Monday 23rd June | Head of School Letter
Learning continued despite the heat last week.
A-Level and GCSE exams are now complete, a huge congratulations to all our students who have shown such resilience over the past two months. We are very proud of all of them. Year 11 celebrated in style at their Prom last Thursday and Year 13 will do the same the week after next. Thanks go to the Year 11 and Year 13 tutor teams, Mr Toon, Head of Year 11, and Mr Youngs, Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Smith, Deputy Head of Sixth Form and Mrs McMonagle, Sixth Form Administrator, for supporting all our exam students throughout the year.
Warm Weather
A reminder that we’re going to continue wearing PE kits for this week at least. Although the weather cooled from the heat of the end of last week and Saturday, it’s predicted to get warmer towards the end of the week.
National Space Centre Sleepover
Last Friday, Year 7 students embarked on an unforgettable adventure, attending a special sleepover at the National Space Centre! The students immersed themselves in the wonders of science, enjoying an explosive rocket experiments show and gaining valuable insights from a talk about the diverse range of careers available within the space industry. At The Cottesloe School, we are committed to broadening our students' horizons. Incredible trips like this open up a world of opportunities, encouraging students to start planning their career paths early. Careers remain at the heart of every trip, inspiring our students to think ambitiously about their futures. None of these enriching experiences would be possible without the incredible dedication of our staff, who generously support these events in their own free time, and especially to Mrs. Moore, for meticulously arranging it all.
Summer Food Bank Collection: Make a Difference!
As the summer holidays approach, we're continuing our tradition of supporting our local community by organising a Summer Food Bank Collection. This year, we're supporting Leighton Linslade Helpers, a vital local charity providing food parcels to families in need and operating a community fridge to reduce food waste. Your contributions of non-perishable food items and toiletries will directly help local families struggling with the cost of living crisis. We'd also particularly appreciate donations of treats like chocolate biscuits or luxury cereals. A portion of our collection will also go to the Wing Food Bank. Please bring your donations to E2 or Main Reception by Thursday, 10th July 2025. Every donation, no matter how small, will make a meaningful impact. Thank you for your generosity in upholding our Healthy Relationship values of Empathy and Opportunity!
The Parents' Lottery
As a school we’re always looking for ways to raise money to support our students and we’ve for The Parents' Lottery. The Parents' Lottery is a fun, easy, and impactful way for you to support our school, with the added excitement of a chance to win cash prizes every month. For every ticket purchased, a significant portion comes directly back to our school. These funds will help us provide enhanced resources, activities, and experiences for all students. To sign up and start supporting our school, please click on the link below: The Cottesloe School or go onto our website to find out more: Parents Lottery Each £1 ticket also gives you the chance to win £25,000 every Friday along with a selection of other prizes. Thank you for your continued support in helping us enrich our students' educational journey.
Library Book Donations
Our library plays a crucial role in fostering a love for reading and supporting learning across all subjects. Do you have books at home that you could donate to our library? Your donated books can help us offer an even wider and more diverse range of resources for our students. If you have any books in good condition that you would be willing to donate, please consider contributing to our school library. Every book helps enrich the learning experience for our students. Please drop them off at the main reception.
3G Pitch Boot Bank
The 3G pitch continues to take shape, with lots of lorries’ worth of stone arriving last week. To ensure everyone's safety and keep our pitch in top condition for years to come, all users must wear the correct footwear – specifically, 3G-compliant trainers or astro boots. As a reminder, everyone will need a pair of these boots for PE in September, and we understand that the cost can be expensive. To help ensure everyone can use the new facilities, we’re going to operate a Boot Bank! This initiative aims to collect pre-owned 3G-compliant trainers/astro football boots that are still in good shape. Perhaps your child has outgrown theirs, or you have a pair you no longer use? We are aiming to stock a range of sizes to assist as many students as possible. We already run a similar successful scheme for trainers used in PE lessons and lunchtime sport. If you have any boots you'd like to donate, please drop them off at the main reception. We're grateful for your support with this, making our new 3G pitch accessible to everyone in our school community.
Sports Fixtures and Results
We are thrilled to share the fantastic results from The Bucks County Athletics Championships held last Saturday, where three of our talented students proudly represented the school. Their dedication and hard work paid off with some impressive performances:
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Olive achieved a brilliant 3rd place in the 1500 meters, a result that has earned her qualification for the National Championships! A huge congratulations to Olive!
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Emmanuel secured a strong 3rd place in the 100 meters, coming incredibly close to national qualification, missing it by just 0.4 seconds.
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Grace showcased her speed, finishing 8th in the 200m event.
We are incredibly proud of all three athletes for their outstanding efforts and for representing our school with such distinction.
Our District Sports Trial Day took place last Friday, and despite the heat, we saw some truly wonderful performances from across the year groups! This trial day served to select students to participate in the District Athletics Championships in July; we're anticipating some fantastic results! It also provided a valuable opportunity for our Year 10 GCSE PE students to have their events filmed as evidence for the practical assessment of their qualification. A special shout-out goes to Lottie in Year 7, who showed incredible determination by running most of the 1500m with only one shoe, chasing the eventual winner, Poppy, all the way. Well done, girls!
Last Monday, our U13 Girls Cricket team faced John Colet at home, playing at Cublington Cricket Club. Despite a valiant effort, the team unfortunately lost their fixture. We commend their dedication and sportsmanship!
Our talented Year 7 & 8 Rounders team compete in a tournament at Waddesdon on Wednesday. The team showcased great effort and sportsmanship, winning two and losing two of their matches. Mrs. Savage, their coach, expressed her pleasure with everyone's fantastic attitude and performance throughout the tournament. A special mention goes to Hugo, whose outstanding play earned him the well-deserved title of 'Player of the Tournament' as voted by his teammates. Well done to the entire squad for representing the school so admirably!
Netball League Results: We're delighted to share the final league standings for our girls' netball teams from last week, showcasing a fantastic season across the year groups:
- Year 7a (Premier League): Achieved a commendable Joint 3rd place.
- Year 7b (League 1): Secured an excellent 2nd place out of 6 teams.
- Year 8 (League 1): Finished strong in 3rd place out of 5 teams.
- Year 9 (Championship): Earned a solid Joint 3rd place out of 7 teams.
- Year 10 (League 1): Finished in a fantastic Joint 1st place out of 7 teams, alongside AVA – a brilliant achievement!
- Year 11 (Premier League): Secured 6th place.
- Under 18s: Finished in 6th place.
A huge congratulations to all our netball players for their hard work, teamwork, and commitment throughout the season!
Vacancies
We’re looking for a positive and enthusiastic new colleague to join our brilliant support staff team, or a teacher of English. Please share with anyone you know who would be interested. For more details on the roles, please see our website: Join Our Team
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Part-time Teacher of English (0.6FTE) Maternity cover - apply by 27th June
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SEND Operations Manager - application deadline Thursday 26th June
Community Support
You will have noticed that this week's letter contains several requests for support for various school initiatives and community charities. We understand that not everyone will be in a position to contribute financially or with resources, and we want to assure all families that there is absolutely no pressure to donate. The requests are made in the spirit of community and opportunity. While we would encourage those who are able to help to do so, we deeply appreciate every family's support in whatever way they can offer it – whether that's through donations, volunteering time, or simply engaging with school life. Thank you for being a part of our school community.
Year 12
Year 12 are in the midst of their Year 12 exams this week and next. We wish them luck.
Year 11
Sixth Form Induction takes place this week and we’re looking forward to welcoming Year 11 students from our school and others that have opted to continue their learning with us into Year 12.
Year 10
Good luck to Year 10 students taking mock French or German Speaking Exams this week, as a first formal practice of the speaking component of their GCSE.
Have a good week. Thank you for your ongoing support of our wonderful school.
Best wishes,
Louise Baldwin
Head of School