March 17th 2025 - Head of School Letter
We’re at the mid-point of this short Spring term - three weeks to go until the Easter holiday
We’re at the mid-point of this short Spring term - three weeks to go until the Easter holiday, where every student can make a positive difference to their learning journey, whatever year group they are in. Last week marked the celebration of Holi, a vibrant Hindu festival that signifies the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil. Celebrated on the last full moon day of the Hindu calendar, Holi is a time for joy, new beginnings, and the expression of love. We wish all our Hindu families a very happy Holi; we hope you had a wonderful time celebrating!
Another busy week and weekend saw a diverse range of enriching experiences taking place for students. Silver Duke of Edinburgh participants braved the chilly conditions for their practice expedition over the weekend, demonstrating resilience and teamwork, ably supervised by Mr Curtis and Mrs Rudge. Monday saw a group of students, accompanied by Miss Gray and Mrs Perry, represent the school at the Bucks Youth Summit. This impactful, youth-led event provided a platform for our students to engage with their peers from across Buckinghamshire, discussing and addressing key issues relevant to young people today. On Friday, our talented musicians joined students from across the county at the Bucks Orchestra for All event, a fantastic opportunity to collaborate and perform in a larger ensemble. Thanks to Mrs Pinto for supporting the students with this opportunity.
We welcomed students from Wingrave and Overstone, two of our closest feeder primary schools to enjoy the experience of the Planetarium that took up most of the space in the hall, from Wednesday to Friday last week. Students from Years 7-10 and Year 12 Science students experienced different shows across the three days. Thank you to Mrs Moore for organising an incredibly successful British Science Week. You can see a highlight reel of this on Instagram.
Attendance
The DfE has published a new research report that makes strong links between attendance and exam attainment. Regular attendance is key to your child's success in secondary school. Studies consistently show a strong link between attendance and attainment; for example, students with 95-100% attendance are almost twice as likely to achieve grade 5 in English and Maths GCSE, compared to similar pupils attending 90-95% of the time. In other words, missing just 10 extra days a year reduces the likelihood of achieving these grades by around 50%.
Missing school doesn't just affect exam results and a child’s time in education – consistent presence builds vital social skills and opens future opportunities and it can impact future earnings too. Persistently absent pupils in secondary school could earn £10,000 less at age 28 compared to pupils with near-perfect attendance. For each additional day of absence between Years 7 to 11, the typical pupil could miss out on an average of £750 in future lifetime earnings. We understand that challenges arise, but even small improvements in attendance make a real difference.
The government is actively supporting schools to address attendance issues. This includes providing resources to identify and tackle reasons for absence, and encouraging schools to work closely with families. Please get in touch if you have any questions or need support with your child’s attendance. We are committed to ensuring all students can access their education, and we value your partnership in prioritising your child's time in school.
You can read more about the report and the data behind it: Why school attendance matters, and what we’re doing to improve it – The Education Hub
The Repair Café at The Cottesloe School!
On Saturday morning, we welcomed the Repair Café to the canteen. It was a wonderful morning as members of the community brought in things to be fixed by a team of experts who are all local volunteers. It was lovely to meet and talk to people who had a connection to either the school or live in the area and have a passion for fixing and mending things. Thank you to Mr Youngs and Mrs Smith for their support and to Sixth Formers Billy, Emily and Zoe, who worked alongside the repair team. Zoe learnt how to solder electrical circuitry, bringing an air hockey table back to life. We hope the Repair Café team will want to come back to the school and hold another event later in the year, but in the meantime, the next Repair Café is taking place at its usual home, Pitstone Pavilion, on Saturday 22nd March. https://www.ivinghoepitstonerepaircafe.co.uk/
National Cross Country Success
We are delighted to share Olive's phenomenal achievement at the ESAA National Cross-Country Championship! Competing against the very best young athletes from across England, Olive, representing Buckinghamshire, secured an incredible 14th place out of 328 runners. This prestigious championship, the highlight of the winter season, saw Olive conquering a 2.3-mile course in a blistering 13 minutes and 2 seconds, maintaining a speed of 10.73 miles per hour and a pace of 5 minutes and 36 seconds per mile. Her remarkable performance is a testament to her unwavering commitment, exceptional talent, and relentless hard work. Congratulations to Olive!
Careers Ideas
We are excited to announce the launch of our new Careers Ideas section of the school website, a dedicated resource to help students explore the diverse world of career possibilities. Careers Ideas provides a comprehensive, central hub for career exploration, offering resources to spark inspiration and guide students in their career journey. You'll find links to career information, including dedicated pages for specific career paths like teaching, medicine, animal care, motorsport engineering, with more to be added. This resource is designed to empower students to confidently navigate their future career decisions. We encourage you to explore the page with your children and discuss their aspirations. If you find a career interest that is missing, please let us know at socialmedia@cottesloe.bucks.sch.uk and we will work to include it. This new resource will be a valuable tool in supporting our students' career development.
Assembly Focus - Comic Relief and Red Nose Day
This week’s assemblies will focus on Red Nose Day and the important work of Comic Relief. We're inviting all students to show their support by swapping one item of their school uniform for something red on Friday. In exchange for this, we ask for a donation of £1.50, which can be paid through ParentPay. All contributions will go directly to Comic Relief, helping to fund vital projects both in the UK and internationally.
Vacancies
We have a number of teaching positions advertised currently in readiness for September 2025:
- Head of Business and Economics
- Teacher of Business and Economics
- Teacher of Maths
- Teacher of Design and Technology (Product Design specialist)
If you, or someone you know might be interested, please share the information available via social media to support the recruitment of the very best practitioners to allow our students to succeed. We have recently moved to a different advertising platform called MyNewTerm. Information of how to apply is available via our website: Join Our Team or directly via the MyNewTerm website: The Cottesloe School, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire | Teaching Jobs & Education Jobs | MyNewTerm
Sixth Form Open Evening
Wednesday 19th March A reminder that this week is the additional Open Evening event for families who were unable to attend the original open event dates back in the Autumn. This is primarily open to students who do not currently attend The Cottesloe School in Year 11 and haven’t seen the new sixth form spaces, but if your child does attend our school already and you couldn’t attend the original dates, you are most welcome to book a ticket by signing up here: Extra Date - Sixth Form Open Event
Sports Fixtures and Results
It's been another action-packed week for our school sports teams, with impressive performances across a variety of disciplines.
Monday: Our Under 13 and Under 15 badminton teams travelled to The Grange. Our Under 13 boys and girls both delivered stellar performances, securing well-deserved victories. The Under 15 girls were awarded a walkover win, while the boys faced a tough challenge and ultimately lost.
Tuesday: Our Under 16 mixed badminton team hosted The Grange, showcasing their skill and teamwork to achieve an overall victory. Well done to everyone involved!
Wednesday: This proved to be a particularly triumphant day. Our Under 15 girls' football team demonstrated their dominance with a resounding 6-0 victory away at Waddesdon. An incredible display of teamwork and skill!
The highlight of the week, however, was our Under 18 boys' football team's semi-final clash against Princes Risborough in the Bucks U18s Plate Cup. A fantastic 3-0 win, powered by a superb hat-trick from Flinn (Year 12), has propelled the team into the final! The final takes place today in Slough, with a 10:30am kick-off. Excitingly, we've also been informed that there should be live coverage of the game - we’ll share information about how to watch if possible. Please join us in wishing the team the very best of luck as they strive for victory.
Mixed year group/whole school events
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Engineering guest speaker talk - all Year 9, Year 10 Triple Scientists and Year 12 Physicists - Wednesday 19th March
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Wear Red for Comic Relief - Friday 21st March
- Year 13 and Year 11 Leavers’ Photos will take place on Thursday 20th March morning. Please check you have pre-registered with Imago - see email about this.
Year 12
Geography students will head to Dorset on Friday for the A-Level Geography Field trip residential. Thanks to Mr Pye, Mr Youngs and Mrs Knightley for leading this trip from Friday to Sunday.
Year 9
Bronze DofE expeditions take place on Monday and Tuesday this week.
Year 8
The deadline for submitting Choices forms is today! Some forms are yet to be submitted. We have sent a reminder to the whole year group so if you have submitted via the form, we will have it. If you’ve not, please submit today to allow the team to begin the allocation process so we can begin the timetable planning for September 2025. Here’s the form: Choices 2025
Year 7
NFU Farmers for Schools assembly on Wednesday.
Have a wonderful week and thank you, as always, for your support for our school community.
Best wishes,
Louise Baldwin
Head of School