Dear Parent / Carer

This week is a very exciting week for Team Rushden as tonight we are attending the Northamptonshire Education Awards as our Social Action Squad are finalists for the Environmental and Sustainability award. We are really excited to be attending this evening on behalf of the students, and we will keep you posted via our social media channels!

The social action squad have continued with their busy schedule again this week. They have visited a local primary school to support their reading programme, and continued their support in the local community with litter picking. The squad continues to grow in popularity and we will continue to support this amazing movement and the excellent work they continue to do.

It is a always a pleasure to read feedback from individuals and organisations who complement our students when they are on trips, and I wanted to share with you the feedback we received this week from our trip to Cranfield University:

I just wanted to say thank you for bringing such an amazing set of pupils to the event yesterday. They were polite and engaged, and a genuinely lovely bunch to spend the day with, a real credit to the hard work that you all do at Rushden. Please say thanks to all your lovely staff again for me. 

I am sure you will join me in passing on our thanks to Cranfield University for their support and for working with us, and to our amazing team who continue to go above and beyond to help provide opportunities for our students.

On Wednesday a group of our student leaders participated in an event where they were able to demonstrate their amazing leadership skills. These events are always very popular with students providing them with a platform to demonstrate how amazing they are!

Several weeks ago, I shared information about how we are trying to find ways to support student safety after school in the car parking area. You will have noticed that we are now leaving the first few rows of parking spaces available for parents to use when collecting their child. Please do use these spaces as it will help us to provide a safer environment for students, whilst easing congestion up the drive and onto the Hayway. Thank you for your continued support with this matter. 

Finally, our assemblies this week were delivered by Mr C. Smith on the theme of building a positive culture of behaviour. Mr Smith talked about how building a culture of kindness, respect and responsibility can help make the school a better place for everyone, enabling students to build positive relationships with each other, leading to increased success. This is what makes Team Rushden, and we will continue to work together to ensure that we achieve our vision to ensure every student develops outstanding character and become successful, self-assured and responsible citizens. 

I wish you all a lovely weekend.

Yours sincerely,

Mr J Firth

Principal

Dear Parent/Carer

We hope that you have all had a productive week despite the freezing weather. Team Rushden have had another busy week, with lots of different events and activities taking place. We are extremely proud of our students who took part in the Cross Country event on Wednesday. Well done to Gracie who finished in 6th place, and George who finished in 3rd place. Gracie, George, along with Ethan and Jack, will now be invited to represent the district after Christmas! Well done!

We are becoming increasingly excited about our school ski trip to Andorra in January. As part of the preparation for this event, there will be a meeting for parents and students on Wednesday 27th November at 5:30pm in the Lecture Theatre. If you are not able to attend, please inform the school office and we will ensure that all notes and key information is shared with you.

The assemblies this week were led by an ex-student of Rushden Academy, Haydn Carter. The theme for the assembly was ‘The Power of Positive Thought - Mindset’. Haydn talked about his experiences and opportunities post sixth form, including his work for the NHS in laboratories and his missionary work in Tahiti. We are extremely grateful to Haydn for offering his time to talk to students this week.

Year 10 students took part in a range of workshops on Tuesday as part of our personal development programme. The workshops focused on building healthy relationships and provided students with opportunities to discuss a range of key topics. This programme is part of our vision to develop outstanding character.

We are extremely proud of our Year 11 students who have now completed their mock exams. For those students that may have missed an exam paper, they will have the opportunity to sit this next week. All students conducted themselves impeccably and were a credit to the school. The process of marking all papers and analysing the data has begun, and we look forward to sharing results with students in a few weeks time. We will ensure the data is used effectively to inform our next steps with bespoke interventions and support.

Finally, I would like to share the news that we have a vacancy for a parent governor. Being a governor is an excellent way to make a meaningful impact on the education and experiences of our students. Governors play a crucial role in the leadership and management of schools, and it is a fantastic opportunity to bring your skills and perspective to the table. All you need to become a governor is enthusiasm, a commitment to learning, and a desire to make a difference! Details of how to become a governor can be found on our school website. The deadline for applications is 12 noon on 29th November 2024. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Mr J Firth

Principal