Colton Hills School Bulletin

Website: https://www.coltonhills.co.uk/highperformancelearning

Dear parents/carers,

I hope you have had an enjoyable start to the school year, and as always I would like to thank you for your support of our students as they returned to school. I am in my fifth year at Colton Hills, and I would say that this start back to school has been the most successful one that I have seen. Classrooms are focused and purposeful, and our students are working hard as we seek to raise standards further.

I wrote to you recently about what your child is learning this half-term, and below you will see details of homework planned for Autumn 1. We have worked harder than ever before to share information with you about our curriculum, so that you can be informed and able to be supportive of your child in their learning – something families have asked us for over the last year.

As we celebrate a strong start, I ask you to look out for all of the work that students are doing to improve their knowledge and engage with culturally important works in their form periods. In Culture Corner this half-term, we have looked at the New Zealand Haka, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Tina Turner to celebrate Black History Month. Our reading ambassadors also shared their favourite books by black writers. Ask your child what culture they have experienced this week! Last week, we also celebrated Biology Week and students took part in various quizzes and online "live" sessions in conjunction with the Royal Society of Biology, thanks to our Science department.

I hope you enjoy the upcoming halfterm break and Happy Halloween for those celebrating!

We had a visit yesterday from BBC Bitesize Careers team and we hope our students enjoyed the workshop and Q&A session with our guests who come from a range of professional backgrounds ranging from HR, marketing to cartoonist! Students were inquisitive about what the salaries were, how the guests came into their professions and their employment history.

In the last week of September, our Geographers took a trip to Wales for their fieldtrip exam. Despite the forecast of Storm Agnes, they managed to complete their fieldwork on the beach, went gorge walking and also stopped at Zip World.

They embodied our school values and were very well behaved, polite and respectful throughout the trip and their conduct was praised by staff in the field study centre as well as local businesses. They got stuck in and enjoyed all the activities enthusiastically. We are tremendously proud of them!

Congratulations to Year 11 Tai Bowen who recently won a Silver Medal in the junior category, competing at the The English Karate Federation's new EKF E1-SOUTH SERIES, the English Premier League of karate events run by their associations.

A keen karate competitor, Tai will be adding this medal to his extensive collection. Colton Hills is very proud of his discipline and dedication to the sport. Well done!

Two weeks ago, twins Owen and Taylor (pictured left to right, Taylor and Owen next to Mr Blower) found a bunch of keys on their way to school and turned it in to our school office. Our staff managed to track down the owner who was very grateful and offered Owen and Taylor a little reward for their honesty. They were commended for their honesty in assembly and we are very proud that they have shown and practiced our school value - integrity, on this occasion. Well done boys!

On Monday, 9th October, our Year 7 girls footballers played their first game against the

The Royal School in an enjoyable fixture that saw us lose 2-0.

Looking forward to our next fixtures! Great participation and sportsmanship!

We are very excited to show off a sneak preview of our new dining hall extension. It is finally near completion since we started the work back in July 2023. The new space will double the previous capacity we had and enable more room for the students to enjoy their breaks. Watch this space for more updates!

On 9th October, we took a little trip to Springvale Primary. Our Year 10 student, Olga Suta paid her alma mater, Springvale Primary a visit as part of their school's Poetry Week. Olga was invited to share her poem to the younger audience as well as celebrate her achievement as Wolverhampton's Young Poet Laureate 2023. The headteacher, Mr Blunt was very pleased to welcome her back and said that the school was very proud of her growth and accomplishments. We are always happy to be able to engage with local primary schools in the area and share workshops and experiences.

Mr Picknell, our SEN assistant is retiring this Friday, after just over 16 years of service with Colton Hills. We will miss his joviality and friendly banter. Mr Picknell has been an integral part of our SEND team and an excellent mentor to the students, helping them around school and in lessons. We are very grateful for his dedication and hard work and wanted to wish him a wonderful retirement.

Our SEN team said: "We will be sad to see Mr Picknell go, but he truly deserves after 16 years of working to slow down a little and embark on his retirement journey, whether this be on land, sea or air. He has given the whole school so much of his time, love and dedication that he deserves the time now to spend with his family. We will miss him terribly, but he will always hold a special place in our hearts."

Please click on the link below to see the second video by Mr GIttins, in our series called Maximum Learning. The series helps parents and carers to support their child to get the most from school. More videos are available to view via the school website, click on Our Parents > Supporting Your Child. Thank you.

Wolverhampton Children’s safeguarding contact details:

If you suspect or believe a child is suffering or is likely to suffer Significant Harm, including any form of mistreatment or abuse, you should report your concerns on the following numbers:

Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5pm,

Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm on 01902 555392

Outside of the above hours for emergencies on 01902 552999

If the child or young person is at immediate risk of serious harm dial 999

Email: coltonhillsschool@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Website: www.coltonhills.co.uk
Location: Jeremy Road, Wolverhampton, UK
Phone: 01902 558 420
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coltonhillscs
Twitter: @ColtonHillsCS