Head’s Blog
Head’s Blog – Posted 28/11/2024
We have so much to look forward to with our students as we head into the winter months. Throughout this week, and this half term, we have had an amazing amount of staff and students involved in visits, interform challenges, sporting fixtures and so much more.
News
Over the last two weeks, we have had a Year 11 visit to the Birmingham REP to see ‘A Christmas Carol’, students in Years 7-10 participating in the Pictionary Interform Challenge, some of our Year 10’s taking part in a Climate Challenge Debate, along with sporting fixtures in football, a table tennis tournament and dance club. The Royal Sutton School is a thriving community and there is so much more to come as we progress through the year. Again, I am hugely grateful to everyone who makes these events happen, and for the impact they have on our students and their whole school experiences.
In other events, we have created sculptures out of 30 of our Year 9 student’s drawings for The National Memorial Arboretum Remembrance Project. These students have been invited to The National Memorial Arboretum to see the illuminated trail. I am sure the students will remember this experience. I am so grateful to our students for their creativity and hard work. I am also grateful for Mrs Balnaves, the Art Team and the technicians who supported this experience. Thank you!
The work is breath-taking, I could have shown all pieces, but here are a few of the students designs:
Learning & Assessments
Lessons are stronger than I have ever known, and learning is at the heart of all we do. Our students are more aware than ever of the importance of ambition, aspiration and the need to match those with hard work, both in school and at home. Staff are preparing all students for the assessments this term. These form part of our strategy to build our students’ experience and confidence as they progress through to the Summer assessments. They need to prepare well so that their learning will be the strongest it can be. The students will be well looked after throughout, and I am excited to see how they will do.
Over the past two weeks, Year 11 students have demonstrated exceptional integrity while sitting their mock exams. This vital experience has helped them build resilience and refine their exam techniques. During the upcoming assessment week, they will also have dedicated focus time for their coursework subjects, ensuring they are well-prepared for the external exams in the Summer. These efforts will equip students with the confidence and readiness needed to reach their potential and excel beyond.
Christmas Card Competition
Finally, I have been overwhelmed with the response to the Christmas Card Competition. We have received entries from students across Years 7 – 11. This illustrates the passion and pride that our students have for our school and our new identity as The Royal Sutton School. All students who entered will be recognised with virtue points and will receive a small chocolate surprise. Making the decision on the winning entry was one of the hardest decisions I have had to make yet! After consulting with Mrs Fletcher and Mrs Balnaves, I have decided upon, Maja M in Year 7. Congratulations on your design for the first ever TRSS Christmas Card!
Reminders
I would like to remind you that our Christmas Concert is on Tuesday 10 December at 5:00pm – 6:00pm. I do hope you can join us. Our PTA will be there selling refreshments, and there will be a raffle for Christmas Hampers. There will also be other items for sale. The Christmas Concert is a highlight of our Performing Arts calendar and promises to be a wonderful evening.
Our school Christmas Dinner is on Thursday 12 December. It is always a special feast, but is made even more special with music played by our Music Team, supported by some of our Peripatetic music teachers. Students are invited to join the festive celebrations by wearing Christmas accessories.
If you need to replace items for your child, please note that the below are now available to purchase on ParentPay:
- Heavy duty zip wallet – £2.20
- A5 diary – £1.69
- Whiteboard/pen/eraser – £1.85
A final reminder, please respect all of our local residents when parking. Parking on double yellow lines and grass verges can be a determent to the safety of our students and staff, so we implore you to avoid doing so. We would also like to remind parents/carers that the layby is for buses only. We appreciate that many of our parents/carers want to work with us and thank them for our time and support.
Achievements
I want to just share a little about some of our students who are doing amazing things beyond school. To begin, Isabelle H in Year 7, achieved 2nd in Vault and 2nd in Floor at the North Birmingham Community Gymnastics Club. This is such a wonderful achievement. Well Done, Isabelle!
Next is Subhan A in Year 7, this week he showed great initiative and creativity when he crafted his own stylus after misplacing his iPad pen. I was truly impressed by his innovation and problem-solving skills. I am excited to see the contributions he will make to our community in the future.
Take care,
Nicola Gould
Safeguarding – How to spot exploitation
West Midlands Police have partnered with The Children’s Society and British Transport Police to help raise awareness of exploitation. We are working hard with our specialist teams and community partners to disrupt and prosecute criminal gangs exploiting young people.
Do you know the signs of child exploitation? Would you know where to report exploitation if you spotted the signs?
Exploitation can happen anywhere. It happens online and offline. Children are being targeted outside fast food outlets, at shopping centres, through online games, and social media. There are many types of child exploitation including money laundering, stealing from shops, transporting drugs via trains and bus routes.
You can find out more information from the #LookCloser campaign website here #LookCloser To Spot Exploitation | The Children’s Society (childrenssociety.org.uk).
If something doesn’t feel right, don’t wait, report it:
Call the Police on 999 in an emergency or 101
Text the British Transport Police on 61016
Call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
Call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000
If you would like to talk to your schools officer about exploitation or your concerns, please get in touch with the school or your local police team today Your area | West Midlands Police.
Year 11 News
Mrs Lockley met with the first group of Year 11s who will form part of the ‘Student Steering Group for Revision’. The aim of this peer conversation is to evaluate what revision students are finding helpful so we can share this across the Year Group. Initial discussions led us to consider 3 iPad apps:
Goodnotes – Students are using this app to download past papers and mark schemes, and RAG rate them in subject folders, this means that key areas of development can be identified and returned to. Goodnotes also allows students to make flashcards and create notebooks for subjects, topics and papers. The ‘Student Steering Group for Revision’ report that this is a great way to keep revision organised.
Gizmo – This creates decks of flashcards. It has AI capabilities, the ‘Magic Import AI’ allows students to upload a PowerPoint, PDF, YouTube Link or webpage and it then makes flashcards for students to revise from. Students have found this useful as students can join the school leaderboard and use shared decks. The app uses an algorithm to return to students’ less secure knowledge.
Freeform – Allows students to create mindmaps which allow you to add photos and screenshots. Mindmaps are a particularly useful resource to make links between ideas.
The Year 11 Pastoral Team have made themselves available for a ‘Year 11 Parent Surgery’ every Monday Week 1, Period 1.
Year 11 should now be applying for their post 16 placements. Please speak to a member of the Year 11 pastoral team or email our careers’ advisor, Mrs Green, if you need support: yvonne.green@trss.bham.sch.uk.
Lastly, Year 11 reports will be issued before the end of term with Mock Exam results and Predicted Grades for the Summer. Year 11 Parents’ Evening is on Thursday 23 January 2025 3:40pm-6:00pm and we look forward to seeing you there.
Virtues and Virtues Champions
Each week our Heads of Year nominate a ‘Virtues Champion’. This is a person in their year group who has gone above and beyond to demonstrate our virtue of the week. Thank you to our Virtues Champions for leading the way by focusing and practicing:
Head’s Blog – Posted 15/11/2024
I want to begin this half term’s update with a thank you. I want to thank our staff, students and families for the part they each play in supporting our school and for the incredible start to term. This year it has felt even more special, and that is down to the culture at TRSS and the relationships that support our vision and virtues each day. It has been the strongest start to a year that I can recall, and one we can maintain throughout the rest of the year.
I love celebrating the achievements of our students, so I wanted to share that Alicia W competed in a jujitsu competition over half term in Lisbon, Portugal and won a silver medal. It is such an incredible thing for Alicia to be a part of, and it is very much down to a combination of her talent and hard work. Congratulations!
This week has also been very reassuring in terms of attendance too. I know I talk a lot about the importance of attendance, but I do so for good reason. We know that when our students are in lessons, they are taught brilliantly and make stunning progress. Where that is not the case, the exact opposite is the result, and it should never be that way. Young people have the right to have a good life and getting to school every day helps to achieve that.
Remembrance
Over the past two weeks we have had so much happening across school. On Sunday, I had the opportunity to represent The Royal Sutton School as part of the Sutton Coldfield Remembrance Sunday celebrations. This event is always so special, and I am proud to be part of this significant event to remember those who have given their lives over many years to protect our freedom and allow us to live as we do. It has the most incredible community feel. I also noticed the incredible number of our students that are part of that community through their involvement in local clubs and groups. Everywhere I looked I saw a friendly face and it gave me another insight into why our students are so special.
Our own celebration in school on Monday was so special too. The whole school gathered on the playground to listen to the Last Post and to reflect, in silence. Over 1000 staff and students did so with such poise and respect. That is The Royal Sutton School at its finest. Students in Year 9 have been involved with the National Memorial Arboretum, they have written and read out their poems which are available around school. My thanks go to Mrs Balnaves for providing students with this opportunity.
On Tuesday, we saw lots of odd socks to celebrate individuality and uniqueness. This week the Phase Leaders, Mr Smikle, Miss Smart and Mrs Halford have been leading assemblies on our support as a community for Anti-Bullying Week. The feedback from students has been amazing and incredibly mature. They really understand the importance of respecting each other and challenging behaviours that are not acceptable or, indeed, the norm. Please click here for further information.
Last night, we welcomed parents into school for our Year 8 Parents Evening. Support from families is so important to us and I am thankful for how engaged you all are in ensuring we work together for our young people.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that our Year 9 Parents Evening will take place on Thursday 5 December 3:40pm-6:00pm. You can book appointments for this via SchoolCloud.
Today was a busy, yet delightful, as we celebrated Children in Need Day. Mr Pursey and our student leaders have raised money by organising a chocolate tombola. It was a great experience, and one where the selflessness of our students shines through once again.
Key Dates for your diary
For key dates, please refer to our school calendar.
Assessment Week
Exam timetables for Years 7-10 for assessment week are now on student’s Year Group Showbie pages. Our Autumn term assessment week will commence Monday 16 December – Thursday 19 December. During this week students will follow an exam timetable.
It is vital that all students attend during this week so that they do not miss their exams.
The purpose of our assessment week is for students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of topics they have studied this term. Students will be informed about the revision they will need to do in preparation for this week.
Year 11 will be having focused coursework interventions during this week as they will have completed their mocks.
Please note that students will be dismissed at 2.30pm during this week, Arriva have confirmed that they are unable to provide the 110 service at an earlier time, therefore the 110 service will arrive at it’s normal time. Travel West Midlands will endeavour to try and provide an earlier service on the 813, 814 and 815 routes. We would advise that if your child usually uses one of these services that they know an alternative route home.
Sparx Maths Rewards
Congratulations to the 5 students who were successful in the Sparx Maths prize draw. These students were nominated by their class teacher for their effort, motivation, and resilience in their homework each week. The Maths Team now wait for our next winners at the end of this term. Good Luck to all students at The Royal Sutton School! The maths team welcome all students to attend a Sparx Study Club every Tuesday lunch time.
Extra Curricular
Our extra curricular activities have launched and the timetable for these will be shared on Showbie. There are a number of different activities at lunchtime and after school. It is really important for students to participate in an extra-curricular activity throughout the year. Extra-curricular activities allow individuals to pursue interests outside the classrooms to foster a love for learning and help them to discover new passions that can shape their future careers and personal fulfilment. They play a vital role in shaping well rounded, resilient individuals who are prepared to face the challenges of life with confidence and character.
We would like to challenge all students to demonstrate commitment by participating in an extra-curricular activity this year, to receive additional commitment points.
Useful Attendance Reminders
For useful attendance reminders, please refer to our attendance page.
Virtues & Virtues Champions
Each week our Heads of Year nominate a ‘Virtues Champion’. This is a person in their year group who has gone above and beyond to demonstrate our virtue of the week. We would like to thank our Virtues Champions for leading the way, focusing on and practicing our virtues.
| Year 7 Champion | Year 8 Champion | Year 9 Champion | Year 10 Champion | Year 11 Champion | |
| SERVICE | Cameron K | Jahlani C | Kaneez K | Carrie O | Demario M |
Work Experience
A reminder that all of Year 10 will be participating in Work Experience from Monday 19 May – Friday 23 May 2025. Students will need to seek out their own placements and return the consent forms by Thursday 28 November 2024. Work experience will allow students the opportunity to experience real world skills, such as confidence, independence and organisation. We would also be grateful to hear from you if you are willing to offer work experience to any of our students, please email enquiry@trss.bham.sch.uk.
Year 11 Revision
Miss Casey, our Examinations Officer, has provided lots of revision materials for our Year 11 students as they prepare for examinations, and these can be collected from the Head of Year office. Miss Casey will also be supervising Room 75 at lunchtime for those Year 11s who wish to complete work and revise.
Reading Recommendation
Over one million British Empire soldiers were killed during the First World War. More than a century later, more than half a million still have no known grave. ‘The Unknown Warrior’ is a search for the true meaning of camaraderie, service and remembrance.
Take care and we hope to see many of you at our Christmas Concert on Tuesday 10 December 5:00pm-7:00pm, further details to follow.
Nicola Gould
