Headteacher's Bulletin
07/02/25 - Edition 51
Mr Lisseman - Headteacher
Dear Parents
We have had a great week at school, with students across all year groups working hard and showing great dedication to their learning. We are particularly impressed with our Year 11 students, who are working incredibly hard in preparation for their second set of mock exams in February. Their focus and commitment are paying off as they approach the final stages of their GCSE journey.
It was also fantastic to see so many Year 9 parents and students attending the GCSE Options Evening this week. This is such an important time for our Year 9 students, who are beginning to make their GCSE subject choices for next year—the first stage of their qualification journey.
We are also pleased to share that the no-phone policy during the school day has been a tremendous success for Years 7-9. The positive impact on behaviour, focus, and social interaction has been evident across the school. Given this success, we will be extending this policy to Year 10 students after the February half-term. We appreciate your ongoing support in ensuring that Twickenham School remains an environment where students can fully engage with their learning without unnecessary distractions.
Looking ahead to the next academic year, we are making an important structural change: following our governors approval we will be moving from a two-week timetable to a one-week timetable. This decision has been made after careful consideration, and we believe it will offer several key benefits, including:
- Stronger curriculum sequencing – A one-week timetable allows for better lesson continuity, helping students retain knowledge more effectively.
- Simplified logistics – Reducing timetable complexity makes it easier for students and staff to manage lesson schedules, homework, and assessments.
The curriculum will look like this (with 25 periods across the week). The time of the day and the length of each lesson will remain the same.
Ms Ananthalingam - Deputy Head of English
Congratulations to our winners: Javeria (Year 7), Emily (Year 9), and Chloe (Year 9), whose work was selected for publication in The Beautiful Truth – Pages of Imagination, a prestigious anthology by Young Writers.
The competition invited students to explore the theme "The Beautiful Truth" through poetry or prose, encouraging creativity, individuality, and self-expression. A copy of the book is available in the school library.
Ms Wilson - Librarian
We are collecting books for the School Library and need your help! If you have any gently used books that you no longer need, please consider donating them.
We accept fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, educational books, and more!
Your donation will help bring the joy of reading to others. Thank you for your support.
Student services is full of lost property at the moment. Please ask your student to visit student services to see if any thing they have lost at school has been found.
Please ensure that all items are properly labelled with your students name so it can be re-united to the owner if lost.
Student services is open before school, break, lunch and after school.
Mr Hayes - Head of PE
Well done to the Year 7 Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams on their determined performances this week! The Year 10 Boys also put in another strong display against Orleans Park.
A special mention to Luca PT for scoring his second goal in as many games. The Year 8/9 Boys’ Basketball team had a closely contested match against Orleans Park, while the Year 9 Boys’ Football team continued their winning streak with a fantastic 5-2 victory—congratulations to Rio W for earning Man of the Match!
Additionally, a big well done to Mandela for winning the first House Dodgeball event!
