Dear Parents

Our return to school after the Easter break heralds the start of the main examination season. Year 13s have taken important trial A Level examinations and I have spoken to all Year 11s about the crucial nature of the next weeks in terms of undertaking thorough revision for imminent GCSEs. Alongside the onset of the public exam season, we are also holding two important Open Days after the Bank Holiday, on Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 May, when we expect to welcome a large number of prospective pupils and their parents. We aim to show the school at its vibrant best, so they will be given tours by our pupils, have the opportunity to talk to pupils and teachers, and to take part in some specially devised interactive lessons.

Every parent at Sir Thomas Rich's School is part of our supportive educational community. Whether you choose to make donations to the School Development Fund, help with the Parents' Association or encourage your child to take an active part in school life, these all contribute to the excellence of our School and the pride we can rightly feel for all our successes. As you are aware, the new proposed National Funding Formula for schools is still under review, but it is unlikely that there will be changes which will positively affect funding for our school. As a consequence, your continued support is vital and I would like to explore the ways in which you are most happy to contribute to the fabric and resources of the School and your child's education. Your views really do matter. Please take ten minutes to complete the online survey – Parents' Support for STRS – available by following this link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ParentalSupportSurvey . As always, thank you for your partnership in developing our young people into outstanding adults.

One of the ways in which parental donations contribute to excellence is through support of the outstanding sporting opportunities we offer. Last term saw a huge range of really superb team performances. These are too numerous to mention all individually, but to give you a flavour of the season we enjoyed, I can single out the Under 15 rugby victory over St Paul's Boys' School in the NatWest Vase, the Under 14s win against Katherine Lady Berkeley School in the County Cup Final, and the 1 ^st XI football team's outstanding season which takes them to the final of the Under 18 County Cup. School Netball continues to grow and we regularly play three teams, with notable recent wins against St Edward's Cheltenham, Crypt, St Peter's, Cleve School and The High School for Girls. Our swimmers also once again dominated the City Championships and competed well in the Regional stage of the National Relays Competition at Millfield.

We continue to strive to offer our pupils the broadest possible range of extra-curricular activities and experiences beyond sport. The breadth and variety of opportunities on offer are illustrated by last term's vast range of events, which included the highly enjoyable Inter-House Drama Competition, with members of the Sixth Form devising, organising and directing performances, the chess team's qualification for the finals of the ECF National Schools Chess Championships, the French and German plays offered to Years 8,9 and 10 performed by the Onatti Theatre Company, and the ever popular Year 7 residential visit to the Lake District. Another stand-out event of last term was the Higher Education Careers Fayre hosted here in School and ably organised by our Careers specialists, which saw pupils from Years 8 to 13 engaging with representatives from an extensive range of organisations, universities and employers. Pupil feedback on the Fayre was exceptionally positive and our guests were really impressed with our young people. Again, thanks to so many parents who were able to support the event.

Parents are a highly valued and important part of our school and I hope that we can continue to work collaboratively to maintain our current reputation for excellence in so many different areas of school life. I urge you again to complete the questionnaire and to let us know your views.

Matthew Morgan,
Headmaster