Weekly email – 19 September 2025

A message from Mrs Rothenburg

Kavina Rothenburg
Principal

Dates for your diary

• Wednesday 24 September: Whole school trip to Flamingo Land or Yorkshire Wildlife Park
• Thursday 25 September: Year 11 Afternoon Tea and Revision Tips event
• Tuesday 7 October: Open Evening for Year 5/6 pupils and their families. School will close early, at 1.45pm on this day – please see below.
• Wednesday 22 October: School closes for half-term break
• Monday 3 November: School reopens after half-term break

What is my child learning at the moment?

Please see below to find out what your child has been learning about in recent lessons in order to have productive discussions about their education:

Year 7 – Maths
Conversation starters
Students have begun work on using negative numbers including where we might come across negative numbers in real life. Can they think of:

• Two numbers you can add together to make a negative value?
• Two numbers you can multiply together to make a negative value?
• Two numbers you can subtract from each other to make a negative value?

Year 8 – Science
Conversation starter
Classes are studying a variety of topics in Block 1: Health and Lifestyle, Acids and Alkalis and Sound. Students who are studying Health and Lifestyle – you can ask them to state the different food groups, describe the function of each food group in the body with examples and explain why a balanced diet is important? Students studying Acids and Alkalis can be asked – people sometimes put toothpaste on to bee stings. Toothpaste is alkaline. What does this tell you about bee stings? Students who are studying Sound can be asked to describe the difference between longitudinal and transverse waves.

All Year 8 Science lessons in Block 1 are available in the Year 8 Science Google Classroom. All Year 8 students have weekly Science homework to complete on Sparx Science – this is due every Thursday at 9.00am!

Year 9 – Global
Conversation starters

• Computing: Students are learning about Python programming, integrated development environments and high and low-level languages.
• German: Students are working on their first module of Music. Can they talk about the music they like, and their favourite artists in German?
• French: Students are studying Healthy Lifestyles. Can they talk about what exercise they do, and the food they eat to be healthy, in French?

Year 10 – Humanities
Conversation starters

• History: Why is Kaiser Wilhelm II a controversial figure? The Kaiser was an autocratic ruler; what does this mean? How did the rise of the SPD threaten the Kaiser’s rule of Germany before World War One?
• Geography: What are the four layers of the Earth? What four factors affect hazard risk?
• RE: The problem of evil: if God is loving, why is there evil?

Year 11 – Performance
Conversation starters

• Drama: Students have begun their final group devised exam performances, worth 40% of their final GCSE – please do ask them to talk you through their creative ideas.
• Music: This first half term is focused on studying one of the set works – the Bach Badinerie.
• PE: Students have been developing their football, netball, fitness and badminton skills. In GCSE PE students have been finishing off their personal exercise programme coursework.

We hope that you will find this information useful when talking to your child about their learning. Additionally, you might want to take a look at the curriculum section of our website which has lots more information about what your child will be learning over the academic year.

Flamingo Land and Yorkshire Wildlife Park trips

If your child is going on the trip to Flamingo Land next week, please take a look at this letter for all the final arrangements for the day.

Students in Years 7 and 8 should bring a pen or pencil with them to be able to complete their work experience activity.

If your child is going on the trip to Yorkshire Wildlife Park next week, please take a look at this letter for all the final arrangements for the day.

Packed lunches
If you are preparing a packed lunch for your child, please can we remind you not to include any products that contain nuts. You are aware that we are a ‘Nut Free School’, because we have a growing number of students (and some staff) with a nut allergy, and for some, this is severe. Simply being near a nut food product could cause an anaphylaxis reaction which is potentially life threatening. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Wednesday 24 September – arrangements for students remaining in school

Students who are not attending either of the scheduled trips on Wednesday 24 September are expected to be in school as normal.

We’ve planned a carousel of engaging activities throughout the day, including a film screening in the afternoon. Year 11 students will also have the opportunity to attend a revision workshop. Students should wear PE kit or appropriate non-uniform activewear suitable for movement and participation.

On arrival, students should go directly to the back of the main hall, where they will line up in year groups to begin the day.

Open Evening

Our annual open evening is always a lot of fun, giving families the chance to see our community in action and to understand our culture and ethos, and experience the characteristic warmth that makes Millthorpe School so distinctive.

This year’s event will be held on Tuesday 7 October 2025, from 5.30–8.00pm. There’s no need to book, just come along on the evening – all welcome.

Further information can be found here.

Early closure – 7 October

Please note that we will be closing school one hour early, at 1.45pm, on Tuesday 7 October to allow staff to prepare for the Year 6 Open Evening. There will be no enrichment activities on this day.

Year 7 Interform Challenge

The winning form for the Year 7 Dodgeball Interform Challenge last week was 7MTU – congratulations!

Fraudulent app alert

We have been contacted by ParentPay who have been alerted to a fraudulent app in the Apple App Store. ParentPay are working with Apple to have this removed, but please be aware:

• ParentPay does not have an app available for download from any app stores.
• To use ParentPay, parents should visit https://www.parentpay.com/ from a mobile phone or computer.
• After logging in, parents can save a shortcut onto their phone’s home screen.

Phoebe plays at Lord’s in national cricket final

Phoebe in Year 11 joined her team last Saturday to play cricket at the famous Lords Cricket Ground in London.

Phoebe’s team, the MCC York Foundation Hub, got through to the MCC Foundation National Hub Competition Finals to play against reigning champions Guildford.

Unfortunately, York didn’t win but it was a close game and Phoebe got to both bat and bowl in front of over 2000 people at the iconic cricket ground – an unforgettable experience for any cricketer!

The MCC Foundation Hub programme is an ideal way of getting state school youngsters into cricket. The competition is backed by Barclays and brings together talent from 164 free-to-access hubs nationwide. More than 5,500 state-educated boys and girls benefit from the scheme each year and opening cricket pathways for those who may not otherwise have access to the game.

To find out more about the MCC Foundation please click here.

Exciting Opportunity: Become a Committee Member for Inspire Alternative Provision

Are you passionate about supporting vulnerable young people and making a difference in their education? Excel Learning Trust’s alternative provision, Inspire Academy, is looking for dedicated and committed individuals to join its first-ever academy committee (a sub-committee of the trust board).

Further details about this opportunity and how to apply, can be found here.

Job of the Week – Oceanographer

Oceanographers study interactions between seawater, fresh water, the polar ice caps and the atmosphere. Oceanographers usually choose to specialise in one area – physical, chemical, biological or geological – and often get the opportunity to work in a variety of different places, such as laboratories, at sea, on a research vessel or in an office. To become an Oceanographer, you will usually need a degree and there are lots of postgraduate courses available to help you specialise.

Watch this video for more information about becoming a Nuclear engineer.

Futures for All – inspirational talks

Futures for All (previously Speakers for Schools) is an incredible social mobility charity which empowers state-educated young people by opening doors to life-changing opportunities. In addition to their work experience programme, Futures for All also regularly broadcast live inspirational talks which are recorded and then hosted on their website.

Each week, as part of our careers and aspiration-raising programme, we will feature one of their talks.

As it was International Day of Democracy earlier this week, we are featuring Branko Bjelobaba, Finance and Engaging in Democracy Speaker. Branko provides an honest approach as to what makes a difference in terms of presenting yourself and how success can follow failure. Branko speaks passionately about the UK financial services sector and also how young people can engage with democracy.

Just click the image below to view.

York College Open Events 2025-26

York College is hosting a number of Open Events during the 2025-26 academic year, as follows:

• Tuesday 7 October 2025, 5.30pm – 8.00pm
• Saturday 8 November 2025, 10.00am – 12.30pm
• Thursday 20 November 2025, 5.30pm – 8.00pm
• Thursday 12 February 2026, 5.30pm – 8.00pm
• Wednesday 29 April 2026, 5.30pm – 7.30pm

For more information, please visit the York College website.

York College – places still available for enrolment in September 2025

York College is still taking applications for this academic year, so if any students who left Millthorpe in the summer are still looking at their post-16 options, York College may be able to help.

Further information can be found on the York College website or by emailing info@yorkcollege.ac.uk.

Lecture at Bootham School

On Friday 10 October, at 7.00-8.00pm, Bootham School is hosting a lecture by Roger Camrass – a pioneer of technology-driven change – who will be speaking about ‘Living and thriving in an AI world’.

With over 50 years shaping the digital world alongside some of the globe’s biggest organisations, Roger now serves as Research Director at CIONET International, Europe’s largest network of digital leaders.

Tickets can be booked here: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/69586

The lecture is the first in a series to honour the legacy of Bootham Old Scholar Jeremy Heywood, a much-loved figure and one of the UK’s most influential civil servants.

#WakeUpWednesday – A guide to Snapchat

With over 900 million monthly users, Snapchat continues to be a favourite among children and young people; however, with its ever-evolving features, the risks have evolved too. From AI-generated filters and chatbots, to disappearing messages and the Snap Map location-sharing tool, it’s easy for children to stumble into unsafe territory. This guide breaks down the latest updates, including the Lens+ subscription service, and web browser access.

The National College has also unpacked the risks of sextortion scams, overuse, and inappropriate content that may slip through the app’s moderation systems. With expert advice from online safety consultant Dr Claire Sutherland, this guide is a must-read for anyone helping young people navigate Snapchat responsibly and confidently.

Snapchat has an age restriction of 13, but we are aware of younger students using this app. We would also like to highlight that many of the issues that students face online, which often then play out in real life including school, start on Snapchat. We would kindly ask all parents and carers to routinely check their child’s mobile phone and monitor their social media use as far is practicable.

Online support for students and parents

We wanted to remind you about our online support app called Padlet, which is a directory of support available for students and parents.

Padlet signposts the user to a range of websites and resources, providing support and advice relating to mental health, exam stress, online safety, self care, managing emotions, young carers, family support and more.

You can visit the Padlets by scanning the QR codes or clicking the links below.

Visit the Parent Padlet
Visit the Student Padlet

Safeguarding

If you have significant concerns for the welfare of a child, in addition to being able to contact Mr Beever, Miss Gater or your child’s Progress Leader during school hours by emailing safeguarding@millthorpe.elt.org.uk, you may wish to make direct contact with York MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) on T: 01904 551900, option 3. They operate an out-of-hours service so concerns can be raised with them at any time. In a mental health emergency, please call York CAMHS Crisis Team on 08000516171.