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 15 September 2024 is Week A
Standing Items are located at the bottom of the mailing
Dear Parents and Carers,
Good afternoon! This week has been fantastic at school. Students are settling in well, and it's been a hugely positive week overall.
Please find below our weekly mailing information which I hope you will find both useful and an interesting read.
With very best wishes for a relaxing weekend.
Kindest regards,
Ms Jo Butler, Headteacher
We warmly invite all prospective parents and carers to our Open Evenings. Please keep an eye on our website for the timings to be published.
Main School: Wednesday 25 September 2024
Cotham Post 16: Thursday 10 October
If you are reporting the absence of your child, you must notify attendance on a daily basis. Please fill out the Year 7 - 11 absence form which is on our website. Absence must be reported by 9.00am, otherwise it will result in an absence message still being sent home. If there is no response to the message, a follow up letter requesting reason for absence will be sent home.
There is still time to enter the Summer Reading Postcard Competition. The deadline for entries is Tuesday 1.10.24. Prizes for best designs and reviews £10 Amazon vouchers. Please see the attached for all the information you need.
2024 Summer Postcard Competition Weekly MailPlease see the Enrichment activity timetable attached as there have been slight changes which needs your kind attention.
Download link to Extracurricular Timetable:
Piano Lessons at Cotham
We have a fantastic opportunity to offer piano and keyboard lessons to Years 7 and 8 on our lovely 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. Limited space availability for next term.
For more details and to book a free taster lesson please contact her directly at
This week Year 10 demonstrated this terms value of respect achieving 122 house points for showing respect a great start to the academic year.
Football lovers in Year 10 will be excited as our inter year five-a-side tournament starts up next week. Each tutor will enter two teams who will compete to see who the best footballing tutor group is!
Finally this week's assembly focused on teaching and learning and encouraged students to stretch their knowledge and strive for greater depth of understanding.
If your child would like to change their option subjects then all requests will need to be made by the parent to ks4pathways@cotham.bristol.sch.uk
The deadline for any changes to be processed is Friday 27.09.24. We will not be able to process any changes after this date. Please also be aware that many subjects are now full and all requests are subject to spaces on the course and whether your child meets the entry requirements for that subject.
Year 11 have had a good first week back. They have settled into their new timetables and I have popped along to some lessons and I was proud to see them all engaged in learning.
To see a whole corridor of Year11 English lessons so settled was incredible. Well done Year 11.
They also went along to the Sports Fayre to see what after school clubs were available to them this year. Thank you to the Year 11 Sports leaders who supported the event.
Year 11 Prom is not organised by Cotham School. A parent committee is needed to organise and oversee the Prom. If you would like to be part of the parent committee, please communicate between yourselves and your children to form it.
Once the committee has been formed please contact Mrs Arnold.
11Y/Ee1 have had an amazing start to their engineering coursework this week. Well done on a super focused and productive launch of unit 1!
Year 11 - Period 6 starts on Tuesday 17.09.24 for Year 11 students. If your child has been selected for period 6, you will have received a letter today. Please ignore this letter and an updated letter will be sent to you on Monday 16.09.24 as some necessary changes had to be made to the Period 6 timetable. We are sorry for this inconvenience.
Many thanks
Mrs A Khan
We have loved having such a busy building this week and have been impressed with the levels of maturity and motivation displayed by all of our young people both new and returning!
If your young person was previously entitled to Free School Meals and / or if your household income is less than £25000, they will be entitled to access the Post 16 Bursary. Bursary application packs can be picked up from P16 Student Reception. A reminder that Year 13s who were entitled to bursary last year will need to sign a 'continued eligibility form' to continue their payments this year.
Our new Year 12 students have continued their art work through the Summer, practicing in various mediums, styles and techniques. Looks like they are off to a great start!
'Em-fuh-syz'
Meaning:
To make something very clear and obvious (verb).
To give special importance to something (verb).
To use your voice to draw attention to a word when speaking (verb).
Example:
The writer emphasises the villain’s selfish traits.
The dentist emphasised the importance of brushing teeth twice a day.
She emphasised the words when she spoke.
Synonym:
Highlight, stress, draw attention to…
'Verr-uh-fy'
Meaning:
To make sure or demonstrate that something is true or accurate (verb).
Example:
Can you verify that his statement is true.
Journalists should verify their articles before they are printed.
Synonym:
Confirm, prove, support…
Video calls are a very popular way in which people connect with each other, this could be using Facetime on an iPhone, video calling in WhatsApp or perhaps livestreaming on social media as an example.
You should talk to your child about who they chat with and what they are sharing when they do. As with all apps and websites that your child accesses, make sure they know how to use any reporting tools and they know how to block other users if necessary.
It is important that your child is aware that what they say and do whilst video chatting can be recorded and shared later without their knowledge. Additionally, ensure your child understands that they must say no if they are asked to do anything that makes them feel uncomfortable and they should speak to a trusted adult when they have any concerns.
Childnet have written this blog to help you learn more about video chat and webcams. It also contains tips on how to manage risks whilst online:
Link to the full article: Link
