Ripon Cathedral School Update

On Monday, Year 6 enjoyed an engaging drama workshop inspired by the River Ure. Through a range of creative activities, the children explored ideas linked to rivers in an imaginative and interactive way, bringing their learning to life.

The session built on their previous visit from the Wensleydale Rivers Trust last term and has provided a fantastic starting point for our new Geography unit on rivers. It was wonderful to see the pupils working collaboratively, showing enthusiasm and confidence as they took part. We are excited to see how this experience supports their learning over the coming weeks.

A group of children from Year 5 did an amazing job representing the school at Outwood Academy on Wednesday, performing the hand jive from the musical Grease. We had an amazing morning filled with lots and lots of dance!

Well done to this week's Stars of the Week who were presented with their certificates in Celebration Worship this morning.

Nursery –Holly, for always being eager to join in with adult led activities, and always trying her best.

Reception – Pearl, for her amazing efforts at independent writing this week. She has written lots of super sentences about Mary Anning.

Year 1 –Luna, for her fantastic attitude to learning and for always being ready to share her ideas. This week you especially impressed us in history by confidently recalling facts about different explorers.

Year 2 – Nienna, for producing some lovely and thoughtful work in RE about forgiveness and peace. Nienna is always so reflective in lessons, sharing her thoughts respectfully.

Year 3 – Jackson, for showing enthusiasm in lessons, wanting to answer questions and also always having a positive start to the day.

Year 4 – Ella, for consistently being a wonderful role model and striving to do her best with her learning.

Year 5 – Skylar, for her kind heart and generosity, always thinking of others before herself. And... for outstanding effort during our dance this week. You had the biggest grin of everybody!!

Year 6 - Max, for always being focused in lessons, completing all work set and for challenging himself, especially in English.

Before half term, Year 6 spent a very valuable morning taking part in a first aid workshop, where they learnt important life skills that could help to support others in an emergency. The children were introduced to the basics of CPR and discussed how to respond calmly and safely in a range of situations.

Throughout the session, they explored how to care for someone with a variety of injuries and conditions, including burns, anxiety, grazes, suspected breaks and bleeding. Everyone listened carefully, asked thoughtful questions and approached the practical activities with maturity and responsibility. It was wonderful to see them developing confidence and understanding in such important, real-life skills.

The following information is on our school website and outlines our approach to healthy school lunches.

The catering company ensures that school meals are as healthy and varied as possible. However, some of our children have packed lunches and it is important that these are as healthy as possible too. On occasions we have children with sweets or other confectionary, such as chocolate bars, in their packed lunches.

Here is a gentle reminder about our current rules regarding packed lunches.

No sweets

No chocolates

No fizzy or sugary drinks

We reserve the right to withdraw items from packed lunches which do not conform to these guidelines. We encourage parents to limit crisps, cakes and biscuits.

A reminder that only water should be brought in class water bottles, and please no glass containers of any kind.

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation.

All are welcome to a get together on Thursday 12th March at 7pm in the Claro Lounge. This is a good chance for a catch up with other parents. There will be a little bit of planning which you may like to be involved in, but the main focus is meeting up with other parents. Board games are available so if you're short of a baby sitter, you can bring along older children.

We use 'CoolMilk' to administer all our milk provision and finance. Milk can be provided free to all under 5s and any children in receipt of free school meals for economic reasons (not all KS1 universal free school meals). In addition, all parents are welcome to choose to buy milk for their children, which is served to them daily. We have some fantastic milk monitors in KS2! One thing for parents of young children to remember is that the day they turn 5, the free milk will stop, so you do need to remember to sign up to pay a couple of weeks before their birthday.

Countyhall Music have asked us to let you know that young musicians from low‑income backgrounds can now apply for programmes beginning in September 2026. Please see their information below if this applies to you.

This year we’re also introducing an important update: our awards will now run over a two‑year cycle, giving each young musician more time, stability and support to grow. For those who are 17 on 1st September 2026, the award will run for one year in line with our age criteria.

Future Talent programmes offer a wide range of opportunities, including funding towards musical development, masterclasses with leading artists, workshops to explore new skills, mentoring from industry professionals and performance experiences designed to build confidence.

Applications close on Friday 24th April, and all details - including eligibility and how to apply - are available on our website.

If you have any questions about the process or the changes this year, please feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to help!

Thank you for your support and for being part of the Future Talent community. We look forward to receiving applications and to supporting the next group of young musicians.