Dear Parents/Carers

Happy New Year! I hope that you all managed to enjoy the holiday period, spending quality time with family and friends.

I am writing to provide you with several updates to staffing and curriculum. Firstly, I would like to inform you that Mrs Evans has been appointed as Head of Year 7 with effect from today. This means that if your child is in year 7, all concerns or support will now be dealt with by Mrs Evans, with the continued support of the pastoral support assistants. Mrs Broughton will continue to be the Head of Year for years 8 and 9. Please remember that in the first instance, all queries or concerns must be directed to your child’s form tutor.

We have reviewed our pastoral support team, and we have made a few adjustments to how the team operates. From this term, Mrs King and Mrs Jamieson will support student behaviour, Mrs Trille will support student attendance and wellbeing, and Mrs Buckoke will support matters relating to safeguarding. 

Mrs Ogilvie has been promoted to Vice Principal. Mrs Ogilvie will continue to oversee all aspects of safeguarding as the school’s Designated Safeguarding Leader (DSL). In addition to this role, she will oversee the personal development curriculum.

With regards to curriculum, I wanted to share the disappointing news that we were unable to recruit a new Food Technology teacher to start with us this term to replace Mr Brainwood. We are confident that we will make an appointment this term, meaning they will be able to start with us after the Easter break. The impact of this in the meantime is that students in years 7, 8, and 9 will not have food lessons as part of their curriculum this term. As a temporary measure, we are providing students with an additional lesson of Maths/English/Science that will be facilitated in a computer room. Students will be set work that addresses gaps in learning from the recent progress 1 assessments. 

I would like to reassure you that we will continue to do what we can to secure a food technology teacher as soon as possible so that the subject can be put back onto the curriculum after the Easter break. I would like to reassure parents that there is no impact on students in year 10. Mrs Evans will be teaching these groups and students will continue to study both practical elements and theory based elements of the course. 

Yours faithfully

Jonathan Firth

Dear Parents/Carers,

As we reach the final day of the autumn term, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what has been a busy and productive few months. Impressively, students have already completed nearly 40% of the academic year!

Our Year 11 students have had an outstanding term. They’ve worked diligently on their BTEC components, which contribute to their final grades, and have shown resilience during the recent mock exams. This week, they participated in a session with Educational Psychologist Dr. Van Der Spoel, who shared valuable strategies for exam preparation and revision. Feedback from the session has been overwhelmingly positive, and we plan to invite Dr. Van Der Spoel back for further sessions in the near future.

As we approach Christmas, we’ve enjoyed a range of festive activities to celebrate students’ hard work. Our Advent Attendance Rewards concluded today, with lucky winners receiving Christmas hampers. On Monday evening, there was a fantastic #TeamRushden effort supporting the Rushden Round Table’s Sleigh Run, raising money for local charities. Additionally, we held Christmas parties throughout the week to recognise excellent attendance and positive behaviour, alongside our half-termly attendance prize draw.

For those students who didn’t win this term, there will be more chances next term to get involved in these celebrations by maintaining strong attendance and demonstrating #TeamRushden values.
This year’s school panto was a resounding success! The performances by staff and students were phenomenal, and it was heartwarming to see so many parents, students, and staff—both past and present—joining us for the event. Thank you for your tremendous support.

We are incredibly proud of our students working towards their Rushden Starr badges and ties. Today, we celebrated their achievements during rewards assemblies, and I look forward to holding a special event next term to celebrate their continued dedication. I look forward to seeing students wearing their badges and ties with pride when we return in January.

A quick reminder: school reopens on Monday, 6th January 2025. As we return, we will reboot our uniform expectations. This is something that we will now continue to do at the start of each half term. Please ensure students return to school wearing the correct uniform. For those needing support, we have a stock of spare uniforms available to assist.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support. It is a privilege to lead such an amazing school with a dedicated team of staff who go above and beyond for our community.

We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope you enjoy quality time with loved ones, and look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2025.

Yours sincerely

Jonathan Firth

Principal