From the Headteacher

Jazz Night

Once again, Jazz Night was a huge success yesterday evening. With performances from the Brass Band, Wind Band, Chamber Choir and Jazz Band, the standard of music was, once again, outstanding. Special mention must also go to our solo performers and singers; the talent they displayed in their individual performances received high praise indeed from the audience. We are very proud to have such a large and talented group of musicians in our school. My thanks go to Mrs Jones and Mr Hinton for the hard work and dedication they put in to organising and rehearsing for our musical performances. Our very first Jazz Night took place in 2012, and it is testament to the standard of music in the School that this evening has remained so popular and a well established annual event in our calendar.

My thanks also go to our PTFA for supporting the evening with their extensive range of refreshments. It goes without saying that the School is incredibly grateful for the hard work of our PTFA volunteers at events such as this, not least because this ultimately enables the PTFA to continue to offer their financial support to all areas of the School, which is invaluable to us and always gratefully received. ?

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors

Further to the email from Miss Tapscott (Deputy Headteacher) in October, a successful application process to establish a team of Anti-Bullying Ambassadors has now been completed. We are pleased to announce that over 35 pupils from all Key Stages have been appointed to promote the respectful and inclusive ethos of Sir Thomas Rich’s School.?As part of Anti-Bullying Week in November, the ambassadors convened for the first time, received their badges, and launched the first whole-school survey to gather student input on their initial areas of focus.?

Over 600 pupils participated in the survey, sharing their views on the issues they would like the team to address. The primary areas of interest included assemblies on diversity, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and how to be an active bystander, as well as organising events to raise awareness and funds for anti-bullying charities.?

In response to this feedback, we have now formed three dedicated teams focused on these key priorities, in addition to planning competitions designed to further engage the school community.?

School Photos

Our school photographers, Gillman & Soame, took Year 7, 9, 11 and 12 portraits and Year 7 class group photographs earlier in the Autumn Term. If you would like to purchase copies and have not already done so, please order these photographs as soon as possible (especially if you would like them for Christmas).

If you have not received an email about placing orders, Gillman & Soame can be contacted directly at [email protected] or on 01869 328200; please quote your child’s name and the password (sirthomasrichs482rcm2024).

Lost Coats

Around this time of year, a number of coats get left behind in classrooms and changing rooms. If your son or daughter has lost a coat, please ask them to check the Lost Property cupboard (by the Old Gym); the key can be obtained from reception. Any that are unnamed and are not claimed by the end of term will be donated to the clothing bank. Our reception team also plan to place lost coats on display in the hall next week in the hope this may help reunite them with their owner. A polite reminder to ensure that name labels are added to coats as well as other items of clothing, kit and shoes.

Non-Uniform Day 13 December

Next Friday will be a non-uniform day, when we will be raising money for the Diana Award. As previously mentioned, this charity was selected during the whole survey set up by the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors. The charity’s mission?is to develop and inspire positive change in the future of young people by working in the community through anti-bullying, mentoring and changemaking initiatives.

Pupils can pay ￡1 to Form Tutors on Friday morning if they wish to wear non-uniform; Christmas jumpers are, of course, encouraged.

The Diana Award

Carol Service

A reminder that the School’s annual Carol Service takes place at Holy Trinity Church, Longlevens, GL2 0AJ on Thursday 19 December at 6.00pm. This is always a wonderful way to end the Autumn Term, and we are grateful to Reverend Rachel Forrest at Holy Trinity for her continued support of the School. Tickets are not required, and all are welcome. (Please note there is limited parking available by the Church Hall.)

End of Term

The last day of term is Friday 20 December, finishing at 12.45pm. Information on bus departure times for the day will follow shortly.

Extracurricular

Finally, huge congratulations go to the Chess Team for their fantastic result in the chess tournament at Bristol Grammar School on Monday 25 November. The team came second out of 24 teams and have now qualified for the regional knock out stages of the English Chess Federation Schools National Competition in the Spring Term. Jovin (Year 11) won all his games, and the rest of the team – Sai (Year 10), Pavel (Year 11), Muthu (Year 10), Neel (Year 11) and Alan (Year 8) – lost just one game each. My thanks go to Mr Moore for co-ordinating our Chess provision and for supporting the team at the tournament. Chess Club takes place in E3 and E4 on Wednesday lunchtimes; players of all abilities in any year group are welcome to go along and find out more.

I hope that you have an enjoyable weekend.

Best wishes

Matthew Lynch

HEADTEACHER