MAGGIE ACHIEVES NATIONAL SUCCESS IN NEVER SUCH INNOCENCE ART COMPETITION. 

A huge congratulations to Maggie Armstrong, Year 10 students at Richmond, who has been named the winner of the Civilian Category in the prestigious Never Such Innocence Month of the Military Child Art Competition, after taking part in an Art Workshop with Mrs Cheesbrough, Service Children's Advocate in April. 

Maggie's artwork, inspired by this year's theme "Winds of Change", impressed the judges and earned her a place among the national winners. As part of her award, Maggie was invited to London with her mum and sister to take part in a special winners' celebration in the Tower of London, recognising the creativity and voices of young people from military communities across the country. 

Never Such Innocence works with children and young people to give them a voice through the arts, and this competition highlights the experiences, resilience and perspectives of military-connected children. 

We are incredibly proud of Maggie's achievement and the fantastic way she has represented Richmond School. We have included the winners’ booklet produced by Never Such Innocence. 

Well done, Maggie – a truly outstanding achievement! 

The timing of this award is particularly poignant, with Armed Forces Day being celebrated at the weekend. It's inspiring the level of empathy members of our school community have with our armed forces community. For all current and past serving personnel, along with their families, we thank you for sacrificing your normal for our country.” 

To see the official winners’ booklet from the ceremony in London, click on the link below: 

https://tinyurl.com/WindsOfChangeArtwork 

Thank you to Miss Pemberton for the following report: 

“A huge congratulations to our Pom Dance Team Onyx, who successfully defended their title and remain National Champions after this weekend! We're equally proud of Cheerleading Level 1 Team Ruby, who delivered a fantastic performance to achieve a brilliant top-five national finish. 

As I reflect on this weekend, I am incredibly proud of how far this programme has come. From receiving funding from our Trustees in 2021 for our very first uniforms and attending our first small-scale cheer and dance competitions in County Durham, to growing into a nationally competitive after-school programme, it has been an incredible journey and an absolute privilege to be part of. 

More than the trophies and results, I will always be proud of the commitment, resilience and teamwork these athletes have shown. Watching so many young people grow in confidence, try something new, support one another and represent our school with such pride has been the greatest reward. 

Although I am sad to say goodbye to these incredible athletes and teams, I couldn't be leaving them in better hands. I am handing over to Mrs Fox, who will start the new season in October. I know the programme will continue to thrive under her coaching, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for Royals! 

Thank you to every dancer, parent, supporter, member of staff and Trustee who has believed in this programme over the years. Your encouragement and commitment have helped make this journey possible. 

Congratulations once again to Onyx and Ruby. You have all done our school incredibly proud, and I know this is only the beginning of what you'll achieve.”  

To watch videos of the routines, click on the links below: 

https://youtu.be/rkY0RLUCFvk 

https://youtu.be/-WD_5JlgVWA 

Thank you to Mrs Moore for this report: 

History Club recently launched a time capsule competition in which students were asked to create something that summarises life at Richmond School in 2026.  

The time capsule will be opened in 25 years' time.  

The history department were very happy to receive lots of competition entries, including photographs, drawings, exercise books and posters.  

There could only be one winner, however! 

Our winner is Alice Cane, Year 8 student. She wrote a very creative poem summarising school life at Richmond. 

We buried the time capsule last week. The students wrote this message to their 2051 peers: 

Dear 2051, 

It is July 2026. We have buried a time capsule and marked it with stones. 

In it, we have put a collection of items to show you what Richmond School and our lives were like in 2026. We enjoyed making it with our History Club leaders, Mrs Moore and Mr Mawer. 

Richmond School History Club 

Thanks to Miss Dutton for the following report. 

“Yet again our Year 7 German students have not disappointed us with their Supertier models and drawings. The models were a mixture of home crafted Items such as crocheted/knitted toys as well as 3D printed animals and creatures made of recycled materials. We were really impressed with the time and effort students had spent on their models. Well done!” 

The six winning models were: 

Eleni Barron 7EHE - Superpferd  

Maggie Copland 7HWB- Superpandabär 

Erin Anderson 7WMI - Superkaninchen 

Cameron Pick 7LJE - Superflamingo 

Jessica Rukin 7LJE – Superkaninchen 

Lennon Hutchinson 7EHE - Superfisch 

“YES@ Areté Learning Trust at Richmond School has been awarded £16,184 from The National Lottery Community Fund to continue delivering its successful Activities for All programmes, supporting children, young people and families across the local community. 

The funding will allow YES@ Areté Learning Trust to continue Activities for All, a community-led programme providing accessible physical activity, wellbeing opportunities and social connection for children and young people aged 4–18 with learning differences and additional barriers to participation. 

The programme builds on the success of previous inclusive activity sessions, which have been highly valued by families across the area. It has been shaped by feedback from children, parents, carers and community partners who highlighted the importance of having welcoming opportunities where young people can take part, build confidence and develop friendships in a supportive environment. 

Activities for All welcomes families from across the area, regardless of which school children attend, creating a community space where young people can participate safely and feel a strong sense of belonging. 

The programme will continue to include a wide range of activities including: 

The programme recognises that many children and young people can find mainstream sports and activities difficult to access due to confidence barriers, coordination difficulties, sensory needs or anxiety. By continuing to provide welcoming and inclusive sessions, Activities for All ensures every participant has the opportunity to succeed. 

A spokesperson for YES@ Areté Learning Trust at Richmond School said: 

"We are delighted to have received this funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. This support will allow us to continue the Activities for All programmes, creating opportunities where children and young people of all abilities can be active, creative, make friends and feel part of their community." 

Back in November 2024, we published an article about Year 9 student Sarah Nolan’s love for gliding and how she had gained the skills and experience for her first solo flight. Then, frustratingly, she had to wait until she was 14, the minimum age to go solo. We followed that article up with another one in July 2025, detailing her first solo flight and how her gliding had progressed since then. Sarah spoke about how peaceful yet exciting she found gliding, and the confidence, independence and focus it has given her.  

It turns out that Sarah is not the only accomplished glider pilot at Richmond School and, in fact, she has been quite influential in the progress of another one, Jacob Gray. We recently heard that Jacob, Year 10 student at Richmond, had just taken his first solo flight, under a year after his very first flight. We took the opportunity to catch up with Jacob to find out more. 

Jacob started by explaining that he was a member of the Richmond Air Cadets and had been flying with them previously, but not enough to actually progress and learn how to fly. He knew that Sarah Nolan had started gliding with help from a British Gliding Association scholarship. Jacob successfully applied for the same funding and took his first flight at the Yorkshire Gliding Club on Sutton Bank in May 2025 – he said from that point onwards, he was hooked! Jacob then started taking regular flights, working through the criteria needed to eventually go solo. Just before he was ready, the Civil Aviation Authority updated the Sailplane Pilot’s Licence syllabus, adding much more complexity, which meant that Jacob had a bit more work to do before his first solo flight.  

Jacob explained that his drive and determination for flying come from a long-time interest in aviation, with an ambition to eventually become a commercial airline pilot. He said that the next step towards this goal would be to gain his Private Pilot’s Licence, possibly at Teesside Flight School, though that requires 150 hours of flight time – a real challenge. One way to gain some of this flight time would be for Jacob to fly the tugs – the powered planes that tow the gliders into the air – at the Yorkshire Gliding Club. 

We returned to talking about Jacob’s gliding, where he gave us a bit more information about the seven stages required to qualify for a solo flight. Firstly, students learn about the basic principles of flight, then move on to safety – recovering from two of the most serious situations an aircraft can get into – stalling and spinning. Jacob calmly explained how to prevent the glider from dropping out of the sky after a stall and spinning downwards out of control. He said he had done these recovery manoeuvres so many times they were now automatic and relied on muscle memory. He did admit to being properly scared the first time he had to do it, though! 

Jacob talked us through some of the glider's instruments, explaining the function of the altimeter, radio, airspeed indicator, and the all-important varios, indicating whether the glider is in rising or sinking air. He also mentioned the controls – the joystick, cable release, and rudder pedals. Jacob also explained that the unique position of the Yorkshire Gliding Club at the top of Sutton Bank allows two methods of take-off: being towed up by a powered aircraft or, when a good westerly blows, being launched by a winch. 

Jacob then detailed some of the other stages he went through before his solo flight, including learning how to manage the two launch methods as well as the critical, just-one-chance landing. His advice was not to think too hard about having just one chance to land a £180,000 aircraft and just learn how to do it, practice, and get on with it! 

Jacob explained that he had taken around 55 flights before he was ready to go solo and that the weather had often been quite challenging during his training. Those flights varied significantly in their lengths, from just a few minutes if there was no rising air to gain altitude, to over an hour if conditions were good. He said that experienced pilots can go cross-country if the conditions are ideal, sometimes travelling hundreds of kilometres. Part of the skill of being a good pilot is reading the sky and trying to work out where the next thermal is; how to gain height and distance while avoiding sinking air and the ever-present possibility of ‘landing out’ - not getting back to the club and landing in a potentially unfriendly farmer’s field – Jacob said that it was like a big, complicated guessing game! 

We eventually got to the details of Jacob’s first solo flight. He said that on the day he had done a ‘check flight’ to check the instructor was happy with his flying and the conditions, but that it was quite windy, especially on landing. Jacob thought he wouldn’t be allowed to go solo because of this, but he was asked, “How do you feel about doing it on your own?”. Unsurprisingly, he said yes - he said the nerves didn’t start until after take-off! Often, first solo flights are quite short, but Jacob managed to find a 9-knot thermal and ascended to 4000 feet, just below cloud level. He stayed up for 40 minutes, even taking the opportunity to have fun with some zero-G manoeuvres, something that Jacob enjoys, though many other people don’t! Conditions on landing were a bit rough, but Jacob said he didn’t really have time to be nervous about it, and his landing ended up being smooth, almost as good as his textbook take off! Jacob managed to get some excellent photos from his flight by starting a 360-degree camera recording before take off and stopping it after he landed. He said he enjoyed looking back over and editing the footage as well as choosing the best frames for photos. 

Jacob finished by explaining what was next for his gliding. He said conditions hadn’t been ideal recently, but that his next steps involved going solo from a winch launch and also transferring from a two-seat to a single-seat glider. His enthusiasm and determination to gain more hours and experience in the air were very clear to see! 

You can see Yorkshire Gliding Club's Facebook post about Jacob’s solo flight at this link.

Thank you to Mr Swanwick for the following report: 

“Our U13 girls cricket side travelled to Aysgarth recently for the quarter final of the Yorkshire Cup in what proved to be a very tight match.   

Batting first, Richmond recovered from 10-4 to post a competitive 79-4 from their 16 overs, the innings being expertly held together thanks to a 69-run partnership between Annabel Hodges (37*) and Georgia Clarke (8*).   

Aysgarth began their innings quickly, but they were pegged back thanks to quick wickets from Annabel and Ellie Buchanan to leave the hosts 31-2 off 5 overs. However, the next over bowled by Delia Barnham threatened to turn the match on its head, taking 3 wickets in 4 balls to leave Aysgarth reeling on 38-5. The home team steadied the ship and pushed towards the total, but yet again, 3 wickets were taken in an over as Anna Barber reduced the hosts to 58-8. The game was on a knife edge! Some quick thinking from Rose Brown led to a direct hit, running out the Aysgarth number 10.   

With 3 overs to go, Richmond needed 1 wicket and Aysgarth 6 runs for the victory...  

But it was the home side’s number 3 batter that held her nerve to see Aysgarth home, winning by 1 wicket.  

The match was a great advert for girls cricket. A number of the girls are fairly new to hard ball cricket, so it was nice to see their confidence growing as the match went on as well as the support that they always show for one another.   

We wish Aysgarth the best of luck as they progress to face Scarborough College in the semi final. 

Thank you to Ms Richardson, Head of Sixth Form, for the following:    

“Students from Richmond Sixth Form College attended the Year 13 Prom at the Morritt Arms, Greta Bridge last night. It was an evening of celebration and fun, marking the end of an era for these students and also the promise of an exciting future.     

It was lovely to see the students arrive, watched by their friends and family, then enjoy the evening and dance the night away! The weather was glorious, so we were able to access the lovely grounds at the Morritt late into the evening.   

The Head Students organised awards for students and staff which were well-received and presented by Joe White, Ellie Hughes and Guy Feakins.    

We are so very proud of our students, and a great night was had by all!”  

These photos are just a selection. More can be found at the link below:  

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RLsNAy6XxcpuxJcK9 

Isobel was nominated by Miss Jackson who said: “Isobel has gone above and beyond this year to show all CREDIT values wherever possible. She is always extremely respectful in tutor and shows teamwork most mornings by helping others and offering to hand out LIFE resources.  

Isobel has also been an asset to the Food and Textiles department this year by helping out at the Year 6 open evening and offering to stay back with Mrs Dawson after school to help finish off other students' pet pillows, again showing teamwork, respect, creativity and excellence.  

Finally, Isobel has recently been helping me to upcycle a student's prom dress. We were asked if we could remove all of the sequins and replace them with white pearls. This has entailed a great number of hours of hand sewing, which Isobel has helped me with beyond all my expectations. Isobel showed great determination to make sure the dress was complete and ready in time for prom and independently offered to take it home on weekends and even during school holidays as well as using time in Textiles Club." 

Students from Years 7–10 recently travelled to Middlesbrough Sports Village to proudly represent Richmond School at the Hambleton and Richmondshire School Athletics Championships, competing in a wide range of track and field events throughout an exciting and highly successful day. 

From the first event to the last, students demonstrated outstanding determination, resilience and teamwork. Whether competing on the track, in the field, or supporting from the sidelines, they embraced every challenge with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. It was particularly pleasing to see students encouraging one another, ensuring teammates arrived at their events on time and celebrating each other's achievements throughout the day. 

The supportive atmosphere created by our students was a real highlight. Competitors showed great sportsmanship, cheering on their peers and working together to help everyone perform to the best of their ability. Their commitment and encouragement reflected the school's values and contributed to a fantastic team spirit across all year groups. 

The day concluded with the relay events, where students truly excelled. The relay teams displayed excellent teamwork and communication, supporting one another and fully embracing the occasion. Their enthusiasm and determination made for an exciting end to the championships and showcased the strength of our team spirit. 

All students should be extremely proud of their efforts and achievements. They represented the school brilliantly and were excellent ambassadors throughout the day. Well done to everyone who took part. 

Results are below: 

Y7 Girls - 5th 

Y7 Boys - 6th 

Y8 Girls - 6th 

Y8 Boys - 7th  

Y9 Girls - 8th 

Y9 Boys - 2nd  

Y10 Girls - 4th 

Y10 Boys - 3rd