EDUCATIONAL CURRENT NEWS

We are pleased to announce that the school management and the Blended Learning Team, in an effort to continue to keep families informed about new technologies in the classroom, plans to incorporate additional information on the subject in the informative meetings and presentations that take place at the beginning of the school year. These presentations will be uploaded to the Parent Area for consultation at any time.  

All these initiatives are intended to give them maximum peace of mind and a good understanding of our educational strategies by stages. 

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN EYFS/PRIMARY AND SECONDARY?

Year 7 concert 

On Wednesday 29 May, many of our secondary students participated in a celebratory concert that brought together their hard work from across this year. This was a true celebration of the arts at Richmond Park. The students demonstrated their performance skills in a range of ways, from choral singing, to African drumming, to ukulele and keyboard performances. They spoke about their learning in a variety of music topic work to bring relevance to their performances. Short videos showcased some of the compositions undertaken in Years 8 and 9, including the use of scary music devices, understanding of the 12 Bar Blues and animation artwork to complement the students’ own song writing. 

Two co-curricular groups were highlighted in the concert: secondary choir and the RPS Rocks Band. These students have worked hard all year during lunch times to develop their ensemble skills and learn some interesting and challenging repertoire. 

All in all, it was a wonderful way of bringing together our secondary community and demonstrated the power of teamwork through creativity and performance. Thank you to all the parents who attended this special event. 

Year 5 visit to Alcalá de Henares 

Year 5 enjoyed a very interesting trip to Alcalá de Henares to learn about Cervantes, who they have studied in their Spanish lessons this term. They were guided around the city centre visiting places related to Cervantes including his house, the chapel where he was baptised and the university. They learnt lots of fascinating facts and were all very engaged and inquisitive during the tour 

Insect Park

Nursery had a special trip to the Insect Park in El Escorial. 

They have the opportunity to learn about the insects, specially about the Isabelina’s butterflies. They visit the museum and they saw the different minibeast that they had learned in class. 

They carried out a very special activity where they touch, smell them. 

To finish the trip they ate a picnic with their friends before they go back to the school. 

Vipeika update 

`This is the weather in Amakuriat (which is below the mountain) but the school is at an altitude of 1,750 metres so it is impossible to go up with any kind of vehicle. We hope that the rains will stop and they can resume and finish the dormitory. 

This is how it looked the last time we had photos: 

The new construction of ‘Optimistas Comprometidos Nursery´ continues with the painting, here is a reminder of how the outside of the centre looked last month. 

We also tell you that in July/August 2024 Vipeika through the donation of a family, we will drill a new water well in Turkana and give this gift to thousands of people in one of the areas where there is less water. The drilling of a well does not guarantee to find water, even water that can be used for drinking because it can be salty and would not be useful or it can be a muddy area and it would not be useful either, and the cost is the same as the machine has to be taken to the site for drilling. But we are sure that we will be lucky and we will find it. 

We also want to tell you that in July we will go to see the projects of Pokot and Turkana in an express trip and we will bring photos and videos that will be sent to you on our return. 

Opera project

As part of their Opera project, Years 5 and 7 received Ms. Regina Llamas historian, specialising in Chinese language and literacy. She shared videos and characteristics of Chinese theatre which proved very interesting and helped us discover similarities and differences with the European opera. 

The same class groups had their final performance of their long-term project Opera Kids at the Teatros del Canal. They took to the stage alongside professional soloist singers and, accompanied by a chamber orchestra, they sang 5 arias from ‘Turandot’, by Giacomo Puccini. It was a brilliant conclusion to a deep, exciting and complete musical experience! Bravo! 

Retiro Park 

Year 11 students travelled with Mr Bird to central Madrid on Wednesday 12 June 2024. We spent time in the Retiro Park. Students took boat trips, explored the alternative gardens and enjoyed the sunshine together after the intensive IGCSE period where everyone worked so hard. It was a fun way to be together as a class.

After a picnic lunch, we went to the book fayre which was exciting and then on to the Barrio de las Letras for some more exploring. A very enjoyable day together in community.  

New RPS Sixth Form Centre 

We have some very exciting developments at Richmond Park School, there will be a massive investment in a new Sixth Form Centre, which initially we will call our Sixth Form Centre but, in the future, once we are authorised, will likely call our International Baccalaureate Centre. This massive development will host state of the art facilities for our Year 12 and Year 13 students to enable high quality teaching and learning during their Diploma years. We are investing in space for Guidance Counsellors who will work with students on careers and university applications, as well as teaching space for the various IB subjects and study and social space for students

The project is well underway, and students will be involved in the design. We have already received our license file number for the extension to create this new building. The file number has been given by the ECU Eciti, registration number 1081024001932, and the project is being led by the Architect Juan Ramón López.  

Social Day 2024 

On Saturday 15 June we celebrated our third edition of RPS social day, with more than 600 participants between children, parents and school staff. The weather allowed us to enjoy a fantastic opportunity to socialise in a different way to the rest of the school year. RPS Families helped us with the sale of second-hand uniforms and books; Vipeika’s representative met parents and was able to sell more books and this year we collaborated with ________ in their project to help a school in Leganés have their own summer school for children less fortunate. The total amount of donations added more than 2,500€ that will go to Vipeika Foundation’s project in Africa. 

Creative Careers Assembly 

Three Year 11 students, Luis, Marcos, and Lucas, organised and hosted an inspiring Creative Careers Assembly on Thursday June 13th, as part of their post-exam activities. They honed their event planning skills through a masterclass with Ms. de Gouttes, who has experience organising high-profile events at the Houses of Parliament, the Foreign Office, and number 10 Downing Street. 

The students took charge of every aspect of the event. They sourced questions from the student body, decided the event structure, created a comprehensive briefing document, and led the hour-long assembly for the entire secondary section of the school. 

The assembly featured insightful advice from a musician, an actor, and a director/producer, all of whom are members of the RPS parent community. This unique opportunity provided students with valuable career insights and inspiration from creative industry professionals. 

Year 11 assembly and celebration 

On Wednesday 19 June, Year 11 students attended their end of Year assembly led by Mr Bird, Mr Conway and their teachers. It was a wonderful opportunity to come together in community and to celebrate the time spent here together. At 4.00pm, Year 11 parents joined us for the second part of the assembly, where there was an opportunity for awards to be given as we wished Year 11 all the very best wishes in the next stages of their educational journey.  

Year 11 were also guests of honour at a magical celebration dinner held outside school with attendance from most of the secondary teaching staff team. This was a fun way to say goodbye to each other, share some delicious food and enjoy a relaxed evening looking back at the years gone by. This group are the pioneers of Richmond Park School. We are so proud of them and we look forward to keeping in touch with them. We know that they have exciting futures ahead of them.  

Snake visit 

Nadia Bokhari (veterinary technician/nurse and marine ecologist based in Madrid) came into school on Thursday 20 June with two pet snakes and a pet lizard.  

She gave two very interesting talks to students from Year 6 to 10 inclusive.  

At the end of the talk, she gave any student who wanted to the chance to hold her 20 year old snake Kaa.

Concert

Last Friday 21 June, Year 6 students, with the collaboration of Year 5, performed their Leavers’ Concert. After some weeks of rehearsals, they managed to successfully showcased their acting and musical skills to their parents. Year 5 introduced the play by performing a song with a heartfelt message for their friends in Year 6. The accompaniment was provided by the children who attended the ukulele co-curricular club, along with the piano. 

Year 6 then performed a drama reflecting on their time in Primary School. This included scenes surrounding Covid, typical days in Year 6 as well as funny memories from school trips. Carlota and Mateo made everyone laugh in their roles of Ms Sánchez and Mr González. To finish, a group of children read out a poem which had been composed collaboratively by both classes and which mentioned the name of every pupil in the year.  

All the children in Year 6 used their singing skills and, accompanied by a band of instruments – including percussion, ukuleles, and recorders – delivered a lively rendition of ‘Stand by Me’. They were followed by the primary school choir, which sang 3-part arrangements of popular songs, thrilling the audience.  

The concert concluded with all the students in Year 5 and 6, who joined in a perfect rendition of the closing song, bringing the show a memorable and high-spirited finish. 

The event was a wonderful celebration of the students’ hard work and talent, leaving everyone in attendance proud and inspired. Congratulations! 

SPORTS

RPS Football league 

On Saturday 2 June, Richmond Park’s football team took part in a mini-tournament here at the school. Our guests were St George school and Escuela Hortaleza, with whom we competed in a round robin tournament. Richmond won both of our games, 7-1 against St George and 4-1 against Escuela Hortaleza, making us the champions! Most importantly, it was a fantastic morning which was enjoyed by children and parents alike.  

Congratulations to all the players!  

The football season has drawn to a close, and it has been an incredible year for the team. In all competitions, we achieved an overall winning record and finished second in the league with an impressive 7 wins out of 10. We were then unfortunate not to progress to the next round of the cup, despite winning our final game. 

Overall, the whole squad have performed magnificently and everyone can be extremely proud of their efforts. From our first game in October to our last competitive game in May, everyone has exemplified what it means to be part of a team and has represented the school with pride and distinction. We cannot wait to challenge for titles again next season and, most importantly, to have fun and develop our skills.  

Go Richmond! 

Basketball match against Colegio Base

In our fourth game we are starting to see signs of a good team.  

Our children’s defensive concentration and decision making when playing the ball have improved. In addition, the passing technique, reinforced in Wednesday’s training session, has improved a lot.  

The best quality of the team: their capacity for sacrifice and team spirit.  

The match concluded with a presentation of medals to all the participating children by the host school, to whom we are grateful for the invitation. 

Swimming gala 

We are delighted to report that Richmond Park School attended their first swimming gala against a number of schools last month. It was a huge success. Students had to complete qualifications in school to be selected and it was so good to see some fantastic times being displayed from all students. The majority of the swim team who qualified were from Year 8 which was very pleasing to see. This did however mean, that although their times were good, on the day of the event they were mostly one year younger than the other schools. This did not deter them and in any case made for some very close races. The students performed to such a high level, three of them even made finals for their races which was extremely impressive. Overall, the school performed very well and a huge well done to all must be said, especially against a number of students who perform for other schools on a national level. 

HOUSES

Richmond Park School’s Houses score chart

MERCHANDISING

Richmond Park School’s merchandising

We invite you to visit our website’s section “SHOP” where you will be able to see all the merchandise with our Houses’ logos. Please remember this is a personalised service, so orders cannot be received with less than two weeks notice.

https://richmondpark.school/shop/categoria-producto/houses/