Teddington School Newsletter

Dear Families

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable week. It's been another busy one here at Teddington and following are some highlights.

Tonight marks the finale of our school production of 'Little Shop of Horrors'. I want to extend my congratulations to every student and staff member involved. This year’s production has been our biggest yet, with 8 shows performed by 3 casts; a significant expansion from our usual 6 shows and 2 casts. Everyone's hard work, determination, and talent have been amazing to witness. I am looking forward to attending this evening and look forward to seeing those who have a ticket there.

This week in sport:

• Our Year 8 Rugby Team came second in the Middlesex Tournament Bowl Winning with 3 wins and finally missing out to USC in the final round
• Our Year 7 Rugby League Borough Champions will progress through to the London and South East Regional tournament
• Year 10/11 boys' Basketball saw a win over Grey Court of 72 - 35
• Our Year 7 Boys Rugby Team won the Bowl at the Middlesex Festival with some impressive wins along the way

Congratulations to you all, these are some fantastic achievements, and we are proud to have you representing our school.

In the coming weeks, we have Year 13s Virtual Parents Evening on Wednesday 4 December and Year 11s In-Person Parents Evening is the following week on Wednesday 11 December. These evenings provide a valuable opportunity to discuss progress and next steps for your child. Please make every effort to attend. Further details about how to book appointments have been sent via email for Year 13 and details will be sent out for Year 11 early next week.

With only 12 school days remaining until the Christmas break, we are emphasising the importance of excellent attendance. Every day of attendance counts. Our updated attendance policy, which includes information on penalty notices, is available on our website here. Please ensure your child is attending school every day right up until 17 December when we finish at 15:00 for the Christmas break.

We are pleased to share that the issue affecting communication around positive and negative behaviour points has now been resolved. If you notice any ongoing issues, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

A gentle reminder to all students to uphold our school values and display excellent behaviour while travelling to and from school. This includes showing respect and care in Langdon Park and the surrounding roads. Thank you to the vast majority of students who are making safe and respectful journeys every day.

Congratulations to Edward Chisholm in Year 12 and Team Richmond for their performance on the epic Parliament Hill cross-country course last Saturday. The U17 team were ranked first in their age category across all boroughs. A very impressive achievement Edward, well done!

This Sunday, our PTA Christmas Tree Sale will take place between 09:30 - 11:30. It’s a wonderful opportunity to support the school while preparing for the festive season. We’d love to see lots of local residents stopping by to purchase a tree and join in the celebrations.

Thank you for your continued support as we approach the end of term. Let’s make these final days count, and I look forward to seeing many of you at upcoming events.

Kind regards

Mr P Grills

Headteacher

David, parent of a Year 8 "even better in real life"

"You can see the effort that all the students, staff and volunteers have put in. I knew every word because my daughter has been rehearsing non-stop at home, and it was even better in real life!"

Karen, parent of a Year 9 "stunning showcase of talent"

"What a stunning showcase of talent at Teddington School! I enjoyed every minute, and I can't wait for next year's show."

Jenny, parent of a Year 10 "the performance was outstanding"

"I thought the performance was outstanding and thoroughly entertaining. The set was incredible and the actors, dancers, singers, band, and everyone else involved did a fantastic job."

Robert, parent of a Year 7 and Year 11 "what a great show!"

"What a great show! Teddington School demonstrates again the excellence of its Performing Arts students. The student's motivation, dedication and commitment are truly inspiring. I was singing the songs all the way home!"

As this year’s production of Little Shop of Horrors sadly comes to an end (with some people saying it’s our best production to date), I just wanted to say how extremely proud we are of the students and how hard they have worked to pull off such an amazing show.

One of the things we truly lovely to see is students from all year groups unite as a team, with older, more experienced students guiding and supporting their younger peers. This sense of collaboration has been even more evident this year, as we introduced three casts for the first time and expanded the number of performances from six to eight. We were also delighted to welcome Stanley to an exclusive matinee performance for the first time, alongside St John the Baptist and Collis.

I always feel the production allows students to develop skills that we can’t always teach in the classroom. The production truly is a performance run by the students for the students as they run front of house, lighting, sound, stage crew, costume, they have helped with directing and choreographing.

Our students have put in tremendous effort, with the band and orchestra performing in all eight shows and attending rehearsals with all three casts. Their dedication truly paid off, as they sounded absolutely incredible.

It is always a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of something like this, as these will be the things that the students remember about school. I always say I feel that we have the best job in the school as we’re in such a privileged position to watch the students grow in confidence, year after year. We also have ex-students (Izzy Tandy, Sascha Stevenson and Liam Bate) return to support which I think is a testament to the impact that it has.

The school production really does allow the students to embody a sense of pride and enjoyment that you only get with such an inclusive event, highlighting the important role that the Arts play.

The audience have been fantastic and amazed by the talent, hard work and commitment shown by the students; and I am extremely grateful to parents, the PTA, and staff who have helped make the show such a resounding success.

Thank you to everyone for all your support, until next year!

We are consulting to amend our admissions arrangements with effect from the 2026/27 academic year to include more detail under the 'Admission of children outside their normal age group' section. Our consultation process began on Wednesday 13 November, and will conclude on Monday 13 January.

Please have a read via the button below. If you have any comments on this amendment, please contact our Admissions Officer, Mrs N Howarth, via howarthn@teddingtonschool.org.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 🎄

Teddington PTA are ready to bring you a wonderful festive morning on Sunday 1 December 09:30-11:30. We have plenty of premium Nordmann Fir Christmas Trees in a variety of sizes. These trees are excellent quality.

Our exciting Festive Marketplace from local traders and live singing from our brilliant school choir will be back to create a wonderful festive atmosphere.

We will be serving hot food and drinks, home-made treats and snacks to keep all happy.

Our second-hand uniform will be for sale so you will be able to stock up on school jumpers to get you through the winter months.

We hope the community comes along to enjoy the festivities and support our PTA. Wrap up warm in your Christmas jumpers.

Please volunteer if you can, please sign up here VolunteerSignup - Online volunteer signup sheets - Teddington Christmas Sale 2024 signup sheet.

Merry Christmas from Teddington PTA 🎅

Dates for the diary:

• 1 Dec: Christmas Tree Sale with Preloved Uniform available
• 13 Jan: PTA Meeting (in the Anglers 19:00) to discuss any school bids and events

28 Nov - 5 Dec: Hosting German Exchange Students

29 Nov: Year 9 Trip to Sky Studios

4 Dec: Year 13 Virtual Parents Evening

11 Dec: Year 11 Parents Evening

13 Dec: Year 7 Panto Trip

17 Dec: Last day of term with a 15:00 finish

6 Jan: First day of term with an 08:30 start