Dear Parent / Carer 

Every week that passes, I am increasingly proud to lead such an incredible school with such talented students and staff.

It was Mr Firth’s turn to lead the assemblies and with Mind’s ‘Time to Talk Day’ scheduled for Thursday 1st February, he delivered a presentation produced by the mental health charity to all year groups. Students were shown a number of statements about mental health and had to decide whether they believed them to be true or false. It was great to see their reactions to the different answers being revealed and it was an overwhelmingly positive presentation aimed at reducing the stigma surrounding mental health issues. 

On Wednesday, Mrs Nixon took a team of 4 students to compete in a local Boccia tournament. The team were all raring to go and competed extremely well against 9 different schools. After all their valiant efforts they finished the tournament in 4th place which is commendable and Robert, Dakota, Jessica and Thomas should all be very proud of themselves.

On Wednesday, Mrs Raven arranged for the author Matt Oldfield to visit the school; Matt is the author of the Ultimate Football Heroes books which are very popular with many of our students. Matt gave talks to groups of students from Year 7 and Year 8 which were very well received. Anything that promotes a love of reading is very welcome here at Rushden Academy as our students who read regularly benefit from a significantly enhanced vocabulary as well as heightened inference skills.  

Next Thursday evening is Year 9 parents’ evening. If you have not already made appointments via the online portal there is still time and we will be following up with parents and carers to ensure that attendance at the important evening is as high as possible. This is especially important given that all Year 9 students will soon be choosing their GCSE options and discussions with teachers will help both you and your child to decide on the best options for them.   

In terms of student uniform, on the whole, students are looking very smart but there has been an increase in the number of leggings being worn in school this week. Leggings are not part of the school uniform and any student wearing them will be expected to borrow a pair of school trousers as a non-negotiable. We accept there are occasional unavoidable situations which is why we have purchased brand new pairs of school trousers to support your children in such instances.

Finally, Year 11 students will be receiving letters imminently which state whether they are currently eligible to attend their Prom. This is based on a number of factors related to attendance, behaviour and academic progress so please do not hesitate to get in touch if you want to know what else you can be doing at home to support your child in being eligible to attend Prom at the end of the year. Where attendance has been due to legitimate medical appointments, this will not affect their eligibility. Thank you for your support with this. 

Have a long and restful weekend,

Yours sincerely,

Mr B Baines

Principal

Dear Parent / Carer 

At the end of another busy week there is lots to share in relation to what your children have been learning about this week. 

Mr Noblett led assemblies for all year groups which celebrated World Religion Day. One of the fundamental British values is tolerance of different values, beliefs and cultures, and Mr Noblett’s assembly took students on a virtual tour of different ‘temples’ from around the world. Students were encouraged to reflect on the rich diversity in different faiths before talking about how our students can demonstrate the value of tolerance within our school community. The closing statements encouraged students to be more curious and actively seek to learn more about the different members within our community, particularly those who may have different beliefs, to ultimately ensure a more inclusive community. 

Year 9 students were off timetable all day on Thursday for a ‘Building, Healthy Relationships Day’ which was organised by our Ethos Team. The students had a fantastic day where they listened to various external speakers and completed various workshops on themes such as healthy online relationships and contraception. All students thoroughly enjoyed the day and the feedback on the sessions was overwhelmingly positive.  

Year 13 students have spent the week completing their mock examinations which will offer an important insight into their progress to date. It will also allow teachers to explain their strengths and areas for development in detail so they all know where to focus their efforts as they enter the final run-up to their actual examinations in the summer.

With just 4 weeks until the February mock examinations, Year 11 students have been working hard to ensure that they improve on their grades from December. An update letter will be going to the parents of all Year 11 students updating you on their progress, attendance, conduct summary, and ultimately if they are eligible to attend prom at this stage. There is still time to improve their progress scores but in order to do so we would expect all students to be revising daily at this point in the year.  

In relation to Go4Schools which is our online platform, we have looked at which parents and carers are using the platform regularly and this varies greatly across the school. With this platform providing live updates on behaviour, attendance and progress reports, it is important that all parents and carers are using the app so you are kept in the loop regarding your child’s day to day school life. If you are having any problems accessing the app, please contact your child’s form tutor who will be able to assist you with how to do so.

Finally, it is a genuine pleasure to see individual students showing a real commitment to their own personal development by earning badges for the Rushden STARR award. There are several silver ties now in circulation and a much greater number of bronze ties. Seeing students wearing these special ties with pride is wonderful to see and reflect a high level of dedication to self improvement.  

Have a restful weekend,

Yours sincerely,

Mr B Baines

Principal