Thamesmead is an 11-16 comprehensive school in the village of Shepperton, Surrey. The high standard of behaviour and academic achievement of our students means the school is extremely highly regarded in the local area.

Our goal is simple and captured by our motto ‘Where Learning Comes First’. It is to provide the best possible standard of teaching and learning so that our students have the necessary qualifications and personal and social skills to be successful in whatever future path they choose.

Our specialism in Performing Arts means that there is an especially extensive range of opportunities for our students to develop their creative talents.

I hope that you are able to find the information that you are looking for here, but if not please do not hesitate to contact us.

Peter Rodin

Headteacher

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The balloon race, which started on an overcast Comic Relief Friday, had a very close finish with every school house having at least one balloon coming down in Suffolk. The furthest balloon travelled 167.2km to Middleton nr Saxmundham, the second travelled 166.2km to Sizewell also in Suffolk.

We had a wonderful response from members of the public and the students greatly enjoyed tracking their balloon's progress. One Suffolk resident wrote to inform us that whilst out metal detecting, very close to a tag, he unearthed a King Henry III farthing coin.

Congratulations to the winner who returned the balloon from the furthest distance and thank you to all the members of the public who found and returned balloon tags.

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After the tours conducted at the end of the Spring Term, when parents took up my offer to have a tour of the school during the school day, I would like to share the feedback received:

" I found the tour extremely valuable and wouldn't hesitate in encouraging other parents to take up the opportunity to attend. We visited practically all classes and I was impressed at the level of concentration and engagement displayed by the students. It was clear that they were focussed on the task in hand and also very happy to share with us the topics they were covering. It was clearly not an unusual occurrence for the Headteacher to be visiting classes and engaging with pupils in such a positive way.It was also good to see that there was no evidence of disruptive behaviour during the visit (although obviously it does occur at times, it was clearly not the status quo) and the Internal Exclusion Unit was reassuringly empty. i also witnessed some great examples of peer support between pupils; for example in a vibrant music class where an initially nervous pupil did a great solo guitar/ vocal performance encouraged by other pupils and the teacher.

Thanks for taking the time to do this tour - it has thoroughly confirmed for me that I have made the right choice for my daughters and I would really urge other parents to try and find an hour out of their day to take up this opportunity."

Mr Rodin

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