Achievement | Diversity | Respect
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 13 October 2025 is Week A
Standing Items are located at the bottom of the mailing
Dear Parents and Carers,
Please find our weekly mailing which I hope you will find both useful and interesting!
With very best wishes for a relaxing weekend.
Kindest regards,
Ms Jo Butler, Headteacher
Please join us in celebrating an extraordinary achievement by one of our students, Year 8's Hudson .
Hudson recently won the highly competitive South West Golden Gloves boxing tournament in his division. This is a massive feat, considering the tournament featured over 40 bouts across two days and included boxers from ten different countries!
Hudson's victory is a powerful testament to his incredible discipline, dedication, and sportsmanship.
We are immensely proud of Hudson for this huge accomplishment and are thrilled to see his commitment outside of school recognized on such an international stage. Congratulations, Hudson!
Email received
"I would like to thank Mrs Khan, Ms Sainsbury, Faculty Leaders, and Year 13 students for the information shared at the Year 11 Parent Information Evening on Wednesday 8 October. Everyone who spoke at the event gave useful advice on how I can support my child to prepare for their exams in a variety of ways, many of which I wouldn't have known about had I not attended. I'd highly recommend parents to take the opportunity and go along to events if they can. "
Best wishes
Year 11 Parent
Thank you
Cotham School is proud to invite you and your family to a special African Caribbean and Dual Heritage Celebration Evening on Thursday 23 October 2025, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
This free-admission event promises a stupendous night of culture, community and entertainment, featuring:
A keynote speech from Sibusiso Tshabalala.
A live music set by DJ Angel Mel.
Delicious food provided by Glen’s Kitchen.
The launch of the exciting Seat of Resistance Project.
A special premiere of a Post 16 student film, alongside musical performances and speeches from students.
Spaces are limited. To ensure you and your family can attend this wonderful evening, please email AfroCaribbeanEvening@cotham.bristol.sch.uk to receive your RSVP link.
Your family is invited to participate in a clinical trial for a powerful new program: Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT), offered by the Bristol Family Route Service.
MDFT is a proven approach to help young people dealing with substance misuse and risks of offending behaviour.
For Your Child: Help them understand their feelings, overcome challenges, and plan for a better future.
For You (Parents/Carers): Strengthen your bond with your child and build confidence in your parenting.
For the Family: Improve communication and problem-solving to create a less stressful, more connected home.
Wider Support: Ensure your child gets help in all areas of life, including school and the community.
Proven Success
International studies show that MDFT works: 93% of young people complete the therapy and make positive changes like staying out of trouble and achieving at school.
The effectiveness of this program is being evaluated in the UK by the University of Kent.
If you agree to take part and are selected, we will partner with you to support your family.
Bristol Family Route Leaflet (3).pdf 031025.pdfIn July, a group of students from Year 11 and Year 12 went to Kenya with Camps International as “Team Bata”. After fundraising for 18 months (and a bit of a delay at the airport heading out), the team eventually arrived for what would become a trip of a lifetime! They had an amazing four weeks engaging in some incredible opportunities: from hiking to scuba diving, building schools to de-worming goats! The students have come back with amazing pictures, memories, a new scuba qualification, and most importantly the reflection that their time in the communities at their different camps was the most fulfilling and enjoyable part of the whole trip! Please enjoy a few of the highlights in these pictures - there were so many to choose from!
We’re hoping to run another trip that will run in Summer 2027 for students currently in Year 10, Year 11 or Year 12 - so keep a look out for more information to find out if you too can have this incredible experience!
Cotham is celebrating Black History Month. We are a wonderfully diverse school that celebrates our black students EVERY DAY but in October we have an extra opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage, history & culture. Cotham Library has lots of books written by amazing black authors, with books focusing on black lives, history, achievements & issues. We have a wide selection of both fiction & nonfiction where black voices are represented. PHOTOS & INFO below:
BHM 2025 WEEKLY MAILING 
Join us for three days of musical theatre fun at our Monster Mashup! Learn routines from K-Pop Demon Hunters to the Addams Family, the Monstrous fun is waiting!
Tuesday 28 October - Thursday 30 October
10.00am - 4.00pm | Cotham School, BS6 6DT
£135 Non PQA Students
Save £10 by using the discount code COTHAM.
Please click here to book.
Join Sparks Film School for a fun filmmaking course this October half term. Call the shots on your own film set! Direct, shoot, crew and perform in your own spook-tacular short film this half term.
Monday 27 to Wednesday 29 October
Time: 9.00am to 3.00pm
Venue: Cotham School
To book or for more information visit here.
Year 7 have been incredible and they are showing how much they have grown in confidence. During our Black History Month assembly last week delivered by Ms Kelly, a question was asked and it was lovely to see so many hands go up to answer the question. Well done to Matilda who answered the question in such a full and mature way.
On Thursday this week Year 7 had an additional assembly: Online Safety. It was incredible to see how many students wanted to ask questions in the Q&A at the end. Well done to everyone who put their hand up and asked a question.
Year 7 students have the opportunity to attend The Redgrave Theatre to see Christmas Carol on Thursday 27 November. Tickets will be available from Friday 10 October on WisePay and letters will go home to parents/carers.
The Year 7 Charity Bake sale was a huge success, raising lots of money for our charity The Guide Dog Puppy Appeal. Thank you to everyone who supported us and bought cookies. A huge thank you to Evie, Ariana, Tamsin, Klementina and Rayan for organising and selling the cookies.
A huge well done to Daniel, who proudly attends St John Ambulance. Daniel is passionate about his involvement with the organisation and kindly brought in his uniform — complete with his Cadet badge — to show me. I am incredibly proud of Daniel for dedicating his time and energy to helping others through St John Ambulance. Keep up the fantastic work, Daniel — you’re an inspiration to us all!
Mrs Arnold
Again so many wonderful shoutouts from teachers, well done Year 7!
Ms Bingham: 7CG - great learning for months of the year in German with fantastic speaking practice. They also know their numbers in German really well - wunderbar!
Ms Telfer: Jolyon and Harry for brilliant work in Geography! Ella - great contributions in History!
Ms Trigg: Noah - for his continuous enthusiasm and excellent effort in English. Abdulsalam - for always being helpful and thoughtful every English lesson. Gigi - for trying her best this week and motivating others to do well in English.
Mr Dignan: 7LBE were brilliant in their Literacy lesson. Lots of helpful co-operation and positive contributions across the board - particularly from Ilyas who was a real star today!
Parents and carers will have the opportunity to meet your child’s tutor for a 15 minute appointment to discuss your child’s engagement and wellbeing, participation in the wider life of the school, and to set targets for the remainder of the year.
This is a tutor/student/parent meeting. This event is in addition to our Year 7 Parents Evening on Thursday 5 March, when you will have the opportunity to meet your child’s subject teachers.
The booking system is open 9 October-9 November, please see the letter emailed to you on Wednesday 8 October for details.
It has been a real joy to see all the new starters we have had in Year 8 the last two weeks. The Year team have been so proud of our existing students and the warmth they have extended to these students, how enthusiastic they have been to help show them around and be supportive during social times. We would like to officially welcome the new starters to Cotham School and wish them well on their journey with us.
Mrs Dickerson
Learning Co-ordinator
Students will take part in three engaging and challenging Design & Technology projects delivered by specialist teachers: Zoo Toy Design, Graphics (Paper Engineering), and Food Science and Nutrition. The year is divided into three equal parts, allowing students to rotate between each area with a new teacher. Throughout the course, they will develop an understanding of the Core Technical Principles of Design & Technology, alongside practical and creative skills. In the Zoo Toy Design project, students design and make a product for Bristol Zoo’s gift shop, developing ideas through research, modelling, and evaluation before producing a final acrylic prototype. The Graphics module focuses on paper engineering, where students use Corel Draw to design an occasion card featuring a pop-up mechanism, exploring layout, image editing, and creative design.
In Food Science, students build confidence and independence through a variety of practical cooking tasks, such as preparing fruit salad, bread rolls, muffins, and international dishes like bobotie, while learning key principles of nutrition, food safety, hygiene, and food science.
Alongside this, in Computing (Term 1 – Hardware), students learn how computers work by exploring the hardware components that make up a computer system, developing both their computing knowledge and IT skills.
In Art, Year 8 students study portraiture, focusing on sketching and refining facial features such as the eyes, lips, nose, and ears to improve their observational drawing skills.
Miss Brock
STEAM
Our tutor time football competition kicked off this week! Friday morning during tutor time two tutor groups will go face to face in a short football match. Our first match is 9BOP vs 9ECH, a team of fantastic Year 10 Sports Leaders will referee, and the remaining tutor group will come and support their class mates.
We look forward to sharing how the competition shapes up. But who will win the Year Group trophy?
I would like to give a shout out to Sylvie (9GD) who donated some preloved uniforms to two of our new students that are refugees. Sylvie displayed generosity and respect without being asked and the recipients were extremely grateful. A true example of Cotham Values.
We are always very grateful to have preloved uniform to support our new students. If you have any, please pass them into Main Reception or the Year Team.
We wanted to give a massive shout-out to our amazing Year 10s! We have been blown away by the incredible turnout and dedication to our after-school and lunchtime sports clubs this term. It is fantastic to see so many students getting involved.
Monday: Netball (After School) - See you on the MUGA!
Tuesday: Basketball (Lunchtime) - Join us in the hall
Thursday (Week B only): Badminton (After School) - Join us in the hall
Friday: Rugby (After School) - Get ready to hit the pitch!
Please note that the Year 11 Prom is not organised by the school. A parent/carer committee is needed to plan and oversee the event. If you are interested in being part of this committee, please connect with other parents/carers to form one. Once the committee is formed, please email Mr Arnold to confirm - arnoldh@cotham.bristol.sch.uk.
A reminder Year 11 mock exams will commence on 20 October and students received their Exams/Revision Assembly on Monday this week. All information can be found on Google Classroom.
This took place this week on Wednesday 8 October at 5.00pm. Thank you to all those parents who attended. Please find attached the video recording of the event and the slide presentation. The video recording will be uploaded to the Year 11 Parent Information Event Portal on the school website very shortly. This portal contains lots more useful information about how to support your child through the mocks and prepare for the summer exams. It includes subject-specific videos from our faculty leaders.
This week our Lead Community Mentor Ms Jama and Deputy Director of Post 16 Mr Buchanan ran a community event in Barton Hill with some of our families on Post16 transition/logistics. It was great to come in to the community and engage with you.
We had another fantastic Open Evening at RGS. Thank you to the staff, students and parents who participated in showcasing our best.
Black History Month is under way, with Assemblies this week for Year 13 and next week for Year 12. A great month of celebrations ahead!
Year 8 had a wonderful time learning how to make bread from scratch. They explored how simple dough can be transformed into fun designs from plaited rolls and knots to swirls and twirls. Everyone enjoyed getting their hands messy while learning about baking techniques, the importance of kneading and the science of yeast. The room smelt amazing as their rolls came out of the oven golden and warm. Miss Burt is giving a shoutout to Elsie in 8a/Te1 for adding their extra artistic flair! Well done Year 8!
This week, the Year 10 students were tasked with drawing a pineapple. They then divided their drawings into eight sections, using a different art material in each one. The students explored a range of media including paint, pencil, collage, pastel, biro, and more, allowing them to experiment with various textures and techniques.
A huge well done to the Year 7 Rugby team for an amazing start to their rugby journey at Cotham School! The team delivered an outstanding performance in their Rugby 7s tournament, finishing second in their group. Their victory against QEH was truly one to remember, and their win in the fixture against Bristol Free School showed fantastic determination and teamwork. Keep up the great work, and thank you to everyone who has been attending training regularly. Your commitment is really paying off!
Please see the attached Flyer from Threefold Theatre - a performance collective based in Easton.
C3 Call Out '25 We are delighted to share with you the range of peripatetic music lessons available to our students this year.
We also have two self-employed music teachers who can be contacted directly:
Guitar – jack@skusemusic.com
Piano – chriscraigjones@hotmail.com
For any other instruments, please visit Bristol Beacon’s website for full details
We are able to subsidise lessons for Pupil Premium students. For more information, please contact me directly at: geogheganr@cotham.bristol.sch.uk.
The Performing Arts team are exceptionally pleased that Erin White (a recent graduate of Trinity Laban Dance Conservatoire) joins our Dance team to lead these dance companies. The sessions are open to all students who want to learn new dance skills, further their current dance skills, develop their choreographic skills, while of course having fun!
There are two available sessions, both in E008, the dance studio:
Monday 3.00pm - 4.00pm: Year 7s (and any students from older year groups who cannot make the Wednesday session, please do come along to this session).
Wednesday: 3.00pm - 4.00pm Years 8,9 10 and 11.
Please remember a change of clothing: t-shirt, leggings, jogging trousers.
We very much look forward to seeing you.
Ms Phillips
Teacher of Dance
Junior Dance Company.pdfSenior Dance Company.pdfGamma House students were challenged to design a new logo for our motto: "Work hard, be kind." After some incredible entries, Miss Madge selected the top three finalists. Now it's up to the students to vote for their favourite! With over 150 votes already in, the excitement is building. The winning designer will receive a £15 voucher. A huge well done to everyone who entered — your creativity and effort truly reflect our house spirit!
On Wednesday 8 October, the Year 7 student leader interviews took place in the main hall! Selected by their Heads of House, these students showed great confidence, kindness and leadership potential. It was fantastic to see so many stepping up to make a difference. The successful candidates will be announced in assembly soon—keep an eye out for the successful four! A big well done to everyone who took part—you’ve made your houses proud!
A huge welcome to all our new Year 7 students. We’re the house that dares to be great in everything we do. Thank you to all staff and students for your amazing contributions to our charity events. A big shout-out to Rui for earning the most house points! This year, we’re relaunching the Omega Finest Award for six students who show respect, kindness, honesty, excellence, and role-model behaviour. Let’s make this year great!
We are excited to announce our annual House Christmas Card Design Competition!
We invite all Year 7 to Year 11 students to submit a creative, festive design for the official school Christmas card this year. The winning design will be printed and sent out to the entire school community.
This is a fantastic opportunity for students to earn House Points and showcase their artistic talent!
Entries must be submitted to the Visual Arts office by Monday 3 November 2025.
Good luck to all our young artists!
Xmas Card 2025 (1).pdfCongratulations to Ezra, Ayaan, and Edie in Year10, and Sasha in Year11 who have been selected to participate in this year's BEP Student Leadership Program. Cotham opened its doors to welcome students from Badminton, BGS, Redmaids' High, QEH, Bridge Learning Campus, Collegiate, Clifton College, Orchard, Bristol Free School, and Clifton High in a fantastic day of activities hosted by Sustainability Hive. Our student's contributions were so valuable and they should be very proud of themselves.
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.pdfPlease see the below information leaflet produced by Bristol City Council, it gives advice about term time absence and the consequences of unauthorised absence from school.
Bristol -PN leaflet 2024 - FINAL.pdfWith our new absence procedure Studybugs App running for a period of time, the absence phone line will no longer be available for Years 7-11. If you experience any difficulty downloading or using the Studybugs App, please contact or come to the school for assistance.
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
Monday 1 September 2025
Friday 26 September 2025
Friday 14 November 2025
Monday 30 March 2026
Monday 20 April 2026
We have a fantastic opportunity to offer piano and keyboard lessons to years 7-9 on our grand piano at Cotham School with our very experienced piano teacher Christina Craig-Jones.
She is a specialist teacher of beginners to advanced levels and offers all styles of music from Classics, jazz improvising and rock and pop.
For more details and to book a free taster lesson please contact her directly at chriscraigjones@hotmail.com
'Uh-FUR-ming'
Meaning:
Showing support, encouragement, or kindness to someone that helps a person feel good about who they are. (verb)
Example:
Teachers and students sharing their moments of Black History is affirming the importance, power and contribution of Black History makers.
While listening to the guest speaker, she felt an affirming sense of pride in her culture.
Seeing my artwork on the wall was affirming.
Synonyms:
Encouraging, supporting, uplifting, reassuring, empowering
'Uh-FUR-ming'
Meaning:
Showing support, encouragement, or kindness to someone that helps a person feel good about who they are. (verb)
Example:
Teachers and students sharing their moments of Black History is affirming the importance, power and contribution of Black History makers.
While listening to the guest speaker, she felt an affirming sense of pride in her culture.
Seeing my artwork on the wall was affirming.
Synonyms:
Encouraging, supporting, uplifting, reassuring, empowering
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_Term 1_290925.pdfYou are invited to experience the heart of our community school! Join them for the Open Days—the best way to see our dedicated teachers, engaging classrooms, and supportive environment in action.
