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Newsletter 6 - May 2024

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Dear Parents and Carers,

As you'll see from our latest edition, Term 5 has been

exceptionally busy and productive. Not only have we continued

with our comprehensive and varied extra-curricular offer of

trips and fixtures, we've also entered exam season. The Year

11 students have responded brilliantly to the extra intervention

support being offered both before and after school and I'm

sure this has aided the calmness with which they have entered

their exam spaces each morning. Subject Leaders have also

been integral in briefing the cohorts prior to the exam to calm

any nerves and offer some last minute advice. We still have a

few weeks of exams to support pupils with before the Year 11

Leavers' Morning on 19th June, followed by a much deserved

Prom in the evening. As you'll see below, Results Day will be

held in the school between 9am and 11am on Thursday, 22nd

August.

In other news, we're working hard to ensure we minimise waiting

times at lunch. After the May holiday, we'll be increasing our

servery spaces by having a snack bar on the Year 11 playground

which we're hoping will reduce footfall in the Main Hall. In

addition to this, we've increased the provision for those students

with dietary requirements by having a separate counter for

them, so they no longer need to pre-order food in the morning.

Lastly, our new tills will reduce payment times. These tills will

take either PIN numbers, or facial recognition. In order for the

latter to work, students will visit the Hall on 21st May to have

their photos taken. No images are stored on the till, but it does

allow us to use technologies similar to those used on many

smartphones and android devices to pay for meals. I've sent a

separate letter earlier this week to explain this in more depth.

Looking further forward into June, we have the Block Days for

Years 8 and 9 on 20th June and Year 7 on 20th June and 21st

June. Letters from trip leaders went home at the start of this

term, so please contact your child's tutor if you need to chase

this up or need further details.

Following these dates, a reminder that school is closed for staff

training on Monday, 24th June and Tuesday, 25th June with the

end of term coming on 19th July which will be a 'half day'.

I look forward to your continuing support across Term 6 and,

before I finish, I'd like to pass on my warmest thanks for your

attendance and good wishes on the occasion of my Induction

Mass which was held at school on 13th May. It was a very

beautiful service, the choir sang wonderfully and it was

wonderful to feel the support of the St Richard's community

as I was inducted by the Bishop in the presence of my family,

friends, past and present colleagues and clergy.

I wish you a wonderful holiday and look forward to welcoming

the students back on Monday, 3rd June, smart, rested and ready

to learn. As in previous years, students will be able to wear

polo shirts from the beginning of Term 6. This is not compulsory

and pupils can still wear their shirt and tie if they wish. Please

support us in ensuring these polo shirts are the correct size, and

that your child is smartly presented ready for the final term of the

academic year.

Paul Barber, Principal

Page 1

Newsletter 6 - May 2024

A High Performing Specialist Science School

May 2024

St. Richard’s Catholic College

Ashdown Road, Bexhill-On-Sea

East Sussex TN40 1SE

Tel: 01424 731070

Email: admin@strichardscc.com

www.strichardscc.com

Principal: P Barber, NPQH, NPQEL, FCCT, BA (Hons)

Newsletter 6

Dates for Term 6

End of Term 5

Friday, 24th May (KS3 - 3.15pm, KS4 - 3.20pm)

First Day of Term 6 for Pupils

Monday, 3rd June 2024

PTFA Meeting

Tuesday, 4th June (7pm - 8pm)

Year 7 Parents’ Evening

Thursday, 13th June (5pm - 8pm)

Work Experience Week commences

Monday, 17th June

Final Exam Date

Tuesday, 18th June

Year 11 Leavers’ Morning

Wednesday, 19th June

Year 11 Prom

Wednesday, 19th June (evening)

Sophie’s Postcard eBay auction starts

Thursday, 20th June

BLOCK Day for Years 7-9

Thursday, 20th June

BLOCK Day for Year 7

Friday, 21st June

INSET Days (school closed for pupils)

Monday, 24th & Tuesday, 25th June

New Intake Evening for September 2024 admissions

Wednesday, 26th June at 6pm

Sophie’s Postcard eBay auction ends

Saturday, 29th June and Sunday, 30th June

New Intake Days for Year 6

1st, 2nd & 3rd July

Summer Production

3rd, 4th, 5th July (evening performances)

Sports Day

Wednesday, 10th July

End of Term 6

Friday, 19th July at 1.15pm

Results Day

Thursday, 22nd August (9am-11am)

Miss Pennington has also been extremely busy with the organisation of our Sophie's Postcard Appeal. Please click here

to see a video showing a selection of the postcards that have been donated so far and, if you'd like to buy a catalogue of the

postcards, this wonderful collection is available here - all monies go towards our target of £100,000 for the Royal Marsden

Cancer Charity in Sophie's memory. There are over 1550 pieces of wonderful art by members of our own community,

celebrities and universally acclaimed artists. Further details can be found at www.sophiespostcard.com

As we approach the end of Term 5, I would like to pause

and reflect upon how far the Year 7s have progressed since

September. I am truly proud to be part of their journey and

share the highs (and at times the lows) of their time at St

Richard’s. Moving forward, the final summer term is always

exciting with summer shows, sports day, Year 7 BBQ

and Block Days allowing pupils to experience enrichment

activities and be ‘outside’ the classroom.

In assemblies this term, I have been very much a bystander

as each Form Class has presented their own assembly.

The pupils (with a little help from Form Tutors) have

researched themes, produced powerpoints and delivered

very high quality assemblies. I have once again been blown

away with all their talents and public speaking skills.

During Term 6, I will be liaising closely with Mr Steele

(Pastoral Leader Year 8) as part of my handover to him. He

will begin to have short meetings with the Year 7s to start to

get to know them. On Monday, 24th June, he will take day

to day responsibilities for the year group, allowing me time

to complete the preparation for the Year 6 Taster Days and

final parts of the transition programme.

To finish the year, we will have a celebration as a year

group and a BBQ is planned for Friday, 12th July. details

about this will be sent closer to the time.

Pastoral Reports

Year 8

Year 7

Mr Steele, Pastoral Leader Year 8

mrsteelej@strichardscc.com

Page 2

Newsletter 6 - May 2024

Mr Bligh,

Pastoral Leader Year 7

mrblighj@strichardscc.com

As always, I like to share achievements in our newsletter and I want to congratulate Joana on

We have a World Champion

Cheerleader! This term Ariana

has been competing in Florida

with Top Gun UK Lime & Mint

cheer teams in the Under 12

and Under 16 group World

Championships. In a truly

global competition, Ariana

and her team beat 160 other

squads to be crowned World

Champions. She won three

gold medals competing in the

All Star Worlds, Youth Summit

and The Summit events. Well

done!

Assemblies

We had an assembly this term on Body Image and Body

Positivity. In the Body Positivity video, I used a video

resource from Dove, which illustrated how much editing and

professional beauty work goes into creating an advertising

campaign for beauty products. I wanted to show that the

expectations created are not only unrealistic, but literally

impossible without the use of computer generated filters of

photoshopping. It is important that pupils have a healthy

understanding of how the media manipulates images

and creates unrealistic expectations which can really

damage people’s self esteem. Please talk to your children

about these issues, and be aware of the images they are

constantly being fed, and the impact this can have on their

mental health.

We also had assemblies on Easter, Disability and Equality,

Mental Health and Vaping. The Vaping assembly focused

on the industry aspect of vaping, as I compared the

damage caused by Big Tobacco from the 1950s onwards as

they used public campaigns to discredit the science behind

smoking damage. I wanted the children to understand

that vaping companies are usually owned by tobacco

companies, and that the consequences of vaping are not

fully understood yet. Vaping is a growing problem in our

younger generations, and the perception that it is a healthy

alternative to smoking is misleading and potentially harmful,

as the number of young vapers continues to grow rapidly.

Congratulations to…

Anna and Orinta who, alongside Annika in Year 9, set

up a fantastic bake sale to raise money for Children in

Need. They made a huge number of cakes, cookies and

cupcakes, and sold out of everything, which is a fantastic

achievement. Overall they raised almost £90 for charity,

and were a shining example of how giving up a little time

and effort can make a big difference to those who need it

most.

PSHEe

This term, the Year 8s will be looking at RSE, including

healthy relationships, romantic relationships, diversity in

gender and sexuality, and other important issues such

as online pornography. The children will be given the

opportunity to think about what constitutes a healthy

relationship, which will hopefully be valuable as they begin

to mature and think about their personal relationships.

As we approach the end of this term, I would like to thank

Year 9 for all their hard work. The vast majority of pupils

are fully engaged with their studies and are therefore

progressing well. I hope that your child is happy with the

option subjects that they will be studying for GCSE next

year. Should you have any concerns, please contact Miss

Machin (missmaching@strichardscc.com), your child’s

form tutor or myself.

PSHEe:

During this term, Year 9 have been completing their unit

on RSE alongside further groups attending our workshops

with Mrs Knight around safe and positive relationships.

During Term 6, there will be visits from our Police Liaison

Officers and education on substance misuse.

Assemblies:

We have had a range of form assemblies on the topics of

resilience and respect. Other assemblies have included

future leadership roles and attendance matters.

Appearance:

As the May holiday approaches, I would like to remind

parents and carers of the high standards of appearance

we expect from pupils when they return from their break.

Please ensure your child returns with the appropriate

haircut and uniform. A reminder, also, that makeup and

dyed hair are not allowed in school.

Extra-Curricular:

Please see the timetable here for the clubs available.

Please encourage your child to attend as many extra-

curricular activities as they can.

House Points:

Many pupils continue to accumulate an impressive amount

of House points. To continue with this trend, please

encourage your child to work hard both in class and at

home; to complete charity work; to support the liturgical life

of the school; to attend school as much as they are able,

and to complete letters towards The Crest Award.

Please remember that we are always here to help and

work in partnership with yourselves to ensure that your

child is happy and has the opportunity to fulfil their

potential. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s

Form Tutor or myself if you have any questions or

concerns.

Have a lovely half term holiday and I look forward to

welcoming the pupils back on Monday, 3rd June for the

summer term.

Rewards:

I am really pleased to highlight some exceptional

performances this term from Rafferty, Daniel, Grace, Oliver,

Patricija, Michelle, Cedric, Isabelle, Isabella, and Darren.

Well done!

I was delighted to send out 46 Postcards to Year 10 for

their recent reports which highlighted a lot of excellent work

and effort being made by Year 10. Please follow any advice

or suggestions made in the ‘Next Steps’ part of the report.

Prefect Applications:

So far, I have had 58 applications following the deadline of

10th May. Good luck to all of the applicants.

College Taster Days:

The Year 10 Taster Day at Bexhill College will take place

on Monday, 15th July. Pupils will spend the entire school

day at the college to experience college life and lessons.

I have emailed the details and I know that the vast majority

of Year 10 have booked their taster lessons already.

Work Experience:

All pupils have now been placed. Pupils will receive

confirmation of their placement in the final week of Term 5.

Any issues, concerns or questions regarding work

experience should be directed to Mrs Adams, Wex

Coordinator - mrsadamsc@strichardscc.com or to Mrs

Forte, Work Experience Administrator - mrsforte@

strichardscc.com.

Year 10 Exams:

The Year 10 mock examinations have now come to an

end. It has been a challenging time for the pupils, with a

large number of exams in a short space of time. The pupils

have approached the exams with a positive attitude and I

would like to congratulate Year 10 on the mature way they

handled the examination process. Their behaviour has

been very good throughout. Well done, Year 10.

Assemblies:

Year 10 have had assemblies on the themes of preparing

and revising for exams and on perseverance, using the

VESPA system.

Many thanks in anticipation for your continued support.

Wishing you an enjoyable and restful break, I look forward

to the summer term and continuing the preparation for Year

11 with the pupils.

Page 3

Newsletter 6 - May 2024

Mr R Doherty, Assistant Principal, Pastoral Leader Year 10 - mrdohertyr@strichardscc.com

Mrs Hills, Pastoral Leader Year 9

(mrshillsa@strichardscc.com)

Year 9

Year 10

Key Dates:

Tuesday, 18th June

Final Exam Date - Design Technology and Polish

Wednesday, 19th June

Year 11 Leavers’ Morning

Year 11 Prom at The Powdermill Hotel, Battle

6pm - 6.30pm arrival - Carriages at 11pm.

Thursday, 22nd August

Results Day: 9am -11am

Year 11

Page 4

Newsletter 6 - May 2024

The Year 11 ‘Weekly Bulletin’ is sent out every Friday by 4pm via EduLink.

Please ensure you are keeping up to date with weekly news and important information

Mr J Campbell, Senior Assistant Principal

Pastoral Leader Year 11

mrcampbellj@strichardscc.com

I would like to start this term’s newsletter by highlighting

how impressed I am with the attitude and effort of our

Year 11 pupils throughout the lead up to their examination

period. The pupils have worked hard and have hopefully

managed to ensure that they are well prepared for their

examinations.

GCSE Exams

1. Exam timetable

Please click here to view the exam timetable. A

reminder that pupils should be lining up for their morning

examinations by 8.30am and for their afternoon exams

by 1.15pm.

2. The plan for Year 11 pupils end of Term 5 and half

term revision:

Please go through this with your child. A reminder that it

is a legal requirement for your child to attend as normal

throughout the exam period. In essence, pupils follow

their normal timetable unless they have an exam or

revision session. Please click here for the drop down

parent/carer timetable version.

3. Saturday revision sessions timetable

Date

Time

Subject

Saturday, 18th May

9-12pm

German

9-11am

Science (invite only)

9-12pm

Saturday, 25th May

9-12pm

Music

Saturday, 1st June

No revision

Saturday, 8th June

9-12pm

Maths

Saturday, 15th June

9-12pm

Music

4. Organisation

•

Please ensure your child checks their seat number

in the evening ahead of each exam; there may be

some changes through the exam period.

•

Please ensure your child has all of the necessary

equipment for each of their exams.

•

Please ensure your child has a good night’s sleep

and a healthy breakfast before each exam!

Year 11 Leavers’ Hoodies

Pupils and parents/carers have been sent a Google order

form for hoodies. The cost of a Year 11 Leavers’ Hoodie

this year will be £23.00 - an order form will be shared via

Edulink. Parents/carers will need to pay via ParentPay by

Tuesday, 8th June. Hoodies will be distributed on Leavers’

day on 19th June 2024. There are samples in school for

pupils to try on to ensure they order the correct size.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Amelia in 11H who has had much

success outside school with her dancing. In the last month,

she has won a place to represent England in Apledoorn,

Netherlands in July; she has qualified in all seven solos

at the All England Dance regionals and has successfully

auditioned to compete in the UK Young Dancer 2024

competition in both classical and theatre dance disciplines.

Next academic year, she will be studying at either the

Central School of Ballet or Tring Park School for the

Performing Arts where she has been offered fully funded

places.

I would like to thank all parents/carers for your support and

commitment in ensuring your child reaches their potential.

It has been a challenging two years of GCSE work for the

year group. Hopefully their hard work will be rewarded with

good results in the summer. I am confident that the pupils

are in a strong position, emotionally and academically, as

they move on to their next challenge taking their learning

forwards. They will always have the support of the school

community behind them. Many thanks for your continued

support throughout the past two years.

Wishing you and your families an enjoyable May half

term. I look forward to seeing you all at the Powdermills to

celebrate five years of education within the St Richard’s

community on Wednesday, 19th June.

Year 11 Prom

The Year 11 Prom is on Wednesday, 19th June at the

Powdermills Hotel, Battle. Deadline for tickets was 30th

April. Please ensure your child has completed the Google

form to select their menu choices here.

Year 11 Yearbook

Yearbooks are under construction and will hopefully be

completed soon. Yearbooks will be available to collect on

results day, Thursday, 22nd August.

Page 5

Newsletter 6 - May 2024

Library

1066 Schools’ Book Award Event

Our final event for the 1066 Schools’ Book

Award took place on Wednesday, 24th April

at The Hastings Academy, with 14 pupils from

St Richard’s attending. I was so proud of our

readers and our competition winner, Lewis

(Year 8), for the Best Book Review. All those

taking part received certificates, a free book

and enjoyed an excellent buffet tea. As always,

our pupils behaved impeccably and were a

credit to the school. Well done, everybody! Oh

- I almost forgot! You will want to know which

book won? ‘The Haunting of Aveling Jones’ by

Phil Hicks, with ‘A Girl on Schindler’s List’ by

Rena Finder just one point behind! Both are

excellent reads and highly recommended.

The CILIP Carnegie Book Award Shadowing is now underway, with readers

from Years 9 and 10 enjoying the new selection of teen fiction. There are

some really thought-provoking reads in this selection, which I am sure will be

enjoyed by our keenest readers. If you would be interested in joining us there

are still places; permission letters are available from the library desk.

Yoto Carnegie Book Award

Safeguarding and Emotional Wellbeing

St Richard’s have been working closely with the ‘Me and My Mind’ Parent

Practitioner to offer sessions around anxiety and worry and also managing

exam anxiety. Please click here to view a YouTube Video from Me and My Mind

that may help with understanding exam anxieties and strategies that may be

supportive. The Safeguarding and Pastoral teams at St Richard’s want to ensure

that we are supporting pupils to access the right support at the right times. Please

do get in contact with your child’s Form Tutor if you feel that they may need to

access further support for their emotional wellbeing.

Links for Support for Parents:

Links for support for Pupils:

Open for Parents – Top tips and one-off parenting course webinars

Support for parents | NSPCC

Mind.org.uk - Helping your children with a mental health problem

Talking to your child about feelings - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Anna Freud world leading mental health charity for families

Young Minds parent/carer support – toolkit and helpline

Family Lives - confidential and free helpline service for families

Holding Space – Family Mental Health Support in East Sussex + monthly

parent drop-ins

Health in Mind - Free courses and therapy for adults in East Sussex, to

help with stress, anxiety and low mood

E-motion free online counselling - ages 12 to 18

E-wellbeing digital well-being service

I-Rock - ages 14 to 25 sign posting service with

peer support workers

Eggtooth therapeutic support - all ages,

physical and mental wellbeing

The Mix for under 25’s – mental health + drugs,

sex, housing, money, work

Young Minds 24/7 Text line: Text YM to 85258

(for young people and parents)

Childline helpline and calm tool kit.

Safeguarding contacts:

Year 7 - Mr Bligh, Year 8 - Mr Steele, Year 9 - Mrs Hills, Year 10 - Mrs Taylor-Singfield / Mrs Ellis,

Year 11 - Mr Campbell, SEND - Mr Smith, Looked After Children - Emma Dann

Chaplaincy

Page 6

Newsletter 6 - May 2024

We are fast approaching the Feast of Pentecost. The

birthday of the Church, this Feast commemorates

the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, thus

empowering them for their mission and gathering them

together as a church. We remember very specially in

prayer all the pupils who are preparing for Confirmation

with Bishop Richard in June; may the Holy Spirit guide

them at this particular moment in their journey of faith. We

also pray for all those preparing to sit their exams, may

they be inspired and strengthened to give of their best.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in

them the fire of your love. Amen.

Lent Reconciliation

Lent Reconciliation was well supported by our clergy. The

assembly in the morning for all proved really inspiring and

many more signed up on the day.

Easter Services

The whole school came together over four services on the

last two days of the term to prepare for the Easter Holiday

and the upcoming Tridium. There was a wonderful sense

of togetherness as over 200 pupils took part in delivering

a very strong message. Our focus was around the Last

Supper and Jesus' gift of the Eucharist to us and his

demonstration of true servant leadership in his washing of

the feet of his disciples. This was the final time for some of

our Year 11 dancers, ministers of the Word, musicians and

choir to take part in a St Richard’s celebration of the Word

and I thank them for all their contributions over the last five

years.

Form Masses

A number of form masses took place in the past term. Pupils

have worked hard on practising their readings and preparing

reflections to deliver in the Liturgy and, on the whole, these

have been very reflective and appropriate for the liturgical

season. Well done to all who have volunteered to play roles

in these celebrations. Fr Simon joined Year 8 to celebrate

Mass on the feast of St George. Fr Simon spoke to the year

group about St George and his commitment to his faith,

despite persecution. The year group participated well, joining

the Year 8 choir members in all the hymns.

CAFOD Lent Appeal

We held our annual Sponsored walk for CAFOD with a good

turn out from across all year groups. The Student Listeners

in Year 10 provided support to engage Year 7 and there was

a great atmosphere on the walk. We raised £386 for the

CAFOD Big Walk appeal. Our donation joins others across

the country already being put to work, helping people fight

poverty caused by climate change.

Foodbank Appeal

We ran our annual Foodbank Appeal in conjunction with our

CAFOD Walk and we collected an impressive 308.15kg!

Which was about 8.5% of the total stock in the Foodbank

for that month. This was gratefully received by the Bexhill

Foodbank whose stocks are running low at this time.

A&B Annual Diocesan Pilgrimage

I am delighted to say that we have four St Richard’s pupils

joining the Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage this year as

RedShirts. Following their preparation meeting recently they

are very excited and have already made friends with other

young people from our Diocese. Please watch this space for

some fundraising by them, which will support their pilgrimage.

Mr Barber’s Mass of Induction as Principal of St Richard’s

God Bless, Jo Doyle (Lay Chaplain) - Tel: 01424 731070 ext 126 Email: missdoylej@strichardscc.com

On Monday, 13th May, we were delighted

to welcome Bishop Richard to celebrate

a Mass of Induction for Mr Barber. This

was his commissioning as Principal of St

Richard's and Mr Barber was joined by

his wife, children, mother and friends from

his previous school. The choir provided

beautiful music including a psalm written

for the occasion by Mr Martin Foster,

Director of Music at St Mary’s University

Chapel, Twickenham and Director of the

Liturgy Office of the Bishops’ Conference

of England and Wales.

Also in attendance were the Director of the Education

Service, Julie Oldroyd, CEO of Bosco Educational Trust,

Dave Carter and Head of St Paul's Catholic College, Burgess

Hill, Rob Carter, all of whom came to offer their prayers

and support for Mr Barber. Alongside Bishop Richard,

concelebrating Mass, were our own local clergy, Fr Kevin

Dring and Fr Chris Benyon, and joining us from Brighton,

Canon Kieron O'Brien. It was a beautiful blessing on Mr

Barber's journey ahead as Principal. Many thanks to all

involved; Mrs Byrne, Mrs Potter, Mr Lyons, Mrs Di Mascio and

in particular, the PTFA who served refreshments.

Music

Page 7

Newsletter 6 - May 2024

Drama

New Cello Teacher - Gavin Kibble

Gavin Kibble is a cellist and cello teacher based

in St Leonards-on-Sea, who is delighted to have

recently taken over from Sally-Ann Thorkildsen as

the visiting teacher for Create Music at St Richard’s.

He studied at the University of Oxford and the

Royal Academy of Music, and now performs with a

wide range of orchestras and ensembles including

the London Handel Players and the Academy of

Ancient Music, with whom he has performed at

venues including the Wigmore Hall and the BBC

Proms. Gavin is an enthusiastic and experienced

teacher; he has previously worked for several years

at Hall Grove Prep School in Ascot, as well as

teaching privately and for the Oxford Cello School.

As well as visiting St Richard’s on Wednesdays,

Gavin is active as a tutor for HAYSO (the Hastings

and Rother Advanced Youth String Orchestra)

for Create Music on Saturday mornings. Please

email Mrs Byrne at mrsbyrne@strichardscc.com

if you require any more information regarding any

instrumental lessons. We have a fantastic team of

teachers who are ready and waiting to teach your

children!

Spotted! One of our talented performers in Year 7, Julia, was spotted

performing at the White Rock Theatre as part of the opera ‘The Elixir of

Love’ on 26th and 27th April. What a fantastic performance opportunity

alongside talented musicians and the cast of the opera; we are all so

proud of you Julia!

Exam Results

Queenie, Year 10 - Grade 5 Piano

Joshua, Year 10 - Grade 5 Piano

Thomas, Year 11 - Grade 5 Alto Saxophone - Distinction

Lottie, Year 7 - Grade 3 Violin - Distinction

Opportunities

Create Music Summer School - Create Music’s Summer School sees

the return of popular courses for young musicians who already learn

to play an instrument alongside increased opportunities for children

who enjoy making music to come and try something new at one of our

many ‘open access’ courses such as Samba Band, Let’s Play Ukulele,

GarageBand, Let’s Sing and the Debut Music Production course. New for

this year is Samba Band at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts,

Summer Sinfonia at St Andrew’s Prep and Composing for Music and Film

at East Sussex College, Eastbourne.

Youth Second Line Band We need wind players and percussionists

age 10-25 to join our second line band. The next round of sessions take

place from May to July on Saturday mornings, in partnership with Create

Music. Plus the band have the chance to perform at various local festivals

this summer! No need to read music. All levels welcome. Register your

interest here.

Year 10 workshop and trip to ‘My Neighbour Totoro’

Year 10 pupils went on a trip to the Barbican Centre in London in March to see the enchanting and mesmerising ‘My

Neighbour Totoro’ by the Royal Shakespeare Company in collaboration with Studio Ghibli. There was beautiful scenery,

funny and heartwarming performances and also…huge puppets! In addition, Year 10 pupils attended a whole day workshop

with Greg Fossard, a professional actor. He gave pupils lots of ideas including techniques and styles they can use when

they start their GCSE Devising coursework very soon. Pupils will work hard on this for the next two terms, filming their work

at the end of next term.

In March, 29 Year 9 and 10 pupils performed their lively and

engaging version of ‘Sad Club’ by Luke Barnes as part of

National Theatre Connections in school. With live singing,

a brilliant live band, dance moves and lovely performances

by all the actors; it was incredibly well received. We then

developed the show even further, after getting positive

and very useful feedback from a professional director, and

took it to the Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells in April.

We were there for a long, exciting and exhausting day,

including a stage lighting workshop, a three hour Tech

Run (that seemed to take about 5 minutes!) followed by

a performance in the evening. The cast, tech crew and

musicians were all amazing, especially those who stepped

up to take on extra parts at the last minute when two cast

members were unfortunately unavailable on the day.

‘Sad Club’ performance and trip to Trinity Theatre in

Tunbridge Wells

Drama Performance Evening

Back in February, pupils performed fantastically at the

Drama Performance Evening. It was a lovely evening

including performances from Year 10 and 11 Drama GCSE

pupils, scenes prepared by Drama Club, LAMDA pieces

and a sneak preview of ‘Sad Club’ scenes. The evening,

ably compered by Sholto and Jack, was lovely and I was

extremely proud of everyone involved!

GCSE Drama Scripted Exams / Exam this week

It’s that time of year where I have to say a very fond farewell

to another awesome GCSE Drama class. They aced their

scripted exam in February and are ready to sit their final

exam on Thursday, 9th May, after which the course will be

finished! Good luck Year 11, you will be missed hugely, and

with such talented actors in the class, I look forward to seeing

what you do in the future!

Page 8

Newsletter 6 - May 2024

Dance

Let’s Dance

Let's Dance recently held their annual performance at the

Congress Theatre, Eastbourne. Let’s Dance brings together

young people from local schools and colleges in a unique

celebration of dance. The Year 10 Dance Company performed,

"Lay Me Down", a piece they choreographed themselves. Well

done to all pupils who took part.

The Dance Showcase

It was so lovely to see all the dance companies back on stage loving what they

do. With dance numbers from street dance, ballet and jazz to name a few, with

additional choreography from Year 10 and 11 pupils. Special recognition to Millie,

Mollie, Ella and Shanon who worked tirelessly on the choreography. Year 11 pupils

completed their final exams in the evening with fantastic feedback from audience

members.Thank you to all who supported the event and for your generous

donations. A big thank you to the PTFA who were on hand to provide refreshments.

Trinity Laban

We were delighted to be invited to spend the day at Trinity

Laban in London. The pupils received a tour of the building, a

talk about CAT (The Centre for Advanced Training) and Dance

careers, pupils had the opportunity to watch CAT ballet and CAT

contemporary technique classes and then take part in a practical

class. We were also able to see what St Richard’s pupils have

been up to while attending the CAT programme. Click here for

more information on Trinity Laban.

SEND

(Special Educational Needs

and Disabilities)

Recruitment

We are very happy to welcome Miss K Cronin to our team

as a Teaching Assistant. Miss Cronin spent time in our

SEND team at St Richard’s in the past as a volunteer, and

we are delighted to see her re-join our team after adding to

her experience at another school.

GCSE examinations

Very good luck to all pupils completing their GCSEs, and

to Year 10s, who following their mock exam results will no

doubt be motivated to start revising early. Today is always

better than tomorrow - or, even better, both! Click here for

some revision tips.

We also look forward to seeing Year 11 at the Prom after

completing their exams.

SEN Magazine

In the most recent issue of the free online SEN Magazine,

there are articles on: Labelling Autism, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

in the classroom; and a suggested route map for transition.