Today in assembly, our junior leadership team launched the school values for the month of March - Learning and Effort.  The junior leaders did an excellent job talking through the expectations of the school values, and we had a number of children who were able to talk about their understanding of their learning and effort. Below is a copy of their presentation that you may wish to discuss with your child.

We had excellent examples for some children regarding this question.  

Eisteddfod 2026

There was much excitement in school on Monday for our annual Eisteddfod; we hope your child enjoyed.  Please click the link below to find out more about the Eisteddfod winners and view photos.

Eisteddfod 2026

Congratulations to Iona from year 6 who was Chaired the Bardd in our traditional Eisteddfod ceremony.  We are very grateful to Miss Carlyon who made the wonderful Druid outfits this year.

Lost Property

We have a large amount of lost property again. If your child has lost an item, please call into main reception and take a look at the rail.  Please can we remind you to label all clothing, water bottles and lunch boxes with your child's name.

We also have free uniform on our clothing rails, please do pop in and take a look at the rails.  We must offer a huge thank you to Miss Evans in our Admin team who ensures that the uniform is clean and presented on the rails. A thankless task, but we are really grateful Miss Evans.

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.

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 95.5%.  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 

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 Game

Today our year 6 netball team travelled to Penybont Primary to play a game against the school.

• Game 1 - 28 - 2 Player of the Match - Lottie

• Game 2 - 11 - 0 Player of the Match - Abigail

• Game 3 - 16 - 1 Player of the Match - Bette

Rugby Game

A glorious afternoon for a game of rugby today and a brisk walk to Penybont.  Oldcastle year 5 and 6s played extremely well, winning 14 tries to 4.

Thank you to the parents who came to support us. 

Netball Team Fundraising

Our years 5 and 6 netball teams are off to see the Cardiff Dragons Netball Team tonight following their fundraising efforts. We are delighted to report that they achieved their target and raised £735 which means they have fully funded their trip and the bus hire.!  Have a fantastic time tonight - we look forward to seeing your photos.

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 is  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. 

Kick Boxing Success

Well done to Ceinwen and Sonny for their success in kick boxing recently.

Surf Lifesaving Success

Well done Farley, on your success in the British Pool Championships 2026. You will need a big trophy cabinet!

Year 4 had interviews to be an assistant baker today!  The rolls smelled and looked amazing well done year 4.

Year 3 Willow Making

Sunday Afternoon Theatre Club Show

Please see leaflet below regarding a Sunday Afternoon Theatre Show.  We understand there are lots of Oldcastle pupils in the show from nursery right up to year 6 so they would love the support of anyone who would like to come and watch.

If you would like to purchase tickets please follow this link. https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/sunday-afternoon-theatre-club/e-jzvrrr

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!

• 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.