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July 2025

As we reach the end of the school year, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all staff, families and the pupils themselves for your continued efforts and commitment to the school. It has been a hugely successful and enjoyable year as a result of the incredible team spirit and strong relationships that exist across our school community.

On a personal note, you will be aware that my secondment as acting headteacher comes to an end today. It has been an honour and a privilege to lead this wonderful school. I will reflect very fondly on the past four academic years and take great pride in what we have been able to achieve together.

The staff team here are like no other. They go above and beyond on a daily basis to ensure our children receive the best possible educational experience and care. This is epitomised in our school motto... Working together for each and every child.

Finally, I would like to give a special mention to Mrs Middleton, Mrs Maund and the wider leadership team. Their support and commitment has been outstanding. They are tremendously talented and work incredibly hard for this school community and I have been indebted to them.

I'd like to wish everybody a happy and healthy summer break and a special good luck and best wishes to the staff and pupils who are leaving us today for a new chapter. Keep in touch - you will always be a part of the PPS family.

See you on Wednesday 3rd September 2025 for the start of the autumn term.

Mr Raymond

Staffing updates

Dr Sarjeant returns

Dear Parents/Carers,

I am writing to let you know that I will be returning to my post as Headteacher on 22nd July. I am very much looking forward to rejoining the school and reconnecting with the children, families, staff, governors and wider community.

Since November 2021, I have been seconded to the Welsh Government as a professional advisor, supporting the development of Community Focused Schools. It has been a privilege to take some time away, and I am incredibly grateful for the support and understanding shown during my absence. I have learned a great deal and am excited to build on the developments that have taken place in school.

I would like to thank Mr Raymond, Mrs Middleton, Mrs Maund, and all the amazing staff who have stepped up during my absence. Their dedication and leadership have been outstanding, and I want to reassure you that they will be remaining at the school, returning to their substantive posts. We are very fortunate to have such a strong and committed team.

Thank you for your continued support. I look forward to seeing you all in September and getting to know you better.

Kind regards,

Dr Sarjeant

Thank you and good luck

miss conlon & miss woodbridgE

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Miss Conlon and Miss Woodbridge as their time with us comes to an end. Both have been assets to the school and have worked extremely hard to provide their classes with excellent learning opportunities. We wish them both all the very best for their next chapters.

summer reading challenge

Thank you to Rob from Pencoed Library who came to our school assembly to introduce this year's Summer Reading Challenge. It would be amazing if ALL of our pupils could sign up to take part. The challenge involves reading just 6 books over the holidays. Pupils will then receive a certificate and medal. There are also lots of free events taking place at the library over the summer, so why not pop along?

Please see the timetable of activities. The library are also running an event during the afternoon of Wednesday 13th August in conjunction with Bridgend Carers. It will be their first event that will be exclusively for neurodiverse children and their parents/carers. Parents/carers can pop into the library or contact them on 01656 754840 for more information.

School news

pps summer festival 2025

The PPS Summer Festival was a fantastic celebration of community spirit, creativity, and generosity, as the Pencoed Community came together to raise funds for our school. Under the blazing summer sun, families, friends, and supporters gathered to enjoy a vibrant day filled with joy and entertainment.

One of the festival’s biggest highlights was the incredible talent showcased on the events stage. Our pupils truly shone, with performances from our gifted musicians, expressive linguists, soulful singers, clever magicians, and hilarious comedians. Their energy and enthusiasm lit up the day and made us all proud!

A huge thank you goes to Miss Hill and the dedicated Festival Planning Committee, whose hard work in the lead-up to the event ensured a wide variety of stalls and activities for everyone to enjoy. Miss Hill also created the wonderful medals for the pupil fun run, which was co-ordinated well by Mrs Jenkins' class! Da iawn pawb!

We’re also deeply grateful to the staff and parents who lent their time and effort to help with preparations and the all-important clean-up afterwards.

A special mention of heartfelt gratitude goes to Mrs. Halse, who went above and beyond in every way—gathering prizes, organising equipment, securing acts, and so much more.

Finally, thank you to our generous school community for your donations, for buying raffle tickets, and for showing up in such great numbers despite the heat. Your support made this event not only possible but unforgettable.

well done anthony

Anthony completes mammoth 127km challenge!

Anthony Howells completed his mammoth ultra trail run last Friday / Saturday in unprecedented heat! Anthony had ran for 25 hours totalling 129.8km by the time he arrived back at school at 5.45pm on the Saturday afternoon. This incredible feat has seen Anthony raise over £1500 (so far!) for the school. We can't thank him enough for this awe-inspiring effort! To donate, please click on the link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/anthonyhowells?utm_term=zewwkV4e7&utm_medium=FA&utm_source=CL

lower school summer disco

Lower School pupils enjoyed their summer disco recently. There was plenty to do including summer colourings, glitter tattoos, nail painting and of course lots and lots of dancing. Lower School have some great dance moves! Thank you to staff who stayed on to help supervise and organise the event.

lower school carnival

As part of their exciting "Carnival" topic, Lower School children embraced the samba spirit by designing and creating vibrant carnival collars and masks. The celebration culminated in a joyful showcase of talent, featuring everything from rapping and drumming to singing and dancing. It was a delight to witness their creativity and confidence shine on stage!

Tarmac visit

Our Sunbeams, Little Stars, Stargazers and year 1 pupils had a special visit where they learned all about road safety and the fascinating world of tarmac! They discovered what tarmac is, what it’s used for, and why it's so important for our roads.

Dressed in high-vis jackets, the children got the exciting chance to sit inside a real tarmac van—definitely a highlight of the day!

To top it all off, every child received a tarmac-themed goody bag, complete with a cap and keyring. There were big smiles all around—they absolutely loved it!

Thank you to Mrs Foster for organising the visit!

nursery graduation 2025

Mrs Roberts and the Nursery team were proud of all the pupils during the graduation ceremonies! It was delightful to see so many parents/carers attending to help make the graduation caps! Our Nursery pupils are suddenly looking very grown up!

llangrannog - y5 residential

Well done to the 58 year 5 pupils who attended the residential trip to Llangrannog recently. The lovely weather helped them enjoy a very busy 3 days, experiencing lots of different activities including go-karting, skiing, quad biking, high and low ropes, tobogganing, bush craft and the infamous jump bag! The pupils did PPS proud showing resilience, cooperation and excellent behaviour throughout.

Thank you to the staff who gave up their own time to accompany the pupils!

year 6 cinema trip

As a special treat to celebrate the end of their time at primary school, our year 6 pupils enjoyed a fantastic trip to the cinema! This memorable outing was a way to wish them the very best of luck as they prepare to move on to comprehensive school. Before the big day, pupils were given the chance to vote for the film they wanted to see—and the clear winner was Minecraft! The excitement was high, and the film didn’t disappoint. A huge thank you goes to Mrs. Pullen for organising the trip.

year 6 end of year award ceremony

Congratulations to our year 6 award winners! The award ceremony is a longstanding tradition at Pencoed Primary, with many of the awards donated to the school either by past staff members or in memory of people with a sentimental connection to us. The awards range from celebrations of music, sport, kindness and overall academic effort. Well done to our worthy winners!

Sadly, we are saying goodbye to 79 year 6 pupils this year. We wish them all the very best as they embark on the next step of their school journey. We hope they will look back fondly on their years at PPS!

music award

joy parish award

Billy gardner award

rob lewis award

peter tuhey Star

attendance award

Year 6 Stargazers

Mrs Jenkins and her year 6 pupils enjoyed receiving their class awards in front of parents/carers. Thank you to Miss Hill for creating the special trophies.

year 6 leavers show

It was an emotional start to the day yesterday when we welcomed parents/carers to watch the year 6 'Leavers Assembly'. The pupils performed brilliantly, and it was an honour to see how they have flourished throughout their time at PPS! Definitely some budding actors and actresses among this cohort! A huge thank you to all the year 6 staff who have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure the pupils put on such a fantastic show! Da iawn pawb!

pupil news

Congratulations to Josie in year 1 who won a trophy for Fusion Gymnastics Club Champion 2025. Da iawn.

Congratulations to Coby in year 5 for an excellent year of sporting success and for winning player of the year in the recent Pencoed presentation.

Congratulations to Evie who recently came third in a surf life saving competition. She competed in the beach relay race and excelled! Da iawn Evie!

A big well done to Grace who recently represented Wales in the Dance World Cup. This is a tremendous achievement and saw Grace competing against other children from countries across the world.

family engagement

seesaw viewing sessions

Our Nursery and Reception families enjoyed the opportunity to come in and look through their child's online platform on Seesaw. Staff in Early Years use Seesaw to record detailed observations of the children carrying out practical learning activities. There was a fantastic turn out and lots of lovely feedback too!

thank you

Mrs Julie Jenkins would like to say thank you to her year 6 Family Engagement Team for all the support they have given her this year. They have been amazing, supporting Baby and Toddlers every week, promoting community events and helping her organise and prepare for different activities. Well done everyone!

griff & the generation games

Griff the dog enjoyed his visit to the Generation Games group recently. The community members were excited to meet him and our pupils were keen to show him off! As part of the visit the children shared their favourite books with their community friends.

well-Being

StAFF RECOGNITION AWARD

Mr Raymond, Mrs H. Middleton & Mrs Maund - For supporting pupils, families and staff through the academic year.

StAFF RECOGNITION AWARD

Mrs Foster - For organising a visit from Tarmac - who brought one of their huge lorries and lots of goodie bags!

Well-being CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE

Miss Abell, Miss Cinderby, Mrs Jenkins, Mr Markham-Jones, Mrs Patrick, Mr Raymond and Mrs Roberts - For supporting pupils in Llangrannog during the year 5 residential.

July- UV Safety Awareness Month

UV Safety Awareness Month is observed every July to highlight the importance of protecting our skin and eyes from the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. As the sun shines brightest during the summer months, this campaign reminds us of the risks associated with overexposure and promotes safe sun habits.

For more information on sun safety, please click on the link below.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/

Dates for your diary

Friday 18th July - Final day for pupils
Wednesday 3rd September - pupils return to school

Remaining Inset Days:

Monday 21st July 2025

Confirmed 2025-26 Inset Days:

Monday 1st September 2025
Tuesday 2nd September 2025

The four remaining Inset days for the 205-26 year will be shared early in the autumn term.

Safeguarding

At Pencoed Primary School, we are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children. If you have a concern about the safety or well-being of a child, please report this immediately to either Mr Raymond, Mrs H. Middleton, Mrs Maund or Mrs Brennan (Designated Safeguarding Leads). In addition, advice can be sought from Mrs A. Williams, Designated Governor for Child Protection.
If you are a parent or a visitor to the school and you are worried about the safety or well-being of a child or family please ask to speak to the Designated Safeguarding Leads or a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Please access our child protection and safeguarding policy here - https://www.pencoedprimary.co.uk/school-policies-1/

Please let us know if you have any comments regarding the contents of this newsletter or any other matter relating to Pencoed Primary School. All issues will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. If you would prefer to make a personal appointment, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Email: admin@pencoedps.bridgend.cymru or contact@pencoedprimary.co.uk
Phone: 01656 815730

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