TCCLife Issue 5 July 2025

#TCC
Life
Issue 5: July 2025
Cover photo: Canoeing in the
Ardèche (page 10)
Celebrating life across the Thurston Community College and Thurston
Sixth community
Annie JR.
Read all about our incredible
lower school production of Annie
JR on page 6.
Challenges Abroad
Thurston Sixth students had an
incredible time in Thailand.
Read all about it on page 8.
TCC has voted
Find out all about our Student
Principal elections and Student
News coverage on page 12.

Welcome!
from the Principal
This academic year
has been a very busy
one and the summer
term has been no
exception.
We have been
delighted to hear
news from students
visiting far and wide
on a range of
educational visits to
Bawdsey, Hautbois (Norfolk), Devon, Paris, the
Ardeche, and Thailand. In addition students have
taken part in their expeditions for Bronze Duke
of Edinburgh awards.
Students in Years 10 and 12 have also been out
on Work Experience and have benefited from
their contact with local employers; we are hugely
grateful to all local businesses who supported
our students.
Sports leaders have represented TCC at local
schools, supporting sports days around Suffolk,
and other student leaders have been extending
a warm welcome to our future students at
induction days for Year 7 and 12 with over 400
young people coming in to experience days at
our College and Sixth Form.
We are very lucky to have students who get
involved so actively in their learning, joining
clubs, working as student leaders, showcasing
Dance, Drama and Music talents in Annie and
other Performing Arts events, and representing
the College so strongly in the community. None
of this would be possible without our wonderful
staff giving so generously of their time and
energies and I am grateful for all that they do for
our young people.
We said farewell to Year 11 with a leavers’
assembly and prom and hosted a Year 13
Awards Evening. We wish them every success
with their exam results this summer; they
worked very hard throughout the exam season
and deserve to do well.
I would also like to wish those staff leaving us
this term, retiring or moving onto pastures new,
every success and happiness in the future and
thank them for all they have done for TCC.
We wish everyone in our local community a
restful summer break.
Maéve Taylor
Key Dates For Your Diary
What’s happening at TCC?
Friday 18 July 2025
Last Day of Term - Break for Summer
Holiday
Wednesday 3 September 2025
First day of term for Year 7, 11 and 12
Thursday 4 September 2025
All students return to College
Thursday 11 September 2025: 18:00
Student Leadership Ceremony
Tuesday 16 September 2025: 18:00
Year 12 Welcome Evening
Thursday 18 September 2025: 18:00
KS4 Awards Evening
Wednesday 1 October 2025: 16:15 - 17:15
Year 7 Meet the Tutor
Thursday 9 October 2025: 17:30 - 20:00
TCC Open Evening
Thursday 16 October 2025: 18:00 - 20:00
Thurston Sixth Open Evening
Thursday 23 October
Year 11 taster day at Thurston Sixth
For events taking place further ahead,
visit www.thurstoncollege.org/calendar.
Photo: Year 6 students in the workshop for #TCCTuesdayClub
In this issue…
Welcome to our new Year 7s 4
News from Thurston Sixth 5
Annie JR. at TCC 6
Our Thurston Sixth expedition to Thailand 8
Where else did we go this term? 10
Election fever at TCC! 12
Sports Day 2025 14
This year in pictures 16
Stay safe this summer 18
Don’t forget to follow us on social media to stay up
to date with all things TCC and Thurston Sixth.
2 3
Artwork: Elsie F, Year 13 | Displayed at the A Level Art Exhibition in June

Moving on up…
Welcome to our new Year 7s
Sixth form life
News from Thurston Sixth
Welcome, Year 6 (so very nearly
Year 7!)
What an exciting term to be a
Year 6 student! I've enjoyed
hearing all about the exciting
plans so many of your teachers
have in store for you this term:
trips, plays and lots of other fun ways to mark
the closing of your primary school chapter. As
well as all of this happening in primary schools,
we've been busy preparing for you to join us
here at TCC: it was brilliant welcoming so many
of you to TCC Tuesday Club sessions last halfterm
and we're in our final preparations now
for you to join us for those long-anticipated
transition days where you'll meet your tutor,
start to make new friends and hopefully realise
that TCC isn't as complicated to navigate as you
may have thought from afar.
This term is bittersweet for the transition team
as we pass all of our knowledge about each of
you (gathered from meeting you, speaking to
your teachers, visiting your primary classrooms,
inviting you to join us for events and of course
conversations with your families throughout
the year) on to your new Year 7 team; it seems
like yesterday I was meeting so many of you at
your Year 5 tours. Your new tutor, Mrs Harper
and Mr Moore can't wait to put faces to names
and bring their tutor group - and year group -
together for the first time; I wish you lots of luck
for your years here at TCC and I'll look forward
to seeing many of you in the corridors and my
English classroom of course!
To watch this video, go to the digital
version of this newsletter at
www.thurstoncollege.org/tcclife
So now, Year 5
community, my
attention turns
to you. I've
enjoyed
showing lots of
you around
TCC already
this term and
really look
forward to
welcoming so
many of you on
9 October
when we open
our doors for
our Open
Evening where
you can have a
go at
experiments in
Science,
practicals in DT
as well as lots
of other fun
activities across the College. I'll be out to visit you
in your classrooms soon and will hopefully be able
to start turning your nerves to excitement!
Mrs Webdale
Transition Coordinator
Welcome Year 12
Thurston Sixth was the place to be on Wednesday 25 June, our Year 12 induction day.
Upcoming students enjoyed taster lessons, soaked up the atmosphere at Thurston Sixth and
made new friends along the way. There was a real buzz of positivity around the campus.
Meet the Student Union
Thank you to our fabulous Junior Prefects for supporting the
Year 6s on their transition days.
4 5
Our Student Union is
at the heart of
Thurston Sixth. The
team is headed up by
newly elected
President James M
and Vice Presidents Daisy N and Sam M, who lead
a group of Year 12 and Year 13 students in
representing the Sixth Form student body. We
are all passionate about student leadership and
we wanted to become members of the Student
Union to take an active role in the Thurston Sixth
community. New students at Thurston Sixth can
apply to be part of our team in September.

Annie JR. at TCC
Looking back at our 2025 lower school production
A cast and crew of nearly 100 students took to the
stage this July in our spectacular rendition of the
classic musical, Annie JR. They entertained around
1000 audience members over a four night run,
receiving some glowing feedback along the way.
Head of Performing Arts, Miss Barnes-Smith said, “Our
young cast and crew have poured their hearts into this
show. Their energy, talent, and teamwork are
extraordinary. To the families who’ve supported them
behind the scenes, thank you. Your help with lines,
costumes, and lifts to rehearsals has made all the
difference.”
If you have post show blues, you will be pleased to
hear that our next whole College production will be
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which takes to the
stage in March 2026. Watch this space for more
information!
6 7
6 7

Challenges Abroad
Our Thurston Sixth expedition to Thailand
Our trip to Thailand was truly incredible, with
so many remarkable moments that will last a
lifetime.
After a long time travelling, we finally arrived at
our first location in Thailand: Mae Sariang. Upon
arrival, we were met with incredible traditional
meals and some time for orientation. We looked
around the village, and visited some gorgeous
temples in the area, which were truly
magnificent. The level of detail in every aspect of
the temples was beautiful, and something we
had never come across in the UK. In these
introductory days, we learnt some Thai words
and phrases, such as “hello”, which is “sawadee
ka” (women) or “sawadee krap” (men). We were
also introduced to some aspects of Thai culture,
which was really interesting, especially how
some things are very different from what we
were used to in England, for example, in Thai
culture it's seen as disrespectful to point your
feet out in front of you when sitting down, as
the feet are seen as
the dirtiest part of
the body.
After orientation
days and workshop
planning, we then
began work in a
local primary school,
where we presented
workshops with the
students, teaching
them basic English,
such as the
alphabet and a
couple of simpler
words for the younger years, and more
complicated words with the older years through
a multitude of different games and activities, for
example snakes and ladders and corners, where
we had words or letters and the
learners had to run to the right corner
once the word was said. Not only did
the children love learning some English
words through games and activities, but
we all also loved getting involved and
helping the children develop new language
skills. We did this over four days, and on the
final day we did a litter pick around the school to
make it a cleaner and safer environment, which
the children also loved getting involved in,
making it a great way to end the week.
At the end of the week, we travelled back to
Chiang Mai, where we spent the weekend
sightseeing and
exploring the city.
We looked around
the city streets and
visited temples,
making for an
amazing weekend of
discovering culture
and exploring local
life. We had some
amazing meals,
which were delicious
and completely
vegetarian. We also got the opportunity to go to
two night markets, which were one of the
highlights of the trip, as the atmosphere and
experiences of them were so unique and
fantastic and the streets were buzzing with
locals as well as tourists. The pace of life in
Chiang Mai was certainly different from Mae
Sariang, but every moment was fantastic and
such an incredible experience.
On the Monday of the second week, we travelled
to our last location, Elephant Nature Park.
During this week, we did a range of different
activities to help support the elephants, as well
as the sanctuary. In the nature park, they have
rescued a number of different animals, as well
as elephants, including hundreds of dogs and
cats, water buffalo, cows and horses, all of which
now live under the care of the sanctuary. On the
first day, we walked around the sanctuary and
were introduced to some of the elephants. We
were told a little bit about the sort of treatment
that the elephants faced prior to being taken to
the sanctuary which was extremely
heartbreaking to hear, but made better by the
fact they’ve been taken out of the harmful
conditions and live in a better environment now.
Over the following few days we did a range of
different activities, including unloading a delivery
truck of mangos and washing them for the
elephants, making sandbags to prepare for any
potential flooding and elephant poop shovelling.
Although this week was a challenging one, it
taught us all so much about appreciation, and
learning to care for others and the world around
us. We also had the opportunity to listen and ask
questions to the founder of the sanctuary, Lek
Chailert. Lek’s passion for the protection of the
elephants and other animals was truly inspiring
and her work that she has done and aspires to
do was very empowering. We all thoroughly
enjoyed listening and learning from Lek and she
was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
Amelia J and Phoebe N
Year 12 Students
8 9

Where else did we go this term?
Climbing the Eiffel Tower on
the Disneyland Paris trip
Watching Science
come to life at Big
Bang Live
DofE Expedition at Thorpe Woodlands
Exploring agricultural careers at the
Food and Farming day at Hollow Trees
Farm
Canoeing and
canyoning in the
Ardèche
10 11
Team building activities in
Dorset on the Land and Wave
visit

Election fever at TCC!
Our new Student Principals have been elected!
"It's about the Student Leadership Team, the
school, and most importantly, you, the
students"
Students at Thurston Community College voted
on Thursday 3 July 2025 to elect their 2025 -
2026 Student Principals. This prestigious role
gives elected students the opportunity to lead a
team of nearly 100 student leaders, who help to
ensure that every student has a voice within
their school, whilst supporting with transition
events, wellbeing, mentoring other students and
much more. In the words of newly elected
Student Principal Thomas, "It's about the
Student Leadership Team, the school, and most
importantly, you, the students".
Supporting this for a second year, the Student
News Team, made up of students in Years 8, 9
and 10, put on a series of live TV news style
broadcasts across the College, including a live
debate and live results announcement after the
polls had taken place, with student reporters
and contributors live on camera in the studio
and remote locations across the College and the
UK. Behind the scenes, talented students were
responsible for operating cameras, sound and
autocues as well as vision mixing each
programme in a pioneering effort which will go
down in the TCC history books once again! All of
these broadcasts can be found at youtube.com/
@TCCLive
For two weeks, the four candidates campaigned
across the College in order to win the votes of
their peers, after undergoing an interview with
College Principal, Maéve Taylor, and members of
the Senior Leadership Team. They presented
assemblies, created a campaign and engaged
with their fellow students. They also took part in
a live Student News debate.
Congratulations to Thomas and Kai, our new
Student Principals, and Ellie and Callum, their
deputies.
College Principal, Maéve Taylor said: “Every year,
we have an excellent election period, with strong
candidates campaigning on their vision to help
strengthen further the College experience for all
of our students; and this year was no different.
This was a warm and kind campaign and all
students in the College, present and future, will
benefit from the input of these four students.
Well done to Kai and Thomas, Callum and Ellie
and a huge thanks to the Student News Team
for their high quality coverage of the events.”
Meet your Student Principals
Thomas (right of photo)
If I had to describe myself I would say I am hard
working and try my best to have a kind and
compassionate attitude to all. In my free time, I
like to play games, immerse myself in pop
culture and watch films or shows. I also have a
job at my local garden centre.
I want this college to be an even brighter place
for all and I think with such a brilliant team and
your ideas, we can really make that happen.
I can't wait to get started next September and
am really looking forward to working with you
all.
Kai (left of photo)
Hi, my name is Kai and I am excited to be one
of your Student Principals alongside Thomas. I
am really looking forward to working with
everyone and helping to strengthen student
voice across the school.
Previously I have been a wellbeing Ambassador
and I have always enjoyed being part of a team
and supporting others. Outside of school I
enjoy football, boxing and travelling.
To watch this video, go to the digital version of this newsletter at
www.thurstoncollege.org/tcclife
Watch our broadcasts at www.youtube.com/@TCCLive
I am committed to making sure all students feel
heard, included and empowered. When you
see me on the corridor at break or lunchtime
you can always come and talk to me and share
ideas.
12 13

Sports Day 2025
What a triumph!
Wow! What a day it was at TCC for Sports Day 2025 as the entire College community,
including students from Thurston Sixth who led activities, came together to take part in
an incredible variety of sporting activities, as well as singing, dancing, cheering and
supporting each other. Well done #TEAMTCC!
To watch this video, go to the digital version of this newsletter at
www.thurstoncollege.org/tcclife
Sports Day Highlights Reel
14 15

This year in pictures
16 17

Stay safe this summer
Top tips for keeping your child safe during the summer holidays
Online Activity
Think about their online activity. With time on their hands they may be tempted to spend
longer than usual on portable devices. It’s worth thinking about your parental controls if you
haven’t already. It’s also worth reviewing the platforms they are using, and negotiating how
long they spend on screens each day.
Safeguarding during the summer holiday
Please note that College telephones, general emails, and contact forms will not be
monitored during the summer holiday.
If you are concerned about the welfare of a child, please visit www.thurstoncollege.org/
safeguarding for information on the appropriate agencies to contact. In an emergency,
always dial 999.
There is no legal minimum age for a child to be left alone, but it is against the law to leave
them if ‘it puts them at risk’. Every child is different and you know your child best but if they
are going to spend protracted periods at home alone, set boundaries about what your
expectations are.
It goes without saying that young people benefit from being outside and being active.
However, some activities can present high risk. Open water swimming should be carefully
assessed, referring to guidance about the availability of lifeguards, lifesaving aids etc. Open
countryside and woodland can present a variety of risks; from potentially lethal farm
equipment (and livestock) to the possibility of encountering individuals with unwanted intent.
Young people should always be discouraged from being anywhere near railway lines
Whilst many young people look forward to the summer break with excitement, for others it
can be a time of anxiety, especially for those who rely on the friendship and structure
provided by school. If you are concerned about a young person’s emotional wellbeing, please
use the following resources:
• Customer First on 0808 800 4005 (the first point of contact for social services)
• The Police on 999
Home Alone
Outside Activities
Emotional Well-being
• The NSPCC child protection helpline on 0808 800 5000
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#TCCLife
Celebrating life at TCC and Thurston Sixth
Issue 5: July 2025
www.thurstoncollege.org