Head of School Letter 29th Jan 202429/01/2024

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you had a great weekend. January can feel like a very long month but we only have two weeks left until February half-term. Although this term is only five weeks long,  it continues to be a very busy one, with a great deal going on across the school. 

Deputy Head of School

I am delighted to let you know that following a day of interviews and presentations last Friday, Mr Dan Fox, our current Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning has successfully been appointed as Deputy Head of School. He will take on additional responsibilities relating to the implementation of the whole school curriculum, as well as support my role as Head of School, This change in the senior leadership structure will allow Mr Jones to continue to focus on the development of a Multi Academy Trust. 

Sniffer Dogs

At The Cottesloe School, we take the safety and welfare of our students extremely seriously.  Many schools, both locally and nationally, have used sniffer dogs on their premises, with the aim of highlighting the dangers of drugs in the community and reinforcing a zero-tolerance approach towards the issue. In previous academic years, we welcomed Thames Valley Police sniffer dogs into school to increase students’ knowledge and understanding of drug education within our school community. The dogs will be in school again as part of an unannounced visit; the exercise could happen at any time during the academic year and is designed to ensure that the school remains a safe environment for all members of our community.

If you have any concerns relating to a child at The Cottesloe School being involved with substance misuse, or any other matter relating to Child Protection, please contact main reception and ask to speak to a member of the Safeguarding Team. Mrs Hankin is our Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Sports Fixtures

Following on from the success of the U15 girls football team’, we had two more excellent results from the boys’ teams last week. The U15 and U16 boys have both played County Cup fixtures, away from home. The U16s played St. Michael's Catholic School, winning the match 1-4, coming back from 1-0 down. The U15s played Akeley Wood and showed real Cottesloe resilience to achieve a draw, having started the game with only 10 players due to injuries. Well done, boys!  We had further success with the Year 10 girls’ A netball team beating Waddesdon 22-3. Mrs Lambourne commented on the girls’ exceptional netball performance; they are a talented team who played high-quality netball both in attack and defence, showing great team spirit, commitment and support to one another throughout the game.

This week we have netball fixtures for Year 11 and the Year 10 B team against Waddesdon, and football and netball matches against Mandeville for Years  7 and 9. Year 11 GCSE PE cricketers will be completing their moderation session this week too. Wishing everyone good luck for positive results!

Year 11

The second week of Mock exams is now underway for students. We have been very impressed with their focus and the way they have conducted themselves in the exams when responding to invigilators’ instructions. The last day of mocks is  Monday 5th February. Keep going, Year 11! 

Year 10 This week Year 10 students will find out about Work Experience,  planned this academic year for two weeks from Wednesday 10th July to Tuesday 23rd July 2024. Mr Matcham, our Careers Advisor, will explain the steps they need to take to organise their placements. This is an incredible opportunity for students to experience the world of work; not all schools offer this.  This year, the process will be managed via the Unifrog platform, for more information about organising a placement, please see https://www.cottesloe.bucks.sch.uk/students/student-career-pathways 

Year 9

Following last week’s Option Process launch, students and parents will be attending the online Parents Evening on Thursday 1st February to find out about current progress and seek advice about possible options decisions. Parents are reminded to get in touch via options@cottesloe.bucks.sch.uk if they have queries relating to the process.  

Thank you for your ongoing support. I hope you all have a good week. 

Best wishes, 

Louise Baldwin

Head of School