3rd February 2025 | Head of School Letter
It’s finally February!
Welcome to this week's update from The Cottesloe School. We extend our best wishes to all our families who recently celebrated Lunar New Year. We hope you had a joyous and memorable time with family and friends. We wish you a happy and prosperous Year of the Snake!
I had hoped to share good news about the new classrooms, however the building control officers were not happy to sign off on the project and additional actions are now being completed by the building team to ensure everything is at the appropriate standard in order that we will be given a confirmed date for us to take occupancy of the new spaces. A huge thank you to Mr Youngs, Mrs Smith, Mrs McMonagle and all of the sixth form team, and our Year 12 and 13s for continuing to take a positive approach to the far from ideal situation.
A very big well done to our Year 11 students as they finish their mock exams this week. This second round of formal assessments are a significant milestone, and we are so proud of their effort and resilience. Best wishes to our Year 12 and 13 students as they prepare for their mock exams after half-term. These assessments are not just about grades but about both students and teachers identifying strengths and areas where additional support might be needed. Mocks are a positive learning process for all of us, even if they might feel challenging at times. We are here to support students and families during this process — please get in touch if you or your child would like guidance or reassurance.
Safeguarding Newsletter
The latest Safeguarding newsletter has been published. Please take the time to read it here: TCS Safeguarding newsletter Jan 2025
Computer Science Gender Award
We are delighted to share that the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) has recognised The Cottesloe School for our outstanding work in promoting gender balance within computer science. Mrs. Hegarty's energy and passion for the subject, offering girls enriching experiences beyond the classroom, including participation in NCCE competitions, has been key to this success. Congratulations and thank you to Mrs Hegarty, and well done girls! This award highlights our commitment to creating equal opportunities for students across STEM subjects.
Action4Youth Challenge
On Wednesday 29th January, school teams from Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire gathered at Stoke Mandeville Stadium to compete for the prestigious Ultimate Challenge Cup. Big Challenge Lunch launched in 2024 as a celebration of the achievements of young people across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The event brought together students, teachers and community leaders for a day of friendly competition, awards and insightful discussions. Students competed across eight activity stations, testing their creativity, teamwork and resilience in a race against the clock. Team Cottesloe narrowly missed the top spot, finishing a strong second place, only three points away from victory. First and second place went to Buckinghamshire schools, which meant the County Cup was won for the second year by Buckinghamshire!
The Cottesloe School student, Edie, was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award. Congratulations Edie, an incredible achievement! Thanks go to Mrs. Woodburn for leading the Action4Youth team so well throughout the academic year, and at the event.
Careers
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust have a number of free after-school ‘discover careers’ talks that all secondary school students from Year 7 and above are invited to attend. Students (and parents) are welcome to attend as many as you can. The talks will help to learn about working for the NHS from different perspectives; understand more about how healthcare professionals work together as multi-disciplinary teams and discover roles you haven’t thought about! For more information and to book a place: Buckinghamshire NHS Careers
Network Rail are offering work experience for students interested in working in the rail industry. More information is available on the school website: Network Rail Easter Work Experience
Bedford Estates
Bedford Estates wanted to share their upcoming open recruitment days at Woburn Safari Park and Woburn Golf Club.
This is a great opportunity for our students looking for seasonal work around their studies.
You can also find information on their website:
https://www.woburnsafari.co.uk/news-and-events/events/recruitment-open-day/
https://www.woburngolf.co.uk/recruitment-open-day/
Sports Fixtures and Results
It was another busy week of sporting action for our students, with plenty of exciting football matches taking place. Here's a round-up of the results:
Monday
The Year 9 football team got the week off to a winning start with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Waddesdon away. Sergio put in a Player of the Match performance to lead his team to success.
Wednesday
A clean sweep of wins for our younger teams! The Year 7s triumphed over Waddesdon at home in a thrilling 4-3 encounter, with George earning Player of the Match honours. Meanwhile, the Year 8s continued their winning streak with a solid 1-0 victory against Waddesdon away. Unfortunately, the U18s County Cup match against Great Marlow was cancelled, resulting in a walkover win.
Thursday
Our Year 10s battled hard in their National Cup quarter-final against Weydon School at home, but unfortunately fell just short, losing 2-1. Despite the defeat, Tiger delivered an outstanding performance and was named Player of the Match.
Well done to all our students who represented the school last week!
We look forward to more exciting results this week - there’s the County Cross Country at Stowe, Netball against Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School and Princes Risborough, Basketball against Princes Risborough, Badminton away to Sir Thomas Fremantle School and at home to Kingsbrook and finally football matches against the Royal Latin and John Hampden.
Website Feedback
We are continually striving to improve our online presence and ensure it effectively serves the needs of our community, including students, parents, staff, and other stakeholders. As part of this goal, we would like to capture your feedback on our new school website.
We are particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on the following areas:
- Navigation and Usability: How easy is it to find the information you're looking for?
- Content Relevance and Accuracy: Is the information on the website up-to-date and relevant to your needs?
- Design and Aesthetics: Is the website visually appealing and easy to read?
- Accessibility: Is the website accessible to users with diverse needs?
- Overall Experience: What is your overall impression of the website?
We’d be grateful if you could complete this short online feedback form by Friday 14th February: https://forms.gle/aVjSu5BwVdvzg4xz6
Thank you for your time and valuable input. We appreciate your help in making The Cottesloe School website a valuable resource for everyone.
Sixth Form
Year 12 and Year 13 Biology and Human Biology students will be attending a Molecular Biology talk in school on Wednesday.
Year 11
Hospitality and Catering students will be completing their practical controlled assessment on Thursday and Friday this week.
Year 10
A number of students will be participating in two Space masterclasses, delivered by the National Space Academy on Wednesday.
Year 9
Year 9 Parents Evening will take place this Thursday. Online Options Forms need to be submitted by Wednesday 12th February, please get in touch if you need any guidance around making the right choices for your child.
Have a wonderful week. Thank you, as always, for your support.
Best wishes, Louise Baldwin
Head of School