Newsletters

A Level and GCSE Certificate evenings with prize giving

This week we held our GCSE Certificates Evening with Year 10 subject prizes (who are now in year 11!) plus our A Level Certificates Evening with Year 11 subject prizes (now in year 13).

We enjoyed celebrating all our students' fantastic achievements. The GCSE evening began with Ameera Hashmi playing Novelette in C by Francis Poulenc on the piano before Mrs Grimes' welcome and Mr Grady's speech reflecting on the determination and resilience and hard work our students have put in. The singing club performed 'Rise Up' conducted by year 12s Evie Finch and Evie Francis-Miller and later Tabitha Kimberley performed on her electric guitar.

Our A Level certificate evening saw many former Year 13s returning and we celebrated their achievements and heard where each of them are currently; a wide variety of universities, gap years and apprenticeships. Music for the evening came from Ollie Bond and Flora Zhao on the piano and Lily Emery on violin.  

Our speaker for both evening was Michelle Carvell, a former student and now Director and COO at Lorax EPI, which supports companies with global environmental compliance. Michelle shared a photo of herself from her last day at RHS, rocking a double denim look, and spoke about her professional life and the twists and turns that led her to current role. Her experiences swung from serving in Iraq during the conflict there, to setting up her own successful, specialist environmental technology company. One of her messages was that your career path may not be linear and life can take you in different directions!

Year 10 Subject prizes for academic year 2021-22 (Current year 11s)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year 12 Subject Prizes for academic year 2021-22 (Current year 13s)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emma Gospel Memorial Prize : Emily Midgley
This award commemorates Miss Emma Gospel who worked as a Science teacher from 1998 to 2021. She was Head of Chemistry and Head of Science. She set herself and her students high standards of effort and hard work and this award recognises a student who has persevered and worked hard to achieve their best and has shown significant improvement as they progress through either their GCSE or A-level course.

Ophelia Clarke Memorial Prize Awarded by Heart of England Co-operative - Bella Crosby and Evie Haberfield

Old Girls’ Prize for Service to the School and Community - Miriam Clements

Governors’ Award for progress in years 7-11 - Joely Randall

La Casa de Bernarda Alba

Our sixth form students have shared their reviews of their recent London theatre trip. Firstly the thoughts of our year 13 students:

“Earlier this month we went to see La Casa de Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca, the play we are studying for A-Level, at the Cervantes Theatre in London. It was an amazing day out! It was helpful to listen to Spanish outside of the classroom, meet other students studying the play and to see the play come to life. We were able to immerse ourselves into Lorca’s poetic language and test our listening skills. It was interesting to discuss our different interpretations afterwards on our walking tour of London. We would recommend this experience to all other language students and we would like to thank Señora Vann and Madame Strudwick for making the day so much fun!”

By Nikita Billa-Patel, Georgia Hathaway, Elise Scotney, Mya Nicolson, Mariana Nisa and Alison Ohene-Djan

Year 12 students shared their review of the trip too: “The play tells the story of a woman called Bernarda and her five daughters in early 20th century Andalucía, in an eight year mourning period after the death of Bernarda's second husband. It was incredibly dramatic to watch, as the story of love, jealousy and prestige unfolded. Each of the characters had a very clear personality, reflected very well in the acting and costume.”

by Ansruta Ayyalasomayajula, Edie Henderson-Morrow, Serena Mistry, Hine MacPhearson and Emily Stoddart

Read their full reviews on our website. 

Foxcroft Science Essay Final

On Mon 20th March Mrs Goodwin accompanied Vatsal Pandey and Osariemen Benson in year 12 to the 2023 Foxcroft Science Essay Final at Rugby School's Science Schools. Vatsal and Osariemen were 2 of the 6 finalists, chosen from 38 entries from Warwickshire and they both did brilliantly. They were asked some really challenging questions! Here are their experiences of the evening:

“The competition was to write a 1500 word essay on the theme: Big Data, and I chose to write about the question relating to biology: What is genome sequencing? The whole experience was very new to me as it was my first time writing a scientific essay. On the evening of the competition, I was very nervous to present to the judges as it was my first time ever doing something like this and I’m not confident with public speaking. It was a great experience that has definitely prepared me for times I will present in the future and it’s something I can be proud of myself for trying."
Osariemen Benson Year 12

"I'm thrilled to share my experience at The Foxcroft Science Essay Writing Competition, hosted by Rugby School on 20th March. The theme was "Big Data", and many schools participated in the event. I was honoured to be selected for the finals with my essay on "A.I. and Machine Learning in astronomy". During my 10-minute presentation, I shared my insights on the topic and was challenged with thought-provoking questions by expert judges in their respective science subjects. It was an intense but exciting experience that truly tested my knowledge and abilities." 
Vatsal Pandey Year 12

Read their full reviews on our website.

English Language conference in London

On Tuesday 21st March, all the year 12 and 13 English Language students were given the amazing opportunity to travel to London to attend a series of 5 talks from various experts in their language fields. Here’s a review from one of the students: “The trip down south was a gruelling 3 hours on a coach (starting out at 7.30 a.m.!) The talks began in a large lecture hall with staggered seating; we were right at the top with a brilliant view of the stage and projector screen, and it was amazing to see so many like-minded students filling the room. Talks included ‘The language of literature’ and ‘What do we notice about accents?’ and forensic linguistics.

Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for: Michael Rosen took to the stage to tell us ‘What’s Right about Writing?’, a session which included analysing a series of extracts of different genres. Rosen’s talk was both entertaining and informative, and it was amazing to be so close to a figure who I’m sure many of us are familiar with, either through his poetry, children’s books, or iconic YouTube video recitations.

The final talk of the day was (perhaps controversially) my favourite: “Why Bad Language is Good For You”. Overall it was a fun and educational day out, and I’m grateful to Miss Danks, Mrs Gregory and Mr Bond for organising the trip, providing more insight into the topics discussed, and especially for Miss Danks’ worksheet (because what school trip doesn’t involve one of those?).

Read the full review on our website.

Magistrates Court competitionTitle

Last October a group of year 12 students started auditions for year 8 and 9 students to join our school Magistrates Court Competition team. The auditions were rigorous and required students to show they could speak confidently and with purpose, and think on their feet. A group of 15 students were selected and allocated roles ranging from lawyers to witnesses, to court usher. Every Monday lunchtime the students met to prepare for the competition, and a timetable was constructed by the Sixth Form team to ensure students had the best preparation. Sixth Form students spent time mentoring and offering constructive feedback.

On the day of the competition (a cold Saturday in March), students were joined by Mrs Price and Mr Philips, and we met early in the morning outside Coventry Magistrates Court. We had to go through airport style security before attending a briefing. In round one the team was prosecuting, and gave a strong argument as to why the defendant should be found guilty. Especially good was the opening arguments speech given by Molly, and  Diana did a great job as legal advisor. The team got to switch for round 2, and represent the defendant. Students carried out the role play to a packed court and showed a level of confidence they could be proud of. Excitingly, the magistrates ruled the defendant to be not guilty in this round. 

Whilst we did not win the overall competition, the team can be so proud of all their work and dedication. Huge congratulations go to Bestly who was awarded top Defence lawyer on the day, and Iris who was awarded best defendant. Special mention should also go to Mabel who stepped in last minute to play the role of Magistrate. 

The opportunity would not have been possible without the commitment and hard work of the year 12 students (Louisa, Maz, Rose, Fadzy, Grace, and ably led by Nathan). Not only did they give up every Monday lunchtime to work with the team, but also their Saturday morning to come and support them. It was very exciting for them to be able to meet the head Judge for Coventry and Warwickshire and talk to him about work experience opportunities. We hope to be able to enter the competition again next year, so look out for audition details in the Autumn term.

Football round-up

Last week was a busy week for our football teams! We started off on Monday with a much-postponed friendly away at Kenilworth School. Huge thanks to Mr Copeland for driving his minibus too – we could not have got two teams there without him! The weather was not on anyone’s side and we finished too drenched for photos but had two really competitive games. No wins for us, but an enjoyable night.

Year 8s: Kenilworth 0 – 0 Rugby High School. This was a hard fought game, Maya played excellently but had to go off early with an injury, Zoe in year 7 played up in goal, made some amazing saves and was nominated POTM by the opposition.

Year 7s: Kenilworth 3 – 0 Rugby High School. We quickly conceded three goals, so Ese dropped back and marked their goal scorer, and rightly won herself POTM nominated by the opposition.

Rugby High School 2 -2 Avon Valley School (match abandoned). Goals were from Evelyn 2; Rosie Assist. We had much better weather for the next U16s game, home to Avon Valley. This was a really close game, some great play from both sides and a great atmosphere. However the game was abandoned in the second half as two opposition players clashed heads and one was knocked out. We’d like to wish her all the best, and to thank our great year 12s who referee and run the line for us on a completely voluntary basis. The game rightfully ended in a draw.

Team photo above, with big smiles before the game:
Standing l-r: Belle, Lizzie, Hattie, Aneek, Olivia, Jess, Evelyn, Maddie.
Kneeling l-r: Hani, Sofia, Sophia, Amelia.

U16s finish season on a high

U16s: Rugby High School 9 – 3 Bilton School. Goals came from Evelyn (6), Lucy (2) and Rosie (1). Our U16 football team finished off the league season on a high with an excellent victory over Bilton. 

Team photo above: 
Back Row (L-R): Lizzie, Harriet, Rosie, Sophia, Lucy, Anushay.
Front Row (L-R): Olivia, Amelia, Evelyn, Imogen.

The match was an all-round team performance with a balance of intricate attacking play and defensive steel. Through this, Evelyn scored six goals, Lucy, on her return from injury, achieved a brace and Rosie rounded off the scoring. In addition to this, victory would not have been achieved without the defensive prowess of the back-five of Sophia, Amelia, Olivia, Lizzie and Harriet. Very special mentions as well to Anushay and Imogen who, as year 7s, stepped up and showed great confidence and skill in outstanding displays.

There were a number of sparkling performances but, in the end, it was decided that player of the match should be Lucy – not only for her goals and assist, but for her resilience and determination to drive the team to victory!

Dr Brown and Mr Phillips would like to say a massive thank you to all the players who played their part, Maddie for her providing her time in order to conduct fantastic officiating, Mr Nicholls and Mr Bastable for stepping in as assistant referees, the parents who came along and showed their support for the team and Bilton for demonstrating a positive attitude throughout the match. 

 

 

Trampolining success

Our trampolining teams took part in a School Games Trampolining Competition recently at Harris.

The event consisted of teams of 5 students completing their routine twice to get a team total of points. Our Combined Year 9 and 10 team came 1st out of 4 teams. And the Year 8 team came 3rd out of 7 teams. Well done to everyone!

 

Keep reading over Easter!

There's plenty of books available to borrow from our school e-library. Head to the website. Or scan this QR code!

 

Term's house point totals

Rauf are still in the lead with this term’s house point totals! It’s been double house points week, so these totals can still go up. Remember the winning house will earn a prize activity! 

This morning was also our special SLT breakfast - each half-term the top 5 students from each year group who have the highest amount of points from a selected house point category are invited to have breakfast croissants with members of our Senior Leadership Team.

Year 11 Support Clinics

If you are in Year 11 and would like to build confidence regarding English Language/English Literature or you would like further support with a particular question/skill set to help you in your Summer exams, then please attend the clinic dates below. 

• English Language Paper 2 Section B (Writing): Friday 21st April
• Literature: pre20th century novel and Shakespeare: Friday 28th April
• Literature: Poetry and An Inspector Calls: Friday 5th May

All sessions start at 1.10pm and will be in A3. Please bring your lunch or collect a lunch pass from your English teacher. 

Poetry Recital

Parents / Carers will be joining us for a poetry recital evening for KS3, KS4 and KS5 in memory of former student Jessie Wright on 20th April, 7-9pm. This will be a wonderful evening of celebrating poetry.

This prestigious event, now in its twenty sixth year, is held in memory of a former pupil, Jessie Wright. The event is organised to promote and celebrate poetry recitation and creative writing, and involves students from years 7 to 13.

Students from Key Stage Three will take part in the recitation competition in the first part of the evening. Years 10 to 13 students have been invited to submit a poem on the theme of “Respect” and finalists have been selected from entries: they will also perform their original work in the second part of the evening.

The Jessie Wright memorial evening is always a highlight of the Rugby High School calendar and showcases the enormous talent of students at RHS.

Time
by Valerie Bloom

Time's a bird, which leaves its footprints
At the corners of your eyes,
Time's a jockey, racing horses,
The sun and moon across the skies.
Time's a thief, stealing your beauty,
Leaving you with tears and sighs,
But you waste time trying to catch him,
Time's a bird and Time just flies.

All things Poetry found at Poetry by Heart

School Vacancies

We’re recruiting for a Premises Manager, Cleaners and Mid-day Supervisors, with all posts starting as soon as possible.

Premises Manager
Full Time, Permanent Position – 37 Hours / Week, 52 Weeks / Year. NJC Grade H: Points: 17-22 (£26,845 to £29,440 - plus overtime pay)

We are currently looking to appoint a Premises Manager to manage our caretaking and cleaning team. The successful candidate will be self-motivated, have a high attention to detail and take pride in their work and that of their team.   They must be passionate about developing a programme of continuous improvement of the site.  They will be a great communicator, with a passion to serve their internal and external customers.

You will ideally have previous experience managing such a team in the education sector.  You must have well-honed practical skills and a thirst to utilize them to the maximum benefit of the school.  You will have purchasing expertise and a knowledge of a wide range of professional service providers.  You must have experience of managing a budget and be a competent ICT user.  The ability to work to tight deadlines and to communicate successfully with staff and students is essential.

Required to start as soon as possible.

Cleaners: £10.50 – £10.60 per hour, morning shift flexible starting between 6am to 7 am or afternoon shift from 3.50pm. Term-Time plus 5 training days plus 1 working week for deep clean – 40 Weeks. Training for cleaning and COSHH will be provided.  Applicants must be able to work alone and as part of a team.

Please visit our website to find out how to apply for the Cleaner position. 

Mid-day Supervisor

Term-time only from 12.50pm to 2.05pm each school day. NJC Scale Point 1/2 (£10. 50 - £10.60 per hour). 

The post involves supervision of the students and assisting with the smooth running of the canteen service.

Visit the vacancies web page

For RHS Students ONLY

If you have a concern about another student, please fill in this form to report your concern.

For more information about Wellbeing including resources and links to our DSL's, please visit our Wellbeing page here.

Please find below information that has been passed to us that may be of interest to you and your family.

Warwickshire Family Information Service Newsletter

14th March Edition