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