Monday 15th September | Head of School Letter
.png)
We had a brilliant week last week, welcoming back all year groups and helping them get settled into the routine of school life. Our newest members of Team TCS, the Year 7s, have been especially impressive, adapting to secondary school life with great enthusiasm. The weather certainly kept us on our toes last week, with sudden shifts from sun to hail and torrential rain. As a reminder, now is the perfect time to ensure your child has a warm winter coat that still fits them. With the school site being so exposed to the wind, a proper coat is essential. Please remember that coats should be worn over blazers, and hoodies or other jumpers are not part of the school uniform and should not be worn as a substitute.
Bromcom and MCAS
Thank you for your patience last week with the MCAS app and our communications via letter. You may have seen in the national news that the MIS (Management Information System) we have transferred to, Bromcom, had an outage during the week. Happily, everything is now back to normal, and you should be receiving letters via email to your nominated email addresses for priority 1 and 2 parent/carers and be able to access other information about your child via the MCAS App. Please see the MCAS letter that was sent out on Friday for further details if you are not able to access the App yet. Information is also available on our website: My Child At School App (MCAS).
We sent a letter on 17th June to parents and carers to say that we will no longer use ParentPay for dinner money from September. To have your child's dinner money account topped up, please use MCAS. /parent-hub/my-child-at-school-app/dinner-money.
School Production News
It’s time to get your head in the game! Get ready to see the Wildcats take over our stage! Our next school production, High School Musical, is scheduled to drop in December. Miss Mayhew, Mrs. Pinto, Mrs. Holmes, our amazing Performing Arts teachers are thrilled to be putting on such an incredible show, with the cast list going up at breaktime today. They were delighted that 99 students attended the audition workshops last week. If any Year 7s missed out on the auditions because it was their first full week of school, and would still like to be part of the show, they should speak to their form tutor or with Miss Mayhew directly. With such a talented cast and crew, it's clear that they're all in this together for a fantastic show!
Wider Curriculum Clubs and Sports Clubs
Clubs begin this week! A letter went home on Friday about how to sign up for the different clubs – 46 students have already signed up for the Year 7 and 8 Football Club, which is brilliant.
Wider curriculum opportunities are any activity or learning opportunity that takes place outside normal school lessons. Research has shown that where students regularly participate in these wider learning activities, attainment of the subjects they study at KS3 and KS4 improves. Participation in a wider curriculum activity also has a positive influence on attitude to learning, personal wellbeing and impacts on attendance at school.
Mrs Hooley, Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning, has done a fantastic job of creating a broad range of opportunities for students to participate in both at lunch and after school. Thanks also go to the members of staff who volunteer to run the clubs. We hope there is something for everyone and if there’s not and a student would like to suggest a new club, Mrs Hooley will be happy to hear more from them.
For more information please see our website: The Cottesloe School - Wider Curriculum. Links to club timetables can be found here: Lunch & After-School Clubs
Year 6 into 7 Open Mornings
A reminder that that tickets for our Open Morning Events in September and October are now available: Open Events 2025 | 2026 Please share with any friends or family who have children in Year 6 and live in our catchment area. For more information about Admissions please visit our website: The Cottesloe School - Admissions
Pick-up and Drop-off
Thank you to all our families who have been following the coach park drop-off and pick-up procedures; we appreciate your cooperation in helping to ensure a safe start and end to the school day for all our students. There are still a small number of parents continuing to park on Church Street, parking across driveways and access points. We ask that you please refrain from parking in or around Church Street. With Wing View Care Home opening this week, there will be more traffic on the shared driveway off Church Street. It's vital that this access road remains clear at all times for the safety of our community, especially for emergency vehicle access.
Fundraising Outdoor Social Space
Launched at the end of the last academic year, we have already received some contributions to our outdoor spaces initiative, to purchase more outdoor seating for breaks and lunchtimes. Thank you very much to all the families who have contributed already. There’s still time to contribute before we place the order for new furniture. We would be incredibly grateful for any contribution you can make towards this project, no matter how big or small; every donation brings us closer to creating a more vibrant and functional outdoor space for our children. For more information, please click here: TCS - Outdoor Social Space Fundraising
Fundraising: other ways to help the school
As you may know, school budgets have been under significant pressure. This is why any additional help we can receive is so important—it allows us to provide even more opportunities for our students. There are a number of easy ways you can help, such as easyfundraising, making a donation of time to The Friends of Cottesloe, our Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) or by playing the Parents Lottery. Every contribution, big or small, from our generous parents, local organizations, or through matched funding by employers, is gratefully received and truly makes a difference. We want to be very clear that we understand every family's circumstances are unique, and we never want anyone to feel pressured to contribute. If you are in a position to help and would like to, you can find more information by clicking the links below.
Sports Fixtures and Results
The new academic year has kicked off with some exciting football fixtures against John Colet. Our teams showed great determination and teamwork in their first games of the season.
Year 8: The Year 8 team unfortunately faced a tough 10-1 loss in their opening match. Despite the result, the PE team would like to give a special well done to Seb F for his effort on the pitch. Keep your heads up, boys, and we look forward to the next game!
Year 9: In a closely fought match, our Year 9 team suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat. It was a spirited performance from everyone. The PE team commended Tyler B, Will G, and Henry G for their outstanding contributions during the game.
Year 11: It was a fantastic start to the season for the Year 11 team, who secured a commanding 5-0 victory! An excellent team effort was on display. The PE team would like to recognise Jack H, who scored two goals, as well as Harrison B, Sam S, and Aaron F for their brilliant performances.
MK Job Show at centre:mk in 2025!
19th and 20th September
- Fast-track job search and meet some of the region's best employers and further education providers.
- Boost chances of being invited for an interview by adding a personality to your application.
- You and your child can learn more about employers. The employers can learn more about you!
Register for FREE today:
All Year Groups
High School Musical rehearsals start this week and are ongoing on Wednesdays after school from 3pm - 4:30pm in PA3.
Sixth Form
As we wish last year’s Year 13s all the best as they begin their university journeys over the next couple of weeks, our attention has shifted to our current students. We are already hard at work helping our new Year 13s with their UCAS applications for next year or 2027. For our Year 12 students who want to get a head start, it's the perfect time to begin thinking about their university options for 2027 and beyond. To help them navigate this process, our Sixth Form team has created a helpful guide on how to get the most out of a university open day - The Cottesloe School - Your Guide to University Open Days. These visits offer a fantastic opportunity to explore courses, facilities, and student life up close.
Year 12
A letter has been sent to Year 12 families about a forthcoming trip to Oxford Brookes on 8th October for all our Year 12 students. There is no charge for this trip.
Year 11
The first round of mock exams take place from Monday 6th to Friday 17th October. For students who are in receipt of exam access arrangements, a letter from Miss Hall, Exams Officer, will be emailed home this week. The Science team will also be writing to all families about the tier of entry (Foundation or Higher) for the Mock 1 Science exams.
Year 7
A letter was sent home last week about the postponement of the Year 7 Character Evening. Confirmation of the rearranged date will be shared shortly.
I hope you have a great week, whatever you’ll be doing and thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.
Best wishes,
Louise Baldwin
Head of School