christmas Jumper Day, the Christmas Concert (I hope to see many of you there); and our fabulous end of term Celebration Assembly.

In the meantime, wishing you a lovely Christmas break when it comes and best wishes for a bright and prosperous 2026.

Ms Dooley | Head Teacher

We are delighted to share an update on our incredible gymnast, Caitlyn in Year 10.

Back in October Caitlyn competed at the British Championships for tumbling.
It was the culmination of domestic competition this year which had seen her secure two gold medals in qualifiers. Unfortunately, just over a week before the competition she sustained an injury and it was uncertain if she would even be able to take part. Despite not training in the buildup, she managed to put out two strong tumbling runs in the National Age Group final for 15-16s, finishing in fifth, but losing out on a medal position by just 0.2 points. There are very fine margins in tumbling!

Taking to the tumble track again the next day for the combined Junior Women’s category, the nation’s top 16 tumblers competed against each other for the title of British champion. Qualifiers took the field down to the top eight and after a strong second run, Caitlyn was through to the top four.
What followed was an incredibly tense final when nothing can be taken for granted and Caitlyn secured the bronze medal, just 0.1 points behind the silver placed gymnast. What a performance!

But her competition season wasn’t over just yet: shortly after Caitlyn learned that her consistently high scores scores throughout the year had earned her selection to compete at the Junior World Championships for tumbling in Pamplona, Spain. She was one of a team of four British gymnasts to take to the world stage for Team GB against incredible tumblers from all over the globe last month (November). In a strong field of 37 of the world’s best tumblers Caitlyn made it through the first qualifier in 8th, and improved her standing in the second qualifier to finish 6th. Sadly her competition ended there as, due to a two per country rule for finals, she was not allowed to proceed to the top eight finals due to brilliant performances by her GB team mates who placed just ahead of her in 4th and 5th. Caitlyn cheered on her teammates in the final to see Great Britain take home a bronze medal.

She now has her sights set on competing for Great Britain again in 2026 and upgrading her tumbles for even more success! Caitlyn is a constant inspiration as she balances life in school with her tumbling commitments and we continue to wish her well. Thank you to Caitlyn's Mum for sharing this update and photos (credit to @simoneferraroph for the incredible photo of Caitlyn in action).

Congratulations to our young Year 7 rugby team. They have not been playing together long but are already showing fantastic potential! On Friday 28 November they competed in the Middlesex Plate and were Runners Up!

Well done to Arjun, Barnaby, Cosmo, Eli, Freddie, Harry, Joseph, Jago, Luca, Marco, Max, Oliver, Parker, Sebastian, Toby, and Viyaan - and to all the other boys who also trained hard but were unable to play this time.

Wyatt, Year 9, has completed his entry for the STEM challenge for the games controller project. This is a STEM Challenge which the Year 9 students undertake as part of their rapid prototyping unit. Students have to design a new style of games controller and they could achieve a Bronze Stem Award. This entry really made Mr Lad smile! The attention to detail and quirky character are brilliant.

A wonderful message in this assembly focused on the history of both celebrations, the importance of family and understanding our role in spreading kindness, light and hope in our daily lives.

Hanukkah begins on the evening of Sunday 14 December and ends on Monday 22 December.

Thank you for all of your donations - our Christmas Trees are looking wonderful! We have our big tree in the Assembly Hall, one to welcome visitors to Reception, and one up on the First Floor near the Head Teacher's Office .

We are holding our Christmas Lunch on Wednesday 17 December. Pre-orders have now closed, all students who have not ordered a Christmas lunch must either bring in a packed lunch or purchase their food from the canteen at break-time. There will be no option at lunchtime to purchase food or drink.

Wednesday 17 December will also be Christmas Jumper Day in support of Save the Children. Students are invited to wear a Christmas/Festive style jumper in place of their RTS jumper on this day and alongside their usual full school uniform. Donations can either be via ParentPay or direct via the RTS JustGiving page.

The annual RTS Christmas Showcase will take place on Thursday 18 December, 18:00-19:30. FoRTS will be in attendance with a selection of refreshments and the students are hard at work rehearsing.

Come and join us as we celebrate the festive season!

We are looking for parent volunteers to run an Enrichment activity on Tuesdays or Thursdays 15:00-16:00. This would be on a weekly basis from January to April (Spring Term) and/or April to July (Summer Term).

We can assist with a DBS (which will be required) and we are looking for some parent volunteers to offer an interesting engaging or active enrichment session.

We are really hoping there is someone who can offer a one hour cookery session on a Tuesday 15:00-16:00 so please get in touch via the main email address: info@rts.richmond.sch.uk with 'Enrichment' in the subject heading.

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FoRTS Volunteering

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 2: Monday 10 November-Friday 19 December (12 noon finish)

• Spring Term 1: Monday 05 January 2026 (late start, 09:45)-Friday 13 February 2026

• Spring Term 2: INSET Day - Monday 23 February 2026

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

Sign up for Dramacube's Spring Term production of The Wizard of Oz and see your child shine on stage at Hampton Hill Theatre.

Whether they are new to musical theatre or have taken part in drama, dance or performing arts before - everyone is welcome and will be part of the final production.

Spring Term starts w/c 5th January in the following locations:
13–18 Year Olds – Hampton Hill or Twickenham

8–12 Year Olds – Hampton Hill, Teddington or Walton-on-Thames

Book a 2-week taster or enrol in a cast at www.dramacube.co.uk

Looking to join a local football club? Take a look at the flyers below for more detail!

Dakoda’s – a dance and performing arts academy devoted to nurturing confidence, creativity, and joy through dance.

We’re delighted to now be holding dance classes at Radnor House School, Pope’s Villa, Twickenham (TW1 4QG), and would love to share this news with local families.

Our Saturday morning programme begins with Parent & Baby Ballet at 10:30am, followed by Acro and Street Danceclasses for older children. Many of our dancers start in our early years sessions and continue to grow with us as their confidence and love for dance flourish.

Turtle Key Arts produces and devices original ground-breaking art to entertain and inspire. We believe that access to the arts helps to improve quality of life by bringing people together, offering creative opportunities, social interaction, confidence and self-esteem.

We have an upcoming Turtle Opera workshop project - the project will run at the V&A Museum, South Kensington from Tuesday 17th – Friday 20th February 2026, 11am – 3:30pm.

The four days of workshops will involve participants creating their own stories and music for an informal performance, with a professional composer and director. A specialist team from Turtle Key Arts and the V&A will support the group, to help enable fun and friendships.

Please find attached our flyer which we would appreciate if you could share or forward to any young people or families you think would be suitable and may be interested. Please ask anyone interested to sign-up via the application form on Turtle Key Arts' website where you can also find more information as well as a video about the project.

Parents in Conflict for separated or divorced parents or carers, a 3 week course being held in Ham - afternoon (12.30pm-2.30pm) or evening group available (6pm-8pm). 2 groups are being offered on the same day so separated parents can attend different groups.

Professionals can refer a parent/carer or parents/carers can self refer by completing an online registration form, please see the link below:

https://forms.gle/WsBeMXDAZ2z8N8eUA

For more information and details please contact: karen.williams@achievingforchildren.org.uk

These groups are arranged by Achieving for Children - Providing children's services for Kingston and Richmond

Please find details on MHST Workshops being held over the course of the next academic year:

• "Helping Children with"
• "Helping Teens with"

For advice and resources about mental health and wellbeing, please scan the QR code.

At Grays Lawn & Landscaping we pride ourselves on our adaptability and commitment to excellence in every aspect of our gardening service in South West London & Surrey. Explore what we have to offer and how we can contribute to your outdoor space.

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