11th November 2024
Welcome to the second part of the Autumn term!
I hope you had a good half-term break - it seems a while ago now after a week back, full of learning and activities! The building work on our new Geography classrooms and Sixth Form study space is progressing well. This week, there’s been significant developments with painting, flooring, and soft furnishings being installed. Morgan Sindall, our construction partner, anticipates that the project will be completed sometime next week, ensuring the space is ready for our Sixth Form Open Evening on 25th November. You may have seen on our social media that some students had the opportunity to tour the new rooms with Morgan Sindall to see how things are coming together.
Remembrance Events 2024
Today we commemorate Remembrance Day, a day to honour and remember those who have sacrificed their lives in the service of their country. At 10:53 am (two minutes before the start of break time), our school community came together to observe a two-minute silence, paying tribute to the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Year groups will be learning about the act of Remembrance and the history behind this day in assemblies this week, led by Mr Herman, one of our History teachers.
Miss Hawkes, Head of History, one of our Year 12 HistoryLevel students, Isabelle, and a Year 9 student, Thomas, attended the Remembrance Day service at All Saints Church in Wing yesterday, to lay a wreath on behalf of the school. Miss Hawkes has shared that she was very proud, as indeed am I, of both students for representing the school at this Act of Remembrance. Thomas’ grandfather and great-grandfather both served in the RAF. Also present were current and past members of the school community representing local organisations such as Scouting UK. Miss Hawkes has been coordinating the sales of Royal British Legion poppies to students across the school, with support from a team of Year 9 students, we say thank you to her for doing so.
Opportunity Fund
Last week, Mr Jones wrote to all families about the creation of an Opportunities Fund set up to support all students. The full letter is on the website: https://www.cottesloe.bucks.sch.uk/news-and-events/news/opportunities-fund and an excerpt is below:
As we progress through the school year, we are reminded of the many opportunities and experiences that enrich our students' lives and contribute to their overall development. Whether it's extracurricular activities, school trips, participation in special programs or interventions, these experiences play a significant role in fostering a well-rounded education.
However, we recognise that not all students have equal access to these opportunities due to financial constraints. Some families within our school community face challenges that make it difficult to cover the costs associated with these experiences. As a school, we are committed to ensuring that every child has the chance to participate fully in all aspects of school life, regardless of their financial situation.
To support our vulnerable students and ensure they are not disadvantaged, we are reaching out to you, our valued parents and guardians, to request your assistance in creating a fund dedicated to helping these students.
This fund will support the cost of school activities, trips, other educational experiences, equipment and uniform for those who might otherwise be unable to afford them.
Your contribution, no matter the size, will make a significant difference to the lives of these students. By coming together as a community, we can ensure that every child has the opportunity to benefit from the full range of educational experiences our school has to offer.
If you are able to help in any way, no matter how big or small, the link below will take you to the fundraising section on our website, providing further details of how you can support. It also has information regarding other ways you or your company could support the school. For example, Match Funding, Easy Fundraising or via the Friends of Cottesloe https://www.cottesloe.bucks.sch.uk/our-school/fundraising
New Website
If you’ve clicked on any links in this letter already, you’ll know that we’ve launched our brand-new website! This has been some time in the planning, and I would like to say a very big thank you to everyone involved in the process and specifically to Mrs Gunn who has worked so hard and been instrumental in getting us to this point. We will continue to populate it over the coming weeks, but if you are unable to locate any information that you require, or spot an error on the website, please let us know via this link: The Cottesloe School - Website Feedback/Error Form
Bus Transport - Travel Bans
The vast majority of children across the county are not eligible for free school transport. However, due to the rural nature of our school and catchment area, over 70% of our students rely on bus transportation. For those not eligible for free transport, parents and carers are responsible for arranging and paying for their child’s transportation. Buckinghamshire Council is responsible for commissioning free school transport services, coordinating routes and timetables, allocating seats and issuing passes.
I am really disappointed to share that some of our students have recently received bus travel bans due to ongoing behaviour issues when travelling on free school transport. Issues have included failure to wear a seatbelt on a regular basis, vandalism and damage to the bus seats and furniture, and rudeness and dangerous behaviour towards the driver. Bus travel bans are issued by Buckinghamshire in accordance with their School Transport Behaviour Protocol and Home to School Transport Policy. These bans can cause significant inconvenience for families, as they are then responsible for arranging alternative transportation. We urge parents and carers to discuss the importance of appropriate behaviour on the bus with their children, emphasising the potential consequences of their actions. We will be reiterating the importance of acceptable behaviour when travelling to and from school to students; by working together, we can ensure a safe and positive experience for all students using school transport.
If you have any concerns regarding bus transport, please contact the relevant organisation - the company with whom you have a contract if you pay for your child’s transport (likely to be Masons Coach Hire if your child travels on the MAS104 service School Transport in Buckinghamshire - Masons Coach Hire) or Buckinghamshire if your child is entitled to free transport: Buckinghamshire school transport - contact us
Sport Fixtures and Results
The week before half-term was a quieter one, with a county cup football match for the Year 10 boys’ team against Sir Henry Floyd resulting in an excellent 5-2 win for TCS. Congratulations to the team as they move into the next round of the cup. The Year 11 Netball A team played Sir Henry Floyd and came away with another successful outcome, winning a closer game ending 16-14 in TCS’ favour. Congratulations to the netball girls!
Mrs Savage would like to highlight the contribution of Baylie in our team winning the Year 11 netball match. Baylie’s performance was excellent, with fantastic movement and control over the game.
This term will see lots of action throughout November, including a regional cross-country event at Stowe School, badminton fixtures, and some national cup football fixtures to look forward to.
Join our team
We have a number of vacancies currently. If you know of anyone who would be interested in joining the Cottesloe team, please share the information on our website: Join Our Team
- Caretaker including Lettings
- Assistant Teacher/Learning Support Assistant
- Teacher of Computing
- Teacher of D&T
Years 12 and 13
KS5 Physics students will be attending an A Level Physics Live conference in London on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, KS5 Biology, Applied Biology and Health and Social Care students will be attending a talk given by Professor Cecelia Brassett who is an anatomy lecturer at Cambridge University.
Year 11
Sixth Form taster days are starting this week! Year 11 students will have the opportunity to experience life as a Sixth Former for a day by attending lessons and learning how to manage their independent study time. The Sixth Form team has carefully planned the days to ensure students can attend lessons relevant to their post-16 aspirations. Separate Science students have been invited to attend the KS5 talk with Professor Brassett on Wednesday.
Year 10
A group of students will be visiting Somerville College, part of Oxford University, with Mr Youngs and Mrs McMonagle, to gain some knowledge and understanding of what university and studying at Oxford is like.
Year 8
Today, the Action for Youth students will be visiting a farm near Great Missenden to gain firsthand experience of the agricultural processes involved in food production, from farm to fork.
Wishing you a great week ahead, what you’ve got planned. Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.
Best wishes,
Louise Baldwin
Head of School