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 6 October 2025 is Week B
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
Email received
Dear Mrs Arnold
"Thank you so much for giving Year 7 learners the opportunity to speak at the Year 6 Open Evening last week and to take the time to send a praise message home.
They all spoke so confidently, giving thoughtful and inspiring insights into their experiences at Cotham School so far.
Our daughter set herself a goal on going up to secondary school of becoming a more confident public speaker; this gave her the perfect chance to make a start!
Thank you also for the rewards and treats the speakers received and for all the work you and your team are doing for Year 7 learners."
Best wishes
Parents of a Year 7 student.
Thank you
You are warmly invited to an online event introducing Safer Together, a new film and conversation resource created by young people in Bristol, designed to help families and communities talk about the realities and risks of knife crime and how to move from these concerns towards hope and change.
In the wake of devastating losses in our local community and across the country, young people have come together through creativity and film to share their feelings, fears and hopes. The Safer Together film is a powerful piece created by young people, for young people, and aims to open up honest, informed conversations at home and in the community.
Session details:
🗓 Tuesday 14 October
🕒 Online - 12.30 pm - 1.15 pm
📍 Open to parents, carers and guardians of young people
LINK TO THE MEETING is HERE.
This supportive and informative session will:
Introduce the film and accompanying conversation resource
Offer ideas for how to speak with your child about knife crime in a trauma-informed way
Signpost helpful organisations such as Crimestoppers and Fearless
LINK TO THE MEETING is HERE.
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.
Year 7 will be running a charity Bake Sale on Thursday 9 October.
In the HUB at break time
Cookies £1 each - cash only
All money raised will go directly to the Guide Dog Puppy Appeal.
Is your child in Years 7–13 and interested in acting or musical theatre?
CUE Theatre Company, based at Cotham School on Monday evenings, is kicking off its new term soon! We offer a creative, fun, and inclusive environment for young people from across Bristol to develop their skills, collaborate and make friends.
What We Offer:
Acting Group: 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Musical Theatre Group: 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm
The chance to perform in 3 shows a year!
Term Details:
New Term Starts: Monday 6 October 2025.
Cost: Just £80 for a ten-week term (one 90-minute class per week).
Discount: Attend both groups and receive a £20 discount!
Encourage your child to join us for an aspirational and supportive theatre experience.
CUE Theatre Company New Term It's time for our annual House Competition to design the official school Christmas card!
Show your creative side and help your House score points by submitting an entry.
Prizes
Winner: £20 Amazon voucher plus 20 printed cards of your design.
Runner Up: £10 Amazon voucher.
Please submit all entries to the Visual Arts office by Monday 3 November.
Xmas Card 2025.pdfYear 7 continues to amaze us with their enthusiasm for school and their positive attitude towards learning. Attendance across the year group is very impressive, with most tutor groups maintaining 96% or above. A special mention goes to 7SME, who are leading the way with a fantastic 97.4% attendance a credit to their commitment.
At the end of this term, we will review Year 7 attendance and celebrate success by awarding a prize to the tutor group with the highest attendance.
We have lots of exciting activities planned for Year 7 over the next few weeks:
Inter-Tutor Quiz
Each tutor group will enter a team of four students to battle it out and see which tutor group has the best knowledge. There will be prizes for both the winning team and their tutor group!
Best Tutor Board Competition: The tutor boards are looking fantastic and it’s going to be a very close contest. A prize will be awarded to the tutor group with the most creative and impressive display.
This year, Year 7 will be supporting the Guide Dog Puppy Appeal, helping to train and care for future guide dogs who change lives.
Our first fundraiser will be a Bake Sale on Thursday 9 October. Cookies £1 each. All money raised will go directly to the charity.
We’ll also be running a fun “Guess the Name of the Puppy” competition!
Donate 50p to enter and try to guess the name.
The winner will receive a small soft cuddly guide dog puppy toy!
A big thank you to all the Year 7 students who supported the Year 6 Open Evening! A special shoutout to Sylvie, Arez, Eva, Aditya, China, Fredi, and Balqess, who confidently spoke in front of three packed audiences of new parents, carers, and children, sharing their journey so far at Cotham. Their courage and enthusiasm was truly inspiring!
Year 7's continue to show how brilliant they are with more shout outs from their teachers this week.
Ms Griffin shout out to 7KDwho have all completed their Science homework. With a little gentle encouragement the entire class have completed their Sparx science home learning - many well in advance of the deadline! Well Done 7KD.
Ms Lewis shout out to 7CGR: Well done to everyone this week for completing and making great efforts with your English Sparx Reader homework - house points to you all! Keep up the great work.
Ms Dawson shout out for 7SME. They consistently arrive on time, ready to learn. They have a fantastic attitude to learning and create a calm, respectful learning environment.
Ms Phillips shout out to 7DSE: Outstanding first term performances, with great teamwork. Well done!
Ms Jamshidi shoutout to 7FRA: Well done for your focus and engagement in our literacy lessons! I have been particularly impressed with how respectfully you participate in class discussions: you listen to each other carefully and are keen to share your thoughtful contributions. Great work!
On Tuesday, I popped into 7c/Te1 food lesson and they were busy making apple crumble. They were confident at using the knives and the finished crumble looked and smelt fantastic. Well done 7c/Te1!
Mrs Arnold
Year 7 Learning coordinator
In History, Year 8s are currently studying the causes and consequences of the English Reformation. In Geography they are exploring the causes and consequences of our warming planet. In Religious Studies Year 8 are looking at the impacts of Abrahamic faiths on modern society. In PSHE lessons they are learning about family relationships. Home learning across all subjects is a combination of Seneca, Knowledge Organiser revision and definition tests.
Year 8 have shown real maturity and respect to all the visitors we have had around school this week. Well done all!
This week, we are delighted to welcome five new students who have joined our year group. They have come to us from all around the world, bringing with them a wealth of experiences and perspectives that are already enriching our community. It has been wonderful to see how quickly they are settling in and the enthusiasm they bring to our year.
A heartfelt thank you goes to our buddies, who have shown such kindness and leadership in helping our new classmates feel at home. Your support and shining example are setting the tone for a warm, inclusive start to the year.
We look forward to seeing these new friendships grow and our year group continue to thrive together.
Hello, Mr Lawrence here with a quick update on Work Experience. It’s been brilliant to see more and more students contacting organisations and securing their placements.
A reminder that during the week of 18 May 2026, all Year 10 students should be out gaining valuable Work Experience. Our aim is for every student to take part, with support being given in morning registration and PSHE lessons.
Please do not hesitate to contact Mr Lawrence with any questions - lawrencet@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
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
Year 11 Parent Information Evening is being held on Wednesday 8 October between 5.00 pm and 6.15 pm. This is an in-person event for parents ONLY, taking place in the Main School Hall and will include presentations from Faculty Leaders of English, Maths, Science, Humanities and Modern Foreign Languages. The event is designed to talk you through how you can best support your child leading up to the mocks and summer examinations. You do not need to register. Please arrive for the event via the school’s Main Reception on Cotham Lawn Road from 4.45 pm for a 5 pm start. The Year 11 Parent Information Event Portal will also be launched on this evening.
Attendance to Period 6 has been excellent so far this year. Thank you for your support with this. Please note that Period 6 will be cancelled on Thursday 9 October due the the North Bristol Post-16 Open Evening taking place at Redland.
A huge congratulations to all Year 11 students who have shown outstanding confidence and passion in delivering their talks to the entire school this week for Black History Month assemblies.
Standing up in front of hundreds of students every day is no small feat, and each speaker spoke with genuine purpose and meaning. Well done to everyone involved!
We had a superb Open Evening on Thursday 2 October, showcasing the talents of staff and students alike at the North Bristol Post 16 Centre. As a thriving sixth form, we welcomed so many visitors on the evening. Thank you to all of our wonderful students and staff for their time and huge efforts on the evening. Thank you to all visiting students, parents and carers for your time, questions and enthusiasm for what we have to offer. We hope you enjoyed being here as much as we did!
To celebrate the start of Black History Month, Yr9 students made the famous West African dish Jollof Rice served with sweet, golden fried plantain. Students boiled, chopped, fried and even debated who had the best seasoning skills. Not only did everyone learn safe cooking techniques and teamwork, we also discovered how food can tell powerful cultural stories. Best of all, they get to share a tasty dish of history together! Fantastic work Year 9!
This week Year 12 have been challenging themselves to work at larger scales to develop their observational skills, using various mediums including inks and charcoal.
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.pdfWe are excited to announce that Delta has broken the school attendance record this week! This achievement highlights how well our students are prioritizing their health and wellness. By staying healthy and showing up every day, our Delta students prove that being well-rested and ready to learn makes all the difference. Congratulations to Delta on this impressive, healthy accomplishment!
Mrs Ahmad is running a competition for Sigma House students to design a new logo for our house. Try to use the colour green, include the word Sigma and, of course, our logo which is:
Strength In Truth, Power In Compassion
Upload your designs to Google Classroom, or feel free to drop them off to me in the Science Office.
I am looking forward to seeing your amazing designs. Remember that the winning design will be made into badges and be used all around school in displays
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
Please 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
'Pr-eye-D'
Meaning:
Feeling of deep satisfaction and happiness from your own achievements, or of someone close to you. (noun)
A sense of self worth and dignity (noun)
Example:
The theme for this year’s Black History Month is ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’
She smiled with pride as her little brother graduated.
Sharing family stories gave me a sense of pride in our identity.
Synonyms:
Pleasure, joy, delight, fulfilment
Dignity, honour self-esteem, self worth
'Pr-eye-D'
Meaning:
Feeling of deep satisfaction and happiness from your own achievements, or of someone close to you. (noun)
A sense of self worth and dignity (noun)
Example:
The theme for this year’s Black History Month is ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’
She smiled with pride as her little brother graduated.
Sharing family stories gave me a sense of pride in our identity.
Synonyms:
Pleasure, joy, delight, fulfilment
Dignity, honour self-esteem, self worth
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.pdf