3rd March 2025 | Head of School Letter
It’s now March and Spring looks as though it is underway around the school site with the daffodils starting to open their heads, and the cherry blossom trees outside B block showing signs of growth.
It was wonderful to welcome Year 8 families into school this week for the launch evening of the Year 9 KS3 Choices Process.
We wish all our Muslim staff, students and their families a blessed Ramadan. A reminder that to support students who wish to pray, a quiet prayer space will be available in the Admin corridor at lunchtime. Students should go to main reception, where they’ll be taken to the room. If your child is fasting, and you have any concerns about them at any point during Ramadan, please contact their Head of Year.
Bromcom
Thank you for the patience you’ve shown us over the last week with the transfer of our Management Information System to Bromcom and the MCAS app and website. Whilst it’s been a steep learning curve, and it’s not been without some challenges, we’ve been really pleased with the migration to the new system. Teachers and support staff have quickly learnt how to take registers and award achievement points, and our incredible admin team has learnt how to carry out their roles and responsibilities via a completely new system. Thank you to all staff for embracing the change with such positivity; it’s been Healthy Relationships, the 6Cs and Prepare, Aspire, Succeed in action!
We know that some families were not able to register for the MCAS website which replaces G4S for timetables, attendance, achievement and behaviour points. We believe it is now working as it should and you will be able to register. Thank you for your perseverance with this when it wasn’t working earlier in the week. If you’re yet to sign up, please do. How to access your child’s information is repeated from last week below: All attendance, achievement, behaviour data and timetable information can be accessed through the My Child At School (MCAS) website www.mychildatschool.com The code you’ll need to register for MCAS is 15566.
Some parents have expressed concerns regarding the reset of achievement and behaviour points in MCAS. Due to the transition from the G4S system, it was technically impossible to transfer the points directly. Please be assured that all student achievement data from the previous system has been securely saved and is accessible to staff. This means no student's record has been lost. We recognise it is disappointing that previously earned points will not be visible in MCAS for parents and students. Unfortunately, this specific data was not compatible with the new system. At appropriate times in the future, for example Celebration Assemblies, we will acknowledge and celebrate past achievements.
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Progress data will remain within Go4Schools, visible via your existing logins.
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Academic reports will be published through G4S until September 2025.
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Parent Pay remains the current platform for ordering/purchasing items from the school. BROMCOM has this functionality; it will be integrated later on.
Please access our website for further information and ‘how to’ guides that may be useful: https://www.cottesloe.bucks.sch.uk/parent-hub/my-child-at-school-app
Philippa Gregory
Year 9 students and our Library Book Club members were treated to an extraordinary literary experience on Tuesday afternoon this week, as we welcomed the distinguished author, Philippa Gregory, to The Cottesloe School. Year 9 (and many teachers and support staff) had the unique opportunity to hear Philippa discuss her latest work, a specially written for teenagers edition of her bestseller, 'Normal Women.' This groundbreaking book represents ten years of dedicated research, offering a compelling new narrative of British history.
The students learnt about the often-overlooked contributions of women throughout the ages, from 1066 to modern times. Phillipa explained how 'Normal Women' moves beyond the traditional focus on kings and queens, instead showcasing the social and cultural transitions driven by the agency, persistence, and effectiveness of women. The audience gained a deeper understanding of how women have shaped our nation's history, and the importance of recognising their vital roles.
Philippa shared insights into her research process and the stories that helped to shape her book. She also considered questions from the audience about how she writes - completing a draft, reading it, editing it and repeating that process at least three times or until she felt the story was complete. We are very grateful to Mrs. Makin for organising this opportunity, which will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on those students and staff who attended.
Bucks Skills Show
On Wednesday, Year 9 will be visiting the Skills Show at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, and on Thursday Year 12 will visit. An annual event, the show provides people of all ages the opportunity to meet over 120 employers and explore the many exciting career paths available across Buckinghamshire and beyond.
The cost for Year 9 students is £4.50 which covers the cost of the bus transport to and from the event. If Year 9 students have not signed up/paid for the transport yet, there is still time to do so - details of how to pay are via your ParentPay account: ParentPay The cost of transport for Year 12 is included in the Sixth Form Induction fee that was paid at the beginning of Year 12.
If your child is not in Year 9 or Year 12, they can attend the event on the Wednesday between 4pm and 8pm with a parent/carer. Tickets for the evening event can be booked by following this link: Bucks Skills Show Evening Event
For families of students with SEND, the Confident Futures Show is held every summer, in June. This event is a sensory-conscious and highly inclusive careers event, with a focus on disability-confident employers providing a more spacious and less crowded experience. Tickets can be booked by parents for the after-school session: Confident Futures Show 2025
Assembly Focus - International Women’s Day
Following on from the excellent talk from Philippa Gregory last week, all our students will learn more about the purpose of International Women's Day (IWD), marked on 8th March each year, with Miss Goddard during assemblies this week. IWD was first recognised by the UN in 1977, though it has earlier roots in the labour movements of the early 20th century. The theme for 2025 is ‘For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment’. Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist and activist reportedly once explained "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
Sports Fixtures and Results
This week showcased a blend of successes and learning opportunities for our school sports teams. On Wednesday our badminton teams faced Sir Henry Floyd Grammar at home. The Under 13 boys and girls teams both secured impressive wins, demonstrating excellent skill and teamwork. However, the Under 15 boys and girls teams faced tough competition and experienced losses. Also on Wednesday, the Year 9 netball team travelled to Royal Latin and achieved a hard-fought 11-7 victory, showcasing great determination. On Thursday the Year 9 netball team continued their winning streak with a dominant 18-2 victory against Mandeville at home, demonstrating fantastic teamwork and skill. We are proud of all the students who represented the school this week.
Safeguarding Newsletter
For the latest on all things Safeguarding please click here.
Year 13
Continued good wishes to Year 13 students for their ongoing mock exams!
Year 12
The Bucks Skills show trip takes place on Thursday from 12:15pm to 4pm.
Year 11
Online Parents Evening will take place on Thursday this week. The second group of Geographers will be out on their Paper 3 field trip today. Last week’s teams were really successful in obtaining data that they will analyse back at school in preparation for the summer exams. We say break a leg to our GCSE Drama students who will be performing their practical assessment pieces in front of the visiting examiner on Friday this week. Their performances contribute 40% of their final grade.
Year 10
Year 10 GCSE Drama students are off to visit Buckingham Old Gaol to support their devising task in preparation for next year’s performance exams. Another reminder about Year 10 Work Experience and not leaving it to the last minute to organise things - details can be found here: The Cottesloe School - Work Experience The deadline for completing the online form is 25th April 2025.
Year 9
The Bucks Skills Show trip means students are out of school from 11am to 1:30pm on Wednesday. They will need a packed lunch on that day. If you haven’t yet signed up for your child to attend, the deadline to make the transport payment is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10am. If the cost is prohibitive, please email the school office and we will work with you; we want all Year 9 students to attend this careers event.
Year 8
A reminder of how to access the KS3 Year 9 Choices information via the website if you missed the evening presentation: KS3 Choices. Online Year 8 Parents Evening is on 11th March 2025. The deadline for submitting Choices forms is Monday 17th March 2025. Here’s a link to the form: Choices 2025 form
Have a great week and thank you, as always, for your support.
Best wishes, Louise Baldwin
Head of School