The Effingham Schools Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Rachel Owens as the new Chief Executive Officer who will take over from Mr Mike Farmer, who is retiring in August 2026.
Rachel was born and raised in Bolton, Lancashire. She attended her local Catholic comprehensive, before going on to read History at Somerville College, Oxford. After a brief foray into the law, Rachel started her teaching career at Bury Grammar School in 1992. Since then, she has worked in every type of school – boarding and day, single gender and co-ed, state and independent, highly selective and comprehensive. As well as teaching History and Politics, Rachel has coached netball for over 30 years. In 2011, she was appointed Headmistress of St George’s School, Ascot, and since 2016 has been Headmistress of St George’s Weybridge. Rachel is currently vice-Chair of the HMC Sports Committee, and Chair of HMC Projects – a charity bringing able students from Eastern Europe to study at British boarding schools. She has also been a governor at 3 schools.
Rachel is the mother of twin sons, both of whom attended St George’s and are now at university, and is married to Tom, Head of Politics at RGS Guildford. She is an avid reader, and loves travelling and watching her sons play hockey in her spare time.
We are sure that the Effingham Schools Trust is going to have an exciting future ahead given Rachel’s leadership experience and qualities.
Message from the Headmaster
Message from the Headmaster
It has been great to welcome everyone back after the half-term break. It promises to be a busy period with many opportunities for pupils to be engaged in learning, take part in enriching activities during Values Week and enjoy traditional events such as Sports Days and Founder’s Day.
As pupils returned to school this week, teachers have been sharing assessment results during lessons, and pupils have been reminded to keep a sense of perspective as it is only one method of tracking progress throughout the year. The results should allow us to celebrate all that has gone well and identify some areas that need to be reviewed with additional focus.
In assembly this week, that importance of leadership in our community was highlighted. By taking part in leadership roles, our pupils can develop important life skills such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. They can also make a positive impact on our school community, organising charity events, supporting peers, and being a role model for others. Our pupils were encouraged to put themselves forward to be mentors, part of School Council and creative events like school production teams when the opportunity arises.
Mr Everitt
BEBRAS Coding Challenge 2025
Our Upper Prep and Senior school students took part in this year's BEBRAS Coding Challenge 2025, a fantastic opportunity to enhance their coding skills, build confidence, and inspire innovative solutions to computational thinking challenges. Congratulations to our 14 students who earned Gold certificates and the 51 who achieved Distinction certificates!
Austin 10MR Gold
Scott 10RV Gold
Charles 11DR Gold
Fabian 5NC Gold
Hugo 6SM Gold
Rafe 7AA Gold
Henry 7MC Gold
Nino 7MC Gold
Mr Afana
Sebastian 7MC Gold
Sebastian 8AD Gold
Zach 8AD Gold
Finn 8MM Gold
George 9CM Gold
Harry 9CM Gold
Joshua 9CM Gold
Carlos 9TP Gold
STEM Session with St Matthew’s CofE Infant School
On Thursday, the Computing Department hosted a group of 18 Year 1 pupils from St Matthew's Church of England Infant School as part of our outreach project to the local community. This event is also a key aspect of promoting our participation as the Digital Schoolhouse Hub in Surrey.
The students explored physical computing and robotics using BBC Micro: bits to learn about the main components of a computer system. They also created their own step-counter program (pedometer), which enabled them to monitor their activities by counting the number of steps they took during the session.
Mr Afana
Play Your Way To Wimbledon event at ESTA
On Friday 23rd May, ESTA hosted its annual ‘Play Your Way To Wimbledon’ event at St Teresa's. The competition took the format of a doubles event for the first year which proved to be a huge success!
Players and parents enjoyed a fabulous BBQ in the sunshine whilst some very competitive matches were taking place on court.
Ollie W and Will B were deserving winners of the boys’ doubles draw and will now go through to the county finals in a few weeks’ time. They will be competing to win their way through to play on the grass courts of Wimbledon.
Well done to everyone who took part!
Half-term Rowing Camp
During the May half-term, a cohort of rowers undertook three afternoons of extra rowing training. Due to the good weather, they were able to get out in 'small boats' to further enhance their skills. Some of the Year 9s even managed to row the 8km around the 'Old River' - no mean feat for such a young group. The camp culminated in a race between the Year 7 pupils (with a head start) against the Year 9 pupils which they undertook twice with much enthusiasm, despite tired legs and blistered hands. Well done to all who took part.
Best of luck to our 13 swimmers who have qualified for the National IAPS Finals. This takes place tomorrow at the iconic London Aquatic Centre - home to the 2012 Olympic Games. Thank you to Mrs Calpin who has produced good luck keyrings. We wish our pupils the very best of luck!
Summer Sports Camps at Cranmore
Please see flyer and use the links below for more information:
https://www.talentedathleteacademy.com
https://lionssports.academy/bookingpage/School
Year 7 and 8 pupils have begun a 5-week block of golf as part of their weekly PE lessons. Using different parts of our very own 'Crangusta', pupils have worked on developing their all-round game. This week, pupils have used the practice nets, hole-3 for chipping and hole-5 for putting.
Year 7 and 8 PE
A Message from our Chaplaincy Team
This Week
A Reading from the book of Joel
Thus says the Lord:
‘I will pour out my spirit on all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men see visions. Even on the slaves, men and women, will I pour out my spirit in those days.
I will display portents in heaven and on earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.’
Reflection
This coming Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. The coming of the Holy Spirit, that appeared as tongues of fire and rested on Mary’s and each of the disciples’ heads. The disciples were forever changed from this moment. No longer fearful, they went out filled with the gifts of God. The Church was born not by man’s will but by the divine fire.
So let us pray this week for a fresh out pouring of God’s Spirit on all of us. May our hearts be filled with the gifts and courage we need. May our hearts be ever more open to the love of God. Sometimes we feel everything rests on us, there is too much to do, and it is easy to become weary. May the Helper, the Comforter enliven our lives. We have nothing to fear.
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Amen.
“He pours light into our minds, arouses our desire and gives us strength… As the soul is the life of the body, so the Holy Spirit is the life of our souls.” St. Peter Damian
YEAR 10 REMINDER!
Our Day in the Life of a Sixth Former event is happening on Monday 23 June. AllYear 10 students across the Trust will have the opportunity to sample 4 A-Level Lessons.
Please fill out THIS FORM to RSVP and choose your subjects!
Please RSVP to THIS LINK by 16th June
Soup
Main
Vegetarian
Macaroni
Cheese with BBQ Pulled Pork
Sticky BBQ chicken Drumsticks
Honey Roasted Gammon with Stuffing & Gravy
Sides
Additional
Macaroni Cheese
Homemade
Garlic & Herb Focaccia Bread
Glazed Carrots
Jerk Quorn and Vegetable Ragout
Summer Vegetable Filo Parcels
Chicken Katsu with Curry Sauce & Prawn Crackers
Freshly Battered Fish or Breaded Fish Fillet with Ketchup and Tartare Sauce
Jacket Potato & Baked Beans
Freshly Baked Bread
Salad bar
Steamed Vegetable Rice Corn on the Cob
Pasta with Tomato & Basil Sauce
Freshly Baked Bread
Salad bar
Garlic & Thyme Roasted Potatoes Green Beans
Mushroom Stroganoff
Spring Vegetable and Goats
Cheese Quiche
Steamed Rice Medley Of Greens Chunky Chips Garden Peas
Jacket Potato & Baked Beans
Freshly Baked Bread
Salad bar
Pasta with Tomato & Basil Sauce
Freshly Baked
Bread
Salad bar
Jacket Potato & Baked Beans
Freshly Baked
Bread
Salad bar
Dessert Chewy Chocolate Chip Flapjack
Pineapple
Upside-down
Sponge with Custard
Cheesecake Pots
Items in Italic - Sourced from F Conisbee’s, our local butcher
