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 8 September 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
I hope you are doing well. I am writing this email to thank you for the wonderful support you and your team has shown my son. We finished Cotham school with a lot of beautiful memories even though my son carried some worries in his early years at Cotham, you know what?? There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. My family and I are really going to miss Cotham. You are truly amazing.
Have a wonderful future and May God bless you and your family and everyone at Cotham.
Post 16 Parent
Thank you
We are delighted to invite you to our upcoming Open Evenings, a wonderful opportunity to experience our school community and learn more about what we offer.
Year 6-7 Main School - 25 September 2025
Cotham Post 16 - 2 October 2025
Redland Green P16 - 9 October 2025
Open Evenings - All.pdfThe School’s Open Evening for Year 6 parents and families will be held on Thursday 25 September between 17:30 - 19:30. As you will appreciate, this is one of the most important events in the school year and therefore the school will close early for students to help staff prepare.
The school day for students in Years 7-11 will end at 13:45. Any student eligible for a Free School Meal will be able to collect their meal during their usual lunch break.
Should any parent need the school to supervise their child beyond 13:45, please contact your child's Learning Coordinator (email addresses below) to let them know. Students remaining in school will be supervised in our library and will be able to work independently until 14:45.
Year 7: Ms Louise Arnold; arnoldl@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Year 8: Ms Diana Dickerson; dickersond@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Year 9: Mr Ollie Knight; knighto@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Year 10: Mr Travis Lawrence; lawrencet@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Year 11: Mr Henry Arnold; arnoldh@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
All Post 16 lessons will continue as normal until the end of Period 5. It will not be an early finish for students in Years 12/13.
We would also remind you that Friday 26 September is an INSET day and therefore will be closed to students.
Thank you for your continued support of the school and its work.
Dear Parents/Carers
This is an important update regarding our PE kit guidelines, effective for the 2025-2026 academic year.
From September 2025, all students will be required to wear the official Cotham School PE kit for all PE lessons. This includes the designated PE top, shorts/skort, and socks. Non-official items will no longer be permitted.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Best wishes
Mr Moody
Faculty Leader, PE
A reminder that the School Rail Season Ticket is now available to purchase through Wisepay and full details, including costs and the stations included, can be found in the attached letter.
While students and most staff enjoy a well-deserved break over the summer, the school itself remains a hive of activity. Many parents may be surprised to learn that Cotham School is far from closed during the six-week holiday period.
Throughout the summer, we welcome a range of external hirers who use our facilities for various activities. These include the Bristol Sport Foundation, Zebras Out of School Holiday Club, the Pauline Quirke Academy, and several other organisations that bring valuable opportunities to young people in our wider community.
In addition to this, the summer break is a crucial time for undertaking essential site and IT improvement projects. With students off-site, our Site and IT teams are able to complete larger-scale works that enhance the environment and infrastructure of the school.
All of this activity is carried out in line with our Estate’s vision: “To provide exceptional education in inviting, secure, and forward-looking learning spaces, fostering sustainability, innovation, and alignment with curriculum and strategic priorities.”
Over the summer, our team has been hard at work making sure our school is not only looking its best but also staying safe and welcoming for everyone. We're excited to share that Charnwood House is now equipped with a brand-new fire alarm system, and our Post 16 Study Café has a new fire shutter in place. This is just a few of the ways we're continuing to prioritise the safety of our school community.
We've also taken this opportunity to freshen things up across the site, with various maintenance and improvement projects. Some of our lighting has been upgraded to energy-efficient LEDs, brightening up learning spaces while also being kinder to the environment. You might also spot a few newly painted areas that have brought a lovely, refreshed feel to our school.
We’re so proud of these behind-the-scenes efforts to keep our learning environment safe, modern, and inspiring for all our students.
Parents and Carers of Year 7 and Year 8 students are warmly invited to attend a workshop on parenting in the digital age run by the inspiring Papaya Parents with Cotham staff in attendance.
Many parents are concerned about the impact of screens on their children’s mental health. In this interactive talk, Dr. Davies will unpack these complex issues in a non-judgmental way to help you find solutions that work for your family.
Please look out for an email with all the details.
To find our more about PAPAYA please visit.
Remember to enter the SUMMER READING COMPETITION. READ a book and then showcase either your writing or artistic skills! You can either write a SHORT REVIEW OF A BOOK you have read or DESIGN A NEW FRONT COVER of one of your favourite books.
Blank postcards are available to pick up from the library. PLEASE join in! Every student who enters will be added to the LIBRARY LUCKY DIP and there are £10 Vouchers for WINNERS. See information and rules below. The deadline is 3 OCTOBER 2025.
SUMMER READING POSTCARD SCREEN SHOTS FREE TASTER SESSION:
• Monday 29 September
• 5.00 pm -7.00 pm
• Cotham School
CUE theatre company newsletter advert 25 For our new Design & Technology design briefs, we are looking for donations of any type of glasses. These could be:
Reading glasses
Sunglasses
Fashion/style glasses
Even broken pairs
Every pair has value for our lessons, so nothing goes to waste!
If you have any to spare, please pass your donations to the visitor reception ort send them into school via your child to Mrs Brock and Mr Chinn.
Thank you for your support!
The forecast on Friday is sunny which means that the Marvel movie Black Panther which is being shown by the Hotwells & Cliftonwood Community Association at their Open Air Cinema is going ahead! It's in the Argyle Place Park in Cliftonwood, BS8 4RH. Please do come along and enjoy the film. Tickets £5 available from Eventbrite here.
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 Study Bugs 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 Study Bugs app, please contact or come to the school for assistance.
Please find the catering update and menu for this academic year below.
autumn 25 menu Cotham.pptxPlease find the Stationery Shop poster and pricelist attached below:
2025 STATIONERY SHOP PRICELIST.xlsxSTATIONERY SHOP AD POSTER.docxTo help manage traffic flow at the end of the school day, please remember the following parking rules:
If you arrive more than 30 minutes before pick-up, you must use a parking meter and take a ticket to park for that half-hour period.
This rule applies to all roads outside both secondary and primary schools in Bristol.
Please park only in proper parking bays and not in resident bays.
There is no on-site parking at the school. All off-site parking must follow the Cotham Residents Parking Scheme.
Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
It has been a pleasure to welcome our new Year 7 students to Cotham this week. They have made a fantastic start to the year, arriving each day looking smart in their uniform and settling quickly into the routines of secondary school life.
Throughout the week, students have spent time in their tutor bases, getting to know one another and forming new friendships. It’s been great to see how well they are engaging with each other and becoming part of the Cotham community.
There has already been a lot happening in these first few days — from a fire drill and CATs testing to being introduced to the Yondr pouches, and of course, starting new lessons with different subject teachers. Our Year 7s have taken all of this in stride, showing great enthusiasm and a real commitment to embracing secondary school life.
We look forward to seeing them continue to grow and thrive in the weeks ahead.
You are invited to our Meet the Tutor Evening at Cotham School on Tuesday 16 September from 5.00-6.00pm.
This is your chance to meet your child's tutor, ask questions, and connect with other parents in the tutor group. Your child's tutor will support them throughout their time at school, so we encourage you to attend.
We look forward to working with you to help your child reach their potential. Please arrive via the Cotham School Main Reception on Cotham Lawn Road.
If you have any questions or require further information please email Louise Arnold, Year 7 Learning Coordinator and Senior Learning Coordinator for Years 7-11, at: arnoldl@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
This meeting will be followed by a parent workshop at 6:15pm, and you will receive a separate letter with all the details.
Year 8 have made an excellent start to the year. They looked very smart on the first day and have engaged well with lessons. There were tutor activities on the first day and many of the tutor boards in tutor bases are looking very beautiful with the work that was done. Year 8 are setting an excellent example for the new Year 7s. Year 8 can feel like a sizeable step up from Year 7 as although the work is more interesting, it is also a little more complicated and there is a little more of it. The students are taking it in their stride. Well done Year 8, keep it up!
We would like to extend a huge welcome back to all of our Year 9 students. We hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable summer. Year 8 was hugely successful year and we have already recapped last year's successes with the students in our initial assembly.
We would also like to welcome Ms Kirsty Tuffley who joins Cotham as the Year 9 Year Team Assistant who will work closely with Mr Knight to oversee the year group and provide pastoral support.
A big welcome back as our students take the leap into Year 10! It feels like only yesterday they were settling into Year 9, and now here they are starting their GCSE journey with fresh energy and new challenges ahead.
Last year was full of highlights where we saw:
friendships growing stronger 💬
resilience shining through 💪
sporting success ⚽🏃
community involvement 🌍
fantastic extracurricular activity participation 🎭🎶
These achievements give us real confidence that Year 10 is going to be even bigger and better.
We know this stage brings more responsibility, but it is also full of opportunity. With your support and our guidance, we’re ready to help every student find their stride and thrive.
Here’s to a positive, exciting and successful year ahead! Thank you, as always, for everything you do. 🌟
The deadline for requesting a change to KS4 Pathway Option Subjects is Friday 26 September but please bear in mind that most courses are now full and all approvals will be subject to availability and meeting any subject requirements for the course. Please email: ks4pathways@cotham.bristol.org.uk.
Welcome back to Year 11! We are looking forward to a positive start and supporting all students as they settle into this important school year.
Year 11 Period 6 is an additional timetabled lesson for selected students. This will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays each week and will commence on Wednesday 17 September. Period 6 runs from 2.45-3.45pm. You will receive a letter next week if your child has been selected for this. More details to follow next week.
A fantastic week of Induction, welcoming our new Year 12 cohort and our returning Year 13s.
The Year 12s threw themselves into the induction process, experiencing a range of activities including IT, wellbeing, our school library, study hub and even speed friending.
Our Year 13s had a dedicated tutor session on UCAS and the importance of their upcoming 1:1 conversations with their tutors, as they embark on their most important year to date.
All in all, a great welcome and first day on Friday 5 September.
Year 8 have made a fantastic start to their practical lessons this term. They began by making a delicious shortbread using the "rubbing in" method and to build confidence when using the ovens safely. They have also been sharpening their knife skills by preparing fresh fruit salads, practising both the bridge hold and claw grip techniques. Along the way, they have been learning about the importance of using the correct chopping boards to ensure safe and hygienic food prep too - Great start Year 8!
You may have noticed on student timetables that some class codes for Maths lessons have changed from the previous numbered Maths sets. This is because for Year 9 and 10 this year we will have a hybrid setting system in Maths with some mixed ability groups for those students heading towards Foundation tier GCSE.
The Year 9 classes with codes ending W, X, Y and Z will all have similar ability ranges (effectively they are all equivalent to set 3s). The Year 10 classes below with codes ending W, X and Y will also all have similar ability ranges (effectively they are all equivalent to set 4s).
We are making this change to support students in making the best progress possible.
Hopefully, this clarifies things. Students can ask their Maths teacher if they have any further questions about this.
'Sig-nif-i-khant'
Meaning:
Being or causing something of importance (adjective)
Having meaning (adjective)
Example:
It was a small but significant victory, because it gave the team confidence that it could win.
She dreamt of eagles the night before the battle, which was considered significant by the leader.
We have to prepare for a significant drop in temperatures when camping.
Synonyms:
Important, notable, crucial, meaningful, momentous
'Opp-tih-MISS-tik'
Meaning:
Hopeful and confident about the future (adjective)
Example:
At the start of the school year I am optimistic about my future.
The writer ensures that the end of the film leaves the audience feeling optimistic.
So far, the experiments have provided optimistic results.
Synonyms:
Upbeat, cheery, positive, buoyant, encouraging
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.
Farhan Ahmed
Digital Strategy Lead
Email: AhmedF@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
Online_Saftey_Newsletter_Term 1_2025_26.pdf