Welsh Week - Monday 23rd to Friday 27th February 

What an exciting week we have had for our Welsh Week.  Pupils had an opportunity to get creative with their Eisteddfod competition entries.   Children have also been celebrating all things Welsh and learning and performing Welsh songs and dances, developing Welsh artwork and generally immersing themselves in the  Welsh language and history.

Due to the weather this afternoon, we have postponed our Tri Dewi  physical activities till next week. 

Thank you to all our staff for providing such a lovely immersive week for our children to celebrate all things Welsh.  There has been a lot of excitement in classrooms, corridors and halls.  

Thank you to Mrs Evans, Mrs Williams, Mrs Roberts and Miss Walters for creating an engaging Welsh Week for 2026.

Thank you to Ms Carlyon for creating some amazing Druid costumes for our annual Eisteddfod event - we can't wait to see these on Monday for our Eisteddfod celebrations.

Song Performance

The school was alive with the sound of music on Wednesday afternoon as children in years 3 to 6 performed with their house colour.  Each house sang a beautiful rendition of Calon Lan for the Song Performance category in our Eisteddfod.  We were very lucky to have Bridgend Male Choir member, Mr Russell Lewis, attend to judge the performances - we will find out who the winning house team were on Monday in our Eisteddfod!  

Year 5 have recorded a lovely rendition of the Welsh National Anthem - we hope you enjoy.

Welsh Cakes

On Thursday, every child in the school was able to enjoy a freshly cooked Welsh cake!  Children were able to mould dough and create a special Welsh cake just for them.  The event wouldn't have happened had it not been for the dedication of Mrs Evans, Mrs Williams and Mrs Loughran, who created the dough and cooked over 400 Welsh cakes!  The school smelled amazing too!

Y Darllenydd Cudd  / Masked Singer Competition

Children and staff have been so excited by the Masked Singer competition - every day we have been trying to identify who is behind the mask. We are now down to 3 staff members and we will find out who our winner is on Monday. Thank you to all our staff who have taken part in the competition. A huge thank you must go to Miss Tompkinson who has pulled all the videos together to provide an exciting competition. 

So far the children and staff have managed to identify and reveal the following :

• Nigel Owens - Miss Davies

• Catherine Zeta Jones - Mrs Roberts

• Michael Sheen - Miss Ledwell

• Lewis Rees-Zammit - Mrs Vanderbrink

• Sam Jones - Mrs Whiteley

• Bronwen Lewis - Miss Craven

• Sam Warburton - Mrs Baldwin

• Shirley Bassey - Miss Ellet

• Max Boyce - Mrs Martin

• Dewi Lake - Mrs Williams

• Nessa Jenkins - Miss Vaughan

• Luke Evans - Miss Pearsall

• Eye Myles - Miss Walters

On Monday we will reveal the winner from Tom Jones, Gareth Bale and Richard Burton. There will be so much excitement when we finally reveal who is behind the mask!

Book Looks

Thank you to all the parents and carers who came into school on Thursday afternoon to see your child's school books.  We hope you found the visit useful to understand what your child is learning.  

Parent evenings will be held the week beginning 13th April, and appointments will be sent out via our website shortly.

Shaping the Future of Oldcastle - Parents Working Party

At Oldcastle, we are always looking for ways to improve our pupils' experience and education. We are currently embarking on an exciting project to revamp our school curriculum, and we want to ensure that the parent voice is at its very heart.

To do this effectively, we are forming a Parent Working Party.

What is a Working Party?

This isn’t a formal committee or a long-term commitment. It is a collaborative group where parents and staff sit down together to review our ideas, ask the "tough questions," and ensure that what we are building works for our entire school community.

We Need You!

Our goal is to have a truly representative group. We are looking for at least two parent representatives from each class to join us. No prior experience or "expert" knowledge is needed, just a passion for your child’s education and a willingness to share your thoughts.

• Time Commitment: One-hour meetings over the next half term

• Date of First Meeting: 12th March 2026. 4 pm- 5 pm

• Location: Oldcastle School

How to Join

If you would like to represent your child’s class, please click the link below or pop into the school office by Tuesday, 9th March

Working Party Sign Up Form

We are really excited to collaborate with you and make our changes a huge success for the children.

PTA Meeting

The PTA held a meeting today and we are delighted to welcome Kathryn Greenway as Treasurer to the Oldcastle PTA.  The team discussed various events that they plan to arrange over the coming months and we look forward to sharing these with you shortly.

PTA Bridgend Community Lottery

The PTA are delighted to be part of the Bridgend Community Lottery scheme. Please take a look at the information below and click on the link to purchase tickets. Tickets are only £1 per week and for every ticket you play 78.2% goes to good causes and prizes. 

Oldcastle PTA Community Lottery

School Catering

The following special menu will be in place for St David's Day. 

SHINE Emotional Support

We are inviting parents to attend a SHINE workshop for parents on 10th March between 9am and 10.30am.  Parents need to book onto the session via this form.  SHINE Google Form.

More information on SHINE can be found on our website via this link.  Parent Version - Introducing Shine Leaflet 

Attendance

We are committed to promoting good attendance at school and have a target of whole school attendance of 95%.  This week's attendance was 95%.  For more information on the importance of good attendance and how we manage attendance as a school, please look at our website.  Attendance | Oldcastle Primary School 

Wear Red for Velindre - Friday 27th February

The Wear Red for Velindre campaign is an annual event aimed at raising awareness and funds for cancer services in Wales. On Friday 27th February, children and staff will be able to wear red to show their support. We will also be accepting donations on behalf of the Velindre Cancer Charity.  By participating, you help ensure that Velindre continues to provide vital support to patients and their families.  Thank you for your support we are delighted to have raised over £290 for the charity. You can also donate to the Velindre charity here.

Schools Cross Country  - Years 3 to 6 

The Schools Cross Country competition will start back on Saturday, 14th March and will take place at Porthcawl Comprehensive. The event is open to all children in years 3 to 6.  Children and parents should meet at the venue at 9.30am for a 10am start.  School staff will be in attendance to coordinate the events. Please note no dogs are allowed on site. 

Netball Team Fundraising

Our years 5 and 6 netball teams have been fundraising hard over the last few months to raise money to enable them to attend a Dragons Netball Game in the House of Sport in Cardiff.  We are delighted to report that they are very nearly at their target amount!  The year 5 team are, hoping you can support them when they hold a cake sale after school on Monday 2nd March.  All money raised will go towards the bus cost and entrance tickets.

T-Shirt Sponsor - Thank You

Thank you to the following companies who have provided sponsorship towards the t-shirts for our year 6 children to wear during the preparation of their end-of-year production - Psychedelic Cinderella. We are grateful for the support of Enchanted Adventures and Merthyr Mawr Honey.

Community Food Pantry

The food pantry has been restocked this week and will be restocked every week on a Monday. We invite parents and carers to pop in and fill a bag with 15 items for £5.  The food pantry is available to everyone and we hope that you can make use of the items.  Why not pop in and take a look at the type of items available in the pantry.  At Oldcastle Primary School, we are proud to support our community through our food pantry, which currently has plenty of food available for families who need it. If you or someone you know could benefit from this resource, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us privately. Together, we can ensure no one in our school family goes hungry. 

Community Room

We invite parents and carers to make use of our Community Room and enjoy a cuppa and a chat.  Why not call in after the morning school run or before the pick up and get together with other parents and enjoy a cuppa. We hope you can enjoy this warm space to get together with friends or meet new people.

Contact details - Have any details changed?

Please ensure we have up to date contact details for you to make sure you keep up to date with school news and we are able to contact you during the school day if required.  You can either email us with change of details (ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk) or complete the change of details form.   We will use email and our School App to send messages to parents about activities or events.

Nut Free School

Please can we remind parents that we strive to be a nut free school as we have a number of pupils who have a severe allergy to nuts.  

This includes nut products such as peanut butter and nutella. 

• September - Respect and Responsibility 

• October - Compassion and Hope 

• November - Friendship and Forgiveness 

• December - Understanding and Patience

• January - Determination and Perseverance

• February - Honesty and Trust 

• March -Learning and Effort 

• April - Community and Service 

• May - Co-operation and being a good citizen within society

• June- Showing Gratitude and Care and Generosity

• July - Taking and managing risks 

At Oldcastle, we are proud of each other and ourselves. We nurture all of our community so that we grow as confident, responsible and happy people. Oldcastle school is more than just learning.

• We try hard for each other

• We act responsibly

• We treat people how we’d like to be treated

• We work as a team

• We trust and respect each other

• We listen and learn together

• We share knowledge and experience

Together we make the difference

Together we shape innovative experiences 

More information on our values and visions can be found on our website.  Visions and Values

We love to hear about all of the exciting achievements of our pupils during out of school activities. Please share any successes with us at ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk and include a photograph and details of the achievement to be included in future newsletters. 

Year 3 loved making their Welsh cakes and all things Welsh this week.

Year 2 created some amazing entries for their Eisteddfod art entries.

More Welsh Cakes!

Toddler Group

At Oldcastle Primary School, we’re delighted to offer a welcoming toddler group designed especially for our babies, toddlers and and their families. Each week, little ones enjoy engaging activities that promote early development, social skills, and fun exploration in a safe, nurturing environment.

We invite parents and carers to join us and be part of this wonderful community experience. Let’s grow and learn together!

This week, Toddlers had lots of fun learning about Chinese New Year and tasting some sample foods.  The children also created some lovely daffodils for our Welsh Week.

Girls Football - Spaces Available

• Girls U7’s (Year 2) (Space) training sessions will be on a Friday evening from 17:00 - 18:00 Indoor Sports Hall Brynteg Comprehensive School, Ewenny Rd, Bridgend, CF31 3LE.

• Girls U8’s (Year 3) (Space) training sessions will be on a Friday evening from 17:00 - 18:00 Indoor Sports Hall Brynteg Comprehensive School, Ewenny Rd, Bridgend, CF31 3LE.

• Girls U9's (Year 4) (Spaces are very limited) training sessions will be on a Wednesday evening from 18:00-19:00 Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School Oak Tree Way, Brackla, Bridgend, South Wales, CF35 2DN

• Girls U10's (Year 5) (Spaces are very limited) training sessions will be on a Wednesday evening from 18:00-19:00 Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School Oak Tree Way, Brackla, Bridgend, South Wales, CF35 2DN 

Easter Holiday Clubs

Adult Indoor Fitness Class

• 2nd March - Eisteddfod

• 13th March - Inset Day

• 25th to 27th March - Year 6 Residential

• 27th March - Term Ends

• 30th March to 10th April - Easter Holidays

• 13th to 15th April - Parents' Evenings

• 4th May - Bank Holiday

• 15th May - Years 1 to 6 Sports Day

• 21st May - Nursery and Reception Sports Day

• 22nd May - Inset Day

• 25th to 29th May - Half Term

• 9th June - Class and Team Photos

• 15th June - Careers Week

• 20th June - Oldcastle Rocks

Inset Days for 2025 / 2026

The inset days for 2025 / 26 have been approved by school governors and these are as follows:

• Monday 1st September 2025 

• Friday 21st November 2025

• Monday 5th January 2026

• Friday 13th March 2026

• Friday 22nd May 2026

• Monday 20th July 2026

Health and Wellbeing / PE Days for 2025/26

PE will take place on the following day for each year group.  Children should attend school in their PE kit on their allocated day.

• Nursery - Thursday

• Reception - Monday

• Year 1 - Tuesday

• Year 2 - Thursday

• Year 3 - Wednesday

• Year 4 - Monday

• Year 5 - Tuesday

• Year 6 - Friday

In the event that you have a concern regarding a child please follow this procedure:

• During school hours please contact Mrs Ceri Littlewood, safeguarding lead at Oldcastle Primary School.

• Out of school hours please  contact  the  out of hours Emergency Duty Team Tel No 01443743665

More information on Safeguarding at Oldcastle can be found on our website.