Thursday evening saw 37 of our German GCSE and A Level students soaking up the culture in the Frankfurter Weihnachtsmarkt in Birmingham. With over 200 authentic German stalls students were able to sample some German products and practise their spoken German by ordering one of the many types of Wurst, whilst...
STRS won a close fought match against Hereford Cathedral School in the regional quarterfinal of the National Schools Chess Cup. The match, played on Wednesday 3rd December, was drawn 3-3 but Rich’s won on tie...
The Year 10 biathlon will take place Thursday 18th December. This is due to PE staff training. This gives the boys an extra two weeks to raise more money.Thank you for supporting this event...
On the 25th of November 2014 Bilal and Sam went to the Local Gloucestershire Finals for the Future Chef 2015 competition at Gloucester College in Cheltenham.After a false start, with Mr Brown’s car breaking down, we finally got to the professional kitchens where we were to cook our meals for two...
You may recall that in last month's newsletter I mentioned our intention to invite Kirkland Rowell to conduct an independent parental survey later this term in order to gather opinion on the School. We are at a stage where we need you to tell us how well you think we are...
Congratulations go to Robbie Hicks in Year 7, who competed in the 3x3 Rubik’s Cube event at the O2 Academy in Leicester earlier this month. There were 125 competitors in his event, and Robbie solved the cube with times of 34.33s, 31.90s, 31.89s and 33.68s. This has given him an overall...
Due to the very high numbers of interested students in the trip, we have now come to the end of the time for inclusion, If you would like your name to be placed on the "reserve list" please see Mr Birchall asap...
The U13s are playing Hampton School in Middlesex in Round 3 of the U13 National Cup this afternoon at 3pm, having defeated local rivals St Peter’s and Bloxham School, Oxfordshire,In the previous rounds. We should be back at School by 7pm. CDA Carter...
It goes without saying that schools should provide pupils with a plethora of opportunities for personal as well as academic development. At Rich's we aim to instil resilience, so pupils are able to face up to challenges, confront their fears and understand how working in teams can bring out the best...
Congratulations to the Senior Boys Swim Team. Following the Regional trials held at Millfield in September, they have qualified for the ESSA National Finals in both the Freestyle and Medley relays. They have qualified in 8th place for the Freestyle and 15th in the Medley. The finals will take place at...
In the summer, Samuel Keeling entered an essay writing competition held by Robinaon College, Cambridge. The essay discussed the different interpretations of our understanding of the universe from scientific and artistic positions. In the essay, Samuel establishes the definitions of different and opposite, and then applies these definitions to a scientific...
On October 1, 15 year 8 scientists and musicians travelled to the Samsung Digital Classroom, Royal Albert Hall to use music to gain a greater understanding of sound and light waves, culminating in the creation of a brand new piece of music. Mike Poyser led the workshop. Mike has a double...
On October 2, Ben Andre directed the Chamber Choir in the first of two performances for the Citizenship Ceremonies at the Coroner’s Court Gloucester. Col Mike Bennett led the ceremony and reminded us all of the importance of the Citizenship Ceremonies in welcoming people into the United Kingdom and how we...
Janferie Wilton, from Gloucester, is made an MBE by the Duke of Cambridge during an Investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. Witnessing the investiture of our Chairman of Governors, Miss Janferie Wilton, at Windsor Castle has helped make this an especially happy week at Sir Thomas Rich’s. Everybody here is so pleased...
Fortunately, there were no “mistakes” on Tuesday 7th of October when sixth form literature students headed to Cheltenham to see Goldsmith’s perennially popular and classic comedy of manners, She Stoops to Conquer. The play is full of comic ruses that unfold one night at a country house. An ambitious step-mother, impassioned...
We invite all parents, friends and families of our students to mark their calendars and save the date for our Valentine's Ball at Hatherley Manor on Saturday 7th February 2015. We hope that you will be able to support our school on what will be a fantastic occasion. The night will...
The 26th September is designated as the European Day of Languages, a day when across Europe the diversity of languages spoken across the world is celebrated. This year, in celebration of the day, Sir Thomas Rich’s staged a House Languages competition. There were some magnificent and confident performances from all Houses...
On Tuesday 23rd September we were pleased to welcome the Onatti Productions Theatre Company to Sir Thomas Rich’s to deliver the first of its foreign language plays this year, “Erreur d’identité”. The company uses professional actors who are native speakers and specialises in providing theatre for schools in foreign languages. A...
I can't believe that we are at the end of September already – it does seem to be true that with increasing age, the years, months and weeks do seem to pass much more quickly even if some days do seem rather long. The start of term has been exceptionally busy...
Quiz and Pudding Night in the Hall starting at 7.30pm on Fri 24th October.Licensed Bar and Raffle.Tickets - £5Winning Prize - £25Proceeds in aid of the SA Rugby Tour.Tickets on Sale at Reception...
The new Equestrian season got off to a great start with Amber Stevens representing STRS Equestrian Club at Cheltenham Ladies’ College Inter-Schools Show Jumping Competition at Rectory Farm on 14th September 2014. Amber and her horse Playboy were among 84 riders from 30 different schools competing in the 90cm class. Both...
The school are delighted to see that both Richard Hartley (12L) and Saumil Hiremath (11S) are involved in the regional hockey squads (JRPC) competition this weekend. They are representing the South West U17 and U16 respectively, aiming to perform well enough to proceed to the trials for the England underage squads...
Sir Thomas Rich’s Chess Team finished in a fantastic 13th place in the ECF Secondary Schools Rapidplay Chess Tournament held at Eton on Sunday 14th September. We won 2, drew 2 and lost 1 of our 5 matches, the highlight being a 3 – 3 draw with the hosts Eton College...
Due to the huge response to the 2015 ski trip to Italy we have decided to accommodate the various requests we have received by organising another trip which will go further afield. So, we have arranged a very exciting itinerary for 2016: - Five days skiing in Vermont followed by a...
Michael Ashworth has won the British U15 Chess Championship. In the 6 day competition held at Aberystwyth University in late July Michael scored 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the joint U16 and U15 section, placing him equal second in the U16 category, but the clear winner of the...
GCSE Results:-Almost 3/4 of grades were at either A* or A This is a significant achievement in a year when nationally the A*-A percentage has fallen to 22.4%.65 students secured nine or more A* or A grades.Matthew Morgan, Headmaster said “I would like to congratulate the Year 11 students and their...
A-Level Results:-Students and staff at Sir Thomas Rich’s School are yet again celebrating significant A Level success.Over 80% of the grades at A level were at A* to – B and the average grade was an A. Over 1/5 of grades were at A* - an impressive achievement. Notably, 10 A...
Sunday 7th September 201410-a-side5 teams – Kevin Ellis X + the 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013 Tour XsEvent starts at 11amLicenced Bar and Pig Roast...
20 Year 10 Boys have just returned from an incredible week in Germany. They and their German exchange partners shared a lot of experiences including a tour of Berlin, a trip to the Zoo, a barbecue party, a town trail and witnessing the triumph of Germany’s national football team in the...
Another great day in Uganda. The kids painted a classroom at PMM, we visited Gonzaga’s school and donated some of our books and we finished the day with dinner by the Nile for the second day in a row.Rain delayed the classroom painting so the boys played football and the girls...
Never has the future for students of foreign languages been rosier. According to the Confederation of British Industry nearly 75% of businesses need personnel with language skills. “Operating effectively in a global economy relies on the right language skills”. As part of the department’s career programme, we were very pleased to...
The year 9 language ambassadors have been extremely supportive and conscientious throughout the year, organising events and raising the profile of languages and the international dimension within the school. Their term of office culminated in a languages activities event for three local Primary Schools: Warden Hill Primary School, Longlevens Junior School...
Following the success of our linguists at the Speaking Competition in March, three pupils were invited to take part in the Regional Finals at Bath University. It was a prestigious event, hosted by Professor Robert Vilain of Bristol University and Dr Steve Wharton of Bath University. They applauded the very high...
On Tuesday, 8th July, Barrie Clark, Schools’ Liaison Officer at Swansea University visited us to speak to Year 12 students on the subject of the UCAS personal statement. Barrie gave a highly informative and very funny talk, which was well-received by students. He made clear the need to open the statement...
Quiz and Pudding NightFriday 27th June starting at 7.30pm. in the HallTickets - £5 inc food available from receptionA range of puddings served in the interval...
A Japanese couple is seeking accommodation with an English family from 29th July – 3rd August. Bed, breakfast and dinner are required. No entertaining is necessary. For further details, including payment rates, please contact the International Co-ordinator, Mrs J. Hewett: jh...
This year the Languages and Geography departments worked together to organise an International Food Competition. It was the initiative of the year 9 Language Ambassadors whose role is to promote languages and internationalism. The competition was keenly contested. The food was beautifully cooked and presented and students had gone to considerable...
On Friday 6th June, Year 7 had their third and final residential of the year. Regarded as the most fun, despite only camping on the school field, the boys had lots of excitement. Having pitched their tents, they enjoyed mixed sports before a barbeque was devoured. Following more games on the...
Joel Downward and Jacob Hardy represented STRS at the Gloucestershire Unipart Forza Schools tournament, and were recently crowned the Year 7 Gloucestershire boys doubles champions. They put in plenty of practice leading up to the tournament, and it was certainly worth while, winning their final match 21-19. Joel had individual success...
As part of Global Awareness Week, the Geography department are organising a quiz for parents, students, relatives and friends of the school. Could you spot Ouagadougou on a map? Do you know your meanders from your spurs? Could you identify the flag of Sri Lanka? Here is your chance to prove...
Success at Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts Chamber Choir and String Group competed in the Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts on May 7th and May 9th. Chamber Choir achieved a distinction in the Schools Choirs class and were second overall. They impressed the audience with Peter Dorey’s arrangement of ‘Ombra Mai...
As part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award, six boys have researched the seventy-seven former pupils and masters of our school who fought and died in the First World War. The research will feature in our Great War exhibition in the autumn. The boys would be pleased to hear from any...
Abbey Smith represented STRS Equestrian Club in Pinewood School’s NSEA Inter-School Show Jumping competition at Sumerhouse Equestrian Centre, Gloucester on Sunday 4th May 2014. Abbey, riding Caipriana II, competed against 30 other riders from 19 different schools in the 90cm class. Both horse and rider put in a great effort but...
Sir Thomas Rich's have finished the season as winners of the North Gloucestershire Chess League Division 3. Our boys have had a fantastic season: Michael Ashworth on board 1 has scored 9 wins and 1 draw from 10 games; Robert Ashworth has played in all 12 league matches with only 1...
Jazz Festival 2014 The jazz band performed to a packed audience for the third year at the Cheltenham jazz festival on Saturday May 3rd. The set included jazz standards It Had To be You and Embraceable You featuring Dominic Trott on trumpet as well as more modern arrangements like Somebody I...
Make a good first impression! This is very good advice but sometimes one can try too hard with unfortunate consequences. This was the storyline for the German Play “Erster Eindruck”. Hannah is keen to make a good impression on the rather attractive boy, Andreas, who is visiting next door. Her efforts...
Another season of chess comes to a close for Sir Thomas Rich’s, with the team sitting on top of the league, and having won through to the last 16 of the national schools plate competition, both commendably achievements. However, I feel that we came close to having an outstanding season, but...
Following the under-age county hockey tournaments, we are delighted to hear that three boys from Sir Thomas Rich’s have made it to the regional training squads. These are squads of around 18 boys, drawn from Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Wiltshire, Avon and Somerset. We hope they enjoy the experience and learn a lot...
On Friday 28th March, Mr Reece took five boys from STRS to GCHQ to take part in the Finals of the GCHQ Language Challenge. This is a new initiative by GCHQ and the ALL (Association of Language Learning) to inspire young people to embrace language learning. The boys were very excited...
The Languages Department was once again pleased to enter students for the Routes into Languages Speaking competition in Bath. This year, alongside students of French, German and Spanish, the school had two entries for Russian in the near-native category. The competition was hosted by the Head of the School of Languages...
The School's 7-a-side teams have had a very successful year, the highlight being the double success at the Gloucestershire 7s held in Bristol on Thursday 17th March. The U16s played at Bristol GS and won their group beating Crypt, Bristol GS and Bristol Cathedral Sch. They then beat Bristol GS in...
On Monday 24 March students of Spanish enjoyed watching a Spanish play called La Habitación de Mateo performed by the Onatti Theatre Company. Once again this event was a real success and proved to be a hit with the boys who were able to relate to the topic matter of the...
Once again the STRS Karting club is competing in the British School’s Karting Championship. This year we have several new students involved, with 30 boys competing at Teamsport Karting circuit in Bristol. After two entertaining and competitive evenings of racing three teams are proceeding to the South West and Wales Regional...
Year 13 have recently completed their Geography in Snowdonia. A hard working experience of 13 hour days in the field and classroom. The students have benefitted enormously in their understanding of glacial environments and have gained a lot of new material for their examinations...
On Wednesday 26th March, four of our excellent mathematicians from years 8 and 9 competed in the regional finals of the UK Maths Trust Junior Maths Challenge. The boys involved were Jonathan Powell, Henry Parkinson (both Y8), Dan Parrott and Conor Howley (both Y9). The day involved a series of challenges...
On Wednesday 26th March, a number of Year 9 and Year 10 boys competed against each other in the first round of the Maths in Motion, Jaguar Challenge. Tom Collis (10B) was the eventual winner, over taking another car in final few laps. His reward was to compete against other schools...
Are you having a spring clear out? If the answer is 'yes' and you wish to make some money in the process, not to mention supporting PMM, please bring the no-longer-needed items to the Tommies Car Boot Sale on Saturday 29 March.Where - The tennis courts, STRS (under Dutch Barn if...
We have been using the Design and Technology banner and logo for many years.You may have noticed these on many of our departmental documents such as door signs, folder covers and brochures, we have decided that it is time for us to update our departmental image.We have decided to open up...
Good quality education has driven Gloucestershire to the top of an influential league table for parents. Alistair McCall, editor of the Sunday Times Power Schools Guide, compiled the list which looks at outstanding schools across the UK. Grammar schools in Gloucester, which launched the city into the top 10, include Sir...
The fund raising meeting will start at 7pm tonight [Tues 25th Mar] and take place in the Staff room...
During February half term, a group of year 12 students spent a week in Aachen, Germany completing a Work Experience placement. I am proud to say that this is the fifth successful year of the programme, which is organized externally by Halsbury Travel. From student comments, it is clear that the...
On Wednesday 19th March, Sarah Orton, Curator of Gloucester Folk Museum, came to talk to a group of Year 10 and 11 pupils about how to put on an exhibition. The boys, all Duke of Edinburgh volunteers, are researching the names on the school war memorial for our Great War exhibition...
Sir Thomas Rich’s is a member of the National Schools’ Equestrian Association, the recognised body for equestrianism in schools throughout the UK. Members of the Equestrian Club compete in national inter-schools competitions for both team and individual riders. Competitions start at Grass Roots level and build up to National Schools’ qualifiers...
Good luck to 1st XV Captain Sam Underhill on his selection for England u18’s vs Scotland at Hamilton RFC on Sunday 9th March. Sam will hopefully add an England u18 cap to the two u16 caps he won against Italy and Wales in 2012. It is a very proud moment for...
On 14th February, 54 students from Key Stage 4 and 5 confronted the rain and made a visit to the Tate Modern Art Gallery, London. Our A level and GCSE artists, had the opportunity to investigate and respond to art work within the spectacular setting. The Tate’s vast collection of art...
After the very enjoyable French play performed earlier in the term to an audience of pupils in Years 8-10, we were pleased to offer our younger learners the opportunity to see another French drama from the Onatti Company. The cleverly written play, delivered in a mixture of French and English, and...
‘The greatest happiness for the greatest number’… this was most certainly the case when the RE Department’s A Level students attended the 10th annual Cheltenham Ladies’ College Philosophy & Ethics Conference on 6th February. Nigel Warburton opened the conference with a lecture on Utilitarianism and Claire Foster–Gilbert, the founder of the...
On Tuesday 28th January, 12 students visited the palace of Westminster. After watching debates in the Commons and the Lords, the group was introduced to the Gloucester MP, Richard Graham, who generously gave up 3o minutes of his busy day to answer questions from our students. They raised a range of...
Sam Underhill, our 1st XV Captain, made his debut for Gloucester at Kingsholm on Saturday in the LV Cup match against Wasps. He came off the bench for the last 15 mins and made an impressive contribution in the final period of the match with some excellent work at the breakdown...
The Play “Mon père ne me comprend pas” was as entertaining as it was educational, a treat for students of French in Years 8 - 10 to immerse themselves in the language whilst at the same time enjoying a first class piece of drama. The problem of coping with one’s parents...
What can I do with a Languages degree? What doors can a knowledge of languages open up for me? These are important questions which students ask themselves. We were, therefore, pleased to welcome to school one of our parents, Ros Englefield, to talk to students about careers with languages, drawing on...
The school chess team is through to the West Midlands Regional Final of the ECF School’s Championship. Victories over Monmouth School and Hereford Cathedral School in the last 2 rounds have allowed us to progress to the final, against the winners of the Birmingham area, KES Five Ways. If we win...
This year GCHQ and the Association for Language Learning joined forces to offer schools in the South West an exciting project. Pupils, working in small teams, were given the remit to research a town or area in a country where the target language is spoken and present to an audience, demonstrating...
On 14th January, the Boys Senior Hockey team travelled across to Campion School, Northants, for the first round of the Schools Cup. The game started well for Tommies, getting a goal in the first 10 minutes, through captain for the day, Andrew Gayler. Many more chances were created; however the scored...
Five of our Year 13 students have achieved the distinction of receiving offers of places from Oxford or Cambridge University. They are as follows: Harry Pruddon, Engineering, Selwyn College, Cambridge. George Hopes, Engineering, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Ben Smith, Natural Sciences, St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. Vashti Kashian-Smith, Philosophy, Pembroke College, Cambridge...
On Tuesday 17th December, Astrid Forsyth from Bath University visited Sir Thomas Rich’s to speak to year 9 pupils on the importance of languages. The talk was very well received by the pupils as the following comments indicate. The Languages Talk presented by the speaker from Bath was very interesting and...
Tommies started their hockey season with an emphatic win against Hereford Cathedral School. In persistent rain, that was at times torrential, the boys worked hard together and ran in six unanswered goals in each half. The teamwork was perhaps more impressive than the score, and sets them up well for next...
Dear Supporter,Firstly, I want to say thank you for your generous gift to the DEC Philippines Typhoon Appeal. Because of your generosity we can provide hope to some of the millions whose lives have been turned upside down by the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan.Hope to people like 10-year-old Rafael, who lost...