As we approach the end of the academic year, I would like to remind you of a small change to the uniform for Year 11 students: blazers will change from purple to black.

There are a few reasons for this change. As you may have noticed, many students have outgrown their current blazers. Additionally, Year 11 students may be required to attend interviews, and we would like them to have a smart, presentable blazer for such occasions. A standard non-fitted black suit blazer with black buttons is perfectly acceptable, and there is no requirement for the school badge to be present.

Please also note that all other uniform expectations remain the same. Students may wear a black V-neck jumper (not a round neck, hoodie, or PE sweatshirt). Please see the Year 11 uniform and acceptable footwear guidance attached below.

If your child has a purple blazer in good condition that they no longer need, we would be very grateful if you could consider donating it to the school. These donations will help support other students and families within our school community.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support throughout the year. I wish you a safe and restful summer and look forward to working with Year 11 in September.

TS_Uniform_A4_Y11

TS_Acceptable Shoes_

Kind regards,

Miss N Beades
Director of Learning Year 10

Please see the below upcoming local activities and support groups.

Peartree Park Community day Poster

Talking ASD & ADHD AW26 Worksops

SL bitesize Workshops aut26

Young Carers Wellbeing Day

Mums & Dads online poster – Autumn 2026

Dads online poster – Autumn 2026

On Wednesday 1^st July 9 of Townsend School’s Young Carers were treated to an afternoon of treats at Jarman Park Hemel Hempstead.

The children played an round of golf at Mulligans and then celebrated their score with lunch at Nandos.

Young carers typically miss out on opportunities normally enjoyed by their friends due to their caring responsibilities and their parents being stretched for time or a lack of funds.  This treat was redressing that imbalance, giving our young carers an afternoon of joy and fostering a sense of community amongst these pupils who potentially could be sources of encouragement for each other both during and outside school hours.

The trip was possible because of a generous contribution from the Friends of Townsend School.  Both the young carers and staff thank the Friends for this grant.  The children also want to thank the staff at Mulligans and Nandos for looking after them well during the visit. The young carers really enjoyed their trip.

If you think your child could benefit from the young carer programme, please visit our website page:

https://townsend.herts.sch.uk/young-carers/

Alternatively you can visit the Carers in Hertfordshire website:

https://www.carersinherts.org.uk/

Mrs S Burani

Please see the below information from the bus company Arriva.

‘Student Travel Bursary/Financially Disadvantaged Students

For those students entitled to a travel bursary or, where you are assisting a financially disadvantaged students with the cost of travel, we provide a range of both short term and long-term ticket solutions, which will help you rationalise and centralise the process and, reduce the risk where you may be

• Paying a travel bursary directly to the student
• Purchasing Individual tickets
• Processing receipts
• Issuing cash to cover the cost of travel

Please see a brief overview below of Travel Vouchers and Smart Cards, which if purchased are paid for via an invoice

Daily, Weekly and 4 Weekly Tickets (Travel Vouchers)

• Arriva Travel Vouchers not only help companies manage their travel expenses better, they also cut costs and save administration time by reducing the often labour intensive method of dealing with claims and forms.

• Travel Vouchers are already used by lot of organisations, who from time to time need to cover other people’s travel costs
• You can buy any combination of vouchers, Day, Weekly or 4 Weekly
• Once purchased the vouchers can then be given to people to cover their travel costs
• Vouchers – On the day the person is traveling, they just exchange the voucher on bus and will receive the relevant bus ticket back from our driver
• The ticket they are given is used for unlimited travel on any Arriva bus for rest of that day, week or month (Depending on the given voucher type)
• All Travel vouchers come with a 12 month validation date, so they have a year to use them
• Any vouchers that are not used before the end of their validation period, can simply be returned to Arriva and will be replaced free of charge, disregarding any prices increases that have happened in the last 12 months
• Vouchers can only be replaced once. If they expire a 2nd time, we cannot issue a replacement voucher
• Expired vouchers must be returned to Arriva within 3 months after the expiry date

Smart Cards (Termly and Academic Year Tickets)

• Smart cards are supplied to you with pre-loaded fares to pass onto or sell to students if you wish.
• Smart cards are simply tapped when boarding the bus to allow travel.
• Smart Cards are anonymous, so there is no need for a student photo.
• Smart Cards can be hot listed if they are lost, damaged or stolen. They can then be replaced for small administration fee.
• We can give you the smart cards in advance, as the dates are pre-loaded onto the card. This means you can issue them to students when you want to, and they are ready at the beginning of the term/academic year

Any enquiries from parents and students, should be directed to talktous@arriva.co.uk

Student Direct Debit Poster 2026 2027 Academic Year’ 

There will be no Homework Club on:

Thursday 10th September due to Staff Training.

Thursday 8^th October due to Staff Training.

Thursday 22nd October due to Staff Training.

Thank you,

Mrs T Sibley
Head of Student Services