A message from Mrs Rothenburg
Yesterday, we had the privilege of welcoming the Lord Mayor, Sheriff and Sheriff Consort into school to meet with the Student Leaders. They all spoke about their roles as part of the Civic Party, promoting the city, some of the history of their roles and how they got involved. Everyone had a great time, and Ella even became the Lord Mayor for a minute! Huge thanks to them all for taking the time to visit us. You can read more about the Civic Party’s visit below.
Year 11s have continued to impress us this week as they sat their 3D, Graphics and Art GCSE exams. I have been particularly struck by our students’ dedication and maturity – keep it up Year 11!
It was great to see so many families at our Year 10 Progress Evening on Wednesday. Thank you to everyone who came along to this important event. Student success really does come from a strong home-school partnership. Further information will be coming out soon to parents/carers about the upcoming Year 10 Pre-Public Exams (PPEs) which will take place in June, but for now you can see a timetable here.
Yesterday we held the first in our series of transition events for our new Year 7 cohort and it was wonderful to see so many families. Whilst the pupils got hands-on in Design Technology, parents and carers met with members of the senior leadership team to hear more about Millthorpe and ask any questions they had. We’re now looking forward to the next transition event on 4 June which will have a PE focus. We can’t wait for everyone to visit us again!
Congratulations to those students who were nominated to join me for Principal’s Breakfast today, including Oscar, Jack and Oskaras. It was lovely speaking to you all.
Next week we are holding our Retro Sports Day for those students in Years 7, 8 and 9 who have attended every day for the past three weeks. This promises to be a fun-filled event, featuring classic games, opportunities to build teamwork skills, and the ever-popular chance to see staff competing against one another!
A reminder that if you would like to send a Shout Out to a member of staff to thank them, you can do so using this Google Form. We will ensure that all messages are conveyed to staff.
It just remains to wish everyone a lovely, long Bank Holiday weekend – don’t forget school will be closed on Monday! I look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Tuesday 5 May for a ‘B’ Week.
With best wishes,
Kavina Rothenburg
Principal
Dates for your diary
- Monday 4 May: School closed for May Day Bank Holiday
- Friday 22 May: School closes for half-term break
- Monday 1 June: School reopens after half-term break
- Thursday 4 June: Moving to Millthorpe – PE event
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 – Creative
Conversation starters
- Fine Art: The recent clay sample lesson gave students an opportunity to explore and experiment with clay before using their African Mask presentation to create a mask design. To support your child’s learning, ask your child about health and safety rules, what slip is made from and the four-step method used to join pieces of clay. We are impressed with the original design ideas Year 7 have created so far!
- Design Technology: Students are moving onto their final rotation of the year. We hope that they have enjoyed their learning journey themed around sustainability and learning a vast range of new skills. Next year they can look forward to learning about cultures in all of their DT subjects and tackling more challenging and advanced skills.
Year 8 – English
Conversation starters
Students have begun their final big unit for the year, which is based on the topic of Conflict. They will study a range of texts that explore this complex theme, including dystopian fiction; family conflict as depicted in Shakespeare’s King Lear; and WW1 poetry. Ask your child how they would define conflict at this early stage of the unit, and what texts they have explored so far.
Year 9 – Maths
Conversation starters
Describe Pythagoras’ Theorem to someone at home, can you show how it works with a diagram, and explain when you should use it?
Some right-angled triangles have a whole number side length. These are known as Pythagorean triples (for example 3, 4, 5), can you find any more?
Year 10 – Science
Conversation starters
- Triple Science: Students are continuing their studies of Biology Unit 4: Bioenergetics, Chemistry Unit 5: Energy Changes and Physics Unit 4: Atomic Structure.
- Combined Science: Students are continuing their studies of Chemistry Unit 5: Energy Changes. Can students recall the word equation for photosynthesis? Can students write out the Reactivity Series starting with the most to the least reactive?
All Year 10 Science lessons for both Triple and Combined Science are uploaded to the respective Google classrooms. All Year 10 students have weekly Science homework to complete on Sparx Science – this is due every Thursday!
Year 11 – Global
Conversation starters
- Computing: Students have just finished the Paper 1 recap and completed a Paper 1 assessment, we are now going to focus on programming and a Paper 2 recap.
- French and German: All students have completed their speaking exams and done really well! They are now moving on to revising all our topics to prepare for the Reading, Listening and Writing papers. Students should focus on revising the vocabulary for each topic, using the vocabulary sheets on Google Classroom. They should ensure they can write in three tenses confidently and prepare key verbs for these that they could use in any topic. They can practise past paper questions using Google Classroom or BBC Bitesize.
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.
Millthorpe welcomes York’s Civic Party
On Thursday, we had the privilege of welcoming the Lord Mayor, Sheriff, and Sheriff Consort to Millthorpe where they met with our Student Leaders. The Sheriff, a former pupil, was especially interested to see how much the school had developed over the past 30 years since he was last here.
The Student Leaders greatly enjoyed hearing from the Civic Party, learning about their role in promoting the city, the history behind their positions, and how they became involved. During a Q&A session, students were encouraged to ask questions that had never been posed before. Well done to Edith and Olivia, who asked about tattoos and any “Easter eggs” the Civic Party had discovered about the city during their year in office. Ella even had the opportunity to wear the chains and be addressed as Lord Mayor for a moment.
It was a fantastic experience, giving Student Leaders the chance to reflect on the Civic Party’s voluntary role in promoting the city, and to consider how this connects with their own role in representing and promoting the school.
Cycle safety
To keep children safe, we do not allow cycling anywhere on site and we ask students leaving via the back gate not to cycle down Philadelphia Terrace, as the junction at the bottom of the hill is dangerous, especially at busy times. As ever your support in reinforcing this message with your child would be appreciated.
Energy drinks
As you will be aware, the legal age limit for buying energy drinks is 16 and our school policy states that they must not be brought on site by students. As such, if students do try to bring them in, we will confiscate them and not return them to students. We would be grateful if you could support us by reinforcing this message with your child if and when appropriate.
9MNI crowned as ‘Belonging’ quiz champions
Our Year 9 forms have been taking part in a series of ‘Belonging’ quizzes, based on facts about members of staff, information about school and fun things in the area and community.
The quizzes were held every other week and last week, it was time to add up the points from across the year. We’re delighted to announce 9MNI, Mr Nicholson’s form, as the winners! Mrs Cooper held a little celebratory event for them last week. Well done to everyone who took part.
Interform Challenge – 7EDU do it again!
Congratulations are in order again to 7EDU who won yet another interform challenge last week.
Mr Turner set up a brilliant quiz game which was hosted in our PC rooms. Students had to work independently to score points for their form – those with the highest points were the winners! It was a brilliant effort from all.
Next up is the Food Challenge with Mr Dunn hosted in PC1. We can’t wait to see everyone there!
Maths assessments – Years 7, 8 and 9
Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 will be sitting assessments in Maths on the following dates:
- Year 7 – Wednesday 20 May
- Year 8 – Wednesday 3 June
- Year 9 – Wednesday 10 June
Student Leaders Corner
Elsa, Year 10 Student Leader, reports on the Civic Party’s visit this week.
“On Thursday, we hosted the Lord Mayor of York, the Sheriff, his consort, and their security guard, Richard. It was a lovely morning and experience, and we were delighted to learn many interesting facts about their work. They answered some of our questions, and one of our fellow student leaders even had the mayoral chains bestowed on her.
The Lord Mayor and the Sheriff explained to us about their status as ambassadors of York, and how they took on their roles voluntarily out of love for our beautiful city. This was incredibly inspiring, and it mirrors the work we do as Student Leaders, which we do as an act of appreciation for our school.
Overall, the visit was a very educational experience and will mark a pivotal moment in our time as Student Leaders. We’re so grateful that they were able to come and visit us!”
Post-16 opportunities at St Peter’s School
Every year a few of our students consider, and choose St Peter’s School as an option to study A Levels. St Peter’s offers a variety of bursaries and support packages to students who feel that the only thing preventing them from applying is the fees. We have an opportunity for any interested Year 10 students to go and have a look around the school, meet the Headteacher and ask any questions they may have. If you are interested in seeing what St Peter’s has to offer, please email Miss Watts.
St Peter’s has a much earlier closing date for post-16 applications than other post-16 providers which is why we are offering this opportunity now.
Opening Doors – art project
The Opening Doors project is looking for students to participate in several weeks of workshop activity. In collaboration with York St John University and the City of York Council, we introduce participants to a variety of artistic practices and lay the groundwork for students to find new creative outlets.
This project will build on the National Saturday Club’s successful model, which has enabled access to the arts for young people aged 13-16. For the Opening Doors project, we wish to provide similar experiences to younger children aged 11-13 (Years 7-9), bringing artists to deliver sessions in various artistic skills such as immersive theatre, printmaking and performance poetry. We hope that from this project, we can help students to build creative skills, improve wellbeing and confidence, and promote a deeper understanding of potential careers in the arts.
Sessions will take place during the school day, during periods 4 and 5 on Monday 1 June, Tuesday 2 June, Monday 8 June and Tuesday 9 June and we will provide refreshments during each workshop.
If your child wishes to take part, please contact Suzie Cockburn by Friday 8 May. We’d love you to be a part of this fantastic opportunity, so please do get in touch if you are interested!
Job of the Week – Quality Manager
Quality Managers, also known as Quality Assurance Managers, are responsible for ensuring companies’ quality standards are set and followed. They aim to ensure that all products and services are safe, compliant and meet customer expectations. They are also responsible for measuring performance and identifying any areas for improvement, as well as implementing these changes.
A degree in Business Management or Engineering would be useful, although Quality Management roles are open to all graduates.
Watch this video for more information about becoming a Quality Manager.
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.
As last weekend was filled with sporting highlights, the London marathon, another win for the Red Roses in the Six Nations and York City’s promotion, we wanted to share a talk which looks at the science behind athletes’ successes.
‘The Science Powering Athletes with Logan Performance & Aquatics GB’ looks at how sport scientists use STEM principles to elevate the performance of TeamGB’s top Olympic and Paralympic athletes. It explores the cutting‑edge science behind elite sport – from biomechanics and nutrition to data analytics, innovation, and skill acquisition. Learn how evidence-based training, motion analysis, wearable tech, and performance modelling help athletes push the limits of human potential. The expert sport scientist panel share real-world insights, challenge common myths, and reveal how STEM subjects have shaped their career and helped improve athletes’ performances.
Just click the image below to view.
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.
Copmanthorpe U12 Girls’ Football Team seeking new players
Copmanthorpe U12 Girls’ Football Team, who some of our current students play for, is looking for new players. Anyone interested should call T: 07841025728 or E: dwalsh280@hotmail.com.
York Police Cadets
Are you aged 13-17 years old and want to get involved, challenge yourself and find out what policing is really like? Recruitment to York Police Cadets is open now.
Click here for further information and to apply or you can contact Cadet Liaison Officer Gina Wright T: 07717355121 E: gina.wright@northyorkshire.police.uk
#WakeUpWednesday – Ten top tips for managing exam stress
Exam periods can place significant pressure on young people, affecting their confidence, focus and overall wellbeing. This Wake Up Wednesday guide explores supportive, realistic strategies to help pupils manage their workload, stay organised and maintain balance. From creating effective revision routines to designing calm study spaces, it offers practical ways to reduce overwhelm and build a sense of control.
It also highlights the value of active study techniques, creative revision methods and the thoughtful use of technology, including AI tools. With an emphasis on maintaining motivation and protecting mental health, the guide encourages a positive, sustainable approach to exam preparation that helps young people feel more confident and resilient.
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.
