Head Teacher's Message
I would like to thank all the parents and students who collected awards at our annual awards evening on Wednesday. It was delightful to also welcome back alumni, who collected Excellence Through Endeavour awards. I was particularly pleased to congratulate them on their successes and hear about their transition to post-16 education. We were also privileged to benefit from an inspirational speech from Katherine Greening, founder of Anstee Bridge, local resident and advocate for creative alternative education for those students struggling with trauma and mental health in Richmond and Kingston. Katherine shared her experiences of striving for excellence and endeavour, reminding us all about the journey we are on. In striving towards our accomplishments, we recognise that our efforts shape our successes.
This week also saw a 'Ground-breaking' moment at the RTS Sports Building site and welcomed the Leader of the Council, Gareth Roberts, along with Chair of Trustees, Jason Hughes and Vice-Chair, Evan Demetriou, to celebrate an important milestone in our sports building development programme. The building is progressing excellently and on schedule.
Looking ahead, we will be fundraising for the Save the Children Charity this term, with a Christmas Jumper Day on Friday 15 December.
Wishing you a lovely weekend
~Ms K Dooley | Head Teacher
Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Awards
Monday 13 November saw this event take place at the Rose Theatre, Kingston. We were extremely proud to have the following students recognised for their endeavours in excellence over the past academic year: Y9: Elsie P., Y10: Harry N., Y11: Peter D., Charlie W., Kavin, Heba, Lottie P., Ellis N. and Alumni: Tommy R. Ms Carrick-Steele attended on behalf of RTS and reports that it was a wonderful evening celebrating the achievements of our young people and many others [photo courtesy of Jack Petchey Foundation].
RTS Sports Building Update
Tuesday 14 November saw the official ground-breaking event held with members of Richmond Council, including Gareth Roberts, RTS Trustees, Evan Demetriou, Jason Hughes and Ms Dooley. The frame is almost complete and looks impressive already.
Year 8 + Alumni Awards Ceremony
On Wednesday 15 November we held our annual Awards Ceremony recognising achievements from the previous academic year. It was a pleasure to welcome back our alumni and especially our former Head Students, Nora and Cameron; as well as our speaker Katherine. The event was well attended and the RTS Band provided a great sound backdrop to the evening. Below are a small selection of photographs from the evening - Congratulations to all winners!
Christmas!
Sorry to mention Christmas so early (although it is only 5 weeks away)!
Baubles
Since we opened in 2017 we have had a tradition of inviting Year 7 (and new students in other years) to bring in a bauble/decoration for the Christmas Tree that we put up in the Assembly Hall. There is no theme or colour, it is purely personal preference. Students have made decorations, personalised them, bought in something traditional, something quirky, something that represents their community, hobbies or just something that has caught their eye!
Please bring in your decorations to Reception as soon as possible as we plan to put up the tree Friday 01 December! Thank you in advance for your donations.
Christmas Jumper Day
This will take place on Friday 15 December in support of Save the Children.
Christmas Dinner
Look out for an email with all the details and how to pay! We're hoping to hold this on Tuesday 19 December in conjunction with Clarendon and Capella schools.
Q&A with Ms Dunningham, Subject Lead Geography
If you pursued a different career path other than teaching, what profession would you choose?
I honestly have no idea! I have always wanted to be a teacher ever since I was in secondary school! Originally I planned to be a primary school teacher and then as I got older I developed my passion for Geography and so I decided that the secondary school route was more appropriate to spread my passion to students!
What's your favourite memory from your own school days as a student?
One of my favourite memories was attending a Ski Trip in Year 10. I had never been skiing before and so it was an amazing opportunity and I also remember making so many new friends on the trip as well as getting to know my teachers better.
What do you enjoy most about teaching and working with students?
I love seeing how students progress over time both academically but also in terms of their personal development. It is really rewarding when students achieve or exceed their target grades but equally it's great to see students achieving other qualifications such as their DofE Award or just improving in their overall confidence and being ready for the real world ahead of them! It is great to hear from parents how some of our first RTS student cohort are applying to university courses and to see their siblings now at the school!
If you could invite any historical figure to be a guest lecturer in your class, who would it be and why?
Hans Rosling! Best known for co-founding Gapminder, his book called Factfulness and his huge range of Ted Talks on global health and population. Hans was incredible as he brought geographical data to life by using digital mapping to explore geographical issues. RTS students can borrow his book Factfulness from the RTS Library to read his fabulous work!
Achievement Corner
Before the half-term break; our resident star tumbling gymnast, Aurelia (Y8), took part in the 2023 Rushmoor Rose Bowl event. She had a hugely successful competition and came home the under-13 individual champion! Her gymnastics club, Heathrow Gymnastics Club also took home the team title. Congratulations to Aurelia!
Contacting the School
If you wish to contact the school, the School Office is open (term time only):
Monday-Thursday - 08:15-16:30
Friday - 08:15-15:00
Please use the Parents Communications Summary for guidance on types of queries and where advice may be found/who to direct your query to.
Email: info@rts.richmond.sch.uk
Website: https://www.richmonduponthamesschool.org.uk/
Location: Egerton Road, Twickenham TW2 7SL, UK
Phone: 0208 891 2985