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Newsletter 1 - September 2024
A High Performing Specialist Science School
September 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 1
Dates for Term 1
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope that the holidays were good and that you managed
to get some time to rest and recharge, ready for the new
academic year. Thank you for supporting us in ensuring that
the children returned to school dressed in accordance with
our expectations and standards which means they are well
placed to start the year in a really positive manner, ready for
the challenges and successes of the coming months.
As you will see in this edition, it has already been a very busy
term and we've only really been back for a couple of weeks!
It has been wonderful to welcome Year 7 and Year 10 parents
and carers to information evenings where we've shown the
different strategies that can be used to support children as
they begin their journey at secondary school and GCSE
respectively. As we've already begun to explore, often,
success is a matter of adopting small positive behaviours and
embedding them in our work so that they become habits that
help, not just at school, but in wider life.
We have also been busily touring our feeder primary
schools, telling prospective children and parents what life at
St Richard's is like and introducing them to senior staff and
senior pupils. This will culminate in our Open Evening on
October 2nd, where we are looking forward to welcoming
those families who are seeking places for their children in
Year 7 from September 2025. The evening will begin at 4.30
and, to prepare appropriately, school will end for pupils at
1.15pm.
In addition to the new pupils and staff who have started this
term, we also welcome Mr Richard Parker-Harding as the
new Chair of Governors. He succeeds Mrs Alison Horan
whom I would like to thank, not just for her contribution to the
school over many years, but also her support of me since my
start in January. You can find more governor news later in
this newsletter.
You will also remember that I wrote to you earlier in the year
to propose a change to the Parental Focus Groups. Moving
forward, I'd like to ask that we convene a Parental Council
with representatives from parents and carers from across
the school. The group would meet at set points throughout
the year, both on-line and in person with an agenda set
and organised by the parental group. This would allow
you the opportunity to raise matters with me and members
of the senior team which could then be fed back to the
parental body through agreed minutes. Ideally, we'd have
representatives of parents in each year group and begin in
January. If you are interested in discussing this idea with me
in more detail, please contact admin@strichardscc.com and
put 'Parental Partnership' in the subject line. I look forward
to hearing from you and convening a date to begin this
important work.
May I take this opportunity to thank you for your continued
support and wish you a wonderful autumn term. As always,
you'll find the important dates for the coming term below and
the link to the live parental diary is here.
Paul Barber
Principal
PTFA Welcome Meeting & AGM
-
Monday, 16th September (7.00pm - 8.00pm)
Year 10 & 11 Revision Evening
-
Thursday, 19th September (5.00pm)
Coffee Morning for Year 7 parents
-
Friday, 20th September (8:30am-10:30am)
Key Stage 3 Curriculum Evening
-
Tuesday, 24th September at 6.00pm
Year 7 & 8 Disco
-
Friday, 27th September (7.00pm-9.00pm)
Open Evening
-
Wednesday, 2nd October (4.30-7.00pm)
Grandparents’ Celebration Mass and Tours
-
Thursday, 10th October
Year 11 Mocks start
-
Tuesday, 15th October
Year 11 Mocks end
-
Wednesday, 23rd October
Year 7 Induction Mass
-
Thursday, 24th October (6:30pm)
End of Term 1 for pupils
-
Friday, 25th October
Pastoral Reports
Year 8
Year 7
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Newsletter 1 - September 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
Community: School attendance is one of the most
important factors in education. Accessing lessons at this
stage will create the foundational knowledge required for
success. Similarly, completing homework and engagement
in lessons will help to create a positive school experience for
everyone. Outside of the classroom, we cannot forget that
we continue to be a community, representing ourselves and
our school when out and about and online. Social Media is
a brilliant tool for building friendships and connecting with
others. It is important we practise using technology safely
and kindly to protect ourselves as well as others. Speaking
of community, I look forward to each form's charity event this
year, allowing pupils to give their time and effort generously
in support of others. We are rewarded through selfless
action, and these events can make a real difference for
those in need.
I am looking forward to working with parents, carers, families
and children to ensure we have a fantastic and successful
year. Please do get in touch if you wish to discuss any
aspect of your child’s learning, progress or wellbeing. We
can all work together to ensure all our children can achieve
their God-given potential.
Mrs Murphy, Pastoral Leader Year 8
mrsmurphy@strichardscc.com
I would like to start by welcoming all
Year 8 pupils and their families to St
Richard's this year, after what I hope
was a restful summer break. Here at St
Richards, we are dedicated to providing
the highest standards of pastoral care
to ensure all pupils have the best
possible experiences whilst at school.
I am incredibly excited to be joining the Pastoral Team, and
I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this wonderful year
group. We have an amazing team of tutors who are available
every day to support our children, and we are looking forward
to working together to provide the best provision and care
possible. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with your
child's form tutor if you have any questions or concerns at any
stage of the school year.
This year: Year 8 is such an important time for children. It is
crucial to establish good work habits and time management,
as well as building self-confidence, resilience, responsibility
and ambition. Year 8 is a year of change and development,
so it is important that we work together to guide our pupils
and help them to build on positive behaviours and outcomes,
whilst also allowing everyone to flourish into well-rounded and
unique individuals with their own sets of values and identities.
As such, I encourage all pupils to take on some extra-
curricular activities or responsibilities to make the most of their
school experiences and create lifelong memories. Please take
a look at the extra-curricular opportunities available.
PSHEe: The PSHEe programme is hugely important this
year. Pupils begin this term with ‘Managing My Life’, where
we learn self-management regarding homework, time and
independence.
This is to prepare pupils to balance their teenage years
between the rigorous demands of academic success and
their personal social time. I also encourage pupils to consider
active rest, building self-care into our routines to ensure we
keep our minds and bodies healthy. Looking after ourselves
has to be the number one priority. If needed, academic,
health and counselling support are all available through
school via self-referral, tutors or Pastoral Leaders.
Welcome to the Year 7 section of our
newsletter. I am sure your child has come
home full of news of their day and wakes
up excited for what lies ahead for them. In
our section of the newsletter I bring to your
attention upcoming events, things that
have happened at school and important
information I feel you need to be aware of.
As mentioned at the Transition Workshop last week, the year
group will strive to be kind, give their best and make a difference
to someone else. I am sure they will rise to the challenge!
What is coming up next?
•
Friday, 20th September - Coffee morning (to discuss concerns) with Mr Bligh & Mr Smith (SENCO), 8:30am-10:30am
•
Friday, 27th September - Year 7 Disco, 19:00- 21:00 (more details to follow)
•
Wednesday, 2nd October - Open Evening: (early closure for all pupils)
•
Friday, 18th October - Newsletter no.2
•
Thursday, 24th October - Induction Mass,18:30 start
•
End of Term 1: Friday, 25th October - End of Term 1
Lost property: Lost property. A big plea for help here.
Please can you label your child’s belongings. The
chances of it being reunited with them if it isn’t labelled is
slimmer than if it is.
PSHEe: Each Tuesday, all pupils spend an extended
registration period with their form tutor exploring themes
from our PSHEe curriculum. In Term 1, pupils will be
exploring the following topics- Road safety (East Sussex
Theatre group), forming positive relationships, dealing
with change, this is me, rail safety & growing and
changing.
Who to contact? As a parent/carer, it is sometimes confusing to know who to contact if you have a question
or concern. Please click here to view a basic flow chart of who to speak to if you have a question or concern.
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Newsletter 1 - September 2024
Mrs Hills, Pastoral Leader Year 9, (mrshillsa@strichardscc.com)
Year 9
I would like to begin the year by wishing
both parents/carers and pupils a warm
welcome to Year 9 and hope that you
and your families have had a good
summer break.
I am delighted to be leading this year group and the excellent
form tutors in Year 9 who will continue to do a wonderful job
of supporting your children; I would urge you to contact them
if you have any questions or concerns. Having taught many
of the year group and had a detailed transition handover
from Mr Steele, I am already aware that they are a lovely and
talented year group. I look forward to guiding them through to
the conclusion of their Key Stage 3 education and supporting
them in their choices for GCSE.
PSHEe: Year 9 will focus on some crucial topics in PSHEe
this year, including confidence, exploitation, finance,
careers and RSE.
Support: Now that your child is in Year 9 and, in some
subjects they are already on their GCSE pathway, it
is more important than ever to keep a track on their
progress at home. There are a range of support services
available for pupils in Year 9. These range from one to one
mentoring for academic support to health and counselling
support, should it be required. Your child can self-refer to
these support services through their form tutor or myself.
Please do not hesitate to get in contact should you wish
to discuss any aspect of your child’s learning, progress
or well-being. I look forward to working with you in
partnership to ensure that Year 9 is as successful and
happy as possible for your child.
Mr Steele, Associate Assistant Principal,
Pastoral Leader Year 10
mrsteelej@strichardscc.com
Year 10
Welcome back, Year 10, and welcome
to new pupils starting with us this term. I
am delighted and privileged to lead this
year group, and will do my best to ensure
pupils in my care have the best possible
experience at St Richard’s.
I am certain that the tutor team will continue to do a wonderful
job of supporting your children, and I am very much looking
forward to working with them. I’d urge you to contact them
directly via EduLink if you have any questions or concerns.
On Monday, 9th September, we had the Year 10
Curriculum Evening at 6pm in the school hall. This included
presentations from English, Maths and Science, as well as
revision techniques. The resources from this event have been
shared with you.
PSHEe: This term we will be concentrating on Keeping
Safe, including Domestic and Sexual Abuse, Alcohol,
Bullying and making positive choices.
Please can you make time each week to read the Year 10
Weekly Bulletin that will be emailed to you via EduLink.
I will try to keep it as brief and useful as possible! I am
looking forward to working in partnership with you to
ensure your child has a fantastic Year 10. Please do not
hesitate to contact me at any point if I can be of help.
Year 11
I have been pleased to see Year 11
return in a mature and positive manner.
On Thursday, 19th September we have
a Year 11 Revision evening at 5pm in
the school hall. This will be presented
by the renowned and acclaimed
education expert Michele Miller.
Michelle has been facilitating this evening for the last 10
years and it has been highly praised and rated by previous
parents. This is for the parents only as the techniques will
have been covered with Year 11 during the day.
PSHEe: This term we will be concentrating on college
presentations from local institutions and careers. We
will be looking at writing personal statements for college
applications, as well as covering topics on the importance
of sleep, gambling, extremism, community cohesion and
mock exam preparation.
Please can you make time each week to read the Year 11
Weekly Bulletin that will be emailed to you via Edulink. I will
make it as brief and concise as I can.
Intervention: After school intervention will begin on
Monday, 23rd September and will be available to all in most
subjects. I will contact you with a finalised timetable soon.
Mr R Doherty, Assistant Principal
Pastoral Leader Year 11
mrdohertyr@strichardscc.com
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Newsletter 1 - September 2024
Support:
Now that your son/daughter is in Key Stage 4, it is more
important than ever to keep a track of their progress and
work completed at home. Please utilise all of the functions
on EduLink to monitor House Points, consequences and
homework, as well as attendance and the school calendar.
Please look through your son/daughter’s books regularly
and discuss deadlines concerning homework assignments
to ensure that adequate work is being completed outside of
school time.
Support at home:
There are a variety of support services for your son/daughter
should they need extra help during. These range from
one-to-one mentoring for academic support, to health and
counselling support should it be required. Your son/daughter
can self-refer to these via their Form Tutor or Pastoral
Leader.
Attendance
Holidays/Withdrawal from learning forms: Applying for
withdrawal from learning can be done by clicking here and
accessing the Withdrawal from Learning form. This must
be completed and sent to the Attendance ofÏce before the
start of the date/s you are requesting. The Department for
Education will only allow a headteacher to grant a leave of
absence if there are exceptional circumstances.
Educational Welfare OfÏcer: Where absences are
unauthorised or attendance drops below 90%, a referral
to the Educational Welfare OfÏcer may occur. This support
involves attendance targets being set, home visits, 1:1
support for pupils and attendance meetings in school. Where
needed, a referral to the Local Authority for attendance
support may be considered.
Policy: To access the Attendance Policy, please click here.
Reporting absences: In line with County policy, parents/
carers are required to report the absence on each day
a pupil is away from school. This must be done through
EduLink, or by emailing attendance@strichardscc.com. If
you are unable to report the absence through EduLink or
email, please call the school on 01424 731070 and select
the automated number for pupil absences, leaving a clear
message identifying your child’s name, form group and
reason for absence.
Continuous absences (Medical evidence): We monitor
all pupils' attendance rates, and in cases of long term (more
than 3 days) and frequent (after the third separate episode)
absence, the school will require medical evidence. This can
be a copy of prescriptions, appointment cards, hospital or
doctor’s letters. Until this is provided, the absence will be
marked as unauthorised.
Medical appointments: Where possible, please ensure
appointments are made outside of school hours. We
appreciate that this may not always be possible, so if an
appointment does occur during the school day, please report
it using the usual method of absence reporting through
EduLink. In order for these appointments to be authorised,
we will need to see proof of the appointments, which can be
emailed to attendance@strichardscc.com
Contacting the Attendance OfÏce
If you have any questions surrounding your
child's attendance, please contact us by emailing
attendance@strichardscc.com
Key Stage 4 General Guidance
Homework:
Homework should be around two hours per evening.
There should never be an occasion when you are told ‘I
have no homework’ or ‘no homework has been set’ as
pupils should be building a habit of revision as soon as
possible. Homework is essential in supporting the learning
within school, and this year, it is crucial that it is being
completed in depth and on time.
It cannot be stressed enough just how important it is that,
wherever possible, your son/daughter is in every lesson
and attends every day. It is no coincidence that the pupils
who were the most successful this year with their GCSEs
had excellent attendance. If you find that your child is
struggling with homework or the amount of work or the
challenge of GCSEs, then please contact the Pastoral
Leader to work out a plan to utilise a mentor or arrange for
your child to attend intervention or after school Prep Club.
Email communication
All email communication from the school is via EduLink.
Please ensure that you have EduLink One installed on your mobile phone.
Any problems or queries, please email IT Services at: helpme@strichardscc.com
Whisper Report
Anonymous Reporting Form
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Newsletter 1 - September 2024
Safeguarding and Emotional Wellbeing
Welcome to a new term, I hope that you had a peaceful
summer break. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of
children is defined as:
•
Providing help and support to meet the needs of children
as soon as problems emerge.
•
Protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is
within or outside the home, including online.
•
Preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical
health or development.
•
Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances
consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
•
Taking action to enable children to have the best
outcomes.
At St Richard’s we have a team of staff dedicated to
supporting the welfare and wellbeing of our pupils. We work
with external agencies and specialists when necessary to
ensure that pupils get the highest level of support available.
The Hive continues to have a drop-in
service available before school, breaktime
and lunchtime for pupils to discuss any
concerns or worries.
If you wish to report a concern anonymously please use
the Whisper Tool on the Schools website here, then this
can be explored further by staff in the Hive.
Year 10 Student Listeners
Livia
Julie
Gwen
Alan
Cerise
Amy
Isabel
Oliver
Ben
Gabriella
Saffron
Summer
Anna
Evana
Demelza
Georgina
Olivia
Kosi
Hazel
Nathaniel
Jack
Jessamy
Bethan
Victoria
Congratulations to the Year 10 Student Listener team for 2024-2025.
They will be working alongside Mr Bligh and the Year 7 tutors to provide
the very best support to our new Year 7s. Our Student Listeners
meet weekly with Year 7 form groups during registration, and are also
available during break and lunchtimes on the Year 7 playground to
provide peer support and a listening ear. During form time, they will
discuss topics that we know are vital to ensuring a smooth transition
into secondary school.
We explore a variety of issues such as friendships, establishing good routines and how to make the most of their time at
St Richard’s, as well as providing peer mentoring to pupils as and when required. Parents/Carers will also see Student
Listeners at Parents Evenings and other key social events throughout the year.
I am very much looking forward to working with Year 10 who are very committed to making a difference to our community
and welcoming our new year 7s. Well done to the new cohort listed below. Miss Tester
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Newsletter 1 - September 2024
The Crest Award
The Crest Award is a voluntary project which all pupils are
encouraged to complete between Year 8 and the end of Year 10.
The Award recognises pupils who go the extra mile to get involved in
activities outside of the classroom and within the community. There
are 3 levels of Crest Award that can be achieved. Once a pupil has
completed 4 of the 8 tasks, they will receive the Bronze Award, 6
completed tasks will achieve the Silver Award and completing all
of the 8 tasks results in the Gold Award. A certificate and badge
is awarded for each. Although it is a voluntary project, there is an
expectation that all pupils who wish to be considered for prefect
status will have completed at least the Silver Crest Award before they
make their application during Year 10.
Each year group has their own Google classroom where they can
submit their work. Instructions for how to complete the award and
what each task involves can be found in the relevant year groups
Google classrooms. Each task within the Crest Award is marked
by a member of staff. Their details can be found at the end of the
instructions for each task on Google classrooms. Mrs Ellis from The
Hive collates all of the marked tasks and awards the badges and
certificates throughout the academic year.
If you would like to know more about the Crest Award, or have any
questions, please email Mrs Ellis at thehive@strichardscc.com
Mrs Ellis, Mrs Holder & Mrs Taylor-Singfield
Wellbeing/Anti-bullying Ambassadors and
Heads/Deputy Heads of Houses
This term we will be asking Years 7-10 to apply
for the roles of Wellbeing Ambassadors, which
includes Anti-Bullying. A job description will be
sent to the Form Tutors asking pupils to apply and
send a sentence about why it is such an important
role and how they would like to develop this
throughout the school. Assemblies will be held in
the first few weeks to explain this.
We will also be asking Year 9 and 10 to apply
for Heads and Deputy Heads of House. The job
descriptions and applications will again be sent to
Form Tutors. Assemblies will also be held about
applications.
All of these roles are very important to the school
and pupils are encouraged to develop their ideas
on how they feel it works best. This year, we
will be teaming up with the Student Council for a
really cohesive Pupil Leadership Team. We are
really excited to see how our wonderful teams will
develop ideas.
Pupil Leadership
Pupil Leadership is going to look a little different this year: we will now hold two Pupil Leader meetings a term where School
Council, Wellbeing Ambassadors and Heads of Houses all meet together, overseen by a selection of Senior Prefects and our
new Head Boy & Head Girl. In doing so, we aim to streamline event planning, charity work and pupil voice. Our first meeting
will take place on 7th October.
Student Senior Leadership Team
Head Boy & Head Girl
Deputy Head Boys & Deputy Head Girls
Senior Prefects
Deputy Heads of House
Student Listeners
Careers Ambassadors
Form Captains
Heads of House
Wellbeing Ambassadors
Prefects
School Council
Two Prefects oversee
Wellbeing Ambassadors
Two House Prefects
oversee each House
Oversee School Council
Applications for Pupil Leader roles opened this week and deadlines for submission are Monday, 16th September.
Wellbeing Ambassadors and Heads of House applications are to be sent to Mrs Taylor-Singfield. School Council
applications are to be sent to Mrs Holder. Included in the Pupil Leader calendar for this term are House assemblies and
World Mental Health Day.
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Newsletter 1 - September 2024
SEND
(Special Educational Needs
and Disabilities)
A very warm welcome back to all pupils, and welcome in
particular to our new Year 7s. All of us in the SEND team hope
the term is already off to a great start, and that with the right
support, our learners will have a fantastic year at St. Richard’s.
StafÏng update: We are delighted to welcome Mrs White,
Miss Hanlon, Miss Lawrence and Mrs Seal to our department
as Learning Support Assistants (LSA) and Individual Needs
Assistants (INA). We wish them all well and that they enjoy
a successful and rewarding post with us. We also warmly
welcome back Mrs Tadros (Specialist Assessor – part time)
who returns this term after a period of illness, and congratulate
also Miss K. Cronin on her new role as an LSA.
How to contact us and find us: Mr Smith and Mrs Britt are
based in the SEND OfÏce. This is in ‘A’ Block, next door to A4.
Beside our ofÏce is our intervention space known as the Old
Chapel. We can be contacted by email as follows: Mr I. Smith,
SENCo – mrsmithi@strichardscc.com, Mrs K. Britt, Learning
Support Co-ordinator – mrsbrittk@strichardscc.com
SEND clubs: Lunch Clubs: Our lunchtime club runs daily as a
quieter space for pupils to eat their lunch, have a chat and play
games during their lunch break. There is a room available daily
for Years 7 and 8, and a separate room for Years 9, 10 and
11. Please see the timetable on the SEND OfÏce door. Other
lunchtime clubs and activities, which are available to all year
group, and are warmly encouraged for all pupils.
Prep Club and Prep Club Plus: At St Richard’s, we offer
two after school homework clubs:
Prep Club: with Ms Hubbard in BICT Mondays-Thursdays
from 3:15pm – 4.45pm and 3:15pm – 4:15pm on Fridays.
Prep Club is available to all pupils as a supervised space
where they can access PCs to complete their homework at
the end of the school day.
Prep Club Plus: CICT from 3:25pm – 4:25pm (Mondays –
Thursdays). Prep Club Plus is for SEND pupils who benefit
from additional support to complete their homework,
supported by our team of Teaching Assistants/LSAs.
SEN Magazine: Please click here for the latest issue of the
free online SEN Magazine – there is usually something of
interest in every issue, for example this issue has a feature
on law relating to SEN.
Wishing you all a very happy new school year.
Mr Smith and all in the SEND team
GCSE results: Congratulations to all pupils who collected
their GCSE results this summer. There was so much to be
proud of and to celebrate. Pupils as they collected strong
results, with 40% of our SEN cohort achieving 4s in English
and Maths, and 60% of the same pupils achieving at least
one grade 5 or above. Congratulations to you all for your
wonderful achievements!
Mrs Ellis, Mrs Holder & Mrs Taylor-Singfield
Geography
Mr Skilton, Subject Leader Geography
Year 11 GCSE results
Congratulations to our recent leavers for their absolutely
wonderful GCSE results, with almost half of all the
pupils achieving a grade 7 or above. The results are
a testament to their hard work, perseverance, and an
awful lot of revision! We are so proud of all our pupils
and wish them all the best in their future adventures.
Block Day
During Term 6 our Year 9 GCSE Geography pupils
completed their fieldwork data collection with a
coastal investigation and an urban comparison study.
We had fabulous weather and we were impressed
by the effort and positivity shown by all pupils. This
is a compulsory part of the course and essential in
preparing them for the Paper 3 exam at the end of
Year 11.
Eco Schools
We are delighted to report that St Richard’s
has been successful in achieving Eco Schools
Status with Distinction! Congratulations and
thank you to all pupils and staff involved in
our sustainability initiatives during the last
academic year.
Isle of Wight Residential
Term 6 saw another fantastic residential field-trip to the Isle of
Wight with 44 of our Year 10 pupils. Pupils learnt about contrasting
examples of coastal management in Portsmouth and in the
beautiful surroundings along the eastern coast of the island.They
also had an engaging talk by a fossil expert, followed by a guided
fossil hunt along the sandy beach! There were lots of discoveries.
The Year 10s then studied river processes in action through a
journey from the source to the mouth of the River Medina - great
preparation for the first topic of Year 11. On Sunday, pupils put
down their clipboards and took to a variety of PGL activities
including the giant swing, vertical challenge, archery and axe
throwing! Great fun was had by all.
Music
If your child would like to sign up for
music lessons, please either follow
the link below or contact Mrs Byrne at
mrsbyrner@strichardscc.com
Extra-Curricular timetable
Music Lessons
Page 8
Newsletter 1 - September 2024
Dance
End of Year Mass
Year 11 BTEC pupils danced ‘The Gathering’ at the End of Year
Mass in July. This was a piece of choreography jointly created
in their lessons with Mrs Knight. Setting the Mass for prayer
and reflection, the dancers danced to an instrumental piece
‘Hallelujah’ which was played so beautifully by Year 11 pupil
Josh. Thank you all who took part.
Welcome back to the dance department 2024-2025! We
hope that you had a fantastic relaxing summer holiday and
are all ready to get back into the dance studio having fun
and learning new and exciting things.
Trinity Laban
At the end of last term Millie, Elisa, Eliza,
Bea and Chloe took part in Trinity Laban's
end of year show as part of the CAT scheme.
The Trinity Laban Centre for Advanced
Dance Training (CAT) is an innovative
scheme, funded by the Department of
Education, offering young people who have
exceptional talent and potential in dance the
opportunity to take part in a training session.
Dance Company Auditions
To audition, all you need to do is attend. Do not worry if you have not had
any dance training, Mrs Knight will be looking for all kinds of dancers and
personalities. All you need is energy, commitment and enthusiasm. Auditions
are on Monday, 23rd September and will run from 3.20pm until 4.30pm. If you
are successful, regular rehearsals will be held after school and you will need
to commit to the Company. If you would like to audition, please speak to Mrs
Knight to sign up prior to the audition. Come, join us, and try something new!
Extra-Curricular
There are many exciting things planned for this year. We continue our partnership
with Bexhill College, Brighton University and Canterbury University. We have
lots of events already booked and the annual Dance Showcase planned. Look
out for details in future newsletters. The Friday afternoon domain of the St
Richard’s Catholic College Boys’ Dance Company is back! We do not require
the boys to audition, just to show commitment and real passion for dance. They
will experience dance through live performance and workshops, experience
performances in professional theatres and work with professional practitioners.
Costume Donation
I am sure you can imagine, the cost of costumes incurs a significant expense
for the dance department. Therefore, if you are able to donate £20 towards the
costumes, it really would be greatly appreciated. Costume donations can be
made through the school shop here.
Create Music gives children, young
people and adults the chance to explore
their passion for music through lessons,
ensembles, projects, workshops,
orchestras and summer schools.
Create Music:
www.createmusic.org.uk
Page 9
Newsletter 1 - September 2024
Chaplaincy
Jo Doyle (Lay Chaplain) Email: missdoylej@strichardscc.com
Hello, and a warm welcome back to school after what I hope
was a restful and fun holiday. I extend a warm welcome
to all our new pupils and staff. We wish a fond farewell to
those who left us at the end of last school year, and wish
them well for the future.
Good Shepherd Mass
Year 7 and 8 Caritas Leaders joined other diocesan schools
in Worth Abbey in July to celebrate the annual Good
Shepherd Mass. It was a reflective celebration focused on
the beautiful words of the Lord’s Prayer. Erwyna and Layla
brought forward a Cross we made in DT with the words of
the prayer in the languages taught in our school. Caritas
Leaders were delighted to have their picture taken with
Bishop Richard after the Mass was over and to chat to him.
Primary Retreat Days
At the end of the school year, myself and some of the
wonderful Caritas Leaders visited our feeder Primary
schools to deliver a retreat. It was wonderful meeting some
of our incoming Year 7. Caritas Leaders led them in creating
prayer journals and then we split into different workshops.
These were entirely led by the Caritas Leaders and included
prayer through sign language, prayer with music, Biblical
drama, and creating communal bidding prayers and
dramatic readings. My thanks to the team for their hard
work. It was lovely to see them take charge and lead on this.
End of Year Mass
It is always joyful to be together as a whole school to
celebrate Mass. We began with an insightful reflective
piece by the dance company, accompanied by Josh on
the violin. My thanks to Mrs Knight, the dancers and
Josh for creating this lovely reflection. My thanks to the
wonderful Choir led by Mrs Byrne and our Orchestra led
by Mrs Potter for enhancing the celebration with beautiful
music. My thanks must also go to Altar servers and all who
helped the Mass to run so smoothly. It was joyful to then
have the Head Boy, Head Girl and Deputies return to hand
over the responsibility of these leadership roles to the
newly elected Year 10 pupils.
PE
We welcome all pupils back to PE at St Richard’s this academic year
and especially welcome our new Year 7 pupils as they begin their PE
journey awith us
Thank you
Mr Varney retired from his teaching role at the end of Term 6. We wish
him all the very best in his retirement and thank him for over 40 years
of service in teaching. Almost all of those years were at St Richard’s!
We are however, fortunate to still have Mr Varney involved in PE
in our school community, as he will be continuing with his Primary
School PE Coordinator role.
GCSE PE and BTEC Sport results
Congratulations to our Year 11 leavers who took an accredited course
in PE. They have left St Richard’s with an outstanding set of GCSE
and BTEC grades. We are extremely proud of their achievements. It
is a reflection of their positive attitudes and of the hard work they put
into their studies.
Extra-Curricular PE
We aim for every pupil at St Richard’s to be
motivated to attend at least one PE club every
week. Therefore, we have packed in as many
opportunities for PE clubs as possible, before
school, at lunchtime and after school. There are
a range of activities/sports on the clubs timetable
here, so hopefully there is something for everyone.
The PE clubs offered will change termly. We
welcome any suggestions for new clubs. Pupils
should speak to their Sports Council rep or a
member of the PE department if they would like to
know if any particular activity is likely to be included
later in the year.
We love to hear about pupils' sporting achievements
and successes outside of school, so please
continue to email these in.
Sports Captains
We were very impressed with our sports captains
last year. They were excellent role models for
their peers. We will be recruiting our new Sports
Captains this term for the new academic year.
Pupils will have all of the relevant information
shared with them explaining how to apply within the
next couple of weeks.
Mr Dallaway, Subject Leader PE
GCSE PE results 2023/24
Grades 7 - 9
32%
Grades 6 - 9
57%
Grades 5 - 9
93%
Grades 4 - 9
100%
BTEC Sport results 2023/24
Level 2 Merit
36%
Level 2 Pass (or above) 50%
Level 1 Distinction (or above) 86%
Level 1 Merit (or above) 100%
Page 10
Newsletter 1 - September 2024
Maths
The Maths team would like to wish all pupils a happy return
to school and to Maths lessons. A special welcome to the
school goes out to our new Year 7 pupils. Details of how
we plan to set Year 7 can be found later in this section. We
would also like to congratulate last year’s Year 11 on their
excellent results and hope that this year’s Year 11 pupils are
ready to work hard to try and emulate those results.
We look forward to starting the final exam run-in with our
new Year 11 cohort in September. Details of intervention and
revision sessions are to follow. Remember that you have
a full mock Maths exam alongside exams in other subjects
later in Term 1. Your summer MathsWatch homework was
designed to help you prepare for these exams so hopefully
you have now completed this. If you have any questions
regarding these exams then please do contact your child’s
class teacher or Mr Clark, the Key Stage 4 Coordinator for
Mathematics for this year.
Getting Ready for Maths Lessons
Please ensure that you are ready for your Maths lessons
at the start of this academic year by bringing the correct
equipment. You must have a pen, pencil, ruler, rubber,
scientific calculator, protractor and a pair of compasses with
you for every lesson.
Regarding calculators, I personally prefer any Casio model
similar to the pictures shown here but the company Sharp
also produces a good model.
Year 7 pupils will take an assessment in Term 1. We will use
the results from this assessment, any information received
from their primary school and their performance in class
to place them in a maths set by the end of the first term. If
you have any questions regarding this process please do
contact your child’s class teacher or Mr Eyre, the Key Stage 3
Coordinator for Mathematics.
Pupils start their GCSE course in this subject at the start
of Year 9. If any pupils or their parents/carers would like to
order GCSE revision resources, a letter will be handed to
your child in class in the first few weeks, giving information on
how to purchase resources using ParentPay. If you do not
receive this letter or want to order for a child in another year
group, then please ask for a copy of the letter from your class
teacher or Mr Eyre.
Mathematics is a tough GCSE and you should expect to
struggle in some lessons. Please be prepared to work hard
in lessons, to make mistakes (we all do!) and then learn
from them. That struggling feeling is you going out of your
comfort zone and learning new things. Keep persevering
and eventually you will master the concepts that you initially
struggled with.
I wish you every success with Mathematics this year. Please
do get in touch with your child’s class teacher in the first
instance if you have any questions regarding Maths lessons.
Mr R Jacobs
Senior Assistant Principal & Subject Leader for Mathematics
Science
Young Investigators - Monday Lunchtimes - Year 7
Ask your Science teacher about Young Investigators, where
Mrs Fox will show you exciting practical activities you won't
have the time to do in your lessons. See write up and photos
below.
Archaeology club - Thursday after school - Year 7 - 9
Ask Miss Vince about Archaeology Club, where you will learn
about being an archaeologist, with plenty of practical activities
Electronics club - Tuesday after school - Invite only
Ask Mr Curtis about joining electronics club, where you
will learn about soldering, building circuits and other basic
electronics skills.
Warhammer club - Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime
Ask Mr Filsell about Warhammer club, where you will
fundraise for, build, paint and play with Warhammer
miniatures.
STEM Technicians club (from Term 2)
Ask Miss Roycroft about the STEM technicians club. Explore
different technician roles in STEM and see how different
careers link with Science, with hand-ons activities.
Science drop-in - Wednesday after school
Ask your Science teacher about Science drop-in, where Miss
Vince will be on hand to help you with any Science work you
need.
We have a busy term in Science coming up. As well as welcoming all our new
Year 7s we have a range of extra curricular clubs on offer.
Science Club Young Investigators 2024-2025
Do you like Science experiments using practical equipment or working
in a science lab? Then this could be the lunch club for you. Young
investigators is a fun and practical science club. This year it is open to
all KS3 students in Years 7, 8 and 9. It runs every Monday lunchtime
in Lab 1 with Mrs Fox and Mrs Curtis. We will do a range of practical
activities throughout the year covering a variety of Biology, Chemistry
and Physics topics. The emphasis is always on practicals and there
is no written work required. Students have thoroughly enjoyed this
club over the years and it is a great way to use more equipment and
improve your practical skills in science. Here are a selection of photos
from last year’s club showing some of the activities. If you would like
any more information, please see Mrs Fox in the Science department.