For those who may not have seen in the February Sway newsletter, we have some fantastic news. One of our Year 8 students Kelsea Wakelam recently competed for team England in the Muay Thai boxing 'Muay Thai Festival' which was hosted in the Lumpinee Stadium in Thailand. Kelsea competed with 60 countries and 900 participants and we are over the moon to say that Kelsea came home with the gold medal for England! Kelsea fought a tough girl in the semi final from USA dominating the fight to gain a win and then faced Holland in the final!

A massive well done to Kelsea, she is truly an inspiration for all Ridgewood students and we couldn't be more proud of her. We're proud to be able to support Kelsea in her career, here's to more wins in the future!

Reminder that tomorrow is Parents Evening for our Year 9 students. This will be a great opportunity for speaking with your child's teachers about subject choices and whether subject selection is an appropriate choice given the progress that they are making over the academic year. More info on options can be found on the options page on the website. https://www.ridgewood.dudley.sch.uk/options-20242026

Our wonderful school choir have attended their second of three rehearsals at the Dudley Performing Arts centre, ready for their big performance at Symphony Hall, Birmingham on Sunday 10th March.

Students have been working in collaboration with staff and other school choirs from the Dudley region to prepare four songs to perform on the stage at Symphony hall.

Some of our amazing vocalists have put themselves forward to sing a solo with the choir in front of an audience of 2000 people! We can't wait to see what they can do- we know our students really do shine.

For anyone wanting tickets, the concert starts at 4pm and tickets are on sale here for Symphony Hall: https://bmusic.co.uk/events/dudley-goes-to-symphony-hall

A shorter term than usual, but we would as always like to thank everyone for their help throughout it! We hope you enjoy your week off, school back to normal on the 19th Feb.

The first Sway newsletter for 2024 is now up. To view it, go to our sway newsletter page on the website or click the image below.

Options Evening went incredibly well last night! We hope the evening proved useful to our Year 9 students as they look to make the step up to KS4. There are two presentations up on the options page on the website for any who may have missed them or who would like to go back for more info! Or alternatively, press the buttons below.

https://www.ridgewood.dudley.sch.uk/options-20242026

Today at Ridgewood we take part in Safer Internet Day. Over the years, Safer Internet Day has become a landmark event in the online safety calendar and is now celebrated in approximately 200 countries and territories worldwide. From cyberbullying to social networking to digital identity, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns. For more information on keeping yourself safe online, check out our page on the website! https://www.ridgewood.dudley.sch.uk/online-safety

An options booklet has just gone up on the website containing lots of valuable information for Year 9 students moving to KS4. This booklet will also help with the Options Evening that is happening on Thursday. The booklet can be found on the Options page on the website or in the latest news post! https://www.ridgewood.dudley.sch.uk/options-20232024

On 30th January 2024, eight Year 10 RS students went to Wordsley High School to take part in an RE Debate organised by SACRE. During this event our students demonstrated their skills in oracy, critical thinking, an understanding of religious scripture and philosophical debate.

We are proud to announce that our students won their motion competing against students from Ellowes Hall, they were able to articulate their views against the motion “Only God has the right to take away life.” A massive well done to the students involved and to the parents who helped to encourage their children during the planning stages of this event.

Reminder that our Year 9 options evening is on Thursday 8th February 2024. Options Evening has always been a popular event at Ridgewood, and we expect this year to be no different. This is a great opportunity to support and guide your child's KS4 curriculum.

If you could kindly confirm your attendance by completing the form on EduLink, we would be most grateful!

Dudley Council is once again looking to recognise people who work tirelessly in the community and are calling on people from across the borough to put forward nominations. Is there someone at Ridgewood who you feel deserves one of these titles? This could be someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the community or who has set an inspiring example to others through their effort and determination.

The categories in full are:

The Thomas Attwood award for education

The Duncan Edwards award for sport

The Frank Foley award for community spirit

The Cedric Hardwicke award for arts

The William Shenstone award for environment

The Mike Holder award for business

It can be a colleague, family member or friend, someone you have nominated in a previous year or someone new.

Should you know someone who fits this description, you can nominate online at www.mayorofdudley.org.uk/civicawards and the closing date is Sunday 3 March.