Head of School Letter 19th Feb 202419/02/2024

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope this letter finds you well after the half-term break and that you as a family were able to enjoy some time together doing the things that make you happy.  The weather is looking variable for the coming week, when we had some torrential rain just before half-term, we trialled a new wet weather plan - the nature of the school site means it’s nearly impossible to move between lessons without going outside; students were excellent at following staff instructions to ensure they kept as dry as possible.  Assemblies this first week back will be delivered by Mr Jones, Mr Fox and me. The focus will be on the Cottesloe Character - what it means to be part of our community, the behaviours we expect to see from students and adults, and why they are so important.

Buckinghamshire SEND Survey 2024

The local authority is seeking the views and opinions of parents and carers of children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities. The questions are about your experience of the SEND system within Buckinghamshire in 2023. This questionnaire is for families of all children with special educational needs and/or a disability (SEND), not just those with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or on formal SEN support at school. If this applies to you, please complete the survey, accessed via the link below, to share your thoughts with the Local Authority. The survey is anonymous.: FACT Bucks SEND Survey 2024 

Careers Fair

On Thursday 8th February, we held a really successful careers fair, with nearly forty different companies and Further Education providers helping students explore  future career opportunities. All year groups visited the Careers Fair over the course of the day; we received some wonderful feedback from the exhibitors about our students: ‘they were so well mannered and really represented the school well’.  

D&T Rotary Tournament

I’m really pleased to let you know that Mrs Hankin, Mr Poote and the teams of DT students had an extremely successful day at the annual Rotary Club’s DT Tournament at Aylesbury Vale Academy. Five schools were represented, with each school fielding a number of teams; we took three Year 10 teams and three Sixth Form teams. Two of our Year 10 teams came second and third in the intermediate competition. Year 13 came first in the senior competition, winning a superb trophy for the cabinet in our school reception!  One of the two Year 12 teams came third. The second Year 12 team won the overall portfolio category, beating 22 other teams to win another trophy! Congratulations to all our students, and thank you to the DT team for organising the equipment and resources needed for the students to participate. 

Sports Fixtures

The weather caused some fixtures to be cancelled before half-term, but we had another successful week in a number of sports. The U15 girls football team are now through to the Buckinghamshire County Cup Final following a 5-6 win away against Chesham Grammar School. The Year 9 boys are through to the next round of the County Cup following a 4-1 win against Mandeville at home.  Our Year 7 boys played in the local Aylesbury Vale District football league, winning 7-2 against Princes Risborough School. The girls were also winning netball matches, with the Year 8 and Year 10 teams playing two matches across the week. There were wins for both year groups against Mandeville, meanwhile, against the Royal Latin, Year 10B lost a tough match but 10A dominated, winning 21-2. Year 8 won their second game of the week against The Grange. The Bucks Cross-Country County Championship took place on 7th February at Stowe School, well done to all our runners on what was a tough, muddy course. Huge congratulations go to Olive in Year 9 who came third in the 3km Junior Girls race in a time of 13:37. This success means Olive has been selected to represent Buckinghamshire at the English Schools Athletic Association’s National Cross-Country Championship, to be held in Pontefract on 16th March. Good luck Olive! This week, we have Basketball, U18B County Cup football and netball matches to look forward to. 

Art

The Art department has a busy week ahead with the Year 11 Art Mock Exam taking place today and a trip to the Tate Britain art museum tomorrow for students in Years 11, 12 and 13.  The visit is a fabulous way to give students first-hand experience in visiting galleries and seeing art up close, to add a richness and personal response to their artist studies and development of ideas, in preparation for their upcoming exams. Thank you to Mrs Bye and Mrs Nicholls for supporting students through this opportunity.

Year 12 and 13

Mock Exams begin for both Year 12 and 13 on Wednesday 21st February and continue into March. Wishing all students the very best.  

Year 10

Details of the two-week work experience opportunity in July 2024 have been shared with families. The deadline for submitting forms is in April, but it can be a time consuming process to ensure everything is in place and approved. As students are responsible for organising their own placement, we encourage them to not delay in getting the planning underway. The website contains more information if parents/carers or students have any questions:: Career Pathways 

Year 9

A reminder that the deadline for submitting a completed Options form was today. During this week, we will follow up with students who have not yet submitted forms in order that the allocation process can begin. Students will find out their confirmed allocations in June. 

Year 8

Following the completion of the Options process with Year 9, it’s now the turn of Year 8 students to make some decisions about their future studies with the launch for the KS3 Choices Process. Tomorrow, Year 8 will attend a PSHCE Assembly explaining the process and the subjects available for them to choose. Families will receive an email tomorrow with a link to the Choices booklet, Google Form and presentations about each of the subjects. Further information will be available on our website from tomorrow: KS3 Choices within The Cottesloe School Curriculum. Year 8 Parents Evening on Tuesday 27th February will help parents understand how children are progressing across a number of subjects. 

Wishing you a good week ahead, thank you for your ongoing support.  

Best wishes, 

Louise Baldwin

Head of School