15th May 2026

A Message from Mrs Murphy

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to start my newsletter by congratulating our Year 6 pupils on their hard work this week as they completed their SATs. They all showed fantastic St James courage both this week and over the course of the year, and took these Government-set tests in their stride. We are incredibly proud of every single one of them. The rest of the school continued to show their value of respect as they moved quietly around the school so they did not disturb Year 6.

In other news, we are celebrating this week as we have been awarded, for the second year in a row, the Eco School Green Flag, but this time with Merit! Mrs Procter and her Eco Council have done fantastic job to put together the application. We are always keen to find ways to be more sustainable here at St James and look after our environment, so if you have any ideas, please add them to the virtual suggestion box (link below).

Also this week, we have also achieved the Music Mark at the higher standard in recognition of ambition and quality in Music education. This celebrates our committment to advocate for the importance of music education in the curriculum and creative life of our school; provide an equitable, diverse and inclusive music education for every young person and welcome opportunities to broaden our musical horizons by working with providers in our community and beyond . Well done to Mrs Herbert, our Music Lead, for her hardwork in developing the music delivery at St James and achieving the award.

Letting our light shine, far and wide

The St James children have been out and about showing their talents and developing new skills over the last few weeks. Last week, our Year 5 Girls Cricket team took part in the Elmbridge Yr 5 Girls Dynamos Competition , a group of children had a fantastic day at the Kia Oval as part of their Festival of Sport, and our School choir wowed the crowds at Oatlands fair with their singing. A huge well done to all children who took part in these events. All children were excellent ambassadors for St James.

Donation requests

On Saturday 27th June, the St James team will be running a stall at the Weybridge Festival. Following the success of last year, we are requesting donations for a tombola in our values colours: light blue, dark blue, orange and green. We are looking for a range of gift donations in these colours which could include sweets, new toys, bottles, bubble bath or even books. We would appreciate any kind donations to help us make our stall appealing to the crowds and help us raise funds for St James.

A whole-school non-uniform day is planned on Friday12th June to gather further donations, however we would be happy to accept any donations from Monday 8th June. These can be handed in at the Office or on the gate on the 12th June. Thank you in advance for your support.

Looking ahead

We have a large number of events planned in the summer term and look forward to welcoming parents and carers to see their children shine in their learning, sport and in performances.

Book look: On Thursday 21st May at 3pm, parents are invited to come and view the work of their children in their classrooms. Please see the email in the bulletin for further details.

Sports Day: 26th June. Parents and carers should have received a detailed letter via the bulletin regarding upcoming Sports Day arrangements.

Celebration of Learning Assemblies: We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming assemblies

Reception: 15th July at 2.30pm

Year 1: 9th July at 9.15am

Year 2: 3rd July at 9.15am This will include a presentation to the children of their first junior tie, which has been purchased by the Friends of St James to honour their transition to the juniors.

Year 3: 24th June at 9.15am

Year 4: 1st July at 9.15am

Year 5: 2nd July at 9.15am

Year 6: 20th July Church service at St James Church at 9.30am

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Mrs Murphy

Sunrise Club - Friday Spaces

We are in the fortunate position of being able to offer some adhoc spaces in breakfast club on Fridays mornings. If you find yourself in need of an earlier drop off on Friday mornings, please do email the office to see if spaces are available. We would require 72 hours (3 days) notice to allow for us to arrange this, if spaces are available.

Art Competition

We are delighted to announce that St James have been invited to participate in the Weybridge Summer Festival Art Exhibition and Competition 2026! This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to showcase their creativity and see their work displayed in the newly renovated Weybridge Library.

📖 The Theme: "My Favourite Book Character in Weybridge"

This year’s theme asks students to use their imagination to bring a beloved book character into our local community.

Imagine Matilda browsing the shelves at Weybridge Library, Stick Man going for a stroll in Churchfields Recreation Ground, or Charlie Bucket searching for a Golden Ticket at the Brooklands Museum!

🖌️ Competition Guidelines

To ensure your child’s work can be entered into the selection process, please follow these requirements:

Size: Exactly A4 paper (we cannot accept canvases or framed work due to display restrictions).
Medium: Anything goes! Students can use watercolours, oil pastels, colouring pencils, markers, print, or collage.
Labelling: Every entry must have the following clearly written on the back: Full Name, Age, School, and Class/Form.

Note: As per the festival rules, we will select three art works per year group to represent us in the final exhibition.

📅 Key Dates for Your Diary

Please take note of these important dates:

Monday 11th May: Deadline for all entries to be handed in to class teachers.
Monday 18th May: Artworks are collected from the school for the exhibition.
16th – 20th June: Public Exhibition at Weybridge Library (Open 9am–5pm). We encourage families to visit and vote!
Wednesday 17th June: Private View event for dignitaries, including the Mayor.
The week of Tuesday 23rd June: Winners will be announced at school.
Saturday 27th June: The Weybridge Summer Festival. Winning artworks will be displayed on the main stage, and winners will be invited to receive their awards and certificates!

We cannot wait to see where our favourite characters end up in Weybridge!

Happy creating!

Virtual Suggestion Box

We are incredibly proud of our community and want to make it even easier for you to share your thoughts. We are launching a Virtual Suggestion Box: a digital space for proactive ideas, "big picture" thoughts, or creative solutions. This is for constructive suggestions (e.g., "Could we explore a uniform swap shop?") and the Senior Leadership Team will review submissions once a month.

The link is here: https://forms.gle/KmPeMQ7gebij59Qw8

For urgent or individual concerns regarding your child, please continue to contact the office or teacher directly.

Vacancies

We currently have a vacancy for a Casual Minibus Driver at St James.

For further information or to apply, please use this link - https://www.eteach.com/job/casual-minibus-driver-1552505

Summer Term Clubs

Please see attached the 2026 Summer Term club timetable.

To view external club flyers, please click here.

2026 Club dates and times Summer Term.pdf

School Lunches - Summer Menu

Please find below the current lunch menu from our school caterers, Twelve15. This is a three week rolling menu. All children choose from one of the three meal options at the start of each school day. There is also a fully stocked salad bar and fresh bread served daily.

Please remember to book school meals in advance using ARBOR.

Attendance and Penalty Notices

Weekly reminder - for parents/carers, that if they take their children out of school without authority for 5 or more days (which do not have to be consecutive), then you will be liable for a penalty notice fine

1. If you have not incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children in a rolling 3 year period since 19 August 2024, then the penalty notice will be charged at the rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80.00 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

2. If you have incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children since 19 August 2024, the rolling 3 year period will be activated from the date of the first penalty notice and the second penalty notice will be charged at the flat rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. There will be no reduction for payment within 21 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

3. If you have incurred 2 penalty notices relating to this child/children in the rolling 3 year period since the first penalty notice was issued, then you will NOT receive a third penalty notice – Surrey County Council will have no option but to consider a prosecution, per parent/carer per child, in the Magistrates Court under s 444 Education Act 1996.

Surrey County Council is not responsible for authorising pupil absence and therefore cannot withdraw any Penalty Notice requests without the written permission of the Headteacher.

The St James Attendance Policy can be found here..

Leave of Absence form can be found here.