RTS Parents' Newsletter

That is a wrap for the Academic Year 2024-2025!

What a year we've had. Amongst many, many other events, there were a two major milestones that we reached: our long awaited RTS Sports Building was finally completed and opened in November 2024 and OfSTED revisited us in March, five years after their first visit in January 2020.

This week we have had the privilege of hosting a visiting group of 11 students from China & Taiwan. They were paired up with our student ambassadors and have spent a week attending lessons, experiencing break and lunchtime activities; and generally involving themselves in a typical English school day. The group leaders were very impressed with our students engagement with the Chinese/Taiwanese students and have shared how much they have enjoyed the visit. It was a delight to hold a mini-celebration assembly for them and to hand out certificates to all participants.

From September we will moving to a bi-weekly newsletter format - however you will be able to keep uptodate with school activities via our Instagram and Facebook pages.

Thank you to all our families for your ongoing support and appreciation for the school and the staff - we have received a number of wonderful end of year messages and they are very much appreciated and make a real difference to staff.

A thank you as well to our FoRTS volunteers - this year they have raised an incredible amount of funds for the school and we sadly say farewell to our Year 11 parent volunteers who have put in so much time and effort - it has been a pleasure working with you and thank you.

I will send out my usual Start of Term Letter towards the end of August so do keep an eye out for that. Until then I wish you all a restful Summer - however you are able to spend it and we look forward to welcoming you back again in September.

~Ms K Dooley | Head Teacher

Last week saw the Jack Petchey Awards take place at the beautiful Richmond Theatre.

We are proud to announce the following winners from RTS:

Lucas T., Year 7: Community - a student who is helpful and respectful of the school environment

Lucas is an invaluable member of the RTS community who has displayed himself to be a conscientious and kind student exhibiting all the values linking to the RTS way. He always ensures workspaces are kept in immaculate condition and when volunteering for litter-picking duty, Lucas didn’t shy away from putting himself forward for a higher than expected number of times, thus exceeding all expectations.

Albert F., Year 7: Confident: a student who has taken on challenges

Albert is a delightful member of his tutor group. He engages extremely well in tutor time asking insightful questions and challenging the teacher where appropriate in a considered and confident manner. He often arrives early to school and is prepared to ask questions to clarify things not just for himself, but also for the benefit of his classmates. When asking for volunteers Albert regularly puts his name forward demonstrating his confident approach to life at RTS.

Kaia, Year 9: Kind - a student who shows kindness to their peers

Kaia is a shining example of a kind student who is always ready to help others, and she shows compassion in all she does. Her love for the school production shines through her enthusiasm and support, making her a valuable member of our RTS community.

Henry W., Year 9: Participation - a student who has shown positive attitude in Enrichment

Henry is a credit to his tutor group and the RTS community. He is enthusiastic and continually strives to do better and be the best version of himself. Recently, Henry won both the Head Teacher Award and participation award for Spring term. Most notable of Henry’s qualities is his unwavering support of those around him!

Blanka, Year 9: Participation - a student who has shown positive attitude in Enrichment

Blanka is a conscientious student, and a valued member of Year 9 and the RTS community. Blanka is a composed and polite individual, always putting her best effort into all of her endeavours. She uplifts her peers and supports them wherever she can! She is a credit to our school.

Jia-Yun, Year 10: Confident - a student who has taken on challenges

Jia-Yun is an incredibly driven, hardworking and outgoing student who thrives on challenges, always pushing herself to progress further. Jia-Yun participates in all musical events in school and plays drums in a Concert Band outside of school which she draws on when composing for her GCSE music coursework which has shown some very impressive creativity to date! We are very proud of Jia-Yun’s commitment to learning and also how she brings others along with her with her nurturing personality! Well done Jia-Yun!

Caitlyn returned to Telford International Arena in June to compete in the second national qualifier for the British Championships. She put in another fantastic performance with two superb tumbling runs in the 15-16 age category and secured the gold medal for the second consecutive competition. She now goes to the national age group finals at the British Championships in October and hopes to continue her gold streak.

Her performance at the British Championships will help decide if she is selected to compete for Great Britain at the tumbling World Age Group Championships in Spain in November, against the best tumblers from across the globe.

She heads to Denmark during the summer holidays for a GB training camp to hone her skills and build on increasing her difficulty ahead of that next big competition.

We continue to be in awe of Caitlyn and her dedication and drive to be the best version of herself. We wish her all the best for the training camp and look forward to the next update.

Following on from last Friday's piece about our Thames Water - Debate Mate students, Thames Water have shared with us an inspiring video that they compiled during their time with us. Please do take the time to watch this as it really showcases RTS and our wonderful students. We are incredibly proud of this group of students.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDgrkOsUhxo.

On Monday 23 to Tuesday 24 June, 24 Year 10 students attended Earth Summit at Keele University.

Students heard from a range of guest speakers in the field of climate change. The guest speakers and their topics were Dr Angie Turner (Climate change, renewable energy and biodiversity), Yara Ghrewati (Connections between humans and the natural world), Thomas Guilbert-Newall (How can we make a difference?) and Dr Pawas Bisht (Environmental storytelling).

In the afternoon students attended two workshops. The first workshop was on water purification, which our students absolutely loved. The second workshop students learnt about carbon mathematics.

After a day of learning, students enjoyed an evening of activities in the student union before staying in university accommodation overnight.

The following day students attended a day at Alton Towers before returning back to RTS.

Ms Dunningham and Ms Stewart were really proud of our students for their engagement in the sessions and for portraying the RTS values. Well done everybody.

• Albert - 'I found the trip interesting and intriguing while still making it fun e.g. making a natural water filter with Yara. Also, it was very useful and I have new knowledge that I can apply when doing Geography GCSE'.

• Shreya - 'It was an enjoyable and educational trip. The talks in the beginning were really interesting. I learnt new things during the filtration workshop. I learned a lot. Alton towers was good as well'.

• Sophia W - 'It was very fun and interesting to learn about the various topics presented'.

On the 30 June and 03 July Year 10 students completed GCSE river fieldwork in Amersham on the River Wye. On beautiful summers' days, 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.

Monday 21st July- Sunday 3rd August

(Appointment period)

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday - open for pre-booked appointments only, and Click & Collect collections

Saturdays 9:30am- 5pm – open for Walk-in Customers (no appointment necessary)

Sunday CLOSED

Monday 4th August - Sunday 24th August

(Appointment period)

Monday - Friday - open for pre-booked appointments only, and Click & Collect collections

Saturdays 9:30am- 5pm – open for Walk-in Customers (no appointment necessary)

Sunday CLOSED

Monday 25th August- Sunday 7th September

(No appointment necessary)

Monday 25th Aug: 9:30am- 5pm

Tuesday 26th Aug: 9:30am- 7pm

Wednesday 27th Aug: 9:30am- 7pm

Thursday 28th Aug: 9:30am- 7pm

Friday 29th Aug: 9:30am- 7pm

Saturday 30th Aug: 9:30am- 5pm

Sunday 31st Aug: 9:30am- 5pm

Monday 1st Sept: 9:30am- 7pm

Tuesday 2nd Sept: 9:30am- 7pm

Wednesday 3rd Sept: 9:30am- 5pm

Thursday 4th Sept: 9:30am- 5pm

Friday 5th Sept: 9:30am- 5pm

Saturday 6th Sept: 9:30am- 5pm

Sunday 7th Sept: CLOSED

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 02 June-Friday 11 July (noon)

Pools on the Park and Teddington Pools & Fitness Centre are offering Summer Splash crash courses for children in current years 5, 6 and 7 who have not met National Curriculum standards. This is open to children who either live in the borough or attend school in the borough.

The 5 day course costs £5.

Click on the link below or scan the QR (which will take you to the website)

Applications will be accepted from 7th July 2025.

Summer Splash 2025 - London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

We’re reaching out from the Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington to share our Summer 2025 Youth Courses – a vibrant programme of creative workshops designed for young people aged 5 to 18.

From art clubs and music production to stone carving and orchestra for kids, our sessions are run by experienced artists and educators in a friendly, supportive environment. All activities take place at the Landmark Arts Centre – a beautiful and inspiring venue just a short journey away.

Highlights include:

• Scribble and Create Club for ages 5–11
• Music Production and Modern Day Orchestra for ages 11–18
• Write Your Own Book for budding authors aged 7–12
• Stone Carving workshops for families and teens aged 14+

It's that time of year again and we have absolutely loads of stuff to keep your children busy over the summer holidays at both Hampton and Whitton Youth Zones. Our offer is completely free and is part of Achieving for Children's statutory summer offer for young people living and/or educated in Richmond and Kingston.

We are open to all young people and not just those on free school meals, so feel free to circulate far and wide!

Hampton & Whitton Youth Zones: Summer 2025

It’s summertime and it’s set to be a scorcher at both Hampton and Whitton Youth Zones.

This year we are running from July 21st - August 29th. That’s all 6 weeks! That’s right folks, 6 weeks of FREENESS for you to enjoy. There’s the customary weekly trips for attendees to enjoy and of course food is included too. It’s ram packed with things to do so pop down, make some new friends and have some fun!

Daily Activities

Art

Arcade Gaming

Archery

Board games

Climbing

Cooking

Deejaying

Foosball

Gardening

Garden Games

Music Production

Pool

Roller Skating

Sports (football, basketball, tennis, benchball, etc)

Table tennis

Team based group games

Video gaming (PS5 and Xbox Series)

Check out our full timetables below or contact justin johnson via justin.johnson@achievingforchildren.org.uk for more information.

Hampton

Whitton

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 (from September). If you or anyone you know would like to come and give rugby a try, or just keep fit over the summer, we would love to see you. Every Wednesday evening, from 02 July, 18:30-20:00 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.

The CLCH school nursing service in Richmond is offering young people aged 5-19 and their parents and carers a new way to contact and get support from school nurse via a text messaging app ChatHealth.

ChatHealth offers confidential help and advice about a range of health concerns, including emotional health, sexual health, relationships, alcohol and drugs and bullying.

When a message is sent to the ChatHealth number, an automated reply confirms the message has been received. A trained healthcare professional will reply to the message during office hours within 24 working hours of receiving the message.

Winfilda Oyo-Ita, the Clinical Lead for the 0-19 service in Richmond said; “We’re delighted that we’re able to offer ChatHealth to young people, parents and carers in our local community as it provides more flexibility for them to access information and advice directly from our school nursing team that doesn’t rely on an appointment in-person.”

The service is already provided by CLCH in Hertfordshire and has been widely implemented at several NHS Trusts and healthcare organisations across the UK.

Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtSV7g1_fKA for more information.

Are you a parent/carer who could help a local family for just two hours a week?

Local charity Home-Start Richmond, Kingston & Hounslow is offering a free training course this autumn in Richmond for volunteers who would like to support local families with young children facing difficult times such as post-natal depression, bereavement, disability, or isolation.

Whether you’re looking for a meaningful way to use your time, build confidence, gain new skills, or give back to your local community, this is a flexible and rewarding volunteer opportunity to make a real difference. As a home-visiting volunteer, you will offer friendly, informal support to another parent, drawing on your own experience to help them through a challenging time.

Training Details:

This six-week training course will equip you with everything you need to know about home-visiting volunteering, while you train alongside like-minded volunteers and receive ongoing support from our experienced team.

• Duration: 6 weeks
• Day and time: Thursdays, 9:45am – 2:30pm
• Dates: 25 September, 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd October & 6 November
• Location: Vestry House, 21 Paradise Road, Richmond

To find out more, contact erin@homestart-rkh.org.uk or call 07884 536161

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