Weekly email – 6 February 2026

A message from Mrs Rothenburg

Congratulations to those students who came along to Principal’s Breakfast this morning, including Madeleine, Max, Rose, Matthew, Beau and Scarlett. It was lovely to chat to you all and hear about your plans for the half-term break.

A reminder that we close for the half-term break next Wednesday, 11 February, at the usual time, returning on Monday 23 February.

Have a great weekend and we’ll see everyone back in school on Monday for an ‘A’ Week.

With best wishes,

Kavina Rothenburg
Principal

Dates for your diary

• Wednesday 11 February: School closes for half-term break
• Monday 23 February: School reopens after half-term break
• Thursday 5 March: World Book Day
• Wednesday 11 March: Year 11 Progress Evening

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 – Humanities
Conversation starters

• History: How did William conquer England? Ask your child about the Harrying of the North and the use of castles.
• RE: We are exploring what was so radical about Jesus. How was his teaching different to what people had heard before? We’ve considered how he treated women radically differently to the cultural norms of the day.
• Geography: What is a natural resource? What is the difference between a renewable and non-renewable resource?

Year 8 – Performance
Conversation starters

• Drama: Students are moving on to their new topic – Voice – beginning by looking at how actors use their vocal skills effectively to play a range of different characters. Please do ask them for a demonstration!
• Music: This term, students have been studying African music, looking at djembes, polyrhythmic writing, improvisation, call and response and the cultural link to the Mali empire.
• PE: Students are in their last week of the current rotation of sports. The boys will be completing their practical assessments in netball and fitness, and the girls will be completing their assessments in badminton and rugby.

Year 9 – Creative
Conversation starters

• Design Technology: Students are moving on to their next discipline w/c 9 February continuing learning about emerging technologies in Design and Food industries. It was a pleasure to speak to so many students and parents/carers at the Year 9 Options Evening and staff are more than happy to answer any more questions about GCSE options for next year.
• Fine Art: while the clay pots have been fired, Year 9 students have been exploring media and techniques – inks, watercolours and mixed media layers. A range of potential sea-life inspired colour schemes have been created. It has been rewarding to see the progress made with observational drawing and painting skills this half term. Students will re-visit acrylic painting techniques before selecting their final colour scheme to paint their pot. We look forward to Year 9 showcasing their knowledge of colour theory and control of acrylic paint to create a high quality final outcome to bring home!

Year 10 – English
Conversation starters
Students are continuing with their study of Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’, which involves plenty of learning about the historical context of the Victorian period. Ask your child about Thomas Malthus, the workhouse, the treadmill, the Deserving and Undeserving Poor and the New Poor Law – how much can they remember?!

Year 11 – Maths
Conversation starters
Are these probability statements true or false? Use a tree diagram, Venn diagram or sample space to show your answer.
1. When you roll a fair six-sided dice, it is harder to get a six than a four.
2. Scoring a total of three with two dice is twice as likely as scoring a total of two.
3. In a group of ten students, the probability of two learners being born on the same day of the week is 1.
4. There are three outcomes in a football match: win, lose or draw. This means that the probability of winning is 1/3.

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.

Excel Learning Trust Student Council

On Monday, our Year 8 and 9 Form Representatives went to York High School to take part in the Excel Learning Trust Student Council. They had a really productive time meeting in groups with students from all the schools in our Trust, discussing a range of important topics, including:

• Feeling safe in school
• Enrichment opportunities
• Ways to help the environment
• British values in society
• Sustainability
• Confidence

It was a great opportunity for our students to build relationships with their peers from other schools and year groups, and we are looking forward to the next one in the summer term.

Sparx Science Homework

The last Sparx Science homework of this half-term is due on Wednesday 11 February at 9.00am. As always, our expectation is 100% completion by the deadline. We want to support all students by ensuring they complete work away from the classroom – helping them develop independence, build study skills and to help students take control of their learning. This is a change from our usual Thursday 9.00am deadline due to school closing for February half-term on Wednesday 11 February. We would be grateful if you could remind your child of this change.

The following Sparx Science homework is due after February half-term on Thursday 26 February at 9.00am. This assignment will go live to all students at their respective lunchtimes on Wednesday 11 February. We want all students, and their families, to have a restful half-term and there is no expectation to complete this work during the holiday. However, we want to maintain the momentum we have with Sparx Science by returning to our normal Thursday deadline following half-term.

LGBTQIA+ Club

Starting on Monday 23 February, the LGBTQIA+ Club is returning! It will be taking place in A4 during Monday Enrichment from 2.45-3.30pm. It will be led by some of our Student Leaders and supervised by Mr Morris. This club will allow you to express yourself – everyone is welcome to join!

Millthorpe presents ‘A Night at the Musicals’

Rehearsals for ‘A Night at the Musicals’ are going brilliantly, and we can’t wait to take to the stage on the evenings of 24, 25 and 26 March. Be sure to save the dates so you don’t miss what promises to be a truly wonderful show!

Tickets will go on sale after the half-term break.

Year 11 Leavers Hoodies

Exciting times for Year 11…. you can now order your Leavers Hoodies! These can be purchased from Keal Teamwear, our uniform provider by visiting this link or scanning the QR code below.

Mrs Cook, Year 11 Progress Leader, would like to remind students and families that Leavers’ Hoodies are not to be worn in school as part of the school uniform. They should only be worn outside of school.

Esme and Imogen compete at Indoor Athletics Championships

Congratulations to Esme (Year 8) and Imogen (Year 9) who both competed in the Northern Indoor Athletics Championships last weekend in Sheffield.

Both girls performed brilliantly, facing some fierce competition. Esme (pictured left) came second in the U15 200m final with a huge improvement to her personal best time, finishing in 25.57. Imogen (pictured right) came sixth in the U14 long jump with a jump of 4.70m, her second-best distance ever. She also got through to the final in the hurdles.

Esme and Imogen are competing again this weekend at the England Indoor Championships in Sheffield – best of luck to them both!

Congratulations to our Sports Leaders

Over the last few weeks our Year 9 Sports Leaders have been into two primary schools leading PE and sports activities for their pupils during their PE lessons. We have had some wonderful feedback from the schools and in particular we wanted to share an email from Ms Auckland at Dringhouses Primary, thanking Ms Lansdall and the Sports Leaders for the sessions. She said “Our classes absolutely loved the sessions, and all the staff were so impressed with your young people. They were so enthusiastic and engaging, we’ve had several children ask how they can become sports leaders when they are older already! Any opportunities for our children to see positive role models are welcomed and they represent your school so well.”

Well done to everyone involved!

Sports round-up – PE department

Girls’ football

Millthorpe U12s vs Tadcaster Grammar School
Result: Millthorpe A team 1 – 0 Tadcaster

The girls played against a tough Tadcaster team and put on a great defensive display. The goal came from Cicely in the second half on the counterattack which was a fantastic individual effort. All the girls played really well and deserved the three points, showing great resilience to keep going and defend their goal. The ‘players of the match’ went to Cicely and Daisy. Well done everyone and thank you to Josie for refereeing the game.

Boys’ football

Millthorpe U14s vs York High School
Result: Millthorpe 1 – 2 York High

The boys were unlucky not to come away from the match with a point, as they agonisingly missed a last minute opportunity to equalise! The boys played some really good football and the ‘player of the match’ went to Alfie. Well done everyone!

Millthorpe U12s vs Fulford School
Result: Millthorpe A team 0 – 0 Fulford A team

Player of the match went to Kayden for some outstanding saves to keep the game at 0-0. Well done to the A team for showing a great defensive display to earn a draw and one point on the board.

Millthorpe B team vs Fulford B team
Millthorpe B team played well and showed some real resilience to keep going when the game was getting tough.

Basketball

U14 boys’ basketball vs Fulford School U14
Result: Millthorpe 30 – 20 Fulford

Mr Randall said that the boys played really well, that they were all brilliant and deserved enormous credit. Well done boys! The ‘player of the match’ went to Billy.

Millthorpe U16s vs Fulford School
Result: Millthorpe 22 – 44 Fulford

Mr Randall said that the team played well and kept going, and also deserve enormous credit for the way that they played. The ‘player of the match’ went to Milo.

Netball
Millthorpe U15s vs Huntington School
Result: Millthorpe A team 30 – 7  Huntington

• Player of the match from Miss Watts: Harriet
• Player of the match from Huntington: Aurelia

Job of the Week – Herbalist

Herbalists use plants to try to heal patients from ongoing illnesses and prevent new illnesses. They prescribe herbal remedies for things like allergies, anxiety, skin conditions, digestion issues and more. Herbalists need to be able to communicate with clients, use their knowledge of plants and their properties to decide how best to treat them. As herbalism is not currently a regulated field, there are no specified entry qualifications, but you could choose to complete an accredited course in herbal medicine, do a degree and join the National Institute of Medical Herbalists.

Watch this video for more information about becoming a Herbalist.

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 -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.

In this week’s featured talk, you can hear from Bill Holroyd CBE DL, Founder of OnSide YouthZones, a national charity that builds and supports a network of state-of-the-art youth centres in underserved areas across the UK. Bill talks about where the idea for YouthZones came from, and whether he knew it was a million-pound idea! Discover how bold thinking and a business mindset can transform communities. Learn how being an entrepreneur isn’t just about making money, it’s also about creativity, social purpose and having a positive impact.

Just click the image below to view.

York College Open Evening

York College is hosting its first Open Evening of 2026 on 12 February from 5.00-7.00pm. Students in Years 10 and 11 are all welcome.

Apprenticeship Employer Fair at York College

As part of National Apprenticeship Week 2026, York College is holding an Apprenticeship Employer Fair on Thursday 12 February from 5.00-7.00pm. This provides the perfect opportunity to meet local employers who are recruiting apprentices this year and also employers who offer work placements for T Level courses.

The opportunities available include:

• Business Administration and HR Support
• Early Years
• Engineering
• Construction Trades
• Laboratory Technician

The Apprenticeship Team will also be available to offer advice and guidance.

Register here Apprenticeship Recruitment Fair | York College & University Centre or just turn up!

Apprenticeship vacancies

York College is currently advertising a number of apprenticeship vacancies which can be seen on the attached pdf. Each vacancy has a hyperlink to the Apprenticeship Service website, where you will find full job details and where you can submit your application.

A note on closing dates: vacancies often close earlier than the stated date, so if you are interested, please make sure you apply as soon as you can.

You can also read the attached guidance on how to write a strong application to ensure the best chance of success.

Residentials at King’s College, Cambridge

King’s College, Cambridge offers residentials designed to engage students beyond the curriculum, foster independence, provide them with insights about university life, and encourage them to think creatively about their futures. All residentials are free of charge and accommodation and meals are provided.

Upcoming residentials include:

• Calculating Women
• World of Words
• Small Subjects

Further information can be found here.

York Allstars Taekwondo

York Allstars Taekwondo club has spaces available for new members. We train locally and are a not for profit community club run by volunteers.

Taekwondo is an Olympic sport and teaches students courtesy, perseverance and self control. Our club has mixed training sessions and is suitable for students aged 10 years and above, as well as adults. For more information please see our Instagram page or contact 07791.665563.

#WakeUpWednesday – Supporting Safe Use of AI

Artificial intelligence is becoming a familiar part of young people’s online experiences, with a myriad of school tools and entertainment platforms in use. This week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide breaks down what AI really is, helping adults explain it clearly and realistically so children don’t overestimate its abilities or trust it unquestioningly. It explores how AI systems work, where they appear online, and why understanding them matters.

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.