Thank you to Mr Maddocks for the following report:  

“Richmond started off the first half as the better team. Lots of high pressing of the ball, great fluid football being played, and chances being created. Unfortunately, due to an uneven surface, Richmond conceded the first goal from a pass back to the goalkeeper gone awry. Admirably, goalie Charlie Davies was unphased by this error and went on to make numerous fantastic saves which kept us in the game.  

Midway through the first half, our powerful attacking play resulted in a number of corners, brilliantly delivered by Oscar Anderson. Jake Kirkbright managed to get on the end of one delivery and loop a header into the far top corner, an excellent goal to bring Richmond level. Towards the end of the first half, Archie Porter delivered a free kick into an extremely dangerous area. Our pressure on the goalkeeper caused him to spill the ball, with Kirkbright once again following up and firing it into the back of the net for his, and Richmond's second.   

In the second half, Richmond had to weather some pressure from Northallerton's tricky and pacey forwards. With Owen Mundell leading the back line, Richmond stood strong. Great attacking play led to Max Read picking up the ball on the edge of the Northallerton box and guiding it expertly in their bottom corner. 3-1 Richmond. We decided, with little time to go, to try and see out the rest of the game and switched to a more defensive formation. This seemed to work; however, a controversial decision from the referee meant Northallerton managed to claim a goal back. Thankfully, this was late in the game, and Richmond won the game 3-2. This was a brilliant effort from the whole team working together and working hard, never giving up until the final whistle. Well done lads, and onto the final!”  

Pictured from left to right: 

Back row: Harry Adams, Jake Kirkbright, Archie Porter, Noah Atkinson, Tom Pickles, Owen Mundell, Max Read 

Front row: Rhys Vinton, Jaxon Tarrant, George McKevitt, Charlie Davies, Oscar Anderson, Harry Cowperthwaite 

Callum was nominated by Miss Tucker who said: “Callum is always a very polite and hardworking student who strives to be the best he can be in everything he does. In Textiles this year, he has built up an impressive repertoire of practical skills, resulting in an excellently made cape inspired by his favourite character. For each technique required to make his cape, we provided a short demonstration, gave Callum a chance to practise, and then he completed the skill independently on his final piece. This included pattern cutting, hemming, machine‑sewing seams and buttonholes, and hand‑sewing buttons. 

The number of skills he executed to an excellent standard went above and beyond what many other students managed within the time. Callum demonstrated strong creativity in his design ideas and worked very independently throughout the project to bring his design to life.” 

We recently heard that Jack Ford, currently a Year 11 student at Richmond School, but also a part time apprentice at James Ford construction, has been making excellent progress in his training and qualifications with construction and farming machinery.  

The James Ford Construction Facebook page celebrated his recent achievements by saying: “Well Done, Jack! A huge congratulations to Jack, one of our apprentices, who has recently achieved some fantastic milestones in his training. 

Jack has successfully passed his 360 Excavator, Dumper, and Tractor tickets, and is continuing his progress by completing his Telehandler and Abrasive Wheels training as well. 

It’s great to see the hard work and commitment he’s putting into developing his skills, and we’re proud to support him as he continues to grow within the business. 

We look forward to sharing more of Jack’s successes in the future.” 

Jack also gave us a bit of background information to put these recent achievements in context: He’s grown up around farms, farming and construction work – it runs in the family. He’s been driving a tractor since he was 13! James Ford Construction is the family-run business, established in 2009. Jack is currently on a work placement at James Ford Construction and with a local farmer two days a week, as well as working effectively full-time around school. He gets up early to feed the cattle at 6:30am, then in the evening carries out general farm and grounds work. The cattle he helps look after are high quality Angus beef cattle – they raise them on the farm from four months to a year old, then supply the beef to Waitrose. His ambition is to join James Ford Construction as a full-time apprentice after his GCSEs. 

Well done to Jack for these recent achievements, and we wish him all the best for the future. 

Thanks to Mrs Southgate for this report about the recent ‘Girls Football Activators’ programme: 

“We’re incredibly proud of a group of our Year 9 girls who have planned and led football taster sessions at local primary schools as part of the Barclays Game On – Go Lead programme. 

After completing sports leadership training with a football focus and qualifying as Girls’ Football Activators, the girls chose to plan and deliver fun, inclusive football sessions for Richmond‑based primary schools. Along the way, they developed key skills in communication, organisation and teamwork, putting these into practice with some very enthusiastic Year 3 and Year 4 girls. 

It’s been wonderful to see their confidence grow week by week as they delivered the sessions. They used their creativity to adapt their sessions when they identified areas for improvement, demonstrating fantastic independence. Feedback from the schools has been overwhelmingly positive, with lots of pupils saying how much they enjoyed getting involved and having fun. 

A huge thank you to Trinity Academy Richmond and Richmond Methodist School for hosting our leaders, and to their fantastic Year 3 and 4 girls for getting stuck in and giving it a go!” 

Thanks to Emmy Raggett, Year 12 student at Richmond, as well as coach and manager of the U13 girls football team, for this report:  

“Last week, the U13 girls football team faced Easingwold in the final of the Area Plate.   

The girls started eagerly and played some brilliant football, displaying what they’ve learnt over the past season. Crucially, we gained a few early goals, scored by Charlee Stead who proceeded to secure herself five in total! 

The second half arrived, and the girls comfortably set themselves back up.  

An extremely quick Easingwold striker and some lovely link-up plays meant the opposition regained a few goals, putting pressure on Richmond. The girls remained calm, worked together and produced some great attacks which were finished with fantastic strikes from Kezia Rodway, Phoebe Percival, Phoebe Willis and a penalty from Orla Noone, meaning when the final whistle blew the game ended with a score of 9-4 to Richmond - Area Plate Winners! A brilliant end to a successful season for the U13s”  

Mrs Southgate, joint Lead Teacher of PE, added: “The girls and I would like to say a huge thank you to Emmy who has devoted so much time this season to planning and leading fantastic coaching sessions for the U13 girls and expertly managing and refereeing their fixtures. Her dedication to supporting each individual player's development has been amazing, and we are so grateful for her expertise and commitment. She is a fantastic role model for our younger students. Thank you, Emmy!”