We’ve nearly completed the academic year, and although it's a shorter week, learning is still happening. Tomorrow, our Rewards trips are heading off for some fun at Legoland, Thorpe Park, and Chessington, and for students in school, there’s an exciting activity day planned. Meanwhile, our Year 12 students will have a fantastic day of interviews and career support with a variety of people from a range of different professions, companies and organisations, designed to help prepare them for life beyond sixth form.

Reflecting on another eventful and busy week at The Cottesloe School, I am continually reminded of how our students embody our core ethos: Prepare, Aspire, Succeed. A shining example of this was our recent Annual Senior Citizen Afternoon Tea, an event that perfectly brought to life our Healthy Relationships values of Community, Self and Others.

It rained an awful lot last week! Thank you to all our students - and staff on duty -  for coping so well with the wet weather, which certainly threw some challenges our way during break times, lunchtimes, and for Years 11 and 13 as they signed out after their exams. Fortunately, the forecast for this week looks much warmer and drier - although not this morning! We are particularly looking forward to Thursday evening this week, when we will celebrate the end of the exam season with the Year 11 Prom. Mrs Woodburn has planned an incredible night for the students, and we cannot wait to see them looking fantastic in their prom dresses and suits. Elsewhere, we wish the very best of luck to our Warhammer Team as they head off to Warhammer World tomorrow. Wednesday marks our annual Sports Day - good luck to all the athletes taking part! It promises to be a highly competitive day, and we look forward to seeing which tutor group triumphs to become this year's champions.

Last week was an incredible week at The Cottesloe School! 

In Japan, the word sakura (桜) translates to cherry blossoms and is believed to originate from the word saku (咲), which simply means to bloom. In Japanese culture, these beautiful flowers are deeply symbolic, representing spring, renewal, hope, and the fleeting nature of life due to their brief but spectacular blooming period. Each spring is marked by these sakura bursting to life, with people gathering for hanami (flower-viewing parties) to appreciate their delicate beauty. The anticipation is so great that Japanese media features dedicated blossom watch weather reports as people eagerly wait for them to flower!

Welcome to the final week of this short term! As we prepare to break for our Easter holiday this Friday, I want to reflect on a truly momentous few days for our school. As you know, Ofsted visited us last week for our first inspection since November 2021; I am beyond proud of our community. The new Ofsted framework has been in use since last November, and with anything new, it can be tricky to know if your interpretation of the guidance is correct and if you’ll do the school and the community justice. The six inspectors were incredibly impressed with our students' characters, noting how polite, respectful, and resilient they are, both in their learning and around the school site. Importantly, the inspection team saw exactly what I wrote to you about last week - the conduct and maturity that visitors praise is simply who our students are every single day. Thank you so much for the support, kindness, and understanding you, as families, showed us throughout last week.