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Message From the Principal 12.01.24

Dear Parent / Carer 

It was a pleasure to welcome all the students back following the Christmas break and great to hear about what they spent their time doing during the festive period. 

I welcomed all students back during my assembly which focused on supporting students with making resolutions for the year ahead. We talked about setting aspirational yet achievable goals along with various challenges to promote personal growth and development. Most importantly I shared the notion that the average person lives 4000 weeks and that we must do everything within our power to ensure that none of those weeks are wasted. Finally I talked about using the New Year as an option to change a bad habit and in relation to this I talked about the hours wasted each week scrolling through endless social media for very limited satisfaction and perhaps using such time for something more purposeful.  

The Social Action Squad continues to go from strength to strength and is now over a hundred strong with many staff supporting the important work in the community. Multiple squads visited both The Beeches Care Home and the Serve Day Centre this week to provide much needed company to the residents; I know that these visits have been invaluable for the residents who enjoy getting to play games and interact with our amazing students. 

Year 11 examinations are approaching rapidly and it has been good to see so many students working hard in lessons. The progress board was updated at the end of last term and I have seen lots of students keen to see where they are on the board and what improvements they have made. Year 11 parents’ evening is next Thursday evening and the online appointment system is live now. It is so important that you attend this evening whether your child is performing well or not so that you can hear specifically what your child needs to do to improve their performance in each subject. For parents/carers who have not yet made appointments we will be contacting you directly to arrange these. If you cannot attend for any reason, we are also happy to come to see you at home to discuss your child’s progress.

I would also like to mention the incredible pantomime performance of Jack and the Beanstalk from the last week of term. It was wonderful to see so many of you join us in school to watch another amazing performance. It was jam-packed with humour, audience participation and all the other enjoyable conventions of the pantomime genre. A big well done to all of the students who performed and the Performing Arts team, ably led by Mrs Ede, who put the production together.  

In relation to the school car park, I am aware of some social media posts expressing dissatisfaction at the queues in the car park. I wrote to you all last term with some clear guidance for when you collect your children and unfortunately some people are not adhering to this guidance which is contributing to the issues. Most importantly, please do not stop anywhere on the driveway or around the roundabout, there are spaces at the far end of the car park which are still not being used so please use them to keep the driveway clear. Should the matters persist I may have to look at restricting access to the car park on grounds of safety so please support us by adhering to the rules.  

Finally, thank you for all your support in ensuring that your children have returned in the correct uniform with any issues identified being corrected. There are still a few isolated issues which we are working with you to rectify. One of these is in relation to false nails which are not permitted in school so please support us by ensuring that your child is not wearing false nails going forward.  

Yours sincerely,

Mr B Baines

Principal

Parent Letter 09.01.24 - Pastoral Changes

9th January 2024                                                                                          Ref: Pastoral Changes

 

 

Dear Parents/Carers, 

 

I hope that you and your family had a wonderful Christmas break. I am writing to you to inform you of some important staffing changes that have been made to our pastoral structure at Rushden Academy and to signpost you as to where to contact in regard to your child.

As of Monday 8th January 2024, I am no longer the Head of Key Stage 4 (KS4) and I have begun my new role as Assistant Principal. Mr A Smith has stepped into the Head of KS4 role and will be leaving his current Year 8 group in the hands of Mr R Smart, who is now the Head of KS3.  Below is the structure for your reference, the first point of contact should still be your child’s form tutor and/or the Pastoral Support Assistant for their year group.

 

Mr C Smith – Assistant Principal – Behaviour and Attitudes

 

Mr A Smith - Head of KS4 (Year 10 and Year 11)

Miss E Buckoke – Pastoral Support Assistant for Year 10

Mrs J Trille – Pastoral Support Assistant for Year 11

 

Mr R Smart – Head of KS3 (Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9)

Mrs H James – Head of Year 7

Mrs S King – Pastoral Support Assistant for Year 7 and Year 9

Mrs Jamieson – Pastoral Support Assistant for Year 7 and Year 8

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Yours sincerely,

Mr C Smith

Assistant Principal

Message From the Principal 15.12.23

Dear Parent / Carer 

The end of term and Christmas festivities are in sight as the penultimate week draws to a close.

On Saturday evening, Miss Hunter and members of the Parent, Teacher and Friends' Association (PTFA) coordinated the annual Christmas sleigh event which was a roaring success, as always, and a big thank you to anyone who contributed to this festive event.

Mr Noblett led assemblies for all year groups in which he shared the Grace Foundation’s Christmas narrative. Students were encouraged to reflect on what Christmas means to them and were prompted with stories about compassion and care for those less fortunate at this time of year. Whilst Christmas is a time of joy for many, it is also important to remember that it can also be a difficult time of year for many who are less fortunate.  

On Tuesday night, Lizzie and the Ethos Team invited many families into school for a movie night. The movie of choice was Elf and it was great to see so many of you in attendance. I also wanted to say thank you for sharing lots of lovely feedback about the event. Rushden is a true community school and events such as this reflect how strong the community is.

Mrs Raven hosted the library’s Christmas Cracker event on Thursday afternoon which was very well attended and even benefitted from a visit from Father Christmas himself. When I went into the event, the library was truly buzzing and all the children were having a wonderful time participating in various festive activities.

Alongside the festive activities, many of our Year 11 students have been busy meeting final Btec deadlines and have worked very hard to ensure they achieve the best grades possible for the units. The progress board for all Year 11 students was also updated outside the main hall and students were keen to see where they are in the table and how much they have improved since the end of Year 10 assessment. They have all been provided with work to complete during the Christmas break to ensure that they practise and maintain key skills for different subjects. You will receive a letter detailing your child’s performance in their mock examinations and an update on where they are in the progress league. Finally, in relation to Year 11, parents’ evening is scheduled for the 18th January and it is vital that all parents and carers attend.  

Ahead of January we will be contacting parents regarding any persistent uniform issues to ensure that they are rectified for the new year. I am also aware that there has been some misunderstanding conveyed on social media around toilet cards. For clarity, toilet cards remain in place for students but we will be requesting medical evidence to corroborate the need as the requests for such cards is increasing exponentially. I appreciate that messages via students are often misinterpreted but please can I ask that you seek clarity from the school directly rather than social media forums to ensure that you receive accurate information.  

Finally, I want to thank you for your continued support as we continue to strengthen the education we provide for your children. It is a fantastic community to be a part of and I look forward to working with you to continue to ensure the very best standard of education and support for all children within our care.  

Please have a warm and restful Christmas whatever your plans may be,

Yours sincerely,

Mr B Baines

Principal

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Rushden Academy

  • Hayway,
    Rushden,
    Northamptonshire.
    NN10 6AG

  • 01933 350391

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