19 January 2024

We want to share some incredible numbers from football training in the first week of term.

• 30 Year 7 students

• 35 Year 8 students

• 48 Year 9 students

• 45 Year 10/11 students

What a demonstration of effort and desire to improve! Well done to all who have taken part, the PE Faculty is so proud of students' commitment to our after school extra curricular activities!

A quick reminder of the Network Rail improvement work starting this Saturday 20 January until Sunday 28 January between Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare.

During this time buses will replace trains, except for at Bedminster and Parson Street, where customers can use local buses instead. Trains will still run between Weston and Taunton, and CrossCountry services between Bristol and Taunton will run on a diversion, adding around 45 minutes to journeys. 

More information is available on the dedicated webpage at https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/planned-engineering/bristol. 

Also, buses for Nailsea & Backwell will pick-up/drop-off at Backwelll Crossroads on the A370, and not at the railway station because of a low bridge. 

The event will take place between 3:45pm and 6:45pm and will be a live event.  

Parents and carers will have the opportunity to meet their child’s teachers for a 5 minute appointment. 
All appointments will take place in A Block and all parents should enter the school via our Visitor Reception Entrance on Cotham Lawn Road. 

Please visit https://cothamschool.schoolcloud.co.uk to book your appointments. Bookings will close on Tuesday 23 January 2024 at 6pm.

Monday 12 February - Wednesday 14 February

 10am - 4pm | Cotham School.

 £135

 Booking Form - https://forms.gle/csfBCHxxtYNxZMg49

Thank you to all parents and carers who have sent me a copy of their child's passport. If you have not done so, please can this be shared soon as possible so I can check expiry dates. Some October payments are still outstanding, please can these be paid. I will be sending out forms and more information at a later stage and we will have a parent information evening during term 5. Transport, accommodation and activities are now booked. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me via email: binghama@cotham.bristol.sch.uk

Vielen Dank. 

Anna Bingham

Faculty Leader for MFL

On Wednesday 17 January 2024 we have launched the Year 7 Photography Competition.

Details to follow.

Mr O Knight

Year 7 Learning Coordinator

Year 8 students can look forward to a trip to Ninja Warrior!!  Letters have gone out to parents already and the trip appeared on Wisepay on Wednesday 17 January 2024. Please ensure that payment, a signed letter (with ink) and the online waiver have been signed to be part of this fun, after school activity. If there are any problems with this, please get in touch with me.

Thank you to the Year 8 students who took the time to attend STRIDE after school on Tuesday, it is a privilege to be asked to show your work to the teachers and you should feel really proud of yourselves.

Well done for the whole of Year 8 for their hard work in their assessments over the last two weeks- I have had some very positive feedback from teachers letting me know how mature you were at completing them. 

Mrs B Buckley

Year 8 Learning Coordinator

Year 9 had a great turn out for the Keystage 4 pathways event last on Wednesday 17 January. Students will be given there login details in the coming days to start selecting there options for GCSE!

A Year 9 student from 9AWA was part of a victorious cotham chess team beating Clifton high school 6-0 in a recent tournament. This means Cotham will progress through to the next round of  ECF National Schools Chess Championship. 

Year 9 have seen great attendance to the school football team on Mondays with numbers of around 40 so far this term with 4 fixtures and a potential tournament coming up in the next few weeks the year 9 football team is looking strong. 

Mr D  Farmer

Year 9 Learning Coordinator

It was great to see so many parents and students attend our KS4 Pathways Launch Event. I sincerely hope that you found it both informative and useful.

If you did not manage to attend or would like some information about the subjects your child is interested in, please visit our KS4 pathways portal by clicking on this link here. This portal can also be accessed via the Cotham School Website Homepage which can be accessed here. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on KS4 Pathways Portal.

This portal contains the following:

• Introductory video of what was presented at the Launch Event

• Full KS4 Pathways Booklet - which lists the full range of subjects on offer and how these subjects are structured.

• Subject Videos - In this section, you will find a video about each of the Option Subjects so you can gain a better understanding of the subject and whether it is the right choice for your child.

• FAQs - this document provides you with a full list of frequently asked questions and their answers.

• Submitting Subject Preferences - this section provides with guidance on how to support your child in registering with SIMS Options Online and submitting their preferences.

All students will be shown how to access SIMS Options Online during their tutor times.

If you are experiencing any problems with SIMS Options Online, please complete this google form.

If you have further questions or queries, please can you email ks4pathways@cotham.bristol.sch.uk

Mrs  A Khan

Assistant Headteacher

KS4 Pathways Lead

Lots of positive shout outs for Year 10 students, well done Year 10.

Miss Powers: Shout out for Imad!

He's been working so hard recently, actively setting himself targets and seeking help in lessons. Even staying behind in lessons, of his own volition, to complete the work. I've noticed him working hard to stay focused and take his learning more seriously! 

Very impressed, big congratulations!

Mr Burfield: Shout out to Reye, Warren, Julia, Maida, Vismaya and Henry for good focus and work output in Geography. 

Mr Sebanna: I would like to give a shout out to Jayron and Nassim for their excellent effort and dedication which they demonstrated with the Year 7 football club. They clearly have the potential to become good coaches. 

Mrs Arnold gives a huge shout out to the Year 10 GCSE Food Science students. I had the pleasure of going along to their practical lesson on Wednesday and was so impressed by what they were cooking. It was a brunch they were developing and the level of products were outstanding. Adriel had made waffles and served them with fruit. Luca had made bread to serve with his brunch and it looked amazing as it came out of the oven. Maya had made her own croissants. Oscar had served Eggs benedict. Ned was making his own American pancakes. The smells and food all looked incredible, well done to all the Year10 students in the class.

Mr Worster: Drama Star of the week: Martha S for energy, focus and commitment.

Year 10 SELT

My name is Genevieve and recently I became a member of the Student Executive Leadership Team. This opportunity and responsibility involves a lot of leadership and teamwork, and how to effectively plan and carry out plans for events. My favourite part of SELT is the event planning and the responsibility that comes with it (for example staying after school to set up a year seven disco). Our group is amazing and we all get along brilliantly with each other which is an added bonus.

Spotlight on GCSE Geography 

Mr Worster: Year 10 Students, having just finished their Natural Hazards topic, are moving onto studying Living World this term. They are learning about small and large scale ecosystems, their distribution across the globe and the biodiversity of these environments. It's also an important opportunity to link back to the model of Global Atmospheric Circulation (studied as part of weather and climate hazards) and use this to describe why certain biomes (our largest ecosystems) are where they are. Later in the unit, students will study both Tropical Rainforests and Hot Deserts and will explore the structure of these biomes, the biodiversity within them, the challenges and opportunities within them and the threats to them.

Demario is studying GCSE Geography:  I chose Geography because it's fascinating to learn about our planet. I enjoy understanding different ecosystems like tropical rainforests, tundras, and savannas. Plus, it's exciting to explore why biodiversity is so abundant in certain areas. It's like a never-ending adventure!

Sooniya is studying Geography: So far in Year 10, we have studied natural hazards like tectonic plates and tropical storms, as well as looking at some case studies such as the 2011 earthquake in Japan. We've looked at extreme weather in the UK, which was interesting. Currently, we are studying the living world, which is really fascinating because we learn about hot deserts and tropical rainforests, which is going to be my favorite topic in geography so far! I chose to study GCSE geography because I was passionate about expanding my knowledge of the vast planet we live on and its natural surroundings.  

Year 10 Bingo, next week on Tuesday 23 January, 36 students will be eyes down for another fun filled afternoon of Bingo. This is a reward activity for year 10. 

Year 10 Work Experience Monday 13 May 2024 - Friday 17 May 2024

Please make sure you are checking Careers google classroom. Lots of updates and information on opportunities .

WEX forms need to be back by Friday 1 March 2024.

Drop in sessions with the careers team are on at break times B002 and lunch times B103 for support.

Mrs L Arnold

Year 9 Learning Coordinator

English Ms Papworth : well motivated, well focused  and sensible learner and now using terminology in his analysis. Hurrah! - George 

English Ms Papworth : well motivated, well focused  and sensible learner - Lois, Helenna, Safa, Bushra, Ayuub, Tazaim

English Ms Papworth :

• Making a comeback -  Macy 

• Continued resilience and getting the light bulb moment on essay writing - Mae 

• For being brilliant! - Amior 

• Neat note taking - Kyla 

Maths Ms Nolan : Working incredibly hard in maths - Layla, Ayesha, Nur, George, Bushra

MFL - Ms Rios :

• Being well motivated, focussed and sensible, supporting other peers in their integration to the school and working hard on his English - Quevin

• Excellent contributions in English! Asher 

• Consistently working hard in English Arfa 

Miss Dawson/Mr Mills PA : Completed two music components in one term - worked consistently hard.

Amior, Akanksha, Jing Ying, Giovanna, Jasper, Mohamed, Yasmin, Mosaab, Samir, Asher, Angus, Daijon, George Have joined a new PSHE groups and made an excelelnt start, following instructuions, contributing to the class well and completing all tasks set.

The following students have joined a new PSHE groups and made an excelelnt start, following instructuions, contributing to the class well and completing all tasks set:

Maryam, Sana-Habibah, Muzon, Lenny, Aland, Idrees, Mustafe

Mrs Brock:  IMEDIA - Just a lovely student to talk to friendly and happy - great work in IMEDIA - Rayshawn 

Mr King :  Fantastic effort and dedication in Maths - Maryam, Arfa, Yusra, Diego, Hamdi

Period 6 has now resumed this term. If your child has been selected for Period 6 then they have a sticker on the back of their lanyard detailing the days on which they have period 6. This is a compulsory timetabled lesson at the end of the school day and your child MUST attend if selected.

During these sessions, students receive guidance and preparation for their summer exams from their subject teachers. 

Please support us by checking when your child has period 6 and encouraging them to attend.

Your child has received a booklet from the workshop they attended this week. During the workshop, students understood how the brain and memory works. They then translated these into effective revision strategies and created a timetable for revision. Please ask your child to show you the timetable they created and it would be really beneficial to them if you could support them in sticking to the timetable. 

NHS – Healthcare Careers Event in Cotham School

Date: Wednesday 24 January 2024

Proposed timings: P4 & P5

As part of our partnership with the NHS, we are excited to be delivering a free in-person careers session themed arounds careers in healthcare: Healthcare professionals are visiting Cotham School to meet our Year 7 and Year 8 students to inspire and inform them about careers in the NHS. The NHS provides a diverse array of clinical and allied health professional roles from midwives and doctors to radiographers and dietitians. Students will have the opportunity to:

• Gain insight into a range of healthcare roles from local healthcare professionals.

• Learn about different pathways into healthcare roles from apprenticeships and technical qualifications to university.

• Interact with healthcare equipment and props used in these roles

• Ask the professionals questions during Q&A’s

Weston College are currently working in partnership with the Luke Wheaton Legacy Trust to organise a careers evening to be held at the North Bristol Rugby & Football Club on 24 January 2024 (4-7pm).  Luke Wheaton sadly lost his life in the tragic Avonmouth accident in 2020, whilst completing an apprenticeship. The Luke Wheaton Legacy Trust was set up by his parents and brother to celebrate his memory, and aims to support and encourage young people on their journey through life, through furthering their education outside the classroom, and developing skills. 

As a response to this,  we are inviting a select number of employers to attend the event in order to meet learners and their parents to discuss ‘live’  apprenticeship opportunities for 2024.  The evening will also have a rolling presentation about apprenticeships from our teaching faculty and participants and will be centred around Engineering, Construction and Digital. There will also be a presence from team who will be offering Information, Advice and Guidance to those needing support with applications, CV’s etc. 

The link below will take you to the booking page – where students are able to book a slot at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm and each slot will have a presentation and a chance to engage with the employers.  

https://www.weston.ac.uk/event/luke-wheaton-legacy-trust-apprenticeship-careers-open-evening

For your students aged 14-18 who may be considering careers in medicine, we've 2 courses coming up that may interest them.

• The first course is an online course, taking place every Monday evening in January from 7.30pm - 9.30pm. Students tune in to watch our doctors explain all about careers in medicine and work through some interesting medical cases with them. There's a free trial so students do not have to pay for the course unless they wish to continue into February - just visit www.theweeklysurgery.com and use code NEWYEAR to access for your free month.

• The second course takes place on the weekend between 16-18 February and is our popular in person course in London. Students can expect to shadow doctors and get hands on with some fantastic work experience complete with accommodation, meals and supervision. Students aged 14-18 from all over the UK attend to find out if medicine is for them and to provide some great work experience for applications and interviews. You can see all the details of that one here: www.premedprojects.co.uk/course/medicine-work-experience-day-event