Cotham School
Weekly Mailing
30 January 2026
Embedded Files
Keep us posted - It would be great if parents/carers could let the school know of any student achievements outside of school. We would like to find out what students are doing in their own time and celebrate their achievements.
Email us: weeklymailing@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Week commencing Monday 23 February 2026 is Week B
Headteacher's Welcome! 👩🏫
Headteacher's Welcome! 👩🏫
Dear Parents and Carers,
Please find our weekly mailing which I hope you will find both useful and interesting!
We also wish our families a meaningful month as several significant faith observances coincide:
Feb 15: Maha Shivaratri (Hinduism) and Nirvana Day (Buddhism).
Feb 18: A rare convergence marking the start of Ramadan (Islam), Ash Wednesday/Lent (Christianity), and Losar (Tibetan New Year).
With very best wishes for a relaxing half term.
Kindest regards,
Ms Jo Butler
Headteacher
Positive Feedback of the Week 👍
Positive Feedback of the Week 👍
Email received
"The Post-16 students here at Cotham are some of the best behaved students I have seen. I have seen various Sixth Forms and colleges etc, and the standard here is very high in comparison."
Visitor
Parent and Carer Calendar 🗓️
Parent and Carer Calendar 🗓️
Announcements 📢
Announcements 📢
Start of Term Arrangements
Start of Term Arrangements
Please note that Term 4 starts on Monday 23 February 2026 is a normal school day for all students.
Term Dates 2026-2027
Term Dates 2026-2027
Term 1 - Tuesday 1 September 2026 to Friday 23 October 2026
Term 2 - Monday 2 November 2026 to Friday 18 December 2026
Term 3 - Monday 4 January 2027 to Friday 12 February 2027
Term 4 - Monday 22 February 2027 to Thursday 25 March 2027
Term 5 - Monday 12 April 2027 to Friday 28 May 2027
Term 6 - Monday 7 June 2027 to Tuesday 20 July 2027
School will finish at 12.00pm on the following dates:
Friday 18 December 2026
Thursday 25 March 2027
Tuesday 20 July 2027
INSET Days 2026-2027
INSET Days 2026-2027
Tuesday 1 September 2026
Friday 25 September 2026
Friday 13 November 2026
Monday 22 March 2027
Monday 19 April 2027
National Teaching Awards!
National Teaching Awards!
Nominations for the Pearson National Teaching Awards are currently open and will close on Friday 27 February. Entries are free and there are 16 categories for individuals and teams across early years, schools and colleges in the UK. Enter here.
Visiting Authors - Preorder Signed Books!
Visiting Authors - Preorder Signed Books!
World Book Week is nearly here! Cotham are welcoming four amazing authors for a series of assemblies and workshops. Both Rachel Delahaye and Ash Bond have shared a link to PRE-ORDER their SIGNED books. You will also get a chance to buy the books on the day VIA CASH OR CARD. Students can come to the library at break on the day they visit.
ALL BOOKS AVAILABLE IN THE LIBRARY TOO.
Please CLICK ON THE LINK below for all the information you need.
WM ASH AND RACHEL LINK TO BUY BOOKS (1).pdfWM - POSTER OF ASH BOND.pdfWM - POSTER OF RACHEL WITH QR CODE TO BUY BOOKS 2.pdfWorld Book Week Costume Competition
World Book Week Costume Competition
World Book WEEK is having a COSTUME COMPETITION on FRIDAY 6 MARCH.
ALL YEAR 7s and YEAR 8s are asked if they would like to come to school dressed up as their favourite BOOK CHARACTER. Use the half term to CREATE your outfit! Celebrate your favourite book with us and join in the fun. STAFF are taking part too so lets all be inspired by BOOKS together. Please pay £1 for CHARITY on the day.
Whilst we are getting creative remember the BOOKMARK competition too. FOR ALL INFO CLICK BELOW
WM ENTER BOOKMARK COMPETITION 2.pdfWM ADVERT - STUDENTS COSTUME COMPETITION 2.pdfYear Group News 🏫
Year Group News 🏫
Year 7
Year 7
As we come to the end of Term 3, I would like to congratulate Year 7 on all their hard work across their lessons. It has been fantastic to see so many students recognised by their teachers in the Cotham Shout Outs. This term, Year 7 students have achieved an incredible 285 Shout Outs — a wonderful accomplishment. Well done to everyone who has received one, and keep up the excellent work!
Football News
Tutor football continues to be the highlight of the week. We have been fortunate with the weather and haven’t had to cancel a single match — the teams have played every week, and the league table is shaping up nicely. Last week marked an exciting milestone as our referee, Harry, issued his very first yellow card!
Goalkeeping is taken very seriously, with many students even bringing their own gloves to matches. As a reward activity, tutor football has been a fantastic success, and it is especially encouraging to see a great mix of both girls and boys representing their teams.
Year 7 Bake off News!
On Wednesday, we held our second Year 7 Tutor Bake Off, where nine talented bakers competed against one another. The brief was to bake and present four Valentine’s cookies, all within a challenging time limit of one hour and thirty minutes. They certainly rose to the occasion! The standard was incredibly high, and the decorated cookies looked fantastic. Our judges had a very difficult task, but after carefully tasting each creation, a winner was announced. Congratulations to Logan, who was crowned the overall winner, and well done to everyone who took part. Your effort and creativity were impressive!
I hope you all have a very restful break, and I look forward to welcoming Year 7 back in Term 4 for another exciting and successful term.
Mrs Arnold
Year 7 Learning Coordinator
Year 8
Year 8
A big congratulations to Year 8 for a term full of 'Cotham Shout Outs'. They continue to rain into my inbox which is wonderful. It is really noticeable how much growing up there has been in over this half of the academic year both in maturity and height! I hope all Year 8s have a good break over the half term and come back refreshed. I wish everyone observing Ramadan a good start next week, Ramadan Mubarak.
To those of you having pancakes on Shrove Tuesday next week, enjoy as Lent arrives on Ash Wednesday the following day.
A Shout Out to 8YA from Ms Phillipps for excellent behaviour, energy and enthusiasm in their Bollywood dance assessment.
Ms D Dickerson
Year 8 Learning Coordinator
Year 9
Year 9
The Benefits of a Well Earned Break!
As we start term 4, there is still a fantastic atmosphere in the year group. Staff are constantly contacting me to tell me about the amazing number of Shout Outs they are sending to students and their families.
Since coming back after the Christmas break, I have been contacted more than 170 times to tell me how amazing students in Year 9 are doing. Ms Kennedy is especially proud of her French class who are doing amazingly well.
Mr O Knight
Year 9 Learning Coordinator
Year 10
Year 10
Making Your Work Experience Happen
Half term is the ideal time to secure Work Experience placements. Emails alone are rarely enough. Students should pick up the phone, speak to managers and, where appropriate, visit businesses in person. Confidence and persistence matter. Please encourage your child to take ownership, make calls themselves and follow up. Initiative now will make a real difference.
Mr T Lawrence
Year 10 Learning Coordinator
Year 11
Year 11
This Week in Year 11
The final mock exams have now come to an end and I would like to say a huge well done to all Year 11 students. The hard work and preparation for every exam has been visible to see over the past two weeks. Students have engaged and committed to the exams brilliantly to set themselves up for success ahead of the summer GCSE's.
A reminder ahead of next term, the language speaking mocks will commence in the week beginning 23 February.
Finally, our first Year 11 Prom fundraising event will take place on 5 March. The student prom committee will be running a cookie sale in the HUB during breaktime, as preparations begin for the end of year celebrations.
I hope all Year 11 students have a restful half-term, enjoy the break and return ready for another important term.
Mr H Arnold
Year 11 Learning Coordinator
Year 11 Speaking Speed Dating
Year 11 Spanish (11YSP1) completed speed-dating style speaking practice this week. Students asked and answered general conversation questions in Spanish, speaking for one minute with a partner before switching. This gave them 20 minutes of solid, focused speaking practice as we build confidence ahead of speaking mocks after half term.
Well done, 11YSP1!
Miss Brooks
MFL Teacher
North Bristol Post 16 🚀
North Bristol Post 16 🚀
Health and Wellbeing In-Community Event
Health and Wellbeing In-Community Event
This week members of the Post 16 team delivered a well received event in the community for some Year 12 parents/carers. Mx Sciubba (Wellbeing and Ambition mentor), Ms Jama (Lead Community Mentor) and Mr Buchanan (Deputy Director of P16) led the session which included specific strategies for parents on how they can support their young person. The resources for parents/carers can be requested by emailing post16@cotham.bristol.sch.uk. We wish P16 students a restful half term break!
Mr G Buchanan
Deputy Director of Post 16
Bristol Education Partnership 🤝
Bristol Education Partnership 🤝
Update
The 2025 BEP Youth Talks playlist is finally here! Please feel free to enjoy wide range of topics on show here, and appreciate the enormous effort all the students put into their presentations. Performing to a large audience in this professional venue is a wonderful experience, and Martha and Petra did Cotham proud! Big thanks go to Miss Wyles, who has been an excellent oracy lead, and if you are interested in being involved in next year's event, listen out for information from Mrs Grice as she takes the helm. More student leadership trips planned for the start of next term, kicking off with a visit to Badminton School...
Please click here for BEP Youth Talks 2025 playlist.
Careers 💼
Careers 💼
Career of the Week.....is DETECTIVE!
Career of the Week.... is DETECTIVE
Could this be a career for your child?
Does your child love solving problems? Can they see patterns and make links?
Being a Detective is about more than just mystery - it requires excellent problem-solving, communication and analytical skills. If your child is curious and detail oriented this could be their perfect fit!
Subjects 📖 ✏️ 🔢 🧪 🌍 🏛️ 🖥️🧮 🎨 🎭 🎵 🔨 🧑🍳 🏃♂️
Subjects 📖 ✏️ 🔢 🧪 🌍 🏛️ 🖥️🧮 🎨 🎭 🎵 🔨 🧑🍳 🏃♂️
MFL
MFL
Foreign Letter Exchange
What a great opportunity for some of our Year 9 and Year 10 students studying French at Cotham School! Thanks to Miss Baeza, a former colleague who now teaches in France, we have started a letter exchange between French and English students. Our Cotham students have written and decorated some amazing letters. We are now waiting for the replies. BRAVO aux étudiants de français !
Mme K
scan_2026-02-06-15-07-02.pdfLanguage Lectures at the University of Bristol
Language Lectures at the University of Bristol
KS5 Languages students were invited to a lecture at the University of Bristol. From Congolese rap to Quebec folk including Algerian raï, we learnt a lot about the "musique francophone contemporaine".
Did you know that in 2024, more than 100 million listeners around the world listened to French music? Merci l'Université de Bristol
Mme Kennedy
MATHS
MATHS
Chess Tournament Results from Monday!
On Monday 9 February, we took two teams to a chess tournament for Year 7 and 8 at Bristol Grammar School, run by the English Chess Federation.
The Cotham A Team did brilliantly, eventually coming 7th out of 20 in the upper section of the tournament. At one point we were coming 2nd and playing at the top table! Cotham B Team also did well, especially as only one of the four players had been at a tournament before. Here we came in 7th out of 16. Well done to all the players!
STEAM
STEAM
Year 10 Reduction Printing
Year 10 Reduction Printing
This week in the Art department, Year 10 students learnt how to create reduction prints. Reduction printing is the process of creating a multi-layered print using only one block of lino. It is the lino which is 'reduced' in between each layer of printing. They recreated Andy Warhol's iconic pop-art banana using this effective technique.
Food Science
Year 8 students produced a range of beautiful shaped bread rolls this term. Demonstrating strong technical skills, creativity and an understanding of the bread-making process. Great work Year 8. Also, lots of Shout Outs were given to Year 7 and Year 9 students for their exemplary behaviour through out their lessons 👍
Miss Burt
Food Technology Technician
House Announcement 🏠
House Announcement 🏠
Well Done Sigma House
Well Done Sigma House
Well done Sigma! You are absolutely smashing it with House Points this term and we are currently in the lead. So many of you are showing the qualities of a true Sigma student by being truthful and compassionate. Let's continue the momentum after the February half-term to make sure that we win the trophy for most House Points at the end of the school year.
Mrs Ahmad
Teacher of Science and Head of House
Well Done, Omega House!
Well Done, Omega House!
I would like to thank all of Omega House students for the excellent effort you have shown this term in accumulating house points. Your hard work, dedication, and positive attitude have truly made a difference. I want to encourage you all to keep up the great work and continue putting in the same effort next term. Well done to every one of you — you should be very proud of your achievements!
Literacy 📖
Literacy 📖
KS3
KS3
Word of the Week Quiz
Word of the Week Quiz
What are some possible connotations of the picture? What does connotation mean?
ANSWER: Rose - connotations of love. Connotation is what a word or picture makes you think of.
Which word, beginning with C, means to persuade someone.
ANSWER: convince
KS4
KS4
Word of the Week
Word of the Week
What was the Word of the Week for the picture and what does it mean?
ANSWER: antithesis - something that’s the direct opposite of something else.
How do you spell the Word of the Week that sounds like ‘Aw- ton - uh - mee’? Show you understand the word autonomy by explaining a situation where you don’t have much autonomy.
ANSWER: Autonomy. In prison there’s not much autonomy because there’s a lack of free choice.
Digital Literacy Corner 💻
Digital Literacy Corner 💻
Online Safety Newsletter
Online Safety Newsletter
Dear Parent/Carer
Please find our latest online safety newsletter attached.
Important Notice:
This newsletter is intended for adults and includes discussions on online safety, including sensitive topics such as the online exploitation of children. Some of this content may be upsetting to both adults and children.
We strongly encourage parents and carers to prepare themselves before reading and to carefully consider which information to share with their child, based on their age and cognitive ability. The language and explanations used may not always be suitable for younger children, so please use your discretion when deciding what is appropriate for your child.
Your awareness and thoughtful approach is vital in ensuring a safe and informed discussion about online safety.
Kind regards
Farhan Ahmed
Digital Strategy Lead
Email: AhmedF@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Online_Saftey_Newsletter_16.pdfCommunity 🏘️
Community 🏘️
Street Dance Opportunities with MF Dance
Street Dance Opportunities with MF Dance
We are pleased to highlight the local MF Dance programme, which offers high-energy street dance classes designed to build confidence in children.
Several Cotham School students already train with MF Dance and we are excited to announce they will soon visit us for a free PE takeover day.
For more information on local classes and how to join, please view their digital leaflet attached.
MF Dance Bristol - Attention parents.pdfSparks Film School Bristol Central Presents…
Sparks Film School Bristol Central Presents…
Comedy Cuts – February Half Term Filmmaking Camp
Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 February 2026
9.00am to 3.00pm
Cotham School, Bristol (BS6 6DT)
A creative, hands-on filmmaking course for students in Years 7–9.
Students will:
Develop ideas and stories as part of a creative film crew.
Explore comedy performance, visual gags and screen storytelling.
Take on real filmmaking roles including director, camera, sound and performer.
Plan and shoot their own short comedy film.
No previous filmmaking experience required.
For more information and booking please click here.
Reminders 🔔
Reminders 🔔
Reporting Student Absence - Studybugs
Reporting Student Absence - Studybugs
Please inform the school by 9.00am on the first and subsequent days of absence.
School procedure is as follows:
absence message sent if absences have not been reported.
if no response to the absence message, a follow up letter requesting reason for absence will be sent.
If you haven’t already, please download the free Studybugs app, or register on the Studybugs website, and use it to tell us whenever your child is ill and unable to attend school.
Get the app or register now by clicking here.
Thank you
Cotham School
Poster with Additional Info.pdf
Key Dates - Term Dates 2025/2026
Key Dates - Term Dates 2025/2026
Term 1 Monday 1 September 2025 to Friday 24 October 2025
Term 2 Monday 3 November 2025 to Friday 19 December 2025
Term 3 Monday 5 January 2026 to Friday 13 February 2026
Term 4 Monday 23 February 2026 to Thursday 2 April 2026
Term 5 Monday 20 April 2026 to Friday 22 May 2026
Term 6 Monday 1 June 2026 to Friday 17 July 2026
INSET Days - 2025/2026
INSET Days - 2025/2026
Monday 1 September 2025
Friday 26 September 2025
Friday 14 November 2025
Monday 30 March 2026
Monday 20 April 2026
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