RAF Newsletter - Spring Week 8

Dates for your diary

Here are details of important events in the next few weeks.

Year Group	Date	Timings	Event details
All Year Groups	Monday 16th February - Friday 20th February	Half term holiday	Half term holiday
All Year Groups	Monday 23rd February	Back to school	Back to school
Year 5	Tuesday 24th February	Daytime and evening performance	Young Voices concert at the O2
Year 4	Wednesday 25th February	Daytime, back around 6.45pm	Trip to the Lion King
Nursery Open event for families of new children wanting to join	Monday 2nd March	9am or 1.30pm	Nursery Open Events
Year 5	Tuesday 3rd March	2.30pm - 3.15pm	Parent Celebration Event
Year 2	Wednesday 4th March	Daytime	Trip to Natural History Museum
Nursery and Reception	Thursday 5th March	3pm - 7pm	Parents' Evening
All Primary Year Groups	Friday 6th March	Daytime	World Book Day
Year 12 and 13	8th March - 9th March	Timings tbc	Trip to Auschwitz
Year 1	Monday 9th March	Daytime	Trip to London Transport Museum
Nursery and Reception	Tuesday 10th March	3pm - 7pm	Parents' Evening
Year 6	Tuesday 10th March	2.30pm - 3.15pm	Parent Celebration Event
Nursery families of morning children	Wednesday 11th March	10.30am - 11.15am	Mothering Day tea party (children at nursery as usual)
Nursery families of all day/ afternoon children	Wednesday 11th March	2.30pm - 3.15pm	Mothering Day tea party (children at nursery as usual)
Year 7	Thursday 12th March	Daytime until 5pm	Trip to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Reception	Monday 16th March	Daytime	Trip to Hounslow Urban Farm
Children who are members of Rocksteady bands	Tuesday 24th March	9am	Rocksteady Concert
Reception	Tuesday 24th March	2pm - 3pm	Afternoon tea celebration
Year 11 and Year 13	Wednesday 25th March	3pm - 7pm	Mock Results Event
Year 9	Thursday 26th - 27th March	Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition	Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition
All Year Groups including Nursery	Friday 27th March	Daytime	INSET DAY
All Year Groups including Nursery	Friday 27th March - Sunday 12th April	Easter Holiday	Easter Holiday

The week from Monday 2nd of March until 6th March, we have the Scholastic Book Fair after school. Between 3.00pm - 3.30pm, you will be able to buy lots of lovely books for your children. We earn rewards to spend on books for the school with every purchase that our families make, so this is a fantastic chance for us to add and enrich our libraries. Cash and cards are accepted and the fair will take place in the following locations:

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday	Primary playground
Thursday and Friday	Secondary playground

Book Token

All primary school pupils will be given £1 book tokens during this week to celebrate World Book Day, which we are holding on Friday 6th March. You can either use these at the Scholastic Book Fair, or you can take them to a registered bookseller. You can see who accepts the book tokens on the back of the vouchers. Happy spending!

World Book Day: Friday 6th of March

We are so much looking forward to celebrating World Book Day on Friday 6th March. Please note that this is one day later than the national date, but it allows us to give children a full day to really enjoy and celebrate reading together.

On the day, pupils (and staff!) are invited to dress up as their favourite character from a book. This could be a well-known character, a lesser-known one, or a character from a book they love reading at home. Children are also welcome to bring the book the character features in, into school to share with their class.

World Book Day at Reach is about more than dressing up. It will be an off timetable day, filled with reading-rich activities designed to celebrate stories, poetry, creativity, and the joy of reading. Throughout the day, children will take part in a range of activities that help them see reading as something to enjoy, explore, and share.

Mental Health Week

This week has been Children’s Mental Health Week, and this year’s theme is “This Is My Place.” At school, we have been running a range of activities to help pupils reflect on where they feel safe, supported and able to be themselves.

Find out more in this letter, which also includes links to the fantastic free resource, the Wellbeing Hub, which we are signed up to. If you are not already registered, we encourage all of our families to join, you can scan the QR code below or sign up here.

There is a range of tools and expert advice on dealing with a range of issues that young people face, including starting school, puberty, smartphones and anxiety. There are really helpful resources for all ages.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Kay Stone. kay.stone@reachacademy.org.uk

Last week, the Nursery visited Costa in Feltham. We are incredibly proud of how well the children followed instructions and interacted with members of the public.

The visit helped the children build their confidence while being out in the community, and supported their language development through real life conversations. It also gave them the chance to learn about different jobs and understand the importance of politeness and patience.

They were able to practise walking safely and waited for the green man before they crossed the road. The children navigated some very steep stairs in Costa, focusing carefully as they held onto the bannister and used their hand eye coordination and gross motor skills to move safely and successfully. Well done everyone!

Learning Phonics!

Next term, we’ll start learning phonics! Phonics helps us understand how letters and sounds work together, which is the key to reading and writing. To make sure we don’t miss out on this exciting brain-boosting activity, please ensure we arrive on time for our nursery sessions. Phonics is taught at the beginning of our day, and we wouldn’t want to miss this fantastic opportunity to grow and learn!

Dates for your diary:

5th March: Nursery Parents evening

10th March: Nursery Parents evening

11th March: Nursery Mother’s Day Tea Party

Maths

We have been exploring the concept of groups, what a group is and how we can share between groups. We have been learning about sharing equally and unequally. We have also been learning about how two equal groups can be called a pair. You could support your child’s learning at home by asking them to help you pair up your socks when you are doing your washing. The children have been saying “one, two, that’s a pair.”

Zipping coats

Please continue to support your child to be even more independent by helping them to practice zipping up their coats by themselves.

Reading Records

Next half term, we will be asking the children to take out their Reading Records as they arrive in the classroom in the morning.

Please read with your child everyday; this has a huge impact on their reading progress. When you have read with them, please leave a comment in their Reading Record, so that we can see they are reading. We check your child's Reading Record every day and mark in there when we see your comments.

Homework

We love seeing what your child is getting up to at home and the children also really enjoy seeing each other completing their homework on Tapestry. A reminder that Homework is due every Wednesday. You can send any handwriting sheets into school and share any short videos or photos of your child on Tapestry for us to see how your child is doing with any Maths activities.

Parents Evening

Please find below the dates for the two classes.

Please use the link sent to you in the Parent’s Evening letter to book a meeting with your child’s class teacher.

Thank you

We have had a wonderful half term and would like to thank you for working with us to ensure that your child is receiving the best possible education. It helps give them a strong start in going on to enjoy lives of choice and opportunity. We hope all of our families have a fantastic half term break and look forward to seeing you back at school on Monday 23rd February.

Important information

Camellia and Ash PE days: Monday and Wednesday

Book change: Fridays

Spare clothes: please could these be brought into school in a named plastic bag, which can be kept on children’s pegs. Please include named pants and trousers.

Trip to London Transport Museum

On Monday 9th March we are going on a trip to the London Transport Museum. We are so excited! Find more information about this trip here.

Thank you!

Thank you for all your support as we wrap up another half term. It is so great to see how far the children have come as we approach the halfway point. We are so proud of the children’s phonics progress in particular. They have shown so much endeavour in learning new sounds and building reading fluency. Well done everyone!

Say It, See It, Write It

Over the half term, please see these videos from See It Say It Write It, featuring our very own Isla! Children can participate in the lessons and learn new sounds, and will progress into reading and writing words and a sentence. If you are not sure which Set your child is learning, please do let us know.

Set 1 video are here.
Set 2 videos are here.
Set 3 videos are here.

Next term's topics

Year 1 will be continuing with Everyday Materials in science. In history we are all really excited to be learning our new topic of The Great Fire of London. We will explore how and when the fire started, how London has changed since the fire and what we can learn from it today. Have a look in the local library to see if you can find a book to read some facts about it over half term.

In music, we will learn about traditional songs, while in DT we will find out about structures. The children will be making a windmill to design, make and evaluate.

Have a lovely break!

We can’t wait to see the children back after the holiday. We hope you enjoy the break and get lots of rest before another busy term. Stay safe and be kind!

Thank you so much for the donations of cardboard and recycling for junk modelling in Learning Exploring. This is ongoing so any more donations would be greatly appreciated!

Coming up this term:

16th-20th February: Half term break
Wednesday 5th March: Year 2 trip to Natural History Museum
Friday 27th March: Last day of spring term. This is an INSET day.

Reading

In Andie’s Book Club we are still reading 'Fantastic Mr Fox' and doing lots of work on expression when we read aloud. We are thinking carefully about how our voice can show character, mood and meaning, rather than just reading the words on the page.

In Emily’s Book Club we are currently reading 'The Magic Finger' by Roald Dahl. We are working on reading quickly, while maintaining accuracy.

How you can help at home:

Model expressive reading: read a short paragraph aloud first, showing excitement, suspense, or humour.
Echo reading: you read one sentence with expression, then your child “echoes” it back, copying your pace, tone and emphasis.
Talk about punctuation: ask, “What should my voice do at the exclamation mark?” or “How should this sound if the character is whispering?”
Keep sessions short and positive, even 5 minutes makes a difference.

Writing

This week in writing, we explored poetry by imagining what would happen if we were in charge of the school! The children absolutely loved this unit. Their ideas were imaginative, bold, funny and surprisingly thoughtful.

We saw wonderful creativity, playful language and growing confidence in expressing opinions. We cannot wait to share some of their finished poems with you in our next newsletter. They truly are something to celebrate.

Over half term, you might enjoy reading some poetry together. Poetry is incredibly powerful for children’s development because it:

Builds vocabulary through rich and unusual language
Strengthens fluency and expression when read aloud
Develops memory skills through rhythm and repetition
Encourages creativity and imagination
Helps children understand emotion and humour

Poetry is also less intimidating than longer texts: it can be read in just a few minutes and often invites discussion straight away.

Where to Find Suitable Poetry

Here are some wonderful, age appropriate options:

Michael Rosen: funny, playful and brilliant for reading aloud
Julia Donaldson: rhythmic and accessible
Roger McGough: lively and imaginative
The Poetry by Heart website (primary section)
The Children’s Poetry Archive (many poems are read aloud by the poets themselves)

Even reading one short poem a day can make a big difference. Encourage your child to perform it with expression, change their voice, or even learn a few lines by heart.

Maths

This week we have started work on fractions. We have learned key vocabulary related to fractions (see below). The most important thing to know is that when you half, quarter or divide into thirds, the groups are always equal.

Want to continue working on maths at home?

Many of you asked if there are any programmes that we would recommend for continuing learning at home. If you are interested in this, we would recommend the CGP books. They are aligned with the curriculum and promote deeper thinking about the concepts we are teaching at school.

Half Term Homework Reminder

A gentle reminder to please complete the half term homework. It mirrors the children’s usual homework (reading, writing and maths) so that they can stay in their learning routine.

We completely understand that holidays are a time for rest, family and fun and that is important. However, doing a small amount of learning each day (even 15 minutes) makes a significant difference.

When children stop practising completely, they enter what psychologists call a cycle of forgetting. Without repeated use, new knowledge fades from memory. Regular short practice helps strengthen those memory pathways so that learning becomes more secure and automatic.

This is especially important for:

Reading fluency: which improves with daily exposure
Spelling patterns and grammar: which need repeated retrieval
Maths facts: which become quicker and more confident through practice

Think of it like training a muscle! Small, consistent workouts are far more effective than one long session once in a while.

Have a great half term break!

As we end the first half of spring term, we are so incredibly proud of all of the hard work shown by Year 3. Everyone has shown so much courage and endeavour, especially for completing all of their end of unit quizzes this week.

Your Voice Matters Event

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us, it was so wonderful to see so many of you there. As you know, this term we have been focusing on ‘your voice matters’; it was wonderful to see so many children have the chance to use their loud and proud voices to share with you all of their amazing achievements. We cannot thank you enough for all your continued support in helping your child to use their loud and proud voices with confidence.

Writing

The children have been powering through their second independent write of the term: an explanation text. Children have been using headings, subheadings, imperative verbs and subordinate clauses to take readers through all the steps they need to take, in order to defeat any human trapped in this monster’s cave! We cannot wait to see their final independent write this week!

Maths

This term we have gone full steam ahead with our multiplication and division unit. We have been learning all about how to multiply large numbers using a multiplication grid, and how to multiply and divide by 10 and 100 using a place value chart.

We have also been learning the 4 times tables. Children have been using arrays to prove multiplication and division facts. Look at them go!

Mid-Year Celebration Event

It was such a pleasure to welcome so many of you to our Mid-Year Celebration Event. The children were fantastic ambassadors of their learning and spoke with confidence using their loud and proud voices.

This term, we have been focusing on the message “Your voice matters”, and it was wonderful to see this come to life as children confidently shared their learning with you. Thank you for your continued support in helping build their confidence and pride. Below are some photos of their work.

Swimming

A reminder that swimming lessons will begin next term. Our first session will take place on Monday 23rd February 2026, the first day back after half-term.

Children should arrive in their PE uniform and bring a swimming bag.

Please see the Year 4 Swimming Letter for full details.

Writing

This term, the children have been working on a poem inspired by 'The River' by Valerie Bloom. Through this unit, the pupils have explored how poets use language to bring ideas to life.

They have been learning to:

use metaphors to compare the river to different things
write using present tense verbs to show movement and action
choose powerful verbs and vocabulary to create imagery
understand how poetry can shift in tone: from calm and playful, to dramatic

Children have built their poems step by step, experimenting with language and developing confidence in crafting expressive, imaginative writing. Here are some great examples.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Spring 1 has been an exceptional half term and, as it draws to a close, we find ourselves once again at the halfway point of the academic year. How time has flown!

This natural break in the rhythm of routine offers an opportunity for us all to consider how we have developed, all that we have learnt and what we desire from the future going forward.

In this week before the second half of the school year commences, we would encourage all of our pupils to take the time to reflect on the past four months, and consider what changes they would like to see in themselves before the summer holidays and Year 6 thereafter.

Incredible progress!

Last week, our pupils completed their second round of mock assessments, sitting five papers over four days with impressive focus, resilience and determination. As a result, every pupil demonstrated clear progress since their first mocks in December. We are incredibly proud of how far they have come since the start of the year and are delighted with their achievements. With one final round of mocks in March before SATs in May, we’re excited for what lies ahead.

Jamie’s Farm

Please ensure you have completed the consent form for the upcoming Year 6 residential.

If you require any support with payments, you can apply through the Financial Assistance Form, and a member of staff will get in touch.

Merit/value certificate winners

A massive congratulations to these pupils, our merit and value certificate winners over the last two weeks!

Team Reach Prize

On Monday, 2nd February, pupils enjoyed their Team Reach reward in recognition of their hard work and determination during the first three weeks of term.

They spent the session playing a variety of board games, and we were impressed by how well they held one another to account on the rules, while still keeping the experience fun and enjoyable. Thank you to all the pupils who brought in their own games: it was greatly appreciated.

Enrichment

As Year 6 prepares for transition to secondary school, we have introduced a new approach this half-term that links their payslip scores to Friday enrichment.

To qualify for their chosen option, pupils must earn more than 75 points, calculated from an aggregate of merits and demerits. Pupils who do not meet this threshold will be asked to complete a reflection and identify ways to improve their payslip. Pupils have responded positively to this initiative and are confident in their ability to earn enrichment through strong attendance and positive behaviour.

Religious Studies

Pupils have learnt about how Hindus worship. Hindus worship through puja, which can take place at home or in a temple (mandir). Many homes have a shrine with images of deities, while temples focus on a sacred image called a murti, kept in a central inner space. Temples are places for reflection and prayer and are often visited during festivals or special occasions.

Science

Pupils have been learning how different cells in the human body are specially adapted to perform specific roles.

Nerve cells are specialised to send electrical signals around the body. They are long and thin, allowing messages to travel quickly over long distances, and have branching ends to connect with other nerve cells, muscles, or glands.

Sperm cells are specialised for fertilisation. They have a tail to help them swim towards the egg, a streamlined shape for speed, and a head containing genetic information and enzymes that help them enter the egg.

PE

We have come to the end of our netball unit. Over the final lessons, pupils focused on improving their positioning, moving into space effectively and marking opponents when required. In the final lesson, pupils took part in a mini-tournament, which was played in a competitive, yet fair and enjoyable spirit. Well done to everyone!

Homework

We will be setting homework for pupils to complete over the half-term break, including a mixture of reading, maths, and SPaG. Although this work is optional, we strongly recommend your child completes it, to support their continued preparation for the May exams. Additional tasks will also be set on Atom Learning.

Y6 Google Classroom
Class invite link	Class code: raxmo2xd

Permission to go home

If you would like your child to go home by themselves, please make sure you complete this form. Here is the letter containing the relevant information.

Dear families,

I am excited to announce that from Monday 23rd February, I will be taking on the role of Head of Year 7.
Some of you may already know me as form tutor for 7Wensum, or as a Religious Studies teacher in Year 7.

Being a Year 7 form tutor has been one of the highlights of my time at Reach so far. I am very pleased to be moving into this new role, so that I can build on the strong progress the pupils have made so far.
As Head of Year, my focus will be on providing consistency, support, and guidance as the students continue their educational journey. I look forward to working closely with pupils, staff, and families to ensure the ongoing success and wellbeing of the year group.

Lowri will continue to work closely with Year 7 and other year groups in her role as Assistant Headteacher of Culture and Relationships.

I look forward to working collaboratively with you all to secure a life of choice and opportunity for your children.

Kind regards,
Izzy Lumley

Art

Shout out to Charvi for this expressive coffee and ink landscape inspired by Van Gogh produced in Art lesson this week.

Year 8 have had a wonderful last two weeks of term. They have been endeavouring really hard in their lessons. Their assessment will start soon after they come back from half-term, so I would encourage pupils to start revising during the break in preparation.

Shoutouts

Megan T: SO to Ouse for reflect - much more endeavour and focus in the room this morning which is great to see!

Savarnah: SO to all the Y8s that went on the DNA trip. Such a great opportunity that will help them to endeavour in cycle 2 when they are studying the play!

Kit: SO to some brilliant biologists today! Zion was ON IT with his answers and asked really scientifically curious questions about single-celled pond life. Aarya and Rhea were so reflective and refined their answers to be even more excellent. Carey drew some fantastic diagrams of cells. Anthony aspired to move onto the stretch EVERY TIME! So proud of them all 🦠

Kit: SO to Ruby, Aurelia, Iden, Olive and Mohamed for their endeavour, they were so resilient in tackling syntax errors and being reflective on feedback!!

Navjot: SO to Mohamed for endeavour who was very excited to show off his code in Computer Science. When he encountered an issue he jumped into problem solving straight away 💻

Navjot: Shoutout for Olive and Rafay who have been asking lots of insightful questions about different types of cells in Biology

Planning for the Future and Building Character

It has been a busy and inspiring few weeks for our Year 9 pupils! As they move further into this pivotal year, we are seeing them step up to new challenges with maturity and a real sense of community. Here is a look at what they’ve been up to:

Hounslow House Careers Fair

A small group of pupils went to the Careers Fair at Hounslow House, which was a resounding success. We were incredibly proud to see them engaging so professionally with local employers and educational providers.

In fact, several exhibitors took the time to point out how impressed they were by the insightful and high quality questions asked by our Year 9s. It is clear that our pupils are starting to think seriously, and ambitiously, about their next steps!

Duke of Edinburgh: Volunteering Launch

The journey toward the Bronze DofE Award continues! We have officially launched the volunteering section of the programme. This is often the most rewarding part of the award, as it allows pupils to give back to their community while developing leadership skills.

Do you have any questions? If you or your child need any guidance on what qualifies as a volunteering activity, please contact Kit for more information.

Homework Club

To support our pupils in managing their increasing workload, Joel has launched the Year 9 Homework Club. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to:

Get ahead of their assignments in a quiet, focused environment.
Access school resources and peer support.
Free up their evenings for rest and extracurricular activities.

What is Your Legacy?

During our recent lunchtime question of the day, we really enjoyed hearing the pupils' thoughts on the question “what do you want to be remembered for?” Rather than focusing on grades or sports trophies, the overwhelming majority spoke about character. They shared what they want to be remembered for:

Being a kind friend.
Helping others when they are struggling.
Being someone who includes everyone.

Shout Outs

Chloe V: SO to Don for very focused and accurate work today. Particularly impressed with Amelia-Rose’s work and resilience as she wasn’t feeling well but worked amazingly and to Dylan for writing a good 40 word paragraph trying to use my help as little as possible!

Sophie: SO to Phoebe, Aaliyah, Max and Amelia P who showed courage and presented their charities to the form today, culminating in the class voting for our first give charity.

Suprina: SO to Tareeq, he was so engaged in todays lesson and showed off all his knowledge about cells and respiration. His endeavour remained high throughout the lesson and did amazing independent practice!

Chelsea: SO to Tyne for their endeavour today, particularly to Logan and Tareeq for their excellent contributions to the lesson!

French GCSE pupils trip to Kensington

The Year 11s who chose French as a GCSE were welcomed at the Institut Francais for the screening of the movie ‘Le Comte de Monte Cristo’ . This is an adapted movie of the renowned French book by Alexander Dumas.

'The Count of Monte Cristo' is set in post-Napoleonic France, mainly between 1815 and 1839. It follows the wrongly imprisoned Edmond Dantès, who escapes, gains immense wealth, and reinvents himself as the Count to take calculated revenge on those who betrayed him.

This linked to their history curriculum and helped them with their listening skills for the GCSE. It also showed what taking A-level French could look like. They were so amazing, showing obvious kindness and their French knowledge.

We started by going outside the French Embassy and the French area of Kensington, before heading to the cinema where they were introduced to the movie and immersed into French culture. They were even treated to a little French treat from Paul, a famous French bakery.

Here is a photo of them at the Embassy and a shout out to all of them for being the most outstanding pupils in the cinema room.

Chloé V: So to 10Baguette who were absolutely FANTASTIQUE today! They represented Reach so well, someone on the underground told me how amazing and well behaved they were. I felt so much pride hearing this and being part of the Reach community.

They were so engaged with the movie and loved it (so did I), it also reinforced my love for teaching them French as they were so happy and proud to recognise a lot of the language!

Here are some individual ones as some pupils deserve a spotlight:

It won’t come as a surprise but Logan was very obviously kind, telling people where there were free seats so they wouldn’t have to stand.

Tyler was super excited and so engaged at the edge of his seat!

Bikal and Elias loved it so much, they wanted to chat during the movie and when told to stop they were following instructions straight away setting an example for other schools.

Esther and Avneet for loving it soooooo much they gave the movie an 11/10 and I really enjoyed talking about it on our way back to school!

Lorenzo and Alex for hyping the movie so much at the end.

Eve: SO to all Y10 French pupils who were just the most delightful on the trip today!

SO to Logan and Tyler who were totally engrossed in the film.

SO to Yara who gave me a full rundown of the plot while we were waiting for the tube on the way back (even though I had watched it, hearing it from her perspective was very fun!).

SO to Ishaan, Ezaan and Alan for consistently offering their seats on the train!

SO to Iqra, Rosie, Anvita and Yara for having fun! They were so excited to be in south Kensington!

Chelsea: Huge SO to all Y10 on the French trip yesterday, it was so much fun getting to take you to the cinema! You all were so well behaved, it made the day so easy and enjoyable for me, Chloe, and Eve!

Special SO to Ezaan, Elias, and Logan for having fun, as they made the trip there so fun with all their questions about America!

SO to Bikal and Elias too for their amazement at the action-packed fight at the end of the film!

Thank you to the lovely Year 10 Baguette class, We are so grateful and proud to teach them and thanks to Chelsea and Eve for making the trip even better and engaging so much throughout the day!

Pinewood Studios

A group of our creative Year 10 scholars attended the Futures Festival to explore career pathways, apprenticeships and work experience opportunities in TV and film.

The festival was hosted at the renowned Pinewood Studios, famous for filming Bond, Marvel and Star Wars films! Our pupils enjoyed observing a stunt session the most, where actors flew from the ceiling, performed stunts and even created an ‘explosion’!

Shout Outs!

Chloe.V: 10Baguette has amazing French accents! So impressed with many of them and the courage they all had in reading aloud to the whole class ✨🇫🇷
Kit: SO to Fatima Y and Zulaykha- super hard workers in maths cover and have made sure to do lots of green pen editing on their practice quizzes
Chloe.S: Super impressed with Phoebe's Year 10 class today, in particular Lily who has been smashing Spanish this year! 🤩🌟
Anastasia: Special SO to Miley in Chem today! She reached the extension challenge question and absolutely smashed it with getting 5/5 with no guidance! #calculation queen🧪
Chloe.V: SO to 10Baguette who were so pleased to find out how they did in their mocks, reflected on them, completed an end of module test and recalled previous knowledge well. They were also very cute when we discussed the trip for Tuesday and watched the trailer of the movie we are going to watch. A highlight of my week!
Jason: SO to Ismaeel who worked SO hard in BTEC today! Was fully engaged for the whole double and produced a really good first draft for his task 1 coursework 🏆🏆🏆
Jonny: SO to Logan and Zulaykha (the only Y10s left in my group after the trip) - Lily for working so hard and getting onto some difficult forming and solving equations with trapezia (and also bringing out all the mathematical terms like commutativity), he has been a joy to teach - Zulaykha showed awesome endeavour to nail a form and solve with angles in a quadrilateral, her confidence really grew
Chloe.S: SO to Year 10 who were super reflective in our feedback lesson this morning - they have all written SMART targets for Spanish! I was really impressed with Gabi, Ezaan and Kayla's in particular. 🎯
Anastasia: SO to Y10 Biologists today ⭐🧪 Special SO to Andra and Carlos who were so focused today during our lesson on vectors. SO to Halle and Kayla who completed their independent practice with so much endeavour. SO to Hannah who always asks clarifying questions to check she has understood what she is learning!
Jonny: My Y10 Maths group were awesome today; George B's work got shown under the visualiser for textbook working out. Sana got the golden ticket from GBR for high endeavour during MWB tasks!
Ben: SO to 10 Thames for an excellent PE lesson yesterday, such positivity and energy throughout the lesson. SO in particular to Ananya and Zulaykha for obvious kindness by supporting their teammates to keep endeavoring and to Esther, Avneet and Rabah for bringing joy and enthusiasm throughout the lesson!
Anastasia: SO to Fatima Y who smashed chemistry today! She recalled a process from last week and got 5/5 for an exam question!⭐
Arrim: SO to Year 10 business who learnt the key elements of the design mix! They are really working hard on learning the exam techniques used in business and are smashing using "BLT". 🙌💫
Chloe.S: SO to Christine who has been showing so much focus and endeavour in her Spanish work since parents evening! 👑🌟
Ruksar: SO to 10Bio3, we learnt about the heart today, it’s a tricky topic with lots of new, complex keywords and chronology to remember. They worked so hard through the double, there was not a single student disengaged. A massive SO to Ismaeel for his amazing retention, to Miley and Fatima.A’s attention to detail, to Fatima.Y for always asking questions to check her understanding, to Sana and Catlynn who have adapted quickly to the class and to George.B who had the perfect 4 mark answer that I shared under the visualiser 🫀💯
Anastasia: SO to R-Jay! I was reflecting on Friday's Y10 lesson over the weekend and I realised a massive SO is due. R-Jay has recently been working so hard! His MWB answers are so detailed and correct, and his endeavour to participate in class tasks is through the roof! Not only that, his exam question answering has improved so much because he is taking the time to really break the question down and is strengthening his exam techniques so he can get those well-deserving marks. I have seen a lot of rigour and focus from him in his Biology lessons and he should be really proud. Keep doing amazing things! ⭐🧪

Celebrating a Strong Start to Year 11 Mocks

We are incredibly proud of our Year 11 pupils as they complete their first week of mock examinations. Throughout the week, they have shown maturity, resilience and a strong work ethic, approaching each exam with focus and determination. Staff have been delighted with the calm and purposeful atmosphere around the school: our pupils are a real credit to our school.

Mocks are an important step in preparing them for their GCSEs this summer. They provide valuable experience of exam conditions and help pupils identify strengths and areas for improvement. This week has been a positive and encouraging start to that process.

Supporting Revision Over Half Term

The upcoming half-term break offers an ideal opportunity for pupils to build on their mock experience while also taking time to rest and recharge. Families can support revision at home by:

Encouraging short, focused revision sessions rather than long periods of cramming
Helping pupils plan a realistic revision timetable that includes breaks and downtime
Asking pupils to talk through topics, explain key ideas, or practise using exam questions
Supporting a calm and organised revision environment, with distractions kept to a minimum
Promoting wellbeing through good sleep routines, healthy habits and regular breaks

Most importantly, reassurance and encouragement go a long way. Mocks are a learning experience, and steady effort and confidence building are key.

Date Change: Mock Results & Exam Preparation event

Please note that the Year 11 Parents’ Evening for you to receive Mock results will now take place on Wednesday 25th March, as Eid falling in the previous week. Pupils will book in the individual meetings with their subject teacher. Please use this link to see the letter and confirm your attendance through the RSVP in the letter.

Holyport Residential: Payment Reminder

With the Holyport Residential approaching, we would like to remind families to make any payments, if they have not already been made. This is a valuable and memorable experience for our Year 11 pupils, and we are very much looking forward to the opportunities it provides. Here is a reminder of what to expect.

If families are experiencing any difficulties with payment, we encourage them to contact the Head of Year directly to discuss this confidentially and explore available options.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We are proud of the way our Year 11 cohort has begun this important stage of their journey and look forward to seeing them continue to grow in confidence over the coming weeks.

Shout Outs

Chloe S: SO to Ruby and Dhisha who brought so much joy to my Friday afternoon working hard on their Spanish writing!

Chloe V: SO to the Y11 French Higher who are completing their Listening mocks, they are so focussed and using the techniques I have taught them to be successful!

Sarah C: SO to Y11 for some really focused work today in RS and History. Special mention to Otto, Aron and Sonia who sped through the activities in RS and all the historians for their endeavour in analysing sources in History

Navjot: SO to Elias who gave a fellow student who's having a sad day a pep talk and left him smiling #obviouslykind

Anastacia: SO to Duriel and Iris-Jay who are taking every opportunity to revise, even when they have only 10 minutes during form time. I saw so many flashcards from Duriel and Iris-Jay was using her MWB to do a quote explosion! SUPERSTARS!⭐

Chloe S: SO to Year 11 Spanish who showed lots of endeavour during their listening exam today. I was particularly impressed with Ashleen who was using all the exam top tips for success and to Sara who was taking so much care in her spellings during the dictation (I could almost hear her brain working!)

Rachel: SO to team Further Maths! So much endeavour and resilience in today’s lesson - you tackled even the hardest of questions, reflected and corrected! Super proud of how much you’ve progressed 💪🏻

Year 12

Student Reflections on the Model United Nations Conference

Over the weekend, a group of Year 12 students represented Reach Academy Feltham at the annual at Lady Eleanor Holles School Model United Nations (MUN) Conference as delegates from South Korea. The conference provided a fantastic opportunity to engage with global issues, develop public speaking skills, and collaborate with students from other schools.

Rawan (Year 12) reflects:

“MUN is about tackling world issues by proposing solutions and debating which ones should go forward, as well as building relationships with other delegations and learning to communicate in a professional and cooperative manner. Each of us were in separate committees, discussing the most pertinent issues in our world today, and came together on the Sunday for the General Assembly to discuss solutions for promoting multilateralism and forming international relations in an ever dividing world. It was amazing to develop our public speaking and critical thinking skills, as other than the opening speech and the resolution, most of it was on the spot! It was also great to mingle with other schools and meet new people.”

Eli (Year 12) shares:

“On Day 1, we arrived at Lady Eleanor Holles and were directed to our council rooms: economic and social, political, human rights, special and security council — which was my council. We began lobbying with other delegates, meeting each other and signing resolutions. We read out our 45-second policy statements before taking part in icebreakers. Later, we gathered in the main sports hall where the conference was officially opened.

Day 2 was the most significant, where we debated key global issues, presented resolutions, passed amendments and had many opportunities for public speaking. It was fascinating presenting ourselves as ‘a delegate from the Republic of Korea’ rather than using our own names.

On the final day, all delegations debated together in the General Assembly, discussing multilateralism, avoiding war and nurturing peace. The Republic of Korea answered two Points of Information and collaborated with Ukraine, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia and others. It truly felt like experiencing the real UN. We left feeling proud and grateful for such a rewarding experience.”

We are extremely proud of how confidently and professionally our students represented the school.

Visit to Ipsos MORI

Last week, Year 12 students had the opportunity to visit Ipsos MORI, one of the UK’s leading research and market insight companies. Ipsos MORI conducts research that helps governments, businesses and organisations understand public opinion, social trends and consumer behaviour.

Students learned about:

How research is designed and conducted
How data influences decision-making in business and policy
Career pathways within research, analytics and communications
Apprenticeship opportunities and work experience routes into the industry

The visit provided valuable insight into real-world applications of analytical and communication skills, and broadened students’ understanding of post-18 pathways beyond university.

Year 13

Year 13 students have been working incredibly hard throughout their mock examination week. We are so proud of their focus, resilience and determination during this crucial time.

Mocks provide an important opportunity for students to:

Identify strengths and gaps in knowledge
Practise exam technique under timed conditions
Receive detailed feedback to inform their final revision strategy

Over the half term break, students should continue reviewing content and consolidating their learning. There will be one further week of mock examinations after half term, so consistent revision remains essential.

Key Dates

Year 13 Parents’ Evening: Wednesday 25th March

This will be an important opportunity to discuss progress, mock outcomes and next steps as students move towards their final examinations.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Shout outs

SO to Abdi, Nassim and Sa'ad for being absolute scholars - the focus in Yukon was INTENSE this morning! 📝📝📝

BIG SO to Y12 historians they delivered some absolutely fantastic presentation on Nazi propaganda today. They were so well articulated and researched! Special SO to Eli for such a well scripted delivery, and to MoAmar, Riley and Kristian for an interactive and entertaining style

Every single Y13 in the hall is working so incredibly hard on their maths exam right now! So proud of them! 🎉🤩

Shout out to Elishah who has received an offer to study Social and Public Policy at LSE and to Alyssa who has been invited to interview for Design Engineering at Imperial College 🤩

And shout out to Michael who has received an offer to study Politics and Spanish at the University of Manchester ⭐🇪🇸

So many quality UCAS offers flying in:

Subul - Law at Nottingham

Yanni - Aerospace at Sheffield

Kamana - International Relations at Leeds

Bradley - Management at RHUL

Mo T - Marketing at RHUL

Anna - Business at York

Manan - Aeronautics at Southampton

Mia - Law and Hispanic Law at Leeds

Rhea - Animal Science at Nottingham

Abdi - Management at Loughborough

Abid - Maths and Finance at Kings

Ahmed H - Medicine interview at City

Abdurrakheem - Economics at Nottingham

Kaydson - Crimonology at Exeter

Dhruv - Comp Sci at York

Isabel - Politics and Hispanic Studies at Queen Mary

Lamia - Finance and Investment Banking at Exeter

Sophia - Conservation Biology at Exeter

Rhyz - Accounting and Finance at Southampton

Roxanne - Nursing at York

Kush - Aeronautical Engineering at Loughborough

Cathy - Social Policy at Birmingham

Suhana - Chemistry at Kings

Evie - Sociology at Exeter

Sa'ad - Finance at Nottingham

Mahak - Pharmacy at Manchester

Sarah - European Studies at Kings

Ushmeet - Economics at Durham

Melissa - Science at Nottingham

Avni - International Development at Bath

Kayla - Optometry at Cardiff

Tabraiz - Economics at Durham

Behshta - Environmental Geoscience at Bristol

Attendance

We have been incredibly impressed with the strong attendance across both our primary and secondary phases recently. This commitment from pupils and families reflects a shared endeavour to commit to a life of choice and opportunity for our young people. Well done everyone!

Please see below our figures in comparison to the national average last week:

Primary (Statutory only): 97.8%, Primary national figure 94.7%
Secondary (Statutory only): 96.4%, Secondary national figure: 91.3%

Sixth form: 94.2%

Nursery: 90.3%

Domestic Abuse Support App

Domestic abuse, whether towards a female or male partner, can significantly affect the children who live in that environment. Exposure to violence, coercion or ongoing emotional manipulation disrupts a child’s sense of safety and can influence their behaviour, relationships and engagement in learning.

These situations are often hard to spot. Many victims work to hide what is happening, particularly from official agencies, due to fear of consequences for the abusive partner or worries about major upheaval for the family.

Hestia is a London-based charity that supports adults and children in crisis, delivering frontline services and campaigning nationally on issues such as domestic abuse, modern slavery and mental health. They have created the Bright Sky app, a free and discreet tool that helps people recognise signs of abuse, access specialist support and record concerns safely.

The Bright Sky app provides:

A simple tool to help someone recognise signs of abuse and understand whether a relationship feels unsafe.
A secure, optional journal for recording incidents or concerns that can later be shared with a trusted person or agency.
A directory of national and local support services, making it easier to find the right help quickly.

To find out more, please follow the link: www.hestia.org/brightsky

Beezee Healthy Lifestyle Programmes

We offer FREE community-based 12 week healthy lifestyle programmes for children above the healthy weight (both face to face and online), informed by behavioral science, which aim to help children and families achieve and maintain a healthy weight and healthy habits.

Delivered as an after-school club in various schools across the borough, these programmes promote lifelong healthy habits through nutritional improvements (e.g., reducing sugary drinks, increasing fruits and wholegrains), physical activity (sports, walking, cycling) and better shopping choices. See more on the fliers below.

Overall, these programs empower families to make sustainable healthy choices and improve overall health and well-being. Here is the link to our website - Weight Management - Beezee Families - Healthy Hounslow

Turning visitors into lead

Hounslow Repair Café - youth repair workshop

Hounslow Repair Café is running a programme of events, including the community repair café and new youth repair workshops focusing on developing electrical, bike and sewing repair skills.

The workshops are free courses for 12-24 year olds and take place one Sunday a month throughout the year at St. Leonard’s Church Hall, Heston Road, Heston, TW5 0RD. Run by Team Repair, participants earn a certificate and develop Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mechanics (STEM) skills, problem-solving, resilience, and sustainability awareness to reduce waste and promote a circular economy. Book now at https://e-voice.org.uk/hrc/book

Community repair cafés also run every third Sunday of the month from 1:30pm-4:30pm at St. Leonard’s Church Hall (address above). The next one is on Sunday 15th March, where people can bring bikes, small appliances, clothing and digital equipment to be fixed. Book your visit here: http://bit.ly/46njvd4

For any questions, feel free to email hestonrepaircafe@gmail.com

Wellbeing Hub

We encourage all of our families to join the Wellbeing Hub. Our school is signed up to this fantastic resource which gives families and their children free access to great content on everything including starting school for the first time, puberty, smartphones and anxiety. There are really helpful resources for all ages.

If you haven’t joined the Hub yet, we urge you to do so through using the QR code opposite.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Kay Stone. kay.stone@reachacademy.org.uk

NEWSLETTER

SPRING 2026

Dates for your diary

Here are details of important events in the next few weeks.

Spotlight on... Books, Books, Books

Book Token

World Book Day: Friday 6th of March

Mental Health Week

Find your way around

Primary

Well done to our certificate winners!

New Multisports Club Years 1- 6

Nursery

Learning Phonics!

Dates for your diary:

Reception

Literacy

Maths

Zipping coats

Reading Records

Homework

Parents Evening

Thank you

Year 1

Important information

Trip to London Transport Museum

Thank you!

Say It, See It, Write It

Next term

Next term's topics

Have a lovely break!

Year 2

Coming up this term:

Reading

Writing

Where to Find Suitable Poetry

Maths

Want to continue working on maths at home?

Half Term Homework Reminder

Year 3

Your Voice Matters Event

Writing

Maths

Half-Term Homework

Optional Humanities Homework

Year 4

Mid-Year Celebration Event

Swimming

Writing

Maths

Half-Term Homework

Year 5

Writing

Maths

Book Club

Finally...

Year 6

Incredible progress!

Jamie’s Farm

Merit/value certificate winners

Team Reach Prize

Enrichment

Book Club

Maths

Religious Studies

Science

PE

Homework

Permission to go home

Secondary

Year 7

Art

Year 8

Shoutouts

Year 9

Planning for the Future and Building Character

Hounslow House Careers Fair

Duke of Edinburgh: Volunteering Launch

Homework Club

What is Your Legacy?