Susan Milewski, Rugby Free Primary School - One Year On
Susan Milewski, Headteacher of the recently opened Free Primary School in Rugby talks about the first hurdles, successes and achievements of the school in its first year.
What a difference a year makes! I am pleased to introduce myself as Susan Milewski, the Headteacher of Rugby Free Primary School.
Over the past year and a half, it has been my privilege to see Rugby Free Primary School grow from being a thought from a local community member to being a name on a piece of paper, moving on to it being a building site and then to it finally opening it’s doors in September 2015!
Last year, we welcomed our first cohort of children. By Christmas, when we had our official school opening and presented our first ever Christmas play, the parents stated that we had ‘exceeded their expectations by far’. By the end of the year, all our children had made rapid progress and our attainment was significantly above both local and national but more than this, our children had become confident, astute and polite young people, who had high aspirations for themselves and were fully prepared to enter Key Stage One and continue their journey through education.
RFPS is my first headship and it has been a rollercoaster ride but I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity. Each school, cohort, child and family presents a different challenge and opportunity, but nothing comes close to having the opportunity to shape the future of a school by setting it up from scratch with a clear vision and journey to success. At RFPS we aim to prepare our children for the future which lies ahead by providing a wide range of exciting learning opportunities and excellent quality teaching and learning.
RFPS is part of a Multi Academy Trust, Knowledge School Trust. The trust is actively involved in our school and is forward thinking and professional. The trust motto is ‘ludis studiis’ meaning ‘in play, in studies’ which is very important to us and integral in all that we do as we want all learning to be fun and engaging.
The school was visited last term by the then Secretary of State for Education, the Right Honourable Nicky Morgan. After her visit, she immediately tweeted that our school was ‘inspirational’: exactly what we aim to achieve and the perfect start in a growing Academy Trust.
If you would like to find out more about our school, about our Trust or about free schools in general, please do not hesitate to contact us, our door is always open and you would be more than welcome to pop in and visit us.
Christine Green introduces the new Rugby Free Secondary School
Christine Green, head of the new free secondary school in Rugby, introduces her school and how it has thrived so far during the first term.
My name is Christine Green, and I am head of the Free Secondary School in Rugby. Rugby Free Secondary School (RFSS) is a brand new, 11-19 school which opened in September 2016. I wanted to build a new school because I wanted to start from scratch, to make something brilliant from the ground up rather than inheriting it. I wanted to make a school where every child could get the help they needed when they needed it and in an environment that fostered this.
Our first few months have been amazing. We have great staff and teachers, and hard-working students. Following the success of our sister school, Rugby Free Primary School, which opened in September 2015, we are expecting great things.The school will grow organically with an intake of 180 Year 7 students each year until reaching full capacity of 1,370 students, helping to address the current and accelerating need for high-quality secondary school places in Rugby. RFSS is co-educational, non-selective, non-denominational and free to attend.
At RFSS, we provide a high-quality, challenging, broad and balanced education for all our children. All staff share a passion for teaching and are committed to delivering the highest standards. It is our aim at RFSS to capture the natural anticipation and excitement that each child feels and provide rewarding, appropriate challenges that allow pupils to feel successful and confident.
The school has a strong focus on the STEMM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Music) because we believe that all children benefit from a well-thought-out and coordinated approach to these challenging areas of the curriculum. There are fantastic higher education and employment opportunities for young people who excel in these areas and we will be focused on ensuring a place at a top university, or employment with excellent career prospects from the day that the children join us in Year 7.
We have already won our first football match, held 2 open evenings, set baseline tests, held a parents’ evening and ran a number of charity events. The pupils have all worked hard in their lessons and are thriving. The start of this new opportunity to build the best school in Rugby has begun with a drive, commitment and an energy I have never witnessed before. I am so proud of what we have achieved so far! Watch this space. RFSS is on the map and we are going to set the world on fire with our positivity, intelligence and determination.
