Head of School Letter 25th June 202425/06/2024

The public exam season is over, with the final exam (A Level Chemistry) taking place last Friday. A huge congratulations to all our students from Year 10 to Year 13 who took exams this summer. We are so proud of everyone and wish our Year 11s and Year 13s a brilliant, long summer. Thank you to parents and families for supporting the students so well throughout the exam period - it’s not an easy time for any household when exams are being taken.

A very big thank you must be extended to Charlene Hall, our Exams Officer, and her team of invigilators who between them have ensured that over one hundred different exams have been completed, following the strict JCQ rules and regulations. We received some wonderful, positive feedback from the invigilation team about our students: This year's cohort's behaviour during examinations has been exemplary. They have followed instructions with regard to queueing for exams, leaving their bags where instructed in an orderly fashion, silence in exams both during and at the end, even when waiting to be released due to the short length of some exams, collecting bags and dispersing quietly, particularly respecting others who are still working in the same exam hall. They have been a pleasure to invigilate and the team wish them the very best for the future whether at The Cottesloe or elsewhere. They are a credit to the school. This is great to read; students are still able to demonstrate Healthy Relationships, despite being under considerable pressure during exams.

Warmer Weather: As the weather is set to remain warm, a reminder that all students need to bring a refillable water bottle to school on a daily basis. There are numerous drinking water taps around the school site that students can use to refill their bottles throughout the day. Should a decision be taken to adjust school uniform, we will contact you separately to confirm details. We would also encourage everyone to protect their skin from damage by the sun by taking sensible precautions against sunburn, for example using the shaded areas around school during break and lunch, bringing a hat to wear outside, and applying a high factor sun cream as needed, even if the weather is cloudy.

National Teaching Awards Celebration: Wednesday was a special day, not only because it was another successful Sports Day but it was also National Thank a Teacher Day. Prior to the winners of Sports Day being announced to the whole school, Simon Jones presented a Certificate of Excellence to Steve Bonser, following his nomination in the Lifetime Achievement category in the National Teaching Awards. Mr B received a certificate and handwritten letter of thanks from Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, in recognition of Mr Bonser’s contribution to Design Technology education during more than 41 years of teaching at The Cottesloe School. A video of the presentation has been posted on Facebook. 2024 Certificates - The Award for Lifetime Achievement (https://www.teachingawards.com/2024-certificate-winners/2024-certificates-the-award-for-lifetime-achievement/).

Families and Learners’ Careers Evening: The Careers Event is taking place this coming Wednesday 26th June 2024, from 6pm-7:30pm. If you’ve not confirmed your attendance, it’s not too late! The event is open to all year groups, from Years 7 to 13. In partnership with The ASK Programme & Bucks Skills Hub, the evening will allow families to explore various career pathways, helping them gain valuable insights into different professions and make informed decisions about their future. If you’d like to attend, please register via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/families-learners-careers-evening-cottesloe-careers-pathway-tickets-798618638847

Sports Day 2024: Sports Day was a spectacular success, with students across Years 7 to 10 competing for the Sports Day Cup. Thanks go to Miss Felton and the rest of the PE team: Mr Curtis, Mr Tymon, Mr Goddard, Miss Keveren, Mrs Savage and Mr Magill for the excellent organisation - it ran like clockwork. It’s no mean feat to coordinate nearly 800 students to participate in track and field events across the day, whilst normal lessons continue.

Sports Day is brilliant on two levels - a day for our best athletes to shine, as well as being an opportunity for everyone to take part and work as part of a tutor group team. I spoke to a Year 8 student on Friday about her Sports Day experience and she was still buzzing about her individual success; completing the 1500m race, something she was not confident of doing. Points are awarded for participation as well as coming first, second and third, with the tutor group from across all four year groups gaining the most points being crowned as overall Sports Day Winners. This year, tutor group 9T won! Congratulations to Miss Gamage, 9T’s form tutor and to all the 9T competitors!

The reward for the very best performances on Sports Day is the opportunity to participate in the District Athletics Championships taking place today. Over fifty Cottesloe athletes will be competing at Hillingdon Athletics Stadium in London and we wish them well in their events.

Colour Run at Wing Family Fest: Family Fest is now just two weekends away! We’ve had a flurry of bookings for the Colour Run so if you’d like to ensure you can take part, we recommend you book as soon as you can. Tickets for the Colour Run are available here: (https://www.pta-events.co.uk/thecottesloeschool/index.cfm) As a community event, it’s open to everyone, not just families with children who attend either school. Please share with friends and neighbours and encourage them to come along for a brilliant day.

Sports Fixtures and Results: There was only one fixture this week, an U15 Girls Cricket Tournament at Stewkley Cricket Club. The girls did really well, winning a number of their games but ultimately losing out against stronger teams.

There is a Year 8 Rounders Tournament at Aylesbury High School on Tuesday this week and an U13 Girls’ Cricket Tournament at Thornborough on Wednesday. We’re looking forward to welcoming lots of Year 4 students to participate in a Multi-Skills festival at TCS also on Wednesday, supported by our own Year 9 Sports Leaders.

Year 12: Mock Exams began on Friday last week and continue this week. We wish all the students the very best of luck.

Year 11: Sixth Form Induction takes place this week for students who have applied to continue their studies with us into Sixth Form. The format and structure is slightly different this year because the Sixth Form block is currently in the hands of Morgan Sindall, the construction company, who are in the process of making it bigger and better. The induction process is led by Mr Youngs and Mrs Smith who have planned carefully to ensure students will be well prepared for September.

Year 10: French and German students will be undertaking Mock Speaking Exams this week, to practise their skills and also to rehearse the speaking exam process.

Have a great week and thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.

Yours sincerely
Mrs L Baldwin
Head of School