10th July 2026

A Message from Mrs Murphy

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have continued to be busy here at St James with so many events for the children. It has been an incredibly hot few weeks, but we could not be prouder of all the children.

Year 6 Shines in Shakespeare Rocks!

This week, our talented Year 6 hosted parents and carers for their performance of Shakespeare Rocks. The show was nothing short of spectacular. The children blew us all away with their incredible talents, treating us to a fantastic mix of singing, dancing, acting, rapping, and some impressive air-guitar! Their comedy genius had the audience in stitches. A massive thank you goes to the brilliant staff team for putting this together, to the parents for the great costumes, and to the Friends of St James team for keeping everyone refreshed with drinks on the night.

Year 4’s Sporting Triumphs at Reed’s

Year 4 had a fantastic (but very hot!) day out at Reed’s this week where they had the opportunity to improve their skills in one of four sports. Every single child took part in either Football, Cricket, Tennis or Golf and all came back to school proudly wearing their medals and sunhats. We received excellent reports about their behaviour and they really demonstrated their school values. Well done everyone.

Let Your Light Shine: Celebration of Learning

It has been wonderful welcoming so many of you to our recent Celebration of Learning assemblies this week. Seeing the children stand up and "let their light shine" has been incredible. The growth in their confidence year on year is a joy to witness.

A Fantastic Sports Day!

Today we were able to hold our Sports Day, in shortened format due to the heat, but atmosphere was wonderful. Every single child was incredible, showing true unity by cheering each other on and supporting their peers. Our competitive races are always a highlight and the children thoroughly enjoyed supporting their team.

The scores are as follows.

1st - Brunel - 767 points
2nd - Seacole - 714 points
3rd - Pankhurst - 608 points
4th - Darwin - 538 points

Congratulations Brunel! A special thank you to all the parents who came out to support the children, and a huge thank you to Mr. Scott and his Dad Camp helpers, who very kindly woke up early to help put up gazebos this morning. We really did appreciate it.

Looking Ahead to Next Week:

Meeting New Teachers: On Tuesday, the children will spend some time meeting their new class teachers for next year. Teaching teams will be sent out to parents on Monday.
A Secret Splash Surprise! Please do not tell the children!

In recognition of how the children (and staff) have shown so much courage and such excellent behaviour during this recent hot weather, we are planning a very special surprise next week. As a special reward for their fantastic attitude, we are planning a surprise water play event for them next week! To ensure everyone can join in the fun, we need to gather permissions beforehand. If you are happy for your child to take part, please complete our very quick permission here. https://forms.gle/9o6NQzzUhJzQp79KA We will need this completing for each child please. Further details and the exact date will follow soon, but please complete the form today so we can finalise our plans!

Wishing you a lovely weekend,

Mrs Murphy

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.

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.