Headteacher's Message
This week the mock exams were completed for Year 11 and 13, which will be a relief for all students involved. Well done to them all for the hard work they have put in!
The UK Youth Parliament and Kingston and Richmond Youth Council elections are taking place this month and we are proud to say we have six students running in these elections. Good luck to Amber P (9PAH), Daisy J (10SAN), Jiya K (10EMU), Judith K (10FDO), Tamira R (10SSR) and Annabelle R (11PGU) who are in the running for a place in both of these elections. Pupils will be given guidance on how to view the manifestos and place their votes during tutor times over the coming week.
Our Year 10s have had a treat this week, visiting the Old Operating Theatre in class groups at the original site of St Thomas’ Hospital in Southwark. This is always a fascinating trip for the pupils, as they can view both the exhibits, hear from the experts and also take part in a reconstruction of an operation before the arrival of anaesthesia and antiseptics. It is gruesome stuff but a lot of fun and really brings to life the History of Medicine unit as part of their GCSE curriculum.
On Wednesday a handful of selected Year 10 students were also lucky to be brought to the Ogden Trust STEM careers afternoon at Hampton Boys School. They met with five scientists to learn about different career options that science subjects can lead to including Tom Leggett, Lead Doctor at the FA for the England parafootball teams, Andrew McHutchon, a senior data scientist at McLaren, Charlotte Massey, an International Development Manager from the National Physical Laboratory, Jen Parsons a Naval Architect and also Iryna Bennet, Technology Area Manager for the UK Atomic Energy Authority. It was a great event and will certainly inspire pupils to look towards a career in science.
Thursday was World Book Day, which our Book Champions recognised by sharing their book recommendations for each year group in the school. You can see the full list and other activities our Book Champions have been undertaking this year on our website here. The team also hosted a very successful Book Swap for our Year 7 and 8 pupils.
Our Sixth form welcomed Marion Clark, Head of Forensic Social Work at West London NHS Trust and Broadmoor Hospital for a talk about social work and the interaction between mental health, criminal justice systems and the law. The talk was very relevant to the Crime and Deviance unit for those studying sociology and the Forensic unit for psychology but was interesting to all students who attended particularly the ethics around offending and mental health.
Our Sixth Form Fashion and Photography students enjoyed trips today to the Tate Modern and the V&A. Our Photography students were invited for a behind the scenes visit Zandra Rhodes Private studio, not usually open to the public. This exciting visit was led by Piers Atkinson, Director of the Zandra Rhodes Foundation and allowed students to see the origins of the work of this amazing artist and fashion designer. The Fashion students visited the Marie Antoinette Style exhibition at the V&A exploring the lasting influence of the ill-fated queen over 250 years of design, fashion, film and art.
We have ended the week with another fantastic bake off event, this week our Year 9s have tested their talents, taking on the cupcake challenge. The flavour mixes this week included mango and matcha as well as S’mores cupcakes! Our judges were deeply impressed by the creativity on display particularly some of the more technical details. Congratulations to our winners 9SHU and to everyone who took part.
This week Year 7 found out about the Easter Bonnet Parade that takes place on the last day of term. We are looking forward to seeing all their wonderful creations!
During tutor time students watched videos of two of the authors that have written World Book Day books this year. They received a free book and a World Book day token they can use to get another free book.
Our Book Champions also helped organise our second very successful Book Swap which took place on Thursday lunchtime. It was lovely to see students speaking together about the books they had read and swapping those they have finished with.
Well done to those played the Year 7 Netball team this week, these were their first matches in the RSSP league. On Tuesday they had a narrow loss to Orleans Park after a great come back and on Thursday they played Grey Court with a final winning score of 11-5. Well done and good luck to the team for the rest of their matches.
On Thursday Year 7 and 8 had a book swap in the hall where students were encouraged to bring in books that they had finished with in-return for books they might like to read. It was a great event and many students came away with exciting new reads.
Every week this term we have been holding a different year group bake off and on 19 March it will be the turn of Year 8 to enter the cupcake challenge. Representatives are voted in from each form and the competition looks to be very tight this year! Stay tuned for more information and results.
Our History students have also enjoyed an enriching visit to the Old Operating Theatre at London Bridge. This fascinating trip brought their studies to life, offering a vivid insight into the development of medicine and surgery through time. The experience sparked thoughtful discussion and curiosity, and staff were delighted with the engagement and conduct shown throughout the visits.
Well done to:
This week our Year Y9/10 Football team went to Turing House for a match on Tuesday, beating them 1-0 with a goal scored from a header by Flossie H. Player of the match was Imogen H. Well done to the whole team for their efforts!
Our netballers have also been playing this week with the Year 7s losing to Orleans Park on Tuesday (10-6) and winning against Grey Court on Thursday (11-5). Our Year 8s also lost to Orleans (17-7) but won (13-2) against Grey Court. Well done to our players of the match as voted by their teams: Jemima, Tabitha, Chloe, Charlotte, Lola, Lily, Ava and Olivia.
