Do you understand the language and emojis your children may be using in their messages? Following the TV drama Adolescence, there has been much debate about mobile usage and the 'hidden language' of text messages and emojis that young people use in their online communication. There are three links below that you might find informative. READ MORE

This week's assembly focused on the crucial topic of online safety and empowering our students to navigate the digital world responsibly. We explored the concept of a "digital footprint," emphasizing how online actions can have lasting consequences. Students learned practical tips for protecting their personal information, identifying potential online risks, and becoming good digital citizens by treating others with respect and kindness. READ MORE

On Wednesday Mr Turner and Mrs Swan took a group of Year 10 students to visit Colchester Institute for a college familiarisation day. Students visited a variety of departments such as Brickwork, Carpentry, Catering, Early Years, Healthcare, Motor Vehicle, Performing Arts, Salon Studies and Sport & Public Services and heard about the different pathways available when they consider Post 16 education. READ MORE

As mentioned in our new Personal Development Newsletter the school council and student leadership team have now selected the final 6 Jack Petchey Award winners. When they made the selection, they were unaware of the students' names behind the nomination script so as to ensure it was done fairly. The winners are: READ MORE

On Thursday we welcomed CI Mynard to a special Year 9 assembly. With some of our students who are members of 1207 Squadron, he presented the exciting opportunities that cadets can provide. Students were informed of the recruitment evening that is due to take place on Friday 28 March and were invited to attend. Next week he will return to school to speak to our Year 8 students. READ MORE

It was World Book Day on Thursday and to recognise this on Monday we had a guest author, Sam Scott, come in to talk to the year 7's about her most recent book 'Murder is Not a Game' and answer some questions put forward by the students. Year 7-10 Tutor groups also took part in a challenge to write a story using only 10 words. The top stories will be displayed on screens around the school!  READ MORE

On Monday Mr and Mrs Woodcock had the pleasure of attending the Jack Petchey Awards ceremony as parents at The Charter Hall, Colchester. They were also thoroughly delighted to see some students from Thurstable School on stage to collect awards for their contribution to societies/groups in their local community. READ MORE

A team of Thurstable students competed in the Colchester Schools Trampoline Competition held here at Thurstable School on Tuesday and produced some amazing results. A big congratulations goes to the The Under 14 girls A team; Sumer D, Alex A and Freya J who won the team event. READ MORE

The Nuture Group had the opening day of their Green Eco Shop on Wednesday after weeks of hard work and dedication. The shop focuses on sustainability and providing eco-friendly alternatives to single-use plastics and is open to staff and students. They raised £114.20 and more importantly spread the word about their mission to reduce waste and promote greener living. These funds will be used to improve their range of products and continue the mission to help the environment. READ MORE

I was lucky enough to attend the Dance Show this week as students from across all year groups performed a sequence of dances from across the time periods, it really was a journey in music. What was really striking was the number of students who participated in the evening. There were well over a hundred students who took part and they have been regularly attending after school clubs and rehearsals which shows their dedication. The performances were of an exceptionally high quality and, as ever, the highlight was seeing the students supporting their peers across all of the year groups. 

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On Monday 20 January, year 10 GCSE Art students took part in an all day workshop led by local mixed media artist, Matt Mackman.  Students had already carried out some research into Matt’s work prior to his visit but were given an opportunity to see some of his work up close, along with several of his sketchbooks.  Matt also took some time to further explain how his artwork had developed from childhood experiences, along with his more recent influences and the techniques that he uses to create his work. READ MORE

This week Mrs Starmer introduced all students to the Jack Petchey Achievement Award for which staff will be nominating students for between now and the February half term holiday. This award scheme recognises outstanding young people across London and Essex for a variety of reasons ranging from their commitment to charity work within their local community to overcoming adversity in their personal life. 

The winning six students can then apply for a £300 grant from the Jack Petchey Foundation, with our support, to support activities or events of their choice across the school.  READ MORE

We are very fortunate that Priti Patel, our local MP, is so invested in our school and is hugely supportive of the school and students. Today, she came to visit us to speak to students and see the Yondr phone system in operation. I spoke to the research department at Yondr, who are a multinational company, and we will be liaising with them on how to evaluate the impact of the implementation of the scheme. As part of this we will be seeking parental views later in the year.  READ MORE

We started with the annual school Christmas dinner on Tuesday which was followed by yesterday’s after school event when we welcomed Tiptree’s Senior Citizens into school for our annual community event. Our students performed songs, dances and served refreshments to our guests and Mr Turner did his usual compere role in what was a lovely evening. READ MORE

As we enter the last week of term there are several celebratory events to support our local community and also to celebrate the achievements and efforts of the students with a continental market experience thrown in for good measure. Christmas Dinner is on Tuesday and we invite students to wear a Christmas Jumper along with their uniform and donate £1 to charity. READ MORE

Thank you to the parents who have completed the survey so far, it will remain open until next Friday. The link to the survey is here and every respondent will be entered into a draw with the chance to win a £25 Amazon gift voucher. READ MORE

The Yr 7 and 8 team, quickly went ahead 10-0 after some fine handling in very cold conditions. TLA school managed to get back into the game using their advantage of size and sheer force. With 5 minutes to go we were 15-10 down, but we showed great resilience to keep playing 'champagne' passing rugby, and crossed the line after several phases of play. READ MORE

On Wednesday, students studying Health & Social Care in Years 10 and 13 and A-Level Biology students attended an NHS Careers Fair at Colchester Stadium, which was organised by ESNEFT (East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust). The students were able to talk to a wide variety of medical professionals about their roles within the NHS, including midwives, radiographers, clinical coders and doctors.  READ MORE

Following initial feedback from the Student Council, and then wider feedback from all students via the Smart School Council, we have introduced Emerald Tickets to recognise when students have exemplified one of our core values of aspire, respect and endeavour during their lessons. READ MORE

A huge thank you to Mr Lake who organised the History trip to Berlin and to Miss Price, Mr Morgan, Miss Greenwood and Mrs Grimshaw who also attended and supported Mr Lake and the students. The students threw themselves into all activities and tours and put up with Mr Lake’s express pace in exploring the city at 100mph.   READ MORE

A group of eight Year 10 students attended the local NEMO Maths competition this week and Miss Mead has written the following report. “The event was well attended by many schools in and around Colchester with twenty two teams competing overall.  READ MORE

This year sees the start of our new Milestone Assessments. These are being taken by all students in Years 7-11 and assess the core knowledge that has been studied this half term. The format of the assessments is multiple-choice questions and we will report to students and parents/carers their assessment scores as well as the class and year group averages. The KS3 assessments will take place in the Main Hall on the times detailed on the schedule below. READ MORE

We are piloting a 'Catch Up to Keep Up' Programme starting next week. Any student who misses five successive days of school for any reason will, the day after their return to school, spend a day in our catch up provision where they will ensure that they have covered the core knowledge in the English, Maths, Science, Geography, History and MFL lessons that they have missed. READ MORE

I want to thank all of the staff and students who contributed to Open Evening, it was really successful and a huge thank you to all of the students who participated as tour guides or helped in departments. READ MORE

Just a reminder that next Wednesday is our Open Evening and in order to set up and take down there is an early finish at 13.00 on Wednesday and a late start at 09.30 on Thursday morning.  READ MORE

It has been brilliant to see how many students have already signed up for the clubs and societies. At the time of writing, midday today, 264 students have signed up for at least one elective session. READ MORE

Welcome back to the new academic year, and it has been great to formally greet Year 7 as fully-fledged Thurstable students. They have impressed everyone with their impeccable behaviour, manners and friendliness. Lots of staff have commented about how polite and engaged they have been in their first week. Long may it continue! READ MORE