10 November 2023

Standing Items are now located at the bottom of the mailing. 

Student Executive Leadership Team (SELT)

Our Student Leaders met with Ms Butler for a Headteachers brunch with lots of really tasty food! It was a wonderful opportunity for your newly elected SELT members to begin to share their ideas about how to improve our school. Another meeting will be happening very soon so keep an eye out in notices and on google classroom. Thank you to our prefects for serving too!

Promoting Strong Attendance During the Autumn Term - Is My Child Too ill for School? 

It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school, when they are unwell.  Please follow the link to refer to the NHS website.  There are government guidelines for schools and nurseries about managing specific infectious diseases at GOV.UK. These say when children should be kept off school and when they should attend.  

Cotham Interhouse Sportshall Athletics

During the last week of Term 1 all PE classes were involved in the Cotham Interhouse Sportshall Athletics. Please see below overall House & Year positions. The event consists of a mixture of track and field events and finishes with relays. Students were great at working together as a team ensuring an inclusive and positive atmosphere. Some amazing performances throughout the week.

The PE team will now be selecting students to take part in the Bristol Schools Sportshall Athletics Competition which are taking place for  Year 7 and 8 on Wednesday 15 November. 

A special thanks to our Year 10 Sports Leaders who helped organise and run the inter house on the week. 

Overall House Positions

1st place Gamma

2nd Place Omega 

3rd Place Delta 

4th Place Sigma

Year positions

Year 7

1st -Omega 

2nd -Delta 

3rd -Gamma 

4th - Sigma 

Year 8

1st -Delta 

2nd - Sigma 

3rd - Omega 

4th - Gamma 

Year 9

1st -Sigma 

2nd -Gamma 

3rd -Delta 

4th -Omega

Year 10

1st -Gamma 

2nd - Omega

3rd -Delta 

4th- Sigma 

Year 11

1st -Gamma

2nd - Omega

3rd -Delta
4th - Sigma  

Art DT (3D- Product Design) GCSE and A Level 

Important communication has been sent home to parents and carers of Year 11 or Year 13 ART/Photography/Design Technology students who received results in August 2023.

The communication is with regards to the collection of practical work on two set dates.  Please check inboxes and complete the Google Form.

Mrs Brock - Faculty Leader for STEAM Faculty

Year 8 

Welcome back to all of the Year 8 students, you seem to have had a restful break and have come back with a run in your step!  

I am excited as the rest of the football teams played last week and  we can now start the semi finals!

We are also looking at some trips for students who show persistently brilliant behaviour as well as another trip for attendance. I will let you know more information when I know exactly when it is.

Good job Year 8, keep going!

Ms Buckley - Learning Coordinator 

Year 9 

Year 9 5 Aside semi finals will take place tomorrow we have had 12 teams enter and just 4 remain.  

Next week Year 9 students will take part in the Flying start engineering challenge. Where students will be challenged to design gliders from recycling collected from home.

Mr Farmer - Learning Co-ordinator

Year 9 - Senior Executive Leadership Team

This week the Year 9 SELT have been working with members of the Senior Leadership Team to design a culture and ethos questionnaire.  This questionnaire will be circulated across Year 9. It is hoped that the questionnaire will allow the students themselves to shape the direction that the school is taking in regards to reinforcing high expectations and maintaining a harmonious inclusive learning environment.

Mr Dunkley - Assistant Head Teacher

Year 10 Parents' Evening

The Year 10 Parents' Evening is an in person event taking place on Thursday 5 October between 3:45 pm and 6:45pm.

Appointment Details

Parents and carers will have the opportunity to meet their child’s subject teachers for a 5 minute appointment. All appointments will take place in A Block and all parents should enter the school via our visitor entrance on Cotham Lawn Road. Please note there is no parking on site. To park in a residents’ parking scheme area during its hours of operation you’ll need to have a valid pay and display session.

Booking Appointments

Please visit https://cothamschool.schoolcloud.co.uk to book your appointments.

Year 10 - Student Executive Leadership Team (SELT)

The Year 10 Student Executive Leadership Team (SELT) have chosen their charity. We will be supporting St Peters Hospice. We have received a lovely email from them, thanking us for choosing them. Look out for more information on our fundraising events planned for the next few months.

Year 10 SELT have organised a Year 7 football tournament, Year 7 students have signed up for their tutor teams and the first game was on Monday 6 November at lunch time 7RBI v 7HMI. Excitement grew as the game ended in a draw and a penalty shootout was needed to see who would go through to the knockout rounds, well done 7RBI who are through to the knockout rounds. The Year 10 leaders will support the Year 7 students throughout the tournament. 

Mrs Arnold - Learning Coordinator

Year 10 - News

Congratulations to 10LBE who were the overall winners of the Rugby World Cup with South Africa. We celebrated their win in our assembly and they were awarded a World Cup Rugby ball and chocolates to share at tutor time.

Mrs Arnold  - Learning Coordinator

Year 11 - Parent Information Event

The Year 11 Parent Information Event is now live on the school website under the Parents/Carers section titled 'Parent Information Events'. Please click on the Year 11 site. Here is a link to the site.

This site will give you valuable information and resources about the Year 11 subjects your child is studying and how you can support them through upcoming examinations. We hope you find it useful.

Year 11 - In Year Mock Examinations Preparation Booklets 

All year groups will experience mock examinations at some point during the course of the academic year to consolidate their learning over time. Four weeks prior to in-year mock examinations all Students and Parents will receive an examination preparation booklet. This provides key information about the structure and duration of assessments as well resources to support your child’s revision.

The next upcoming mock examination is the Year 11 In Class Mock Examinations from Monday 6 November to Friday 17 November.  2023/24 Year 11 In Class Mock Exams  - Student and Parent Preparation Booklet

Students who are interested in pursuing a career in STEM, engineering, manufacturing, apprenticeships, technology, sustainability

Recruitment for GKN 2024 intake of Apprentices is now open for applications with opportunities for Production, Technician, and Degree Apprenticeships. 

Production Apprentice  -  Production Apprentice - GKN Careers (gknaerospace.com)

Technical Support Technician  -   Technical Support Technician Apprentice - GKN Careers (gknaerospace.com)

Maintenance Technician -   Maintenance Technician Apprentice - GKN Careers (gknaerospace.com)

Degree Apprentice  -   Aerospace Degree Apprentice - GKN Careers (gknaerospace.com)

The closing date for applications is Friday 23 February 2024

ALSO  - Apprentice Information Open Evening on Thursday 8 February;  this event is to give potential applicants the opportunity to discuss the programme with the training team, as well as existing Apprentices.

The Open Evening will take place: 

Thursday 8 February at 16:00  – 19:00

GKN Aerospace Global Technology Centre,

Taurus Road, Patchway, BS34 6FB

Student Absence - Reminder

Notifying the school of student absence - all info can be found on the  School website 

Parents and carers can report student absence in 3 ways.

Parents and carers can either:

- complete the absence form on school website

- email the attendance absence email at absence@cotham.bristol.sch.uk (Year 7-11) or  p16absence@cotham.bristol.sch.uk (Year 12 and 13)

- telephone the attendance absence line on 0117 919 8000