2026/27 TWGGS Newsletter 1
Friday 11th September 2026
A message from Mrs Marchant
Welcome back to our familiar readers and a very warm welcome to our new families! We are finally in the swing of our new routines and it has been so lovely reconnecting with pupils and getting to know our new cohorts. So many parents and carers have attended our Welcome to Year… Evenings and I would like to thank the staff that have given up their time to ensure that you are all inducted well into the new school year groups. Please do utilise our Heads of Year system, and if you have any concerns at all please contact the school and we will work with you to resolve them; we have an open door policy. Alongside being a very useful tool for structuring homework/revision and strengthening organisation, your child’s planner has a wealth of information for you both to help you navigate the school systems. Page 9 has a Parents’ Page where you can follow a flowchart to help you make contact. As always, if you need to inform us of anything or wish to get a message to a member of staff, please email admin@twggs.kent.sch.uk and we can pass this along. All absences must be logged by EduLink, where there is an option to upload evidence of appointments or medical information.
Our Upper Sixth cohort have flown away, leaving an incredibly impressive set of results behind them. August saw 12 pupils achieve three or more A* grades; two excelling with A*A*A*A*. 20% of grades were A*, with 47% being A*-A and 79% A*-B, an increase on last year. We have seen an increase in the number of pupils who have achieved three A grades or higher with 37 pupils (27% of the cohort) achieving at least three A grades. These fantastic individuals have gone on to a wide range of adventures. 70% of those going to university are going to a Russell Group University with five at Oxbridge, securing places at 42 different institutions, studying a wide range of courses from Aerospace Engineering, Physics and Economics to English, Film and Graphic Design. Four pupils are embarking on an Apprenticeship and a number are taking time to save money through employment. We wish all of our outgoing Upper Sixth the best of luck for their futures and look forward to seeing them at Speech Day in December. Our Year 11s were similarly successful. Grade 9s are at 20%, Grades 9-7 are at 68%, an increase on last year and our 9-4 grades are broadly similar to last year, with 99.59% of grades falling into this bracket. Two pupils achieved a full sweep of Grade 9 grades and one pupil achieved 10 Grade 9s and one Grade 8. A total of 25 pupils attained five or more Grade 9s, which is an increase on last year. We are very proud of their efforts and are excited to see what they produce when they take their A Levels with us in 2028.
Many pupils have signed up for upcoming PTA events and there will be more to come as Year 7 and 8 Discos, Wreath Making, Quiz Nights and Bring and Buy sales are coming up this term. The PTA will be selling tickets for these events soon and will be in contact with regards to the logistics but if any parent wishes to help out at these events they would be more than welcome to join the PTA. Please email pta@twggs.kent.sch.uk. Today we have Year 7 Bubble Football; as PTA events take place on school premises I would like to remind parents of KS3 and KS4 children that we still operate a ‘no phone’ policy. I understand that a pupil may need to have a phone to contact home at the end of the disco/event, but they are not permitted to have their phones out during an event and they are strictly bound by our Online Safety and Acceptable Use policies. Here they are not permitted to film, photograph or share any images of anyone.
The evenings are beginning to draw in and temperatures are dropping so it can be tempting to drive to collect your child and pick them up from school. Please can I remind you that you are not permitted to drive onto the school grounds or to use the entrance as a turning circle. A number of parents are still coming onto the site or blocking Southfield Road which is unsafe, and causes issues with our local residents.
So many of our pupils engage in activities outside of school which we are very proud of; if you wish your child to be featured or celebrated please do let us know by emailing media@twggs.kent.sch.uk, with a photo if you are happy for this to be used for publicity purposes.
I wish you all a very happy weekend.
Mrs Katie Marchant, Headteacher
Key Dates this Month
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 15th September | Lower Sixth Team Building Day |
| Wednesday 16th September | Year 9 and Year 10 Parents’ Information Evening |
| Thursday 17th September | 7G, 7Y, 7B Activity Day |
| Friday 18th September | 7T, 7W, 7S Activity Day |
| Tuesday 22nd September | Year 7, Year 9 and Lower Sixth Photos |
| Wednesday 23rd September | Open Evening, 4:30pm – 7:30pm |
| Friday 25th September | Year 7 PTA Disco |
| Wednesday 30th September | Year 7 Meet and Greet Evening, 5:30pm – 6:30pm (for parents and carers of Year 7 pupils only) |
Latest News
As ever, this week’s newsletter is packed with news and information. Links and buttons will take you outside of this document, such as the ‘View All News’ button which links to News items hosted on our website. Please don’t forget to return to the newsletter to scroll all the way through.
This edition of the newsletter contains:
TWGGS Policy Spotlight
Our featured policy this week is TWGGS’ Pupils with Allergies Policy.
Benedict’s Law is a statutory requirement that has now come into force from September 2026, and aims to establish consistent national allergy safety standards for schools across England.
As part of this, all schools must now have a standalone allergy policy which can be seen below. Additional measures include that all staff have now also been given allergy awareness training, including how to recognise anaphylaxis and in the delivery of adrenaline auto-injector pens.
As a school, we have a number of members of our community who are at risk of anaphylaxis. Each pupil at risk has their own Individual Healthcare Plan, which includes that they must carry one pen on them at all times, with a spare being kept at reception.
For the safety of all our pupils and staff, we are a no spray school, and we are also a nut-free environment; please ensure that any food (or other items) brought into school do not contain nuts of any kind.
Over the coming weeks we will be getting in touch with all parents/carers of our pupils with known allergies to ensure our information is up to date. If, however, your child has an allergy that we are not aware of, please contact Mrs Miller (DHTPastoral@twggs.kent.sch.uk) and Mrs Churcher (SENDadmin@twggs.kent.sch.uk) as soon as possible so we can ensure our records are accurate and we have medical plans in place to keep everyone safe.
All of our policies and key information documents can be found on our website.
Online Safety Bulletin
Group Chats
On social media, online games and messaging apps, group chats are one of the most popular ways that children connect. Group chats allow messages, images and videos to be shared in one place and help to foster connections and encourage friendships to flourish. However, they also come with a number of risks including inappropriate content, the inability to know who has been added to a group, the impact of potential bullying and exclusion and pressure to feel like they have to be constantly engaged to keep up with the conversation.
Click on the image to access useful advice on how to support your child’s use of group chats in ways such as: setting group chat rules; how to silence notifications; how to block, report and leave chats; how to practise safe sharing; and how to encourage your child to consider others’ feelings.
Upcoming Events
For more information on our Open Events and how to book your place, please go to https://www.twggs.kent.sch.uk/548/open-events
Attendance
| Year | Attendance % |
|---|---|
| 7 | 99.44 |
| 8 | 99.26 |
| 9 | 96.93 |
| 10 | 98.28 |
| 11 | 96.87 |
| L6 | 96.44 |
| U6 | 86.91 |
| Whole School | 96.45 |
Family Holidays
Holidays must be taken in school holiday time. We do not authorise absence during term time as this clearly has a major impact on pupils’ learning. If it is unavoidable, a letter should be sent to the Headteacher, requesting permission well in advance and the absence will be recorded as unauthorised in all but exceptional circumstances.
Reporting an Absence
The EdulinkOne portal is a quick and simple method for reporting an absence. We ask that you report on each day that your child is absent to avoid any ambiguity. If your child will be off school for a known period of time, for example if they have been signed off by a doctor, then please state this in the notes on the Edulink message, so that our staff can interpret this effectively. You can also attach medical notes to the message that you send. If you are unable to report via Edulink, please contact reception by phone on 01892 520902, or via email, reception@twggs.kent.sch.uk
We would urge parents to avoid making medical or dental appointments for your children during school hours, whenever possible.
For further guidance on using EdulinkOne, please visit our website.