Headteacher's Newsletter - 2nd October 2023

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Parent Newsletter Autumn #4 - Monday 2nd October 2023

Engage · Aspire · Excel

From the Headteacher At Tiffin we believe that co-curricular opportunities are vital for student wellbeing, academic outcomes, resilience, skills and lifelong interests and friendships, which is why we value them so highly - and I know parents do too. However our co-curricular activities are very expensive! Costs from coaches to Grists to Music and Drama are far in excess of what the government gives state schools through their annual grant; and that’s the reason that Income Generation is one or our three development priorities for the year and the one I would like to focus on in this parent newsletter. Since there is this large gap between the government grant (our income) and our co-curricular costs, we rely on parents’ voluntary contributions to the Tiffin Education Fund (TEF) in order to give students these opportunities. I would like to express my huge thanks to all the parent TEF partners who are already giving regularly - your generosity brings so much benefit to your own children and the whole school community. We are committed to continuing to provide an exciting range of co-curricular opportunities for students; and we would love to be able to offer even more. In order to achieve this, especially at a time of rising costs, it would make such a difference if many more parents were able to partner us in this way; and regular giving is so helpful in helping us budget. To give an example: if 80% of Tiffin households gave an average of £70 per month, that would mean we would receive approx. £1M of TEF income per year (or £40 = c.£500K; or £55 = c.£750K) ; all of which would enable a huge enhancement in our co-curricular provision. All contributions are completely voluntary; and at the Parent Welcome Evenings I said that some parents might be able to give the cost of an ‘iphone 5’ monthly contract or more; and others a ‘SIM only contract’ - any amount is gratefully received! Thank you so much to our current TEF partners. To parents who do not yet give to the TEF - could I invite you to partner with us and make an investment which will bring lifelong benefit to your children and the whole Tiffin student community? Will you support me in reaching my goal of 80% of parents becoming TEF partners? Many more parents than are currently TEF partners have indicated that this is an intention; and I hope that this letter, and the ‘Donate Here’ link on page 4 , act as a helpful reminder to set up regular payments and make this difference. Thank you for your consideration.

Important Notices

School Closure - 5th and 6th October

Important Notices

A reminder that there is no school for all students on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th October due to the 11+ exams taking place. Sixth Form Open Afternoon Sixth Form Open Afternoon for our current Year 11 students will take place on Tuesday 17th October. The afternoon will run from 1430-1630 and parents are encouraged to come with their son and explore the A Level subjects on offer. Compressed Day - 17th October Please note that, due to the Sixth Form Open Afternoon and Open Evening events, lessons will be compressed on Tuesday 17th October. Years 7-9 students will be dismissed from school at 1250 and Years 10-13 at 1300. Free School Meals and Pupil Premium Students who come from lower income families may be eligible for free school meals (FSM). Additionally, if you apply and are awarded FSM by the Kingston Local Authority, the school will receive Pupil Premium Funding to help pay for additional support at school that can help to overcome barriers to learning. You can find more information in our Pupil Premium Policy on our school website here. Some examples of financial support you would receive are: • Subsidised school trips e.g. all day trips and one residential trip per academic year. • Subsidised Music lessons from Year 7 • Prioritised careers guidance • Subsidised initial Chromebook cost and some future Chromebook repairs

Parent Communication

School Development

Sixth Form Production

Classics Trip

Art Trip

Sports Roundup

Debating

Comedy Night

SEND Board

If you think that you might qualify for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium, we would strongly encourage you to apply to Kingston through this link.

Parent Communication

‘Tell us at Tiffin’ is a new platform for parents to feed back positive comments and helpful suggestions across all areas of school life. Feedback will be reviewed regularly by the Senior Leadership Team and a collective response will be given via the Parent Newsletter. To submit your comments, please click the link below and log into Insight. You will find the ‘Tell us at Tiffin’ page under the ‘General’ tab.

020 8546 4638

office@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk

Garth Williams Headteacher

Submit Your Feedback Here

Engage · Aspire · Excel

School Development

Last year, the Tiffin Education Fund purchased/supported...

Strategic Priorities for 2023-2024

20 Smartboards Installed over the Summer Holidays

3 Sets of Rugby Posts at Grists

Teaching and Learning

Engagement and Communication

Income Generation

A New Rowing Boat

Refubishment of 12 Classrooms

Income Generation

Together

New Furniture for Room 63

for Tiffin

Debating Club

For many years, the generosity of parents such as yourself has helped us to provide a wide range of opportunities and activities to broaden and enrich the education of Tiffin students. From the performing arts to the sports field, in the classroom and beyond, the Tiffin Education Fund has been the cornerstone of the provision of an outstanding all-round education. Now more than ever, the assistance of the whole Tiffin community is crucial in helping us to continue to offer all of our students an exciting Tiffin education. Many families choose to give a regular gift of £70 a month; some families give more, some less and we are grateful for all contributions. Regular gifts by direct debit give us a predictable income so we can plan ahead to ensure that whatever their choice from our wider opportunities programme, each and every student will benefit from the Tiffin Education Fund.

Chess Club

School Trips

Language Assistant Coaching

Historically, the education fund has contributed to the building of:

Donate Here

80% Making a Difference Target: TEF Parent Partners

Gym and fitness studios Dining Hall and Classrooms Sixth Form Centre

Learning Resource Centre MUGA

Thank you for your support – regular donations have the power to collectively make a huge difference. If you have any questions about donating to the School, please contact development@tiffin.kingston.

School Hall electronics system, supporting Drama, Music and House activities

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Sixth Form Production

We’re delighted to announce that tickets are now available for ‘katzenmusik: a play told backwards’ – this year’s Sixth Form Production. A darkly comic story about social inequality and upheaval, told in reverse. A viral video, a company capitalising on fear, prank calls, class divide and a cat memorial. The increasing income gap between rich and poor has pushed the residents of Burnside Town to breaking point. ‘katzenmusik’ is a play told ‘backwards’ (as the scenes continue, it goes further and further backwards in time). It’s all about ‘cause and effect’, and as the story is told in reverse, we see the consequences before the cause. It is a contemporary, genuinely original play that pushes our incredibly talented Sixth Form, in the balance it finds between dark comedy and earnest drama. ‘katzenmusik’ offers the chance to see the exceptional dramatic talent of the Sixth Form. The cast and production team are made up entirely of Year 12 and 13, who have worked so hard to put this production together in just four weeks. The play is challenging, both in style and subject matter, and as such there is an age guidance (though not a restriction, and will be left to parental discretion) of 15+, given some of the content (more information can be found on the ticket page). There will be four performances, on October 10th-13th, starting at 7pm in the Drama Studio (in the Chester Centre), and the show runs at 90minutes without interval. Tickets can be found through the link here. Each member of the cast involved will perform in their main role for two shows, though may be involved in the ensemble/backstage for the other performances.

We look forward to welcoming you to the show.

Classics Trip to ‘Devine Night’

Sixth Form Classicists were treated to a fantastic evening of Greek mythology and laughter at Bloomsbury Theatre this week. The stand-up comedian and bestselling author Natalie Haynes returned to the world of Greek myth she so wittily explored in Pandora’s Jar and turned her focus on Olympus itself – not on the gods, who have had far more attention than they deserve over the millennia since these stories were first told, but on the goddesses. All the students were thoroughly entertained but also inspired to explore the topic further. We look forward to delving into some of the notions raised by reading more Homer, Ovid and Catullus in our lessons!

Engage · Aspire · Excel

Art Trip to Kew Gardens

Sports Roundup

Last weekend saw us complete our first block fixture in rugby against Halliford. It was a hugely successful block with us winning eight of the eleven matches across our different age groups! Our U15’s started the block as we meant to go on with both our A’s and B’s victorious in both matches during their Thursday games session (32-10 and 17-0 respectively). Three Year 7 teams then represented the school for the first time and all three teams played really well, with two narrow losses and an impressive win in the C’s (30-15). There is an abundance of potential that we hope to unlock in the years to come for Tiffin Rugby. The U16A’s had a mightily impressive win (27-12), righting the wrongs of seasons past and showing the progression they’ve made as a squad. The U14A’s have picked up where they left off with a solid 22-7 win whilst showing good squad depth to cover for some key absences - a special mention to Ethan F who has been selected for the Harlequins Developing Player Programme, a massive congratulations from all of us at Tiffin! Both U13 teams started the season well with two good wins (25-20 and 40-30), remembering that this time last year both teams lost to Halliford - this highlights the player and team progression we work hard to see as coaches here at Tiffin. It’s great to see us be able to put out a 3rd XV side on a Saturday morning. Despite the 26-10 loss to Claremont, it’s this level of participation that we strive for in our rugby programme. Our 1st XV have showed no signs of slowing down, beating a physical Halliford side 20-10 and then running out 46-17 winners against Harrodian, making it five wins from five so far this season. A tough test in our block fixture against Gunnersbury awaits for most age groups - good luck to those involved!

On Friday 22nd of September, 52 students had the pleasure of visiting Kew Gardens as part of their research investigation based on natural forms. The students worked in small groups to practice their photography, whilst collecting evidence for patterns and textures. Teaching staff commented on how passionate our students were, who worked solidly on floral studies within the glass houses and out in the open. Moreover, Tiffin received a commendation from the Kew Staff on the way our students conducted themselves in an exemplary way inside the glass houses. Work gathered on cameras is currently driving the creative journey in class; please see some examples of the work created to the right. We would like to thank Mrs Sharpe for liaising with Kew and for organising such a rewarding experience for our GCSE students.

Our junior cross country teams competed in the Haskell Cup at RGS Guildford. The A team finished 4th overall out of 15 other schools, a really strong result. Our newly compiled Year 7 team competed two years up and finished 10th which is really promising for the years to come. There were particularly strong performances from Thomas W (Y9) and Max J (Y7). Also, a massive thank you to Thomas C (Y9) and Zach N (Y9) for stepping up at late notice and putting in a great performance to help the team! It’s truly impressive to see great numbers in our netball program to start the year! In their most recent matches against Wimbledon High School, our A’s and B’s experienced their first losses of the season against some very tough oppositions - the C’s however put on a top performance to draw! Being able to easily put out three teams so early in the academic year is testament to the commitment shown in training by those who want to play. This concludes our weekly sports round-up - best of luck to all students involved in fixtures this coming week!

Artwork by Alex Pang -

Engage · Aspire · Excel

SEND Board

Debating

A place for information and advice regarding Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Five debating pairs from Year 11 and Year 12 enjoyed a successful day of debating at the Dulwich Schools Debating Competition on Sunday 24th September. At Tiffin, the Senior Debating Club meets at 1530 every Monday in the JLT and the Junior Debating Club meets at 1220 every Friday in Room 106.

Comedy Night

Get in Touch

Tiffin Parents Rugby Association are holding a Comedy Night on Friday 13th October at 1900 at the school. To book your tickets, please use the link below.

Book Tickets Here

Please do get in touch via SEN@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s educational needs.

Engage · Aspire · Excel

Tiffin School 020 8546 4638 · office@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk · tiffinschool.co.uk

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