This cohort is particularly special to me, as the Class of 2026 joined the school at the  same time as I did, in September 2019. It has been a privilege to watch them grow. They navigated the incredibly tricky COVID years that affected the very beginning of their secondary school careers, pushed through their GCSEs, and have now arrived at the end of their school journey as incredible young adults, fully prepared to succeed in life beyond school. Some of these students will already be back in school today sitting their very first exam. We wish all of them the absolute best for the future, and in the meantime, we are here to provide any support they might need over the next month or so of exams. A huge thank you goes to all the teachers and members of staff who have helped them along this journey, with a very special mention to our super Sixth Form leadership team: Mr Youngs, Mrs Smith, and the glue that holds the sixth form together, Mel McMonagle - who was fittingly and wonderfully described by a Sixth Former to an Ofsted Inspector as ‘the mum of the Sixth Form’.

Class of 2026, as the writing on the school hall wall says: ‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams’.

National Finals Glory at Lilleshall!

What an absolutely phenomenal day of football! Last week, our incredible U13 and U15 teams travelled to the prestigious Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Shropshire to compete in the Finals Day of the Sisters n Sport National Football Competition. Both teams played their hearts out, delivering thrilling performances and bringing home some serious silverware!

U13s: Our U13s had a breathtaking run in the tournament, winning every single fixture leading up to this final push. In their opening finals match, they fought valiantly but narrowly lost 3-2, with Eve scoring a brilliant brace. Showing immense character and resilience, they bounced right back in their final match to secure a fantastic 3-2 victory! The goals came from Eve, Lydia, and an absolutely stunning free-kick from Maja. Special mention: A huge congratulations to Eve, who was awarded the special trophy for Player of the Match in both games!

U15s: The U15s were simply fabulous! They stormed through their Bowl Semi-Final with a dominant 3-0 victory, courtesy of an unbelievable hat-trick from Amaya. Their final game was an absolute thriller that went right down to the wire, ending in a nail-biting 4-4 draw after spectacular goals from Amaya (2), Hattie (1), and Evie (1). The match went to a tense penalty shootout, where our goalkeeper, Georgia, stepped up to do a heroic job - saving an incredible three penalties which saw the U15s win the shootout, the match and the title of U15 National Champions! Special mention: Just like the U13s, we had another double-award winner! Congratulations to Amaya, who took home the trophy for Player of the Match in both of her games!

Ofsted Report

Following up on the letter from Mr Jones last week, I want to take another moment to celebrate the brilliant outcome of our recent Ofsted inspection. While we have already shared the report with you directly, it will be officially published on the Ofsted website in the next day or two. As a reminder, under the new grading framework, achieving the Expected Standard means a school is doing everything it should be; a highly rigorous standard that builds upon and exceeds the expectations of the old framework. We are incredibly proud to have met this standard across the board, alongside achieving a Strong Standard (indicating excellent, consistent work that is clearly benefiting students) for Personal Development and Wellbeing. I want to emphasise that the written report does not fully capture the incredible verbal feedback leaders received from the five inspectors over the two days. We heard some truly phenomenal things about our school community and our wonderful young people that go beyond what is written on the page. The inspection team saw that our students feel a "strong sense of pride and belonging" and are “responsible, resilient and respectful young people”. You can be very proud of your children; thank you all once again for your support in making our school such a successful and special place to learn.

Inclusive Attendance Bronze Standard Success

We are incredibly proud to announce that The Cottesloe School has been awarded the Inclusive Attendance Bronze Standard. We started this journey at the beginning of the academic year when we invited the team from Inclusive Attendance to audit our attendance practices and help us build a bespoke action plan. As part of this commitment, every single member of our staff has been working towards completing a Level 1 Accredited Professional Development Programme, consisting of six learning modules. Our mid-year progress audit was originally due on the 18th March, but then Ofsted rang, and it was postponed. When Wayne Harris from Inclusive Attendance visited us last week for the rearranged audit, he was so impressed with the rapid progress we had made that he presented us with the Bronze Award. This reflects a phenomenal whole-school effort to improve student outcomes. 

Wayne was highly impressed by our intelligent use of data, which has already led to a significant 4% reduction in Persistent Absence, and our multi-tiered support model that ensures families work alongside us, rather than feeling they are alone. Above all, the most wonderful feedback was about our students. Wayne noted that our young people spoke confidently about feeling safe, knowing they belong, and understanding that they miss out on learning, friendships, and experiences when they are absent. Our core message of ‘We miss you when you're not here’ is genuinely lived throughout our school. Wayne was so impressed with our culture that we have now been invited to become a collaborative national school, sharing our best practices with other schools across the country. A huge thank you to everyone at home and at school for making this happen, with a special shoutout to Mr Henry for leading the school in achieving this milestone. We are thrilled, and are already working towards the Silver Standard!

Vacancies

We are currently advertising for the following support staff posts: 

• Caretaker including Lettings duties (closing date: 15th May 2026)
• Assistant Head of Year (closing date: 15th May 2026)

We’d be very grateful if you could share the adverts within your networks. Do you know someone who would be the right fit for The Cottesloe School? Join Our Team