Weekly updates
Friday 9 May 2025
We would like to congratulate Year 11 on completion of their first week of GCSE Examinations. Today, a large Business Studies cohort will complete their examination, with English Literature taking place on Monday morning. Could we also take this opportunity to ask you to speak with your children about their movement around the school during the examination season. Specific areas around the Halls are not accessible during this period to prevent any disturbances to the examinations but we do also use a range of other rooms around the school site. Please could you speak to your child about noise levels around the site and to move quietly when they see the red examination signs. We appreciate every member of the school community for their support over this period.
It's the final couple of days for Year 11 parents to order Leavers' Hoodies here. The deadline is Sunday evening.
We are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding achievement of Year 9 student Isla K, who, alongside her team Eclipse Allstars Discovery, was crowned a Summit Champion at the prestigious World Summit competition held in the USA last week. Regarded as one of the most competitive events in international cheerleading, The Summit brings together top-level teams from across the globe to compete at the highest standard. Isla played a key role in leading her team to an extraordinary 1st place finish in the Level 2 U18 category. See full details about Isla's acheivement here.
The PE department are holding a Sports Award evening next month and would welcome sponsorship donations towards this event. Any amount would be welcome, with money providing awards and provisions for the evening. Please contact Mr Barclay if you or your company are able to help.
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Friday 2 May 2025
We would like to take the opportunity to wish all of our GCSE students the best of luck for their upcoming examinations. The written GCSE examinations commence on Tuesday 6th May.
Certificates were presented by Mr John and Mr Bibb this morning for high achievement in the UKMT as follows:
Year 11 - John S (in the top 20 UK students), Robert H (in the top 100 UK students) plus Xavier M, Oscar S, Morgan B, Jenson M, Alice B, Nathan H
Well done to these students and we wish them well in the next rounds!
We hosted a Year 3/4 Dance Festival here yesterday with students from Years 7, 9 and 10 helping out - see this link for details.
We currently have spaces for students who would like guitar lessons - please contact Mr Walker if your child would like lessons.
The PE department are holding a Sports Award evening next month and would welcome sponsorship donations towards this event. Any amount would be welcome, with money providing awards and provisions for the evening. Please contact Mr Barclay if you or your company are able to help.
The latest clubs list for lunchtime and after school activities can be seen here (or under Students/Clubs).
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
School is closed for the bank holiday on Monday and will reopen on Tuesday 6 May.
Click here for Community Notices:
Feedback needed by Fleet Town Council on an upgrade for the Skate Park at The Views
Details of a seamstress who could help with Prom alterations
Farnham Rugby Club have a taster day for girls rugby on 18 May
Details of an online babysitting course in June
Fathers Day lunch at Farnham House Hotel
Friday 25 April 2025
Thanks to Jackie from K9 who visited us on Thursday 24 April with one of her dogs, Jai. She works as a detection dog handler having previously worked in the RAF and the Police. Jackie delivered an assembly to Year 9 as part of our Drugs and Substance Misuse education, and was able to demonstrate how drugs detection dogs work which was really interesting. For many of our students, it came as a great surprise to learn that Jackie's dog is even trained to detect THC contained within vapes! We look forward to welcoming K9 back to our school soon to educate and safeguard our young people.
Sound Out Project - We were delighted to welcome members of the London Sinfonietta Orchestra to our school to work with our students in creating a piece of music which will be performed by the orchestra in a concert at the Princes Hall, Aldershot on 3 July. Students have worked collaboratively all day on a range of musical instruments to produce a compelling piece of music, which we are very excited to hear in its completed version.
Later this term, some of our musicians will be forming a young ensemble, led again by members of London Sinfonietta. They will also present their pieces as part of the concert in the Princes Hall. Today's workshop gave our students the chance to work alongside a composer, a performer and producer, and see for themselves that a career in music can offer them the most amazing opportunities.
The Year 8 Options Form deadline is on Monday 28 April.
The latest clubs list for lunchtime and after school activities can be seen here (or under Students/Clubs).
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
A group of staff led a successful ski trip to Andorra during the holidays - you can see details of this trip here.
We hope the Year 8 group going to Tile Barn this weekend have a wonderful time!
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit, specifically for Year 9 boys football and girls football kit across all years. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact Mr Frizzell.
The Henry Williamson Society hold a writing competition for students in Years 8 and 9 every two years. The theme for the 2025 competition is: Nature-themed writing reporting for a school magazine, newspaper article, digital blog or holiday brochure with entrants to choose one of these titles: 'A Favourite Nature Walk' or 'A Gull's Life'. For full details and guidelines, see this page on their website.
Community Notices:
Fleet Football Club are hosting a charity football match at 4pm this Sunday in support of local food banks and would be grateful for support. The entry fee is a donation of food or cash to be split equally between Fleet and Farnham. See this flyer for details.
Y10 & Y11 students may be interested in this online babysitting course running in June.
Friday 4 April 2025
Please see our latest newsletter for the half term here.
Mr Borkowski has written this letter about uniform in the Summer term. See this link for uniform clarification.
Year 11 parents and carers have received a letter explaining the support available during the GCSE period. Any questions can be directed to Mrs Glover.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week was in March and we raised awareness of celebrating different minds through House assemblies and tutor time activities during the weeks beginning 10th and 17th March. You can find more information about the campaign using this link.
On Tuesday 1st April we delivered our fifth Inclusive Schools training session to staff which had an ADHD focus. Thank you for all parental input received, it really does provide a valuable insight to support our professional development programme. Our mission through our Inclusive Schools training is “To develop teacher expertise to ensure that we deliver a high quality of education for all, based on core principles of inclusion, with high challenge, high aspiration and high support at the heart of our school culture and ethos.” With World Autism Acceptance Month being April 2025, our next Inclusive Schools session will focus on Autism and will be held on Tuesday 6th May.
We would love to have parental feedback as part of our training session so if you or your child has an Autism diagnosis, please contact Mrs Plunkett to share your thoughts on what school is like and what strategies are supportive, alongside any other views you would like to share.
Check out the latest Trip Bulletin! The next trip cycle starts on Tuesday 22 April. Keep an eye on your inbox for application emails that day, as exciting trips to destinations like Sri Lanka, Berlin, and more will be opening!
House Competition: Every week all tutor groups take part in a 15 question quiz. At the end of the Spring term, the quiz scores are as follows:
1st Emerald with 2347 points
2nd Ruby with 2335 points
3rd Sapphire with 2329 points
4th Topaz with 2304 points
5th Quartz with 2283 points
6th Amethyst with 2273 points
The winning House at the end of the Summer term contributes to the final decision of the House Cup winners.
We finally announced the winners of our Design A Book Token competition today. What a creative and imaginative collection of students we have. As with the Decorate the Doors competition, deciding was a tough job. The challenge was to create a design using the theme ‘Read Your Way’, and we had many clever and artistic responses. A very well done to all participating students. All those who entered will be rewarded with achievement points.
Our winners are:
Winner £10 voucher – Belle L
Runners Up £5 vouchers – Vera S, Safiyyah H, Dex G, Natalie N
Easter Eggs – Annabel R, Sophie C, Chloe B
And here are some of the winning designs:
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Personal Best Education are delivering their Hampshire Teen Project this Easter holidays here at school. It includes an enriching programme offered to students aged 11-16 who are in receipt of benefit-related free school meals, giving them the opportunity to take part in a range of engaging activities. See this link for full details.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit, specifically for Year 9 boys football and girls football kit across all years. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Community Notices:
Please see this link for the latest version of the Supporting Families Newsletter covering Hart and Rushmoor.
Y10 & Y11 students may be interested in this online babysitting course running in June.
Friday 28 March 2025
The Spring Review music concert takes place on Monday 31 March, see this link to book tickets.
Thanks to everyone who came to the Year 8 Options evening last night, and for all the positive feedback! We hope this opportunity helps students make their option choices which are due by 28 April.
The PE Interhouse competition takes place next week for Years 7-9, during their double PE lesson. Students in these year groups should come to school in their PE kit on the day of this double lesson and must bring school uniform with them to change into after the lesson.
Amethyst 4654 (38) Emerald 11399 (88) Quartz 3999 (28)
Ruby 6160 (43) Sapphire 6327 (48) Topaz 7651 (49)
The date for the Year 11 Leavers' assembly for students has been changed to Friday 20 June 2025. See this letter sent to students for timings.
As part of our drive to improve attendance and punctuality, we will be monitoring students who are missing a tutor mark. If there is no valid reason why they have missed tutor time, we will issue a sanction after school. We would like to remind parents and students that tutor time is a compulsory part of the school day where important notices, assemblies and the CPS Character Education programme is shared.
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Personal Best Education are delivering their Hampshire Teen Project this Easter holidays here at school. It includes an enriching programme offered to students aged 11-16 who are in receipt of benefit-related free school meals, giving them the opportunity to take part in a range of engaging activities. See this link for full details.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit, specifically for Year 9 boys football and girls football kit across all years. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Community Notices:
We're aware that temporary lights will be set up further along Hitches Lane, near Hareshill, for road resurfacing and kerb repairs. This will start on Monday 31 March with lights operating between 9.30am and 3.30pm until the end of term. The lights will be used for a longer period during the second week of works (from 7 April).
One of our parents works at Farnham House Hotel (Alton Road, Farnham, GU10 5ER) where they are offering the following:
Mother's Day Carvery on Sunday 30 March and Easter Sunday Carvery on Sunday 20 April
Time - 12pm - 3pm
Price - Adults 1-course £22.00 / 2-courses £27.50
Price - Children (under 12) 1-course £13.00 / 2-courses £16.50
Mention Calthorpe Park School and if booking for Mother’s Day, the mum will receive a complimentary glass of prosecco with lunch, and when booking for Easter Sunday, the children will receive an Easter treat!
Volunteers required in the Quetta Park area, open to anyone interested, not just service families. See this link and this one.
Friday 21 March 2025
Amethyst 1334 (13) Emerald 5435 (41) Quartz 1347 (9) Ruby 1874 (14) Sapphire 1259 (9) Topaz 3975.5 (26)
The Spring Review music concert takes place on Monday 31 March, see this link to book tickets.
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit, specifically for Year 9 boys football and girls football kit across all years. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Friday 14 March 2024
As the roadworks outside school approach completion over the next couple of weeks, we are aware that there will be complete road closures overnight from Monday for up to three nights. This will not affect school journeys next week.
Easter Egg Appeal 2025 - Eggs can be brought into Reception or students can take them to their Form Room, and will be donated to Hart Food Bank at the end of term. Because one crème egg would count the same as a large egg or a bag of mini eggs, we will measure the mass of eggs donated to make it fairer. The House who donates the largest mass of eggs wins the competition. The deadline for donating is Friday 28 March. If bringing into Reception, please indicate which House your child is in. After the first week of donations, totals (by mass in grams) are as follows:
Amethyst 482 Emerald 0 Quartz 235 Ruby 403 Sapphire 0 Topaz 484
The Spring Review music concert takes place on Monday 31 March, see this link to book tickets.
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit, specifically for Year 9 boys football and girls football kit across all years. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact Mr Frizzell.
HQ are looking for spare ties - if you have any school ties that are no longer needed, please could you bring into Reception.
Good luck to all who are running in the Fleet Half Marathon on Sunday! Details of the road closures during the day can be found here.
Friday 7 March 2025
We celebrated World Book Day in style this week on Thursday. A wide range of activities were planned to reinforce the importance and value of reading, and especially reading for pleasure. There were competitions and opportunities to engage in lots of different reading-themed activities. Tutor groups did a brilliant job at decorating their doors, and we had many students hunting around the school for staff wearing badges with clues on for the ‘Hunt the Word’ competition. £1 book tokens are still available to collect from the library or from tutors. They are valid until 23 March in participating stores, and we also have a stock of ‘This Story is a Lie’ by Benjamin Dean to use tokens for in school. Students can easily swap their token for this in the library. Finally, we had a number of book and comic characters wandering around school grounds – it was brilliant to see our wonderful staff joining in with the fun and their enthusiasm really helped support the joy of reading and books.
After weeks of preparation, a team of our students will be competing in the Young Citizens UK Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial Competition at Winchester Crown Court this weekend. We know they will be excellent legal eagles, and we are looking forward to watching them commence court battle! The competition aims to give young people an unparalleled insight into the judicial system, its venues and the work of senior legal professionals. Best of luck to them at what will be an exciting and inspiring event!
Our next INSET Day is on Wednesday 12 March when school will be closed to students. See our Term Dates page for key events during the school year.
See this letter issued earlier in the week regarding Year 8 Options.
Easter Egg Appeal 2025 - Following on from last year’s appeal, we are launching this year’s collection. Eggs can be brought into Reception or students can take them to their Form Room, and will be donated to Hart Food Bank at the end of term. Because one crème egg would count the same as a large egg or a bag of mini eggs, we will measure the mass of eggs donated to make it fairer. The House who donates the largest mass of eggs wins the competition. The deadline for donating is Friday 28 March.
Wednesday 12 March is Young Carers Action Day and we are looking to acknowledge this day to raise awareness of our Young Carer community. Young Carers are students who help to look after someone who is disabled or has a mental health condition or addiction. Research indicates that 1 in 5 students in every classroom could be defined as a Young Carer. National studies highlight the attendance, punctuality, attainment and aspiration challenges Young Carers can face. We appreciate that this topic is highly sensitive, and any information shared will be handled respectfully. In order to support our Young Carers, I will be sending a form to all students to help us identify our Young Carers and then consider ways of support, if appropriate. Please encourage your child to complete the form if they play a Young Carer role even if you think we are already aware of your child’s circumstances.
If you would like to get in touch to discuss Young Carers, please email: calthorpeyoungcarers@cps.hants.sch.uk
Mrs J Goss
The Spring Review music concert takes place on Monday 31 March, see this link to book tickets.
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit, specifically for Year 9 boys football and girls football kit across all years. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Farnborough 6th Form College are holding a Year 10 Preview Event on the evening of Wednesday 12 March – please use this link to book places if interested. Alton College also have an Open Event on the same day, 5-7.30pm, for Year 10 and Year 11 students.
HQ are looking for spare ties - if you have any school ties that are no longer needed, please could you bring into Reception.
Maths Puzzle
Puzzle 16 and 17 - both due this Saturday 8 March
Puzzle 18 - due Saturday 15 March, to get an achievement point, students have to show their working/explain their thinking.
Community Notices
Fleet Phoenix would be grateful for bottle donations please, this can be anything from water, shampoo, oil, wine, squash, fabric conditioner, beer, bubbles - literally anything that comes in a bottle. These can be dropped off at The Point in Fleet at these times: Tuesday 1:30 - 4:30pm and Wednesday 4 - 6:30pm.
One of our parents works at Farnham House Hotel (Alton Road, Farnham, GU10 5ER) where they are offering the following:
Mother's Day Carvery on Sunday 30 March and Easter Sunday Carvery on Sunday 20 April
Time - 12pm - 3pm
Price - Adults 1-course £22.00 / 2-courses £27.50
Price - Children (under 12) 1-course £13.00 / 2-courses £16.50
Mention Calthorpe Park School and if booking for Mother’s Day, the mum will receive a complimentary glass of prosecco with lunch, and when booking for Easter Sunday, the children will receive an Easter treat!
Friday 28 February 2025
Please see this letter regarding sniffer dogs coming into school.
Toilet Supervision - We have recently been running increased supervision outside student toilets both at social time and during lessons. As always, students who are given permission to use the toilet during lessons have been given a card to show to the member of staff on duty. We are pleased to have seen the following improvements to student safety and our environment:
- Almost no damage which has meant that more cubicles are open daily for student use
- A significant decrease in incidents of vaping or poor behaviour in toilets
- No incidents of students using the wrong year group toilet
We are aware that this has resulted in some small queues at the start and, occasionally, the end of free time, but there are also periods where there is no queue. If you would like to give any feedback about the system, please complete this form.
World Book Day - we will be marking this important day in several ways next week on Thursday 6th March. We have several competitions with two already launched. Students have been busy decorating the tutor group doors in the style of their chosen book, and we now also have a creative competition on offer for students to design a Book Token. This is both an in-school prize and a National competition - information has been shared with students both in tutor time and via their Edulink account.
We will have quizzes in library lessons, along with a competition on the day for students to locate staff wearing badges with clues. It's going to be a busy day. We also hear there may be a few book characters wondering around throughout the course of the day too.
Students will be able to collect their free book token which enables them to get a free £1 book or exchange it for £1 off another book in store. We will have copies of the book 'This Story is a Lie' by Benjamin Dean for students to purchase with their token here in school next week also. Keep an eye out for further messages about World Book Day 2025 via our social media accounts.
Our next INSET Day is on Wednesday 12 March when school will be closed to students. See our Term Dates page for key events during the school year.
Two trips are currently open for applications:
Year 7 Life of Christ Open Air Play – A unique, fun-filled day in June which will provide an opportunity for students to learn about the life of Christ in the beautiful surroundings of Wintershall Estate near Guildford.
Year 9 GCSE Art, Photography, and Ceramics Students – A recommended trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum (Art & Photography group) and the Science Museum (Ceramics group). This trip will help students gather material for their personal independent responses required for their GCSE exam.
To apply or register, please refer to the email sent to parents of eligible students on Tuesday 25 February. The deadlines to submit applications and make the deposit payments via Scopay is 9pm on Monday 3 March.
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit, specifically for Year 9 boys football and girls football kit across all years. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Farnborough 6th Form College are holding a Year 10 Preview Event on the evening of Wednesday 12 March – please use this link to book places if interested.
QMC are holding an Open Evening on Thursday 24 April – see this link for details.
Friday 14 February 2025
Our latest Newsletter can be found here.
Lockdown Drill - Our most important responsibility is always the safety of our students and staff. There have been occasions when schools have been required to go into lockdown in response to an emergency situation. In such situations, students are safely secured in classrooms or teaching spaces with an adult until the emergency is dealt with. To ensure that we are prepared for any eventuality, we will be conducting a lockdown drill in the near future. Please be reassured that this is not in response to any specific intelligence; it is simply best practice to be prepared.
After half term I will write to you all with further details about our updated lockdown process. I will then present the relevant information to our students via a live virtual briefing so that everyone understands our expectations ahead of the drill. If you have any concerns then please contact me (o.borkowski@cps.hants.sch.uk) so that we can ensure your child is supported sensitively to participate in the upcoming practice drill.
Uniform Expectations - You will no doubt be aware of our drive to improve our standards of uniform and equipment. A sincere thank-you for your support thus far. We haven’t finished yet but we are making inroads and certainly moving in the right direction.
In preparation for the new half term a few reminders that will need to be adhered to ready for Monday 24 February:
Acrylic nails/nail polish and false eye lashes will need to be removed
Shoes - plain black leather style (no tags or air bubbles)
Trousers – black, smart, tailored (straight legged, no tightness)
Socks - black
Jewellery – 1 stud/sleeper per ear (no other items)
Bag – ruck sack (big enough for A4 sized books)
In addition to supporting us with upholding what is worn to school you can also help by checking how uniform is worn. Top buttons being fastened with a tie and skirts being worn at an appropriate length are just two aspects what would really aid a more positive start to every day at school.
There are obviously other uniform expectations so if you are unsure of any requirements, I would draw your attention to the uniform poster that I sent out at the beginning of this term. You can also visit our school website which also stipulates what can and can’t be worn to and whilst at school.
Message from Medical - Please note that students are not permitted to carry any medication with them or in bags in school - either prescribed or over the counter. Exceptions to this are asthma inhalers, diabetic medication and Epipens. Also, parents are responsible for updating the school of changes to their child's medical condition to ensure that their child receives the correct treatment in school.
Please note that Airforce 1 trainers (black or white) may not be worn for PE. It has become evident that an increasing number of students are wearing black Airforce 1s for PE. It is not appropriate for students to wear what is the equivalent of a pair of school shoes for PE, especially if the lesson venue is wet and/or muddy. Airforce 1s are also not a suitable shoe for PE because of the lack of support, grip and heaviness of the shoe for practical activities. Many thanks for your support in ensuring your child has the correct footwear for PE. If you have any queries about this, please contact Mrs Edwards, Head of PE.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit, specifically for Year 9 boys football and girls football kit across all years. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Our latest trip bulletin can be found here.
Please see our current list of vacancies here and share with any contacts who may be interested.
See this link for the Hart and Rushmoor Supporting Families Newsletter containing information and activities over half term and beyond.
We wish you an enjoyable half term break and look forward to students returning on Monday 24 February. See our Term Dates page for any updates.
Friday 7 February 2025
As a reminder, the road works for our school crossing will commence on Monday, 10 February 2025. As previously informed, this crossing is being installed to enhance the safety of our students and to reduce congestion on the roads. The planning for this work includes measures to ensure minimal disruption to road users in the area, with temporary lights operational from 9am until 3pm each day.
Please be aware that these road works may cause delays. We suggest that you make alternative arrangements for the drop-off and collection of your child to avoid the inevitable traffic. Consider how the traffic may impact your normal routine and make alternative arrangements, such as dropping off or picking up your child further away from the main school entrance, or encouraging them to walk or cycle if appropriate,
Thank you for your continued support.
On Friday 31 January at Surrey Sports Park our Year 8 Boys Basketballers came runners up in the District Cup Final after being beaten by an impressive Yateley team 40-18. The boys battled hard all game. Points: Rees 6, Gillam 4, Chan, Yeung, Crombie & Tatam 2 each. Our Year 11 Boys Basketball team were crowned District Cup Champions in the afternoon with a 38-30 win over Wavell School after an excellent display again from the team. Points: Lucas 15, McSpadden 12, Plunkett 9 & Wakefield 2. Both Year 11 and Year 8 remain unbeaten in the league with two games still to play. Well done to both teams!
Please see our current job vacancies here – please share if you know of anyone interested in joining our team.
The student-led Panto – Beauty and the Beast – takes place next week, with just a few seats available for one of the four performances. See this link to book seats on Monday 10 February at 4.30pm.
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
There are a variety of opportunities available for children of service families over the half term break – see this page for details.
School finishes at 3pm on Friday 14 February for half term, reopening on Monday 24 February. See our Term Dates page for awareness of any updates.
Friday 31 January 2025
We are pleased to announce that work to create a new crossing outside school will start on Monday 10 February. This crossing is being installed for the safety of our students and to reduce congestion on the roads. Planning for this work includes ensuring minimal disruption to road users in the area, so temporary lights will be operational from 9am until 3pm each day. We would suggest that you make alternative arrangements for the drop-off and collection of your child to avoid the inevitable traffic. This work is scheduled to take seven weeks, including one week of the half term break.
Further updates will be provided during the process, and we thank you in advance for your support during this work.
The student-led Panto – Beauty and the Beast – takes place next month, with just a few seats available for one of the four performances. See this link to book seats on Monday 10 February at 4.30pm.
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Junior UKMT Club will start from Wed 5th Feb from 3-4pm in X1 for students in year 7 and 8 who like thinking outside the box and problem solving. This helps to prepare for the UKMT competition on 1st May. Students can find out more from their maths teacher or from Mrs Powell. Students are welcome to just come along and see what it is all about. Entries to the competition will be made later this term.
Farnborough 6th Form College are holding a Year 10 Preview Event on the evening of Wednesday 12 March – please use this link to book places if interested.
As a reminder, students should not contact home during the school day. If unwell, they can attend Medical who will assess, or if other support is required they can go to HQ. This is becoming a safeguarding concern where students are contacting parents directly and leaving site.
Thanks to parents who have supported our Kindness fund recently!
Friday 24 January 2025
As per the details sent out from Mr John on Wednesday, the staff football match due to take place this afternoon has been postponed until a later date.
Thank you if you have already filled in the survey regarding the proposed 'Learning at Calthorpe' Evening (for parents of Years 7-11). Mrs Skarzynski has had 115 replies so far which are proving really helpful in shaping the event. As a reminder, the purpose of the evening is to be a hands-on, practical event where you will be 'taught' and experience for yourselves what it is like to be a learner at Calthorpe Park School. The proposal has a variety of models which include lessons, assemblies and drop ins. There have been some great suggestions so far in terms of topics that we might cover in the drop-in session. Please fill in the form to give your views and help shape what should be a fantastic evening of learning.
Junior UKMT Club will start from Wednesday 5th Feb from 3-4pm in X1 for students in year 7 and 8 who like thinking outside the box and problem solving. This helps to prepare for the UKMT competition on 1st May. Students can find out more from their maths teacher or from Mrs Powell. Students are welcome to just come along and see what it is all about. Entries to the competition will be made later this term.
We have updated our range of Recommended Reads for the Spring term and these can be found both on our Library News page and directly on the website. These are suggestions for Years 7,8 and 9, with additional options for KS4 to support students in choices of reading for pleasure. Some of the books have been chosen to complement their English curriculum, but the overall aim is to provide a range of styles and stories to entertain. Students can use the lists to help their reading, with availability both in the library and on our digital reading app, Sora. Please see our Library News page for further guidance on how to get the Sora app.
At this time of year, we see an increase in some common conditions; please see information below regarding help from pharmacies. Attendance and School Health and Welfare Officers
Trips: Our Year 7 students embarked on two much-anticipated trips to Winchester Cathedral, and both were fantastic days filled with learning, exploration and fun!
The students behaved wonderfully throughout and fully immersed themselves in the activities. They experienced "A Day in the Life of a Monk," where they wore monks habits and learned how monks communicated using sign language during their vow of silence—especially when it came to asking for food! They also took on the role of archaeologists, digging for artefacts and discovering clues about the past.
A highlight of the day was the fascinating tour of the cathedral. The students were captivated by the incredible historical facts and stories surrounding Winchester Cathedral’s long, varied, and often brutal history. It was a pleasure to see our students engaging so enthusiastically and making the most of this unique learning opportunity.
A huge thank you to all the staff and cathedral guides who made the trip such a success!
Friday 17 January 2025
Letters:
CPS/Court Moor Staff Football Match on Friday 24 January!
Increased staff supervision of toilet facilities: Ensuring that all students feel comfortable and safe to use the toilets is extremely important to us. Recently, students have told us that this is not always the case. We have also experienced some vandalism in our toilets which spoils the facilities for everybody else and diverts valuable funds to complete repairs. From Monday, in response to this, senior staff will have an increased presence outside bathrooms during social time. We will now also supervise the set of toilets which are open during lessons.
In due course we will speak again to the students to check that the situation has improved. As always, we appreciate your continued support in helping us provide a safe and positive environment for all our students.
Student drop off/pick up: It has come to our attention that there has been an increase in congestion both on the school premises and the surrounding roads during drop-off and pick up times. By adhering to this polite notice, we can significantly improve the safety for our students and reduce congestion for all parents/carers, staff, and the surrounding community.
Please be mindful when dropping off your child(ren) and use the designated lane in the school site’s drop-off zone to ensure their safety and to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic.
We appreciate your attention to this important matter and your cooperation in helping us create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone in our school community.
Medical: Please note that with the exception of asthma inhalers, diabetic medication and epipens - students are not permitted to carry any other medications either prescribed or over the counter in school. This is for the safety of all students.
Year 10 Business Day: This is taking place on Wednesday 12 February 2025 and we are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that afternoon to conduct short mock interviews with these students. No experience is needed and there is a list of set questions. Thanks to all those people who have already signed up – we’re looking for around 10 more people, so if you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form.
Library: Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The Maths Puzzle for this week is below, entries due in by Saturday 25 January:
Trips/Events:
Wicked: Last week, 40 students and five staff went to see Wicked in London for an opportunity to see a live performance of one of the setworks studied at GCSE Music.
The show briefly had to stop due to an actor being unwell, requiring a last minute understudy to take their place. She did a phenomenal job as Elphaba and performed an amazing rendition of Defying Gravity, where many students were overcome with emotion by the end of Act 1.
Many have been inspired to perhaps work in the musical theatre industry in future as either performers onstage or musicians in the pit band. Students had an amazing time and enjoyed comparing the performance to the recent film.
STEM Lego League: Mr Lugg and Mr Wright took Team Hydra to compete at Oxford Brookes University on Tuesday. They competed for 6 trophies against 35 other schools, winning the innovation project.
On the tournament day, teams delivered a five-minute presentation to judges in which they demonstrated how they have identified, designed and shared across their project, including bringing a prototype of the solution they have invented.
Well done to the team: Xavier M, Ethan B, Morgan B, Anna P, Alexander W, Rocco L, Milo O, William F and Jacob L
Bike Safety: Yesterday Pedal Heaven came into school to carry out nearly 50 free bike health checks for students who use their bikes to travel to school. It was an excellent event and we thank the Pedal Heaven team for coming down and carrying out the checks to help keep our students safe on the roads.
A reminder that those students who took part are able to take advantage of further offers from Pedal Heaven, including 25% off services and 10% off parts (offer expires at the end of February).
Friday 10 January 2025
Happy New Year and welcome back for the Spring term!
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 12 February 2025 and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that afternoon to conduct short mock interviews with these students. No experience is needed and there is a list of set questions. Thanks to all those people who have already signed up - we still need around 20 more people, so if you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form.
As we enter the new year please could I ask that you check that your child has all of the relevant equipment for their Maths lessons. This includes a pencil, ruler, rubber, scientific calculator and a red pen. Ensuring that all equipment is available makes for a much smoother start and progress in a lesson.
With thanks, Mr Bibb and the Maths Team
The Clubs list for lunchtime and after school activities has been updated and can be found here.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
See our latest vacancies at school here.
The Maths Puzzle for this week is below, entries due in by Saturday 18 January:
Pedal Heaven are coming into school on 16 January to do some free bike assessments - see this flyer for details.
Friday 20 December 2024
Please see our latest Newsletter here.
We have now finished for the Christmas holidays, returning on Monday 6 January. See this page for our term dates.
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 12 February 2025 and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that afternoon to conduct short mock interviews with these students. No experience is needed and there is a list of set questions. Thanks to all those people who have already signed up. We still need around 40 more people, so if you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
See our latest vacancies at school here.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit, specifically for Year 9 boys football and girls football kit across all years. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact Mr Frizzell.
88 students submitted correct answers to the Maths Puzzle of the week this half term - well done to all for taking part! Ethan B is the winner.
Pedal Heaven are coming into school on 16 January to do some free bike assessments - see this flyer for details.
Wishing you all a wonderful break and we look forward to seeing you in January!
Friday 13 December 2024
Check our Term Dates page on the website – we finish for the Christmas holidays on Friday 20 December at 12.40pm and school reopens on Monday 6 January 2025. Please ensure your children are at school in time to be in their form rooms by 8.40am.
Our Christmas Concert will take place on Tuesday 17 December – please see this link to book tickets.
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 12 February 2025 and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that afternoon to conduct short mock interviews with these students. No experience is needed and there is a list of set questions. Thanks to all those people who have already signed up. We still need around 40 more people, so if you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form.
We now have our final total for the Book Fair this year and want to thank you again for all the support you gave it. Your generosity means we have now earned £550 pounds worth of new books for the library from Scholastic – this is amazing! Students are being asked what books they would like to see us buy into the library and we look forward to those choices being read and borrowed next year.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
See our latest vacancies at school here.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit across our sports teams. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
The Maths Puzzle for this week is below, entries due in by Saturday 4 January:
The Local Authority have forwarded on an NHS newsletter covering wellbeing for parents of school-aged children - please see this link.
Friday 6 December 2024
We have just been notified that Thames Water will be carrying out work in Hitches Lane next week. This will involve the closure of Hitches Lane, a number of tankers managing flows while the pumping station is off, and traffic management up at the railway bridge. They are expecting the work to take place from Sunday 8 to Thursday 12 December. This will obviously affect staff and student journeys to school and we ask that you factor this into your timings next week.
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 12 February 2025 and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that afternoon to conduct mock interviews with these students. If you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form. Thanks for your support!
The Book Fair is over for another year, and what a fantastic amount of support you all gave to it. A huge thanks to all the students that visited and chose books, and to parents and carers for their support via all the purchases they made. I think quite a lot of Christmas gifts were bought and how lovely that means so much reading for pleasure. We will update you very soon on the final total and what that means in terms of Scholastic rewards for free books, however we do know that you have all helped buy in new books for our library that will be chosen by the students in the new year. Once again, thank you!
As a reminder - all Year 11s should have applied for a college place (or preferably two) by the end of term. Even if a student is anticipating getting an apprenticeship, we advise that a college place is secured as a Plan B. All Year 11s have been offered the opportunity of support to complete applications in school if they haven't already done so. Parents are welcome to contact me directly, as always. B.wayman@cps.hants.sch.uk - Ms B Wayman
We were delighted to welcome back the majority of our Year 11 Leavers and their families to attend our prize giving and certificate presentation event last week. The cohort enjoyed musical performances from Ed C on Piano and our multi-talented 'Jazz Combo' group comprising Mia K, Winston R, Andrew N and Jasmine K and proceedings were opened by Scarlett S on behalf of our Senior Student Leadership Team. Jonathan Phillips, Chair of Governors presented a range of prizes including two Makstrordinary Awards which were presented in Maks Asher's memory and have been provided by his family. Maks was a valued member of our community who sadly lost his battle with a serious heart condition in 2022. Over 250 prizes were presented and it was a pleasure to celebrate the achievements of our Year 11 Leavers and see how much they are enjoying the next phases of their educational journeys.
Our Bar Mock team performed superbly at the National Bar Mock Trial Competition at Oxford Crown Court on Saturday 30th November. Up against predominantly 6th form colleges, our students showed they meant business when it came to court battle. Whilst they did not win, they secured third place along with many comments from various colleges astounded at their age. It really was a delight to see the look of impressed shock on some older students’ faces! We want to commend the team for their hard work and dedication and say we could not be prouder. Well done to: Charlotte S, Lauren M, Juliet F, Andrew N, Isabelle W, Robert H, Lawrie W, Laith B, Jasmine L, Hannah W, Maya H, Ethan A, Thomas B, Amelie T
UKMT - Invitations to take place in the competition on 29th January will be sent out this week to selected students in years 9,10 and 11. Parents do not need to do anything unless they do not want their child to take part. If an invitation is received and the student is not taking part then an email reply will remove them. Students can find out more information about the challenge from Mrs Powell and all are welcome to attend the challenge club on Wednesdays after school or to use the papers on Dr Frost to help prepare. We are very proud of the students who take part in the UKMT each year and wish them every success.
Our Christmas Concert will take place on Tuesday 17 December – please see this link to book tickets.
Replacement Organisers are now available as a product on ScoPay. Upon receipt of a ScoPay order, the new organiser will be distributed in Registration, by Tutors.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The PE department are seeking additional sponsorship for new kit across our sports teams. If your company would be interested in supporting us, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
The Maths Puzzle for this week is below, entries due in by Saturday 14 December:
Friday 29 November 2024
Following our two INSET Days, school resumes as normal on Monday 2 December when all students should be in their form rooms by 8.40am.
After weeks of preparation, a team of our students will be competing in the Young Citizens UK National Bar Mock Trial Competition at Oxford Crown Court this weekend. We know them to be excellent legal eagles, and we are looking forward to watching them commence court battle! The competition aims to give young people an unparalleled insight into the judicial system, its venues and the work of senior legal professionals. Best of luck to our team – Charlotte, Lauren, Juliet, Andrew, Isabelle, Robert, Laith, Lawrie, Jasmine, Maya, Hannah, Ethan, Thomas, Amelie - at what will be an exciting and inspiring event!
We are excited to inform you that we will be holding a Year 7 Enrichment Day on Wednesday 4 December 2024. Year 7 students will be off timetable and will engage with a variety of workshops linked to Zones of Regulation, Resilience, Belonging and Executive Function Skills. Students will need to ensure they have their pencil case with them for this day. We are looking forward to working with all Year 7s throughout this day.
We welcomed the Scholastic Book Fair this week, and it will continue to run here in the library until Thursday 5 December. It’s been great to see so many students pop in to browse at breaktime and lunchtime. We have also had several classes of Year 7 and 8 visiting during their English lessons, with lots of interest and the hope of some Christmas book treats. It is certainly a great opportunity to do some early Christmas shopping, whilst encouraging reading for pleasure. Last year, our Calthorpe students and parents were fantastic at supporting the Fair, and we have been delighted with how much you have all done so again this year – students, parents and carers have already been amazing, and we still have another week left to browse and buy. Payments for books will need to be online, with students bringing home the details of the cost and a QR code to scan. 
Payment can also be made directly via this link. Parents/carers may wish to purchase vouchers ahead of the fair, print them out at home and students use them as if they are cash. We will also have a few bits of fun stationery for the students, and this can be paid for with cash. The range of prices are usually from approximately 50p to £5. The wonderful thing about ordering from the Book Fair is that, due to Scholastic’s Reward scheme, a percentage of the money made can go back into our school – so that means lots of fantastic new books for the library that will be chosen by the students.
Our Christmas Concert will take place on Tuesday 17 December – please see this link to book tickets.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The Maths Puzzle for this week is below, entries due in by Saturday 7 December:
Friday 22 November 2024
Congratulations to our Year 11 students as they complete the mock examinations today. We have been proud of their attitudes and maturity during this period.
We would like to remind parents/carers that we have a code of conduct here, and ask that if phoning or coming into school you are polite and respectful to our staff.
Our attendance for last week was 92% but we have noticed an increase on our late gate - please do allow extra time with the ever-changing weather conditions and roadworks. If you need to check your child's attendance it can be seen on Edulink.
We will be welcoming back the Scholastic Book Fair next week, and it will run from Monday 25th November to Thursday 12th December. It will be with us for almost two weeks to ensure that there are still plenty of browsing and buying opportunities despite the two INSET days. The Fair will be open to students to come along and have a look/shop during break and lunchtimes, and both Years 7 and 8 will be visiting during English lessons. This could be the perfect opportunity for some early Christmas shopping, alongside encouraging reading for pleasure! Last year, our students and parents were fantastic at supporting the Fair, and we hope it will be as popular this year. Payments for books will need to be online, with students bringing home the details of the cost and a QR code to scan. Payment can also be made directly via this link. Parents/carers may wish to purchase vouchers ahead of the fair, print them out at home and students can use them as if they are cash. . We will also have some fun stationery for the students, and this can be paid for with cash. The range of prices are usually from approximately 50p to £5.00. The wonderful thing about ordering from the Book Fair is that, due to Scholastic’s Reward scheme, a percentage of the money made can go back into our school – so that means lots of fantastic new books for the library that will be chosen by the students.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Thanks for your support so far for the Food Drive this month. The deadline for donations is next Wednesday and with nearly 1000 items received, please can you help nudge this number up before the Hart Foodbank collect next week? See this link for full details.
There are two INSET days next week, on Thursday and Friday, 28 and 29 November when school will be closed for students. See our Term Dates page for full details of key dates over the year.
Our Christmas Concert will take place on Tuesday 17 December – please see this link to book tickets.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to the Kindness Bucket recently, raising £356.50! Your generosity and kindness will make a meaningful difference; spreading joy, hope, and compassion to those who need it most.
The Farnborough 6th Form application deadline for Y11 students has now passed. All references have been received and will be completed in school by tutors, under the management of Ms Wayman. For those who have applied, virtual interviews will take place in school during the week commencing 13 January. These interviews will be conducted via Teams, lasting approximately 15 minutes each. Specific times and dates for the interviews will be shared soon. If you have not yet applied but would still like to, please contact Ms Wayman as soon as possible for further guidance.
It’s Fleet Festivities on Wednesday and we will have a choir singing in Gurkha Square during the evening. There are a number of activities available for children during the evening – see this link for details.
Please see our community events notice here for details of an Army online course for service families, and a babysitting course being held in Aldershot.
The Maths puzzle this week is as follows, due in on Saturday 30 November:
Friday 15 November 2024
Please see this letter for all parents regarding a vaping incident.
There are two INSET days this month on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 November when school will be closed for students. See our Term Dates page for all key dates.
The Department for Education is seeking the views from stakeholders regarding potential improvements to the curriculum and assessment systems in schools. While not a consultation they do want feedback on what works, what doesn't and potential improvements. Please use this link if you would like to comment.
We will be welcoming back the Scholastic Book Fair from Monday 25 November. It will be with us for almost two weeks to ensure that there are still plenty of browsing and buying opportunities despite the two INSET days. The Fair will be open to students to come along and have a look/shop during break and lunchtimes, and both Years 7 and 8 will be visiting during English lessons. This could be the perfect opportunity for some early Christmas shopping, alongside encouraging reading for pleasure! Last year, our Calthorpe students and parents were fantastic at supporting the Fair, and we hope it will be as popular this year. Further information will be shared with both students and parents/ carers next week but if you wish, please use this link for further details now.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Following a few changes, the latest clubs list can be found here.
College open evenings for Year 11 students over the next week are as follows:
Merrist Wood College – 16 November
FCOT – 20 November
Aldershot Construction College – 21 November
BCOT – 23 November
These are all listed on the website on this page. Please check the college websites for timings and for booking information.
The Maths puzzle this week is as follows, due in on Saturday 23 November - apologies, this was the wrong puzzle, the correct one had been sent to students:
Friday 8 November 2024
It was with great sadness that Ms E Jones attended Chris Archbold's funeral this week which took place at Fleet Methodist Church on Monday, 4 November. Chris joined Calthorpe Park School, relocating from the North-East, in 1970 as Head of RE and he was also a Head of Year. He served Calthorpe Park faithfully for 30 years in his capacity as a teacher and pastoral leader but he was also instrumental in contributing to creating our Calthorpe Park culture that the school is so well-known for today. Chris ran huge numbers of educational visits and played a key role in concerts, musical productions and enrichment activities. Even after his well-earned retirement he continued to serve the CPS community by coming in to run Holocaust Education. Chris enjoyed an active retirement and devoted considerable time to his work at the Holocaust Educational Trust. He worked all over the country highlighting the dangers of extremism and anti-semitism whilst also being part of the Methodist Church's local preacher network. He will be remembered very fondly by those that he taught for having great passion, conviction and humour. He is survived by his devoted wife, son and grandchildren and we would like to extend our condolences to them at this sad time. Chris was a huge character and there will be many of you in the local community that were taught by him. We will be creating a book of remembrance for Chris' family. If you would like to contribute to that please see this link.
The Y9 DOSE Programme starts later this month, see this letter as a reminder and we’d be grateful if parents can complete payments as soon as possible.
A number of trips are open for application this week and the deadline for applying is 9pm on Monday 11 November.
There is a Y7 Parents Coffee Morning here on Wednesday 13 November, including the sale of second-hand uniform. See this letter for details and to book a place.
College open evenings for Year 11 students over the next week are as follows:
Guildford College – 9 November
Sparsholt College – 9 November
ACM, Guildford – 10 & 12 November
Farnham College -13 November
Surrey Maths School – 13 November
Merrist Wood College – 16 November
These are all listed on the website on this page. Please check the college websites for timings and for booking information. The deadline for Farnborough 6th Form applications is on Monday 11 November at 4pm.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The Maths puzzle this week is as follows, due in on Saturday 16 November:
Hampshire CC have started a consultation on making improvements for pedestrians and cyclists along Hitches Lane and would like your views. Please see this page for further details, including links to their information pack and access to the online survey. The consultation will close on Sunday 10 November.
They have an additional consultation about some changes to the Post-16 Transport policy here. This one has a deadline of 15 December.
Friday 25 October 2024
Please see our Newsletter for this half term here.
After half term Year 7-9 students will be doing Cross Country in their double PE lesson for the first three weeks, building up to Inter House Cross Country. On these days the students will get changed as normal before PE lessons and DO NOT need to come into school in PE Kit. As it is likely to be muddy and potentially wet, please ensure that students have a plastic bag to put wet clothes/trainers in. If students would like to wear football boots that is fine but they must also bring trainers with them.
Please click on this link to view the October Trips Bulletin. There will be a number of trips opening for application on Tuesday 5 November with the deadline for applying the following Monday 11 November.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
We are holding a Food Drive for the Hart Food Bank during November. Please see this link for full details of items that are needed and how to bring them in. The deadline for donations is Wednesday 27 November. Thanks in advance for your support.
Check our Term Dates page for regular updates - we finish for the half term break at 3pm on Friday 25 October, returning to school on Monday 4 November.
The Maths puzzle of the week is below – the due date is on 9 November. This half term's winner is Othavia P, E02.
The Hart Rotary Club are promoting the Rotary Young Writer Competition. This provides an excellent opportunity for students to participate in a highly regarded national writing competition and offers the opportunity to give free reign to their creative writing skills. The competition involves writing an essay (up to 550 words) or a poem (up to 40 lines) and this year’s theme is “Wonderful Water” which offers so many varied possibilities for an interesting story or poem. All the details of this competition can be found in the Rotary Young Writer Information Pack here and a copy of the entry form is here. All entries need to be submitted by Friday 7 February to Mrs Fisher in English.
Hart Volunteer Centre are holding an information event on 11 November at The Elvetham as they are looking for Trustees for various local community organisations. See this link for further details.
Friday 18 October 2024
The CPS Extra Programme continues next week. Teachers have been carefully planning sessions to support students in preparation for their formal written mock examinations taking place the week after half term. Y11 students can find revision resources in the MS Teams area. A copy of this timetable has been shared with Year 11 students and parents and can be found here.
Our Sri Lanka Team 2024 is getting ready to leave for Sri Lanka next Tuesday. Our partner schools are very excited about the prospect of working with Calthorpe Park students, who have been planning the lessons they are going to lead in these schools during our stay. Thanks to Friday Fundraising and a wealth of initiatives the students have organised themselves, the total they have raised this year exceeds £12,000. This money has supported the building of a new preschool in a remote area of Eastern Province, supported a food programme across preschools funded by Ocean Stars Trust, and supported work in our partner schools in the town of Batticaloa. For the first part of the trip, students participating will be visiting temples, plucking tea leaves at a plantation, seeing elephants, both at an elephant orphanage and in the wild, and exploring the historic city of Kandy, the final kingdom before British rule of then Ceylon. During half term, they will be teaching students the lessons they have prepared in our partner schools in Batticaloa and in Trincomalee, working with mainstream students, special needs students, and students who are hearing impaired. We have already recruited a team of students who will be joining us in Sri Lanka in 2025, but will be starting again the process of opening applications for our 2026 visit in the summer term this year.
Mr Walker and the Sri Lanka Team
Year 7 school photos are being taken next Wednesday – please ensure your children are in the correct uniform.
The Calthorpe Chronicle, our newsletter written by students, is now available to purchase for £1 via Scopay. This covers a range of topics such as an extensive coverage of The Calthorpe Constituency, Open Evening and more!
Please encourage your children to check the lost property area. This is a room off the food tech corridor. There are numerous un-named items in there, including around 25 coats that have been there since the beginning of term. These items will be sent to charity at half term if still unclaimed. We do strongly recommend naming all items that your children bring in or wear to school.
Intermediate Maths Challenge club starts after half term on Wednesdays from 3 to 4pm in X1 and will run until the competition in early February. Invitations to take part in the competition will be sent out in December. We look forward to seeing students in Years 9-11 ready to think outside the box and to work together to challenge their mathematical skills.
College open evenings for Year 11 students over the next two weeks are as follows:
Alton College – 19 October
Farnborough 6th Form – 22, 23 and 24 October
ACM, Guildford - 3 November
These are all listed on the website on this page. Please check the college websites for timings and for booking information.
Year 8 and 9 students had a great time at the HBA Meet the Author event hosted by CPS this week. Some of our top readers in Year 8 joined in to give them a taster for the Hampshire Book Awards open to them later in the year, and our Year 9 readers who chose ‘Electric Life’ to win, met and chatted with Rachel Delahaye, the winning author. We all enjoyed a thought-provoking presentation on the power of technology and how it had inspired the winning novel, and during the question session our students were fantastic – so much engagement and additionally so many great suggestions to Rachel as to the direction of the sequel! A great way to focus on reading for pleasure.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The Heritage GCSE letter will be sent today to parents, announcing the launch of the GCSE Heritage Language Examinations Program. This program is available to Year 10 and Year 11 students who are either native or fluent in a language that is not currently taught at CPS. Support classes and exam preparation will be facilitated by a bilingual teacher at the school prior to the exams scheduled for next summer; however, students are expected to dedicate additional study time outside of these sessions. A list of the available languages will be included in the letter. For any inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us via email at EAL@cps.hants.sch.uk.
Check our Term Dates page for regular updates - we finish for the half term break at 3pm on Friday 25 October, returning to school on Monday 4 November.
Friday 11 October 2024
The CPS Extra Programme for Year 11 students will start on Monday 14 October and will take place for two weeks ahead of the written mocks following half term. A copy of this timetable has been shared with Year 11 students and parents and can be found here.
We are delighted that author Rachel Delahaye will be joining us on Tuesday 15 October to celebrate winning the Hampshire Book Awards 2024. A number of our Year 8 and 9 students will be joining her in the Hall to meet her and listen to a presentation. They will also be able to ask questions. A great way to celebrate reading for pleasure!
Check our Term Dates page for regular updates - we finish for the half term break at 3pm on Friday 25 October, returning to school on Monday 4 November.
College open evenings for Year 11 students up until half term are as follows:
Farnham College – 12 October
ACM – 13 October
Farnborough College of Technology (FCOT) – 15 & 16 October
Frensham Heights 6th Form – 16 October
Guildford College– 16 October
Aldershot Construction College – 17 October
Alton College – 19 October
Farnborough 6th Form – 22, 23 and 24 October
These are all listed on the website on this page. Please check the college websites for timings and for booking information.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Maths Puzzle of the Week for students:
Entries can be made in any category or both. Each entry will be awarded 1 Calthorpe point for making the effort and submitting the answer (with explanation) for each category you entered. The correct answer will be awarded an additional Calthorpe point. There will be a winner each half term drawn from all the correct answers. The winner will be notified by email and receive a prize. The submission entries should be made by email to Mrs Phillips by Saturday 19 October @ 5 pm. Good luck, have fun!
Friday 4 October 2024
On 8 October there will be the opportunity for new Year 7 parents to meet their child’s tutor – please see this letter for details including how to book an appointment time.
World Mental Health Day - Thursday 10 October - We are proud to be joining thousands of schools across the UK by taking part in Hello Yellow in support of the charity YoungMinds on World Mental Health Day. On this day, our student Mental Health Ambassadors and Prefect Team will be distributing yellow ribbons during tutor time for students to wear. This is to highlight that no young person should feel alone with their mental health and that we stand brighter, together.
We would like to ask Parents and Carers to consider making a voluntary donation to help YoungMinds keep fighting for improved mental health support and awareness. Our suggested donation is £2 and can be made via your child’s Scopay account by following this link.
Please see this link to YoungMinds to find out how your donations make a difference to the lives of young people in the UK.
Thank you for your support,
Mental Health Ambassadors and Prefect Team
Please see this letter about the launch of the DOSE programme on Tuesday 8 October for Years 7 & 8 students.
College open evenings for Year 11 students over the next week are as follows:
Sparsholt College – 5 October
Basingstoke College of Technology (BCOT) – 7 October
Merrist Wood College – 9 October
Salesian – 9 October
Alton College – 10 October
Farnham College – 12 October
ACM – 13 October
These are all listed on the website on this page. Please check the college websites for timings and for booking information.
Every year we take part in the Southampton University Cipher Challenge. This is an exciting opportunity for students to learn about different ciphers and how to decrypt them. This year the challenge starts on 10 October. Information about this year’s challenge can be found at Southampton University’s website. We will meet every Thursday from 3-4pm up until Christmas and students who enjoy cracking codes and want to learn more about it, with the chance of winning prizes, will enjoy this club! Students should sign up with Mrs Jones (Computer Science) or Mrs Powell (Maths) by Wednesday 9 October.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Our Year 11 Prom will be held on Wednesday 25 June next year at Warbrook House in Eversley. We’re giving advance notice this year as apparently Court Moor have their Prom on the same night.
Just a reminder that the Flu vaccinations are taking place on 17/10/24. Please remember to fill in the consent form even if you do not wish your child to have the vaccination.
Our latest Clubs list for lunchtime and after school activities can be found here. Updates throughout the term are on our website under Students/Clubs.
Maths Puzzle of the Week for students:
Entries can be made in any category or both. Each entry will be awarded 1 Calthorpe point for making the effort and submitting the answer (with explanation) for each category you entered. The correct answer will be awarded an additional Calthorpe point. There will be a winner each half term drawn from all the correct answers. The winner will be notified by email and receive a prize. The submission entries should be made by email to Mrs Phillips by Saturday 12 October @ 5 pm. Good luck, have fun!
See our Community Notices on the website for a variety of local activities.
Follow us on Social Media: Facebook Twitter/X Instagram
Friday 27 September 2024
On 8 October there will be the opportunity for new Year 7 parents to meet their child’s tutor – please see this letter for details including how to book an appointment time.
Punctuality Reminder - thank-you to all parents for the continued support to get students to school on time, despite the many roadworks in the area! We thought it may be useful to share our lateness procedure again for parents - this can be found here.
This is now a busy time for college open evenings for Year 11 students and we will include reminders each week. These are all listed on the website on this page and forthcoming key dates are as follows:
Peter Symonds – 1 and 2 October
Queen Mary's College – 2 and 3 October
Yateley 6th Form – 3 October
Lord Wandsworth - 4 October
Sparsholt – 5 October
Basingstoke College of Technology (BCOT) – 7 October
Please check the college websites for timings and for booking information.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Our latest Clubs list for lunchtime and after school activities can be found here. Updates throughout the term are on our website under Students/Clubs.
Friday 20 September 2024
We have a cake sale in support of Macmillan Coffee Morning next Friday, 27 September. See this letter for details, and thanks in advance for your support and donations.
Please see these two letters about the launch of the DOSE programme – one issued to Years 7 & 8 parents and this one to Year 9 parents.
All the local college open evenings are now listed on our website here. This is a very busy term, please check the college websites for information about booking in advance where required.
A reminder from Medical and Attendance that the current guidelines state you should not be testing your child for Covid unless you have been advised by a medical professional to do so. Please complete an absence form on Edulink if your child is too unwell to attend school.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Does anyone have any mechanical or digital bathroom scales that they no longer want please? Science would love to receive them for use in our physics lessons about mass. If you have any unwanted kg scales please drop them at the school reception for Science to collect.
The Art Dept would be very grateful for donations of old newspapers and empty Douwe Egbert coffee jars for keeping glazes.
Flu vaccinations are due to take place on 17th October. Please can parents check their emails for the flu vaccination consent form. Also, if parents do not consent please still fill out the form to state this. In case of any problems please contact the immunisation team using details from the information previously sent out.
Friday 13 September 2024
Regarding ongoing issues with road closures nearby, a big event at the leisure centre on Tuesday and our annual Open Evening on Thursday, please see this page for details and any updates.
As a reminder we have an early closure next Thursday at 2.10pm. On Friday 20 September, all students should be in school by 9am and go straight to their first lesson where they will be registered.
Please see this letter issued to parents of Y9 and Y10 students this week regarding the #BeeWell Student Survey.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
See this link for our latest clubs list, covering activities for students at lunch times and after school. This page is updated regularly so please check the website under Students/Clubs.
All the local college open evenings are now listed on our website here. This is a very busy term, please check the college websites for information about booking in advance where required.
After the rain last week, uniform was lent out from HQ. Some of it has been returned but there is still quite a lot missing. Please could this to be washed and brought back in? Similarly if anyone has any spare uniform they are willing to donate to HQ or Reception for their second hand stock, this would be helpful too!
Our Year 11 Prom will be held on Wednesday 25 June next year at Warbrook House in Eversley. We’re giving advance notice this year as apparently Court Moor have their Prom on the same night.
Please see this link for student opportunities in Quetta Park.
One of our Year 11 students, Daisy B, is raising money for the Brain Tumour Charity in memory of her aunt, at El Castello on Saturday 21 September – see this link for details.
Friday 6 September 2024
Welcome back to school for the Autumn term and new school year!
We are delighted to have welcomed back all our students this week and are proud to see them looking so smart in their uniform. To remind parents, carers and students of our uniform expectations, a copy of the letter sent out in July is attached here for your reference and convenience. While the weather yesterday and today has been quite exceptional, rain coats (not hoodies) should be worn when rain is forecast.
We have an early closure on Thursday 19 September at 2.10pm. The bus will only collect at 3pm though, so either those children should make alternative arrangements, or can wait in school until the bus arrives. On Friday 20 September, school will start at 9am and students should go straight to their first lesson where they will be registered. See our Term Dates page for key dates, INSET days and parent consultations throughout the year.
Year 9 students have begun their new GCSE subjects and initial feedback from teachers is very positive. New working routines and strategies will soon become established over the next few weeks and they will become more settled with their GCSE and vocational courses. Students will have carefully selected their option subjects and we hope that these are still their preferred choices. However, we appreciate that there will be a few students questioning their choices and perhaps considering whether other courses may be more suitable for them. This is a natural part of the settling-in process. Between now and the half term break in October, if it seems that an option change is needed there is a routine to follow. This routine includes some checks and reviews so that we can make sure that the request for change is suitable and practically possible. It is worth remembering that, as was explained carefully during the initial options process, there are some requirements and limits with course choices and these will need to be followed during the ‘Option Change Request’ process. If your child (with your approval) is considering making a request to change an option subject they should see Mrs Hale in the Registry Office (opposite the New Hall entrance in the Gallery) and ask for an Option Change Request form. The various stages of this process are described on the form, and either Mrs Hale or Mr Borkowski can offer further advice and guidance.
A number of trips were opened for application on Tuesday. Parents of the students eligible to apply for a place on these trips have been notified via email. Please remember to complete the application form on Scopay and make the payment by the deadline - 9pm on Monday 9 September.
We were delighted that many students wished to borrow books over the summer, but it is now time to return them. Additionally, we have a significant number of books that are overdue from loans last year so it’s time to have a bit of a blitz at home and find those books to return! Check under beds and in cupboards. Search in bags and drawers. As much as we really want to lend as many books as possible, students with overdue books will be unable to borrow titles until overdue books are returned. Thank you for your support.
Our latest clubs list for activities taking place at lunchtime and after school can be seen here. Please check the page regularly on the website under Students/Clubs.
As you may be aware there have been some changes to School Attendance, please see the links below for further information and guidance for parents:
Prioritising school attendance
As a reminder, you can monitor your child's attendance on the Edulink app.
Friday 19 July 2024
Please find our latest Newsletter here.
Today we have celebrated the superb achievements and endeavours of our students in Years 7-10 as part of our annual award ceremonies. We have 1314 students in Years 7-10 and 638 subject nominations were made with another 392 students nominated for pastoral and special awards. A total of 465 students received an award which they were presented with as part of our formal ceremonies. We look forward to celebrating the efforts of our Year 11 students during our annual Certificate Evening which will take place later in the year. Well done to all our students.
The Autumn term starts for students on Tuesday 3 September. Year 7 and Year 11 start at 8.40am with Year 7 registering in the courtyard and Year 11 going to tutor groups. Years 8, 9 & 10 start at 9.55am in their tutor groups. Please see our Term Dates page for full details of the next academic year. Our INSET Days over the summer are on Monday 22 July, Tuesday 23 July and Monday 2 September.
We wish everyone a wonderful summer break and look forward to seeing you in September!
Friday 12 July 2024
Our annual SLUGG Fest takes place on Wednesday 17 July – see this letter for details. The ELSA team have prepared a social story to help support students with Slugg Fest, see this link.
Sports Day last week was very successful – see this link on the website for a review of the day.
We have had our last set of Year 7 Library lessons this week – the students will be back in as Year 8s with more reading activities and opportunities. To bridge the gap over the summer, this week all the Year 7 students were told about our Summer Reading Challenge. Copies have been offered to students in the library lesson, but a digital copy will be shared with students and Year 7 parents via Edulink. It’s a way to keep reading over the break and earn some rewards as all participating students that return their postcards will earn achievement points, with prizes and rewards on offer for the best efforts. Please support our Year 7 students in this reading challenge. Students can borrow books over the summer from our library or make use of our digital app, Sora, with audio books included.
Looking for a convenient and user-friendly way to access a vast collection of age-appropriate books from the comfort of home or school? Look no further than Sora, the virtual library app! All CPS students have access to this app, which can be easily downloaded and accessed on any device. Whether at home or in school, Sora provides an extensive collection of books, audiobooks, graphic novels and magazine for readers of all ages and interests. Sora makes browsing and searching for books easy with various filters and categories to help find the next favourite read, and support tools such as a dyslexic font option to make reading accessible for all.
Setting Up: Download the Sora app from Apple App Store or Google Play. If you are using a browser navigate to soraapp.com.
- Enter the setup code: hampshiresls
- Find your school in the dropdown list.
- Log in using your usual school log in details:
- Username (Enter your school’s username)
- Password (Enter your school’s password)
- Browse the Explore tab to find and borrow a book or magazine
Lillie-Mae (Y11), Lola (Y9) and Isla (Y8) competed in their last cheerleading competition of the season at Future Cheer International in Bournemouth at the weekend. See this link to read about their latest success!
Immy R (Y10), Megan F (Y10) and Georgia M (Y7) travelled to the Czech Republic last week to represent England in a number of dances at the 2024 Dance World Cup held at the Prague Congress Centre. See this link to see their results.
Luna has turned 3! A big thank you to the Year 6s who sang happy birthday to her and for all the birthday strokes! She loved her birthday bunting which the ELSA Craft club made for her.
Friday 5 July 2024
We are looking forward to our school show, "Sister Act" which opens on Tuesday 9 July and runs for five nights. A few tickets are still available - see this link to book numbered seats in the Hall and we hope you enjoy the show!
We had a very successful day hosting and celebrating the Hampshire Book Award here at Calthorpe on Tuesday. Students and staff from 10 other schools in the Hampshire area joined us, and there was a brilliant buzz of book chat on every table. The students were a mix of schools on every table, and it was great to observe them all sharing their views and opinions of all six books – with some enthusiastic ‘loved its’ and some strong ‘no ways’! After some time spent discussing, students then voted online and with a little wait as votes were counted and verified – filled in with some fun quizzes – the winner was announced. Electric life by Rachel Delahaye came out on top – a digital dystopian future adventure. A worthy winner. Thank you to the 14 Year 8 students who took part –other school staff members commented that our students were a credit to Calthorpe: Elliot D, Lieze R, Kimmie M, Bethany D, Nicoleta D, Ailith S, Eleanor S, Orthavia P, Jacob L, Jesscia M, Jasmine K, Laiba M, Nicoleta D, Sophia P.
See this letter issued today about SLUGG Fest on 17 July.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Friday 28 June 2024
We will be running our own Calthorpe Election on Thursday 4 July to mirror the General Election taking place in the United Kingdom. We have six Constituency Candidates participating in the election: Guy C - Conservative, Sateja B - Liberal Democrats, Ethan A - Green Party, Cameron J - Reform UK, Andrew N - Labour & Izzie W - Equilibrium Party. Party candidates will be posting their official Party Political Broadcasts next week in advance of hustings on Tuesday 2 July. We wish them the best of luck!
Tickets are available for the school production, “Sister Act”, which opens in just over a week. It will run over five nights on Tuesday 9, Wednesday 10, Thursday 11, Friday 12 and Saturday 13 July – with performances starting at 7pm each evening. Please see this link to book numbered seats in the Hall and we hope you enjoy the show!
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
See this link for details of recent cheerleading success by Lillie-Mae (Y11), Lola (Y9) and Isla (Y8) who are part of Eclipse Cheerleading Team, Discovery, based in Farnborough.
Personal Best Education are running Teen Projects throughout Hampshire this summer. Funded by Hampshire County Council through the Government’s Connect4Communities programme, the events are open to students aged 11-16 who are eligible for Free School Meals under the Pupil Premium Scheme, and they are FREE to attend. One project will be run here on the school site during weeks 1 and 3 of the holidays on Monday-Thursday from 10am to 3pm, providing a number of different activities and workshops in addition to free hot lunches. See this letter for details, and this link for booking.
We wish our Year 11 students a great evening for their Prom tonight!
Friday 21 June 2024
The Leavers' Assembly will be taking place on Wednesday 26 June at 9.15am. Year 11 are invited to arrive at 9am for a 9.15am start. The assembly will run from 9.15 – 10am, and then there will be some light refreshments provided, as well as an opportunity to sign shirts and get all those signatures. We look forward to seeing Year 11 students then!
If any Year 11 students have a school organiser that is still serviceable with no signs of personalisation or damage and no obvious marks/stains, they may wish to recycle them so they can benefit other students in school. Students can bring any reusable organisers in to school with them when they return for the Leavers' Assembly on Wednesday.
Tickets are now available for the school production, “Sister Act”, which will take place over five nights next month – Tuesday 9, Wednesday 10, Thursday 11, Friday 12 and Saturday 13 July – with performances starting at 7pm each evening. Please see this link to book numbered seats in the Hall and we hope you enjoy the show!
The latest student newsletter, The Calthorpe Chronicle, has just been released and can be found here.
Owing to the continued rising costs everywhere and the nature of Maths being a continuum we will once again be following through with the exercise books that the students are currently using. Any new students joining the school will obviously be given a new book. We will issue a new book as soon as the existing book is full. All students have been informed in their lessons, however, we felt it would be useful for you as parents to know, to help ensure that maths books do not get thrown out in the summer, end of term clean up.
The ELSA Team have written a social story to help prepare all our students for this fun whole school event – see the link here.
Mr Marshall-James has taken over the Y9 WW1 Battlefields trip after 20 years of Mr Edwards running this very successful trip – see this link for details of their three day visit last week.
This week we had another wonderful Year 7 school trip to the Wintershall Estate in Bramley, where students had the amazing opportunity to watch the renowned "Life of Christ" performance. Our students were captivated by the wonderful play, which brings the story of Christ to life with stunning performances and live animals, including donkeys, sheep, horses, and birds. A particular highlight was the ‘Feeding of the 5000’ where bread was thrown to all the children in the audience! The beautiful grounds of the Wintershall Estate provided a perfect backdrop for this immersive experience. The children were beautifully behaved throughout the trip, reflecting their engagement and respect for the performance. With thanks to Mr Lugg, Mr Boby and Mrs Bone for their support in making this trip possible and ensuring it was a memorable and educational experience for our Year 7 students.
Ms Wayman
We had the privilege of taking 47 Year 10 students to Thorpe Park last week as a reward for all their hard work and dedication throughout Year 10. These students were invited for a day of fun, off timetable to celebrate their achievements and give them the opportunity to enjoy themselves with their friends. It was a fabulous day (minus a couple of down pours and some soggy students... and teachers!), and the students behaved impeccably, showing maturity with the independence they were allowed around Thorpe Park. We were very lucky with how quiet it was and many students got to go on lots of rides throughout the day due to low queue times - some managed as many as 6 before lunch! An excellent day, with wonderful students who enjoyed themselves - it is a Reward Trip that will continue for future years groups! Thank you to all students and staff who made the trip a pleasure to run.
Miss Barnes
Friday 14 June 2024
We continue to welcome your nominations for Wednesday 19 June - National Thank a Teacher Day. With nearly 1600 students, it would be lovely to hear from parents and celebrate as many of our school community as possible. To date, we have received less than 80 nominations and we know that you will want to recognise a member of staff who has supported your child. This year, the aim is to recognise not just the teachers but also the support staff, learning support assistants, canteen staff, site team and everyone else who plays a crucial role in making our school thrive. Please use this form to pass on your thanks.
Our next Parents coffee morning is on Wednesday 19 June for selected parents. Please see the email sent out during the week to book a place.
As advised to parents in Emerald House, Ms Meaden will be going on parental leave early in the Autumn Term, with Mr Talibart in Geography taking over as Head of House while she is away. They are working closely together to ensure this transition works well.
This letter about music tuition for Years 7-10 has been issued this week. A separate letter has been sent to children in Y6 who will be joining us in September.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
AWE are holding an apprenticeship event for parents to find out more on Wednesday 3 July, 6-7pm. See this link for details and to book a place.
SSEN are working on the A287 over the next couple of months with one lane closed from 19 June to 30 July in several places and a 30mph speed limit in place from 16 June. See this link for further details.
Some holiday camps are being run in the summer holidays for children from service families. See this link for more details.
Friday 7 June 2024
As Wednesday 19 June is National Thank a Teacher Day, we wanted to use this as an opportunity to celebrate the amazing staff at Calthorpe Park School who work with your child every day. This year, the aim is to recognise not just the teachers but also the support staff, learning support assistants, canteen staff, site team and everyone who plays a crucial role in making our school thrive. Please use this form to pass on your thanks!
We are running another Timeout for Parents course starting on Tuesday 11 June for 6 weeks. This is free for parents and the last few places can be booked here. We do ask that you commit to attending for the full six weeks please. Feedback from the course that finished this week has been very positive.
The Kindness Bucket is open for donations on Scopay until Monday 17 June. More information can be found by clicking here.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Safeguarding Spotlight: Sharing photos, videos and live streams online is part of daily life for many of our students, enabling them to share their experiences, connect with friends and record their lives. However, there are an increasing number of cases in which inappropriate content is being shared and the impacts of this are significant. Here at Calthorpe Park we take safeguarding our students very seriously and with an increase in cases of nude, semi-nude and/or exploitative material being shared, we wanted to reach out to our community to seek your support. It is against the law for nudes or semi-nudes (real or AI-generated) to be shared. Anyone posting or sending on such material is therefore acting illegally.
We actively encourage parents and guardians to check students’ phones, monitor online presence and encourage healthy practices.
Encourage children to:
- accept known friends only on social media to avoid unknown / unwanted attention
- not share or pass on any inappropriate content (to include nudes / semi-nudes) as this is a criminal offence
- report any inappropriate social media usage (social media platforms have their own reporting systems; to the police and inform the Safeguarding Team at Calthorpe)
Further support is available online from the NSPCC:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
The following websites detail support to help remove inappropriate content:
Friday 24 May 2024
Please see our half termly Newsletter here.
Year 11 Exams Update - Year 11 students have completed their final exam for the half term, finishing this morning with French Writing. We want to praise all of our students for their focus and maturity in these first three weeks. We hope they have the opportunity to reflect, rest and (of course) revise over the half term. Well done for all that has been achieved to date.
We are holding a Taster Session for our next Timeout for Parents course on Tuesday 4 June from 6-6.30pm. The next 6-week course will start on Tuesday 11 June and places are very limited. If you would like to book a place on this Taster Session, please use this link. Feedback from the course that is currently running is very positive and we would encourage parents who would like to improve their relationships with their teenagers to book a place to find out more.
Tickets for 'Sister Act' will go on sale shortly after half term. Please listen out for announcements coming soon!
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Friday 17 May 2024
Year 11 complete the second week of their GCSE examinations today and the whole school community has been impressed by their commitment and focus. 21 examinations have been completed since Tuesday 7th May. Our teachers have offered over 20 pre-exam 'Booster Sessions' to offer those last minute tips and reminders. We wish them all the best of luck.
Our legal eagle Year 9 students are off to rock the courtroom again on Saturday 18th May! Our team will be participating in the Magistrates Competition Final at Reading Crown Court. A new case to argue was only released a few weeks ago, so they have been working hard on speeches, questions and learning statements. We know they will be brilliant and are looking forward to witnessing their court battles!
Good luck to: Charlotte S, Juliet F, Laith B, Amelie T, Lauren M, Andrew N, Isabelle W, Lawrie W, Jas L, Maja H, Hannah W, Harry G.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Science need old newspapers and any clear (non-gel) nail varnish would be gratefully received as well – donations to Reception please.
We have been advised that some tree work is being carried out by the Cricket Club next Tuesday between 9am and 3pm which will affect pedestrian access to Calthorpe Park. With these timings it should not affect any students if they walk to school along this route.
Friday 10 May 2024
Congratulations to Year 11 on completion of their first week of GCSE examinations. Today, the whole cohort completed their first Biology Paper and we are incredibly proud of their attitudes.
Some of our Year 10 boys are through to the district national football final and it’s taking place at the Bet365 stadium in Stoke at 11.30am on Saturday 11 May. It can be viewed at this link.
As the weather is warmer, please remind your child to bring in their own water bottle to school every day.
Friday 3 May 2024
We would like to take this opportunity to wish our Year 11 students the best of luck for their upcoming GCSE examinations. These will commence on Tuesday 7th May.
Mental Health Ambassadors - Congratulations to our new cohort of Mental Health Ambassadors who recently completed their training with our CAMHS Mental Health Support Team. We are looking forward to seeing how they build on the great work of our outgoing Ambassadors in the support of the mental health and wellbeing of all our students.
Well done to these groups of students who have received their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Awards!
See our latest Clubs list here.
Friday 26 April 2024
The Year 11 Leavers’ Assembly will take place on the morning of Wednesday 26 June. The timing will be confirmed nearer the time. This is the contingency day for exams, so if we are required to hold exams that day, the Assembly time will be changed. Further information will be sent out later.
HPV Vaccinations 1, 2 & 3 May 2024 - This is a reminder that the nurses will be in school next week for the HPV vaccines for Year 8 and also catch up with Years 9, 10 and 11. Please can all parents who have not filled in the consent form please do so before the end of Monday 29 April. Even if you do not wish your child to have the vaccine please still fill out the form.
Many thanks
Mrs Coleman
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Friday 19 April 2024
Y11 parents, please refer to Edulink for information in relation to the 'bespoke' GCSE Programme for Y11 students. The final programme will be shared with students and parents as soon as all information has been confirmed. If you have any questions, please email Mrs Glover s.glover@cps.hants.sch.uk. See this letter issued today.
This letter has been issued by Mrs Al-Dabagh this week: Year 7-9 RSE
We are delighted to welcome Mrs Sian Cosgrove to our Calthorpe Park AEN Team. Mrs Cosgrove joins us as our SENCo and has a wealth of experience both as a teacher and within AEN. She has already met with a number of our students and looks forward to further developing strategies and interventions to ensure the best possible outcomes for our students.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
A number of local colleges have open events taking place over the next two weeks as follows:
Alton on 20 April, 10am-1pm
Guildford on 24 April, 4.30-7pm
ACM in Guildford on 25 (noon) and 28 April (1pm)
Sparsholt on 1 May, 4-7pm
QMC on 2 May, 5-8pm
These will be suitable for Year 11 students who are maybe still undecided or to confirm their choices for September, and also for Year 10 students who want an early look at their options. Click on the links to check details and/or to book a place.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 78.
PE Update: There are a number of summer clubs taking place this term after school including Athletics, Cricket, Tennis, Rounders, Social Tuesday and Badminton. We would love to see as many students there as possible, with a number of fixtures taking place over the course of the term.
Sponsorship - The PE department would like to thank both Bubblegum Balloons and CGI for their sponsorship of team kit this year. This has allowed us to purchase new Year 7 & upper school football kits, a Year 7/8 basketball kit and additional netball kit.
The department are actively seeking sponsorship for Rugby & Athletics kit. If your company would like to sponsor one of the school teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Results this week:
Tuesday 16 April
U16 Girls Football 1-2 vs Robert May's
Wednesday 17 April
Year 7 Boys Football - 2-2 vs Weydon (5-6 on pens)
Snowsports Trip 5-13 April: After a 24-hour coach journey we arrived at Tonale to find it had the best late season snow conditions in years. There were five groups of skiers and two groups of snowboarders so CPS were well represented on the slopes. The snowboard instructors pushed their groups hard with the novices managing a jump on the first day and even a black run by the end of the week. Off-piste fun saw silly hats awarded, games of bingo won, quizzes, swimming, a disco hosted by Mr Talibart and Mr Marshall-James and a lot of Italian ice cream sampled.
Many thanks to Mr Marshall-James, Mr Talibart, Mrs Glover, Miss Barnes, Miss Charlton, Mr Forster and Miss Talleraas for their continuous hard work and support throughout this trip which made it a memorable adventure for our students.
Mr Bullion
School Games: On Tuesday, sixteen Hampshire Primary schools who won their district competition competed in the county School Games Indoor Athletics Competition at the Aldershot Sports Garrison. There were 192 Y5/6 pupil’s competing at the event. The atmosphere was incredible! The pupils competed with exceptional athletic ability, determination and sportspersonship in six field and five track events.
Well done for Velmead Juniors for placing 5th and South Farnborough Juniors for placing 4th in the county.
The event would not have run as successfully as it did, without the amazing help of our Y8 and Y10 students: Amelia B, Rory D, Evan H, Abigail H, Zoe M, Emilia M, George D, Libby G, Lynden H, Elliott H, Amy J, Layla P, Evan S and Jack S. The students were outstanding and received well deserved praise from the primary school teachers.
A huge thank you for demonstrating the 'Calthorpe Way' and for your excellent leadership abilities.
We look forward to lots more School Games Events this term.
Wednesday 27 March 2024
Please see our Newsletter for this half term here.
School closes today for the Easter holidays, with an INSET Day on Thursday 28 March. We return to school for the Summer term on Monday 15 April and the optional summer polo shirts can be worn from this date. See this page for further term dates.
Our lunchtime service arrangements are changing after Easter – see this letter for details.
We are conducting a review of our website – please can you complete this form so that we can assess how it is being used.
Congratulations to all Year 11 GCSE Drama students after two fabulous nights of exams this week. They all performed to the best of their ability and were a credit to the Drama department and the school. Best wishes to the remaining group whose performances are tonight.
Thanks to all who have booked a place on the taster session for the parenting course in April – we’ve had a great response and this session is now full. We hope to run more of these later in the year.
Unfortunately we have seen an increase of vehicles attempting to enter the campus at the end of the school day. Our traffic management system for the 3pm student pick up requires parents driving on to the school site to have a permit. Full details can be seen on this page. Checks will be carried out after the Easter holidays, so please ensure you have a permit in place (if eligible), or arrange to collect your child elsewhere.
The latest Trip Bulletin will be sent out tomorrow.
The Year 8 HPV vaccinations are due to take place on May 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The consent form School Code is: SH116436 and the link to the website is here. Please can parents who do not consent please still fill out the form.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 76.
Inter House PE Results - Congratulations to Topaz who retained their inter house crown in this terms competition. We will look forward to sports day as our next whole school PE event.
Sponsorship - The PE department would like to thank both Bubblegum Balloons and CGI for their recent sponsorship of team kit. This has allowed us to purchase new year 7 & upper school football kits, a year 7/8 basketball kit and additional netball.
The department are actively seeking sponsorship for Rugby & Athletics kit. If your company would like to sponsor one of the school teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Results this week:
Monday 25/3
Year 8 Boys football 8-1 Vs Robert May's
Year 8 Boys football 1-0 vs All Hallows
Year 9 Boys football 6-0 Eggars
Tuesday 26/3
Year 8 football 3-5 vs Amery Hill
Year 11 Boys Volleyball 1-2 vs Porchester
Friday 22 March 2024
Following the success of the food donations at Christmas, we are going to hold an Easter Egg donation from now until next Wednesday. All eggs donated will be given to the Food Bank. Students should take donations to HQ and put them in the relevant House box. If parents drop off to Reception, please can you attach a label to let us know which House is donating. Thanks in advance.
Our Spring Review music concert is taking place on Wednesday 27 March at 7pm in the Hall. Please see this link to book tickets.
There is an INSET Day on Thursday 28 March, meaning that students will finish for the Easter holidays at 3pm on Wednesday 27 March. We return to school for the Summer term on Monday 15 April. Check our Term Dates at this page.
Thank you to everyone for getting your children to school on time. We have seen such an improvement in this, with 13% arriving late at the start of this focus, to just 18 students on Wednesday. If you are going to be late for a reason out of your control or there is a planned appointment, parents can report this to the attendance team via their EduLink app and students will not receive a sanction. Please note morning traffic is expected and will not be accepted as a good enough reason.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
This Easter Personal Best Education are running Teen Projects throughout Hampshire. Funded by Hampshire County Council through the Government’s Connect4Communities programme, the events are open to students aged 11-16 who are eligible under the Pupil Premium Scheme, and they are FREE to attend. See this letter for details.
Science would like donations of empty rectangular ice cream tubs if anyone has some spare please. The oval ones are no good unfortunately! Thanks for your help.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 74.
Bar Mock National Final
The Bar Mock Team performed superbly on Saturday 16 March. They displayed both their legal expertise and their ability to cope under pressure as they faced a selection of college teams – with many of their opponents already studying law. The National Final took place at the Royal Courts of Justice, with our team being just one of the 22 teams from an original 200 schools. What an achievement to have been part of the final and a testament to the team’s hard work and dedication. In addition, Charlotte B took away the award for best Court Clerk, reflecting not only her high standard performance, but the organisation and team work of the group.
This all highlights the importance of such competitions so that students gain invaluable experience and insights. Our students were a credit to the school, and whilst they did not return with a trophy this time, they should be very proud of their achievement – we certainly are!
A huge well done to:
Joseph L, Anna W, Charlotte B, Seb S, Isabelle W, Lily J, Charlotte L, Robert H, Sophie H, Scarlett S, Jack B, Rebeca W-E , Joseph M
PE Update - Year 7 Footballers - Congratulations to our Year 7 football team who have been crowned league winners for the 23/24 season with a record of 5 wins, 1 draw and 0 losses, scoring 40 goals and conceding 5.
Inter House PE - Pupils have been participating in Inter house competitions throughout the week within their double PE lessons. Results to be finalised after the end of today's competitions.
Sponsorship - The PE department would like to thank both Bubblegum Balloons and CGI for their recent sponsorship of team kit. This has allowed us to purchase new year 7 & upper school football kits, a year 7/8 basketball kit and additional netball.
The department are actively seeking sponsorship for Rugby & Athletics kit. If your company would like to sponsor one of the school teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Results this week:
Monday 18/3
Year 7 Boys Football 5-0 vs Robert May's
Year 9 Boys Football 2-3 vs All Hallows
Tuesday 19/3
Year 7 Boys Football 3-0 vs Courtmoor
Year 8 Boys Football 9-0 vs Alderwood
Wednesday 20/3
Year 7 Netball 1-3 vs Tomlinscote
U13 Girls Football 0-2 vs Weydon
Year 8 Netball 12-2 vs Tomlinscote
Year 9 Rugby 75-5 vs Robert May's
Year 10 Football 3-3 vs Frogmore
On Tuesday, five Hart primary schools that consisted of 60 Year 5 and 6 pupils, competed in a School Games Indoor Athletics Competition here at Calthorpe Park. The atmosphere was incredible! The pupils competed with exceptional athletic ability, determination and sportsmanship in six field and five track events.
The event would not have run as successfully as it did, without the amazing help of our Y8, Y9 and Y10 students: Emilia, Megan, Poppy C, Daisy, Maisie R, Maia, Lynden, Elliott, Orla, Amy and Holly. A huge thank you to them for demonstrating the 'Calthorpe Way' and their excellent leadership abilities.
We look forward to welcoming five Rushmoor primary schools next Tuesday to compete in the same event.
Friday 15 March 2024
Mr Borkowski will send out further information today relating to the Year 8 Options process, including the Options Book, details about visiting all subjects on the Options Evening (21 March), and booking a place at the presentation.
There is an INSET Day on Thursday 28 March, meaning that students will finish for the Easter holidays at 3pm on Wednesday 27 March. We return to school for the Summer term on Monday 15 April. Check our Term Dates at this page.
Year 9 DOSE Programme – Parental Session - As you will be aware, Year 9 have been having DOSE sessions with Tj Power. The students have been overwhelmingly positive in their feedback and engagement. There is now the opportunity for a parental session with Tj to discover more about the DOSE Programme and how you can support at home to help sustain the long-term focus and aims of the sessions. Tj Power is able to offer a virtual session for staff and parents at 6-7pm on Monday 18 March. Please see this letter for details.
Reception are holding a second-hand uniform sale/swap on Monday 18 March and Wednesday 20 March, from 8.30am to 4.30pm each day.
Our Spring Review music concert is taking place on Wednesday 27 March at 7pm in the Hall. Please see this link to book tickets.
Our Bar Mock team are off to the National Final at the High Court of Justice on Saturday 16 March. Many weeks of rehearsal, preparation and effort will be put into action. The students’ previous performance back in November 2023 showed their ‘legal eagles’ skills, and we know they will do us proud this time too. They will get to mingle with real judges and barristers, with even the opportunity to try on some wigs and gowns to really get in the zone! Best of luck to our team.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 72.
Magistrates Mock Trial Competition - Once again, CPS students have rocked the courtroom! Our students took part in the Magistrates Mock Trial at Winchester Crown Court on Saturday 9 March and demonstrated their top legal skills. After just a couple of months of rehearsals, their hard work and effort paid off, and they were declared the winning team. We are immensely proud of them! They now go on to the semi-final expected to take place in the next couple of months. A huge well done to: Charlotte S, Juliet F, Laith B, Amelie T, Lauren M, James Y, Andrew N, Isabelle W, Lawrie W, Jas L, Maja H, Hannah W, Harry G.
Last Friday 8 March, 50 female students from Y3-8 took part in various football activities and matches for our ‘Biggest Ever Football’ session in collaboration with Fleet Town Football Club. It was a fantastic atmosphere and was great to see lots of girls talking part. A huge thank you to Immy in Y11, Lynden, Louie and Leo in Y10 and Evan in Y8 for their help running the activities and refereeing the matches.
Thursday 14 March - Local primary school children in Years 3 and 4 took part in a School Games Multi-Skill Event organised by our SGO at Aldershot Tennis Centre. This event was designed to encourage children to be physically active. Every activity had a superhero theme and included a variety of fundamental movement skills. The children were engaged throughout and it was a great success!
Congratulations to our Y8 & Y9 students Ailith, Poppy, Lily, Izzy, Macey, Lucy and Poppy for participating in the Gremlin Dance Challenge at the Princes Hall last night. They choreographed their dance and worked hard to perfect and perform it. They received awards for Best Choreography, most Dramatic Performance and placed 2nd overall.
They were amazing and thoroughly deserved their awards - well done!
This Easter Personal Best Education are running Teen Projects throughout Hampshire. Funded by Hampshire County Council through the Government’s Connect4Communities programme, the events are open to students aged 11-16 who are eligible under the Pupil Premium Scheme, and they are FREE to attend. See this letter for details.
Friday 8 March 2024
Please see this letter about options for Year 8 students.
Year 10 Parents – please refer to the letter sent out this week about the coffee morning on 13 March and book a place via that link.
Year 9 DOSE Programme – Parental Session - As you will be aware, Year 9 have been having DOSE sessions with Tj Power. The students have been overwhelmingly positive in their feedback and engagement. There is now the opportunity for a parental session with Tj to discover more about the DOSE Programme and how you can support at home to help sustain the long-term focus and aims of the sessions. Tj Power is able to offer a virtual session 6-7pm on Monday 18th March. Please see this letter for details.
Reception are holding a second-hand uniform sale/swap on Monday 18 March and Wednesday 20 March, from 8.30am to 4.30pm each day.
The deadline for completing payment and the consent form for the Prom has been extended to Tuesday 12 March due to some external payment issues which are resolved now..
Our Spring Review music concert is taking place on Wednesday 27 March at 7pm in the Hall. Please see this link to book tickets.
Magistrates Mock Trial - We are off to the Magistrates Competition in Winchester Crown Court tomorrow – Saturday 9 March. Our group of 13 students have been working hard on learning the court case dealing with a case of ABH. The Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial Competition helps young people understand how the law touches every aspect of their lives, gaining an insight into how the legal justice system works. The team will go head-to-head with other schools to prosecute and defend a case, after having spent a couple of months learning their roles and rehearsing – it’s a lot of extra to take on and they have worked hard to be ready for this point. We wish them luck!
World Book Day - We marked this here at CPS with a few different activities – no dressing up but maybe next year for the staff?!
We celebrated reading yesterday with shared reading in each lesson, a competition to match staff to books and of course, students received their Free Book Token.
If you wish to access the token digitally, use this link.
The tokens are valid until 31 March and can also mean £1 off a non-World Book Day book.
You can learn a little more about the WBD books via this link.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 70.
Sponsorship - The PE department would like to thank both Bubblegum Balloons and CGI for their recent sponsorship of team kit. This has allowed us to purchase new Year 7 & upper school football kits, a Year 7/8 basketball kit and additional netball. If your company would like to sponsor one of the school teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Hampshire Cross Country Championship results - Congratulations to the four students who have been selected for the upcoming southern cross country championships after placing in Tuesday's Hampshire event.
Results this week:
Monday 4 March
Year 7 Netball 10-3 vs Farnborough Hill
Year 8 Netball 10-7 vs Farnborough Hill
Year 8 Boys Football 5-2 vs Farnham Heath End
Tuesday 5 March
Hampshire Junior Cross Country
Year 9 Netball - 2nd Place
Year 10 Boys Football 1-3 vs Oakmoor
Year 11 Boys Football 1-7 vs Collingwood
Wednesday 6 March
Year 9 Boys 1-1 vs Oakmoor (CPS win on pens)
Thursday 7 March
Year 7 Netball 8-0 St Nicks
Year 8 Netball 4-14 St Nicks
Year 8 Rugby 7-3 vs Farnham Heath End
Year 8 Football 5-1 vs Bohunt Farnborough
Francesca L is through to the next round of the Rotary Young Musician competition. She now goes through to the South East Finals, which is one step away from the National Finals. She performed brilliantly last Sunday and was delighted to receive her award.
Following trials for the Great Britain climbing team, Florence N has been chosen to represent GP in both lead (rope) and boulder disciplines. She will be training with the GB team in Austria this weekend with a competition in Italy in the Easter holidays. We wish Florence and Francesca all the best with their next competitions!
Fleet Phoenix visited this week for a presentation of the money raised from the Panto last month - £835.97!
Hampshire County Council are holding a public consultation on a number of their services. This is open until 31 March and details can be found here.
Friday 1 March 2024
The GCSE Exams timetable for this year can be found here.
Our Spring Review music concert is taking place on Wednesday 27 March at 7pm in the Hall. Please see this link to book tickets.
The deadline for booking places at the Year 11 Prom is on Thursday 7 March – please ensure you have completed the form and made payment if you would like your child to attend.
Please see this letter from Miss Bone about our new school Allotment project, requesting help with tools and materials.
We’ll be marking World Book Day both here in the library and across the school next week on Thursday 7 March. Year 7 will be back in for their library lessons, where we will run a team quiz to show off their book knowledge. There will be a whole school competition running as well, where students can challenge themselves to locate the staff member to match their favourite book, and additionally students can have a taster of a book read out to them in each lesson to celebrate reading for pleasure. This is alongside the giveaway tokens for the free books or a £1 off any other book in participating stores. Finally, we’ll end the week by ensuring our Weekly Tutor Quiz has a book theme running through it too.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Medical: The Year 8 HPV vaccinations are due to take place on May 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
Please find attached the consent form School Code: SH116436
Link to website: https://www.hampshirehealthyfamilies.org.uk/teenage-immunisation-programme
Please can parents who do not consent please still fill out the form.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 67.
History: On Friday 23 February 60 Year 8 students visited the Imperial War Museum in London. Students had the opportunity to explore both the World War I and II sections of the museum and gain valuable knowledge and understanding about these two significant World events of the Modern Day.
Our students were amazing and we are looking forward to taking another 60 students on Thursday 18 April.
PE: We would like to thank both Bubblegum Balloons and CGI for their recent sponsorship of team kit. This has allowed us to purchase new Year 7 & upper school football kits, a Year 7/8 basketball kit and additional netball kits. If your company would like to sponsor one of the school teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Hampshire Cross Country Championship - Congratulations to the eight students who have been selected for the upcoming Championships. Please ensure you have completed the QR code for the event.
Fixtures this week:
Monday 26 Feb
Year 7 Football 5-1 vs Ash Manor
U16 Girls Volleyball 2-0 vs Brighton Hill
Tuesday 27 Feb
Year 8 Football 1-4 vs Bohunt
Year 10A Netball 18-35 vs Farnborough Hill
Year 10B Netball 9-33 vs Farnborough Hill
Wednesday 28 Feb
Year 7 Football 8-3 vs Collingwood
U13 Girls Football 1-6 vs Weydon
Year 8 Rugby 10-4 vs Tomlinscote
Thursday 29 Feb
Year 7 Netball 5-0 vs Cove
Year 8 Football 1-0 vs Tomlinscote
U16 Girls football 4-10 vs Weydon
We hosted a Y5/6 Girls Football Pathway Tournament on Tuesday 27 February in association with Hampshire School Games. We had 12 junior schools from Hart and Rushmoor districts in attendance. 120 girls played in a series of matches for two hours. We even had some special guests in attendance scouting for new talent.
The competition was a huge success, promoting local girls' football. The atmosphere was electric, with an intriguing final match between two schools to determine the victors on goal difference! St. Peters in Farnborough and Velmead in Fleet were the district winners, and they will compete in the county finals next Friday at Stoneham Football Complex. We wish them good luck.
Finally, thank you and congratulations to our Year 10 students Layla, Evan, Lynden, and Elliott for their excellent refereeing abilities and time commitment to ensuring the tournament's success!
Calthorpe Park School and Fleet Town FC are joining forces to put on the ‘Biggest Ever Girls' Football Session’ on Friday 8 March at Calthorpe Park School on the 3G from 3.45-4.45pm. This is suitable for girls of all levels and experience with a focus on having fun, making friends and building confidence. There will be various activities going on for everyone to participate in. Parents are welcome to stay and watch. Please ensure suitable clothing and footwear is worn for physical activity, no studs, and shin pads.
If you would like to be involved, please sign up using the online link: Biggest Ever Girls' Football Session by Thursday 7 March.
Friday 23 February 2024
Please see the updated Year 10 Timetable for exams as there has been a change.
The Y9 DOSE Programme with TJ Power starts on Monday 26th February with a focus on Dopamine, and will continue for the next four weeks. You can see the original letter here. We are excited about the potential wellbeing benefits for our students.
Monday 26th February (DOSE Part 1: Dopamine)
Monday 4th March (DOSE Part 2: Oxytocin)
Monday 11th March (DOSE Part 3: Serotonin)
Monday 18th March (DOSE Part 4: Endorphins)
Punctuality focus – thank you for your continued support with this initiative. We have seen an increase in lateness this week due to the inclement weather and increased traffic in the Fleet and surrounding areas. We understand this has been frustrating for parents and students alike and would like to remind you that traffic and adverse weather unfortunately are not acceptable reasons for lateness. Please could we suggest that you leave additional time for your journeys on these occasions.
English - please urge your son/daughter in Year 10 to bring in their copies of 'Jekyll and Hyde' next week: we will be reading, annotating and making a lot of notes and students will be creating extra work/disadvantaging themselves if they do not have the text with them for all English lessons.
Medical - Polite reminder that students are not permitted to carry medication in their bags in school exceptions are made for asthma inhalers, diabetes medication and epipens. All other medication should be taken to medical for safe storage.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Donations for Science please: Wind up and/or pull back children's toys for energy practicals, old or unwanted tights/stockings to cut the legs off of for model gut practicals, newspapers and any unwanted marbles.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 64.
We hosted a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday. Mark Russell, one of our school governors and the CEO of The Children’s Society, delivered a talk to the students to kick start the day. Following his talk, students participated in two career-based workshops. Afterwards, they engaged in a variety of 'World of Work' lessons and were interviewed by external volunteers.
The experience was undoubtedly excellent for our students, many of whom dressed impeccably in business attire. Feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive, indicating that they found the day helpful and inspiring.
We are very grateful to all the volunteers who generously gave their time to help. The students particularly appreciated the interviews, despite many feeling nervous at the start of the day.
PE: Holland Football Tour - from 10 to 14 February we took our Year 9, Year 10 and u16 girls teams to Holland. The students had a fantastic experience playing three local teams, a trip to Duinrell theme park, an evening bowling and a morning at Dutch giants Feyenoord for an academy session and a tour of De Kuip.
Day 1 - We took our teams to play grassroots side DCV, with the Year 9 boys winning 7-0, the Year 10 Boys winning 5-0 and the U16 girls winning 5-0. During the evening, we took the teams into the city to play bowling as some down time.
Day 2 - An early start making our way to Duinrell Theme park where the students enjoyed time exploring each of the rides and attractions. We were lucky that the park was quiet so pupils had only small waiting times to get onto the rides. The Year 10 boys along with Mr Taylor, Mr Barclay and Mr Frizzell took part in a huge bumper cars free for all, although some teaming up did take place!! During the evening we made our way to local club RVVH who provided the toughest opposition of the tour with three very good teams being matched up against the CPS sides. Our Year 9 boys drew 1-1, Year 10 boys lost 4-1 and U16 girls lost 4-3. The club created a loud atmosphere for the teams with a full stand watching the stadium pitch games.
Day 3 - We spent the morning at Dutch champions Feyenoord. The first part was the academy session, spending an hour and a half on the pitches with lead coach and former Feyenoord captain Ben Wijnstekers who took the group through three practices looking at technical skill, passing patterns and finishing. We then made the short transfer to the stadium for a tour of the ground with a guide who decribed the great history of the club. During the evening we took on local club DHC with the Year 9 Boys winning 7-0, the Year 10 boys winning 4-0 and the U16 girls losing 4-1.
Thank you to all the students who came on the trip and were a great credit to the school. We look forward to making this tour happen again in two years time.
Junior district cross country - 9 of our students have qualified for the Hampshire event, details on this will be sent this afternoon.
Results this week:
Monday 19 Feb
Year 8 Boys Football 1-3 vs Trafalgar
Tuesday 20 Feb
Year 11 Boys Football 6-1 vs Robert May's
Wednesday 21 Feb
Year 10 Netball 21-17 vs Weydon
U16 Girls Football 4-1 vs Bohunt
Thursday 22 Feb
Junior District Cross Country
Friday 9 February 2024
Please see our Newsletter for this half term.
Thank you for your continued support with our punctuality focus. As we leave for the half term break we wanted to share our progress: week 1 saw 13% of students late, by week 5 this has dropped to 1.2%
We hope to see all students arriving promptly to school after the half term.
Students performed brilliantly in the student-led Panto ‘Snow White’ to sold-out audiences on Wednesday and Thursday, where they raised money for local charity ‘Fleet Phoenix’. The students have been rehearsing for several months, their hard work, commitment and resilience definitely paid off! Congratulations to all involved, especially our Production team, Edie M-B, Liv M-B, Tara B, Olivia K, Megan F, Tilly H, Jemima H, Eva F, Bethan A.
On Tuesday lunchtime the Drama Studio was full of students and staff who have been patiently awaiting the announcement of the School Production. The buzz of excitement and curiosity was great! We can reveal the show this year will be ‘Sister Act’. We cannot wait to get started on this dynamic show and you can see key dates, including auditions, here. Watch out for more information.
We have a number of trips opening for application on Tuesday 20 February and you can see them here. Our latest Trip Bulletin can also be found here.
Some students are arriving in their classes without the right equipment needed for that lesson to aid their learning. Please could you ensure that your child has the following with them at school each day, and perhaps use the half-term break to replenish any missing items:
- pencil case
- ruler, sharpener & eraser
- pencils
- pens (black and one other colour for marking)
- highlighter pen
- glue stick
- scissors
- scientific calculator
- geometry set
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 59.
PE News:
Holland Football Tour - On Saturday we set of for our sports tour taking place from 10-14th February. We are excited for the trip and look forward to creating great experiences for the pupils and teams. You can follow the trip from our PE Instagram @Calthorpeparkpe.
Team Kit - The PE department would like to thank both Bubblegum Balloons and CGI for their recent sponsorship of team kit. This has allowed us to purchase new Year 7 & upper school football kits, a Year 7/8 basketball kit and additional netball. If your company would like to sponsor one of the teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Results this week:
Monday 5/2
Year 7 Football 3-1 vs Courtmoor
U13 Girls Football 3-5 All Hallows
Year 10 Basketball 25-31 vs Eggars
Wednesday 7/2
Year 7 Netball 7-8 vs Robert May's
Year 8 Netball 8-12 vs Robert May's
Year 8 Basketball 34-47 vs Salesian
Thursday 8/2
Year 7 Football Round Robin vs Courtmoor
Year 7 Netball 5-0 vs Wavell
Year 8 Netball 11-1 vs Wavell
U16 Girls Football 3-1 vs Wildern
From Mrs Eastlake in the Library about Sora
A reminder that all pupils have access to Sora, a virtual library where they can borrow eBooks, audiobooks, comics and magazines to read and listen to at home or at school.
It is a great resource and provides another way for the children to access books to read. Research has shown that reluctant readers find eBooks an attractive format to use, whilst audio books can provide a different route into reading.
This online library is provided by Hampshire School Library Service and can be accessed by any internet enabled device with a web browser or via an app on mobile devices, such as a phone or tablet.
All SLS eBooks, audiobooks, comics and magazines are age restricted into categories to ensure only the appropriate content can be viewed. On the app pupils will only be able to borrow the books appropriate to their age range.
Setting Up:
Download the Sora app from Apple App Store or Google Play. If you are using a browser navigate to soraapp.com.
Enter the setup code: hampshiresls
Find your school in the dropdown list.
The login details for the school/individual pupil are below.
Username (Enter your school’s username)
Password (Enter your school’s password)
Browse the Explore tab to find and borrow a book.
Please encourage you child to make the most of this great resource – it also means plenty of reading is possible if away on holiday and you don’t wish be weighed down by books!
Friday 2 February 2024
Thank you for your continued support this term regarding our punctuality to school initiative. We are seeing a decrease in students arriving late to school, however, students need to be in their tutor rooms at 8.40am. Please allow enough time for students to arrive on site and get to their tutor rooms to avoid being marked late. Stage 3 of this initiative starts from Monday when students arriving late to school will be issued with a behaviour point and a 10-minute lunchtime detention (as per this this letter from Mr John). We look forward to welcoming students into school on time next week.
Our student-led Panto of Snow White is taking place in the Drama Studio next week with two performances selling out very quickly. We have now added an additional performance at 4.30pm on Thursday 8 February and tickets can be booked here.
There is a Cake Sale on Friday 9 February – please see this letter for information and thanks for your support in sending in cakes and biscuits.
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 21 February and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that day (late morning and/or the afternoon) to conduct mock interviews with these students. No prior experience is needed; these will be 20 minute interviews with a script plus a form to provide feedback. If you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form. Thanks to everyone who has volunteered so far – we only need another 5 or 6 people, so please share this link if you know of others who could help.
Junior UKMT Club for students in Years 7 and 8 starts on Monday 5th Feb from 3-4 in X1. Students who are interested in finding out more about the UKMT Challenge which is held in April or who enjoy solving puzzles and thinking outside the box are warmly welcome.
Well done to the students from Years 9-11 who sat the Intermediate Challenge on Wednesday. The results take about a month to come back and we will email you when they are through.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 59.
PE News:
Holland Football Tour - The excitement is building with just one week until our sports tour. Please can anyone who has not handed in their passport or EHIC/GHIC do so as soon as possible.
We have recently received new kit for our Year 10/11 football teams and Year 7/8 Basketball teams, after being able to gain sponsorship from CGI. The PE department would like to thank both Bubblegum Balloons and CGI for their recent sponsorship of team kit. This has allowed us to purchase new year 7 & upper school football kits, a year 7/8 basketball kit and additional netball. If your company would like to sponsor one of the teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Results this week:
Monday 29 Jan
Year 7 Football 7-3 vs Farnham Heath End
U16 Girls Basketball 36-32 vs Amery Hill
Tuesday 30 Jan
Year 10 Netball 12-23 vs Robert May's
Wednesday 31 Jan
Year 7 Netball 4-13 vs Bohunt
U13 Girls Football 1-0 vs Farnborough Hill
Year 10 Football 4-1 vs Robert May's
Year 11 Basketball 23-28 vs Tomlinscote
Thursday 1 Feb
Year 7 & 8 Cross Country
U16 Girls Basketball 25-26 vs Weydon
Friday 26 January 2024
Thank you for your continued support over the last three weeks regarding our punctuality to school initiative. We are seeing a decrease in students arriving late to school, however, students need to be in their tutor rooms at 8.40am. Please allow enough time for students to arrive on site and get to their tutor rooms to avoid being marked late. Stage 2 of this initiative continues for another week (as per this this letter from Mr John), and we look forward to welcoming students into school on time next week.
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 21 February and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that day (late morning and/or the afternoon) to conduct mock interviews with these students. No prior experience is needed; these will be 20 minute interviews with a script plus a form to provide feedback. If you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form. Thanks to everyone who has volunteered so far and for your support!
Mrs Glover has shared key documents with Year 11 students and parents by email. These include a weekly overview of additional subject sessions being offered to support students and a document which provides information about the different assessments planned for Year 11 ahead of the summer examinations. We hope this is helpful.
Year 9 took part in the online Holocaust Memorial Event on Tuesday with many other schools across the UK, listening to the experiences of a survivor, Hedi Argent. You can see a recording of this interview here.
The following letters have been sent out this week:
If your child is taking part in DofE, please let them know that Mr Moore is in his room (B4) from 3-3.30pm on Friday afternoons for any queries they may need help with.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The Science department use marbles to teach particles, and would be grateful if you have any at home that could be donated for these lessons please. If so, please leave them with Reception.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 56.
News from PE:
Holland Football Tour - Please can parents ensure that their pupil's passports and GHIC/EHIC cards have been handed in by Friday 2nd February. These need to be handed to Mrs Talleraas in the admin office.
This week we received new kit for our Year 10/11 football teams and Year 7/8 Basketball teams, after being able to gain sponsorship from CGI. The PE department would like to thank both Bubblegum Balloons and CGI for their recent sponsorship of team kit. This has allowed us to purchase new year 7 & upper school football kits, a year 7/8 basketball kit and additional netball. If your company would like to sponsor one of the teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Results this week:
Monday 22
Year 11 Football 1-5 vs Collingwood
Tuesday 23
KS3 Badminton - First Place
KS4 Badminton – First place
Wednesday 24
Year 7 Football 2-1 vs Robert May's
Year 7 Netball 3-13 vs All Hallows
Year 8 Netball 9-13 vs All Hallows
Year 9 Netball 14-18 vs Courtmoor
Friday 19 January 2024
Thank you for your support in the last two weeks regarding our punctuality to school initiative - especially in the cold weather! We have seen a huge decrease in students arriving late to school. When we started approximately 11% of students were arriving late and now we are seeing this reduced to just approximately 3% at the end of this week.
Please can we remind you, as stated in this letter from Mr John, that as of next week, if students arrive late, they will be issued with a behaviour point so please encourage them to continue being on time next week. Students arriving late because of a medical appointment or the bus running late will be exempt, but heavy traffic will not be an acceptable reason.
Please see this letter from Mr Marshall-James and Mr Jones about Holocaust Memorial Day and how it is being marked in school.
The deadline for casting votes for parent governor elections is Monday 22 January.
Click here for Library news including Recommended Reads and Books of the Week.
The Leisure Centre have contacted us about parents parking there while waiting for children at the end of the day – they would appreciate it if you could be considerate of other users when waiting and please do not park in disabled spaces.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 51.
The PE department would like to thank both Bubblegum Balloons and CGI for their recent sponsorship of team kit. This has allowed us to purchase new Year 7 & upper school football kits, a Year 7/8 basketball kit and additional netball kit. If your company would like to sponsor one of the teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
With the upcoming football tour fast approaching, we have started to receive our Dutch-themed tour kit:
Results this week:
Monday 15
Year 8 Boys Basketball 28-28 vs Eggars
Year 10 Boys Basketball 79-34 vs Wavell
U16 Girls Basketball 12-47 vs Court Moor
Tuesday 16
Girls Badminton pathway event
Wednesday 17
Year 7 Netball 14-4 vs Weydon
Year 8 Basketball 14-32 vs Tomlinscote
Year 9 Netball 10-2 vs Weydon
Thursday 18
Year 7 Netball 7-1 vs Eggars
Year 8 Netball 14-4 vs Eggars
Friday 12 January 2024
Please see this letter issued yesterday communicating our focus on punctuality.
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 21 February and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that day (late morning and/or the afternoon) to conduct mock interviews with these students. No prior experience is needed; these will be 20 minute interviews with a script plus a form to provide feedback. If you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form. Thanks to everyone who has volunteered so far and for your support!
Some students are arriving in their classes without the right equipment needed for that lesson to aid their learning. Please could you ensure that your child has the following items with them at school each day:
- pencil case
- ruler, sharpener & eraser
- pencils
- pens (black and one other colour for marking)
- highlighter pen
- glue stick
- scissors
- scientific calculator
- geometry set
Our latest Clubs list for activities at lunch time and after school can be found on the website under Students/Clubs or use this link. Please check the page for regular updates.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The Science Department would like your help to boost their physics types of energy practical stock and they are looking for donations of small battery operated, wind up or pull back children's toys. Cars and trucks would be the most useful. If you have any such toys that your children have lost interest in, please hand them in to our school reception.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 48.
Please could parents switch off their car engines while waiting for their children at the end of the school day.
Friday 5 January 2024
Happy New Year!
Punctuality Focus - As we finish the first week of 2024 at school we wanted to update you about some changes that will be taking place regarding arrival onto the school campus, specifically student gate access. From Monday 8 January, students will be able to gain access to the school by using either the gates by:
- the restaurant
- between the A/B block and Music
- the back of the campus (Baker Way)
Students who use bikes will still be able to access the bike sheds as normal. The main school gates for vehicle access will also be unchanged.
As students are expected to be on site and ready to access their tutor bases for morning registration to begin at 8.40am, all gates will be locked at 8.37am with the exception of the gate by the restaurant. Students who arrive after 8.37am will have to access the school through this gate and will be monitored and challenged by our attendance team, Heads of House and members of our Senior Team.
Our focus is a drive on punctuality to both school and morning registration and attendance at school. As such, you may need to remind your child of these changes ready for Monday so that they are able to arrive to school on time. Starting next week, for any student who doesn’t make it to school by the required time, please be aware that we will be contacting you via text to make you aware. The intention being that by the following day the issue will be resolved. Obviously planned absence, medical appointments and such like where students arrive later will not incur a text message home. The following week will take a slightly different approach so we will communicate our plans in next week’s bulletin.
We thank you in advance for your support in ensuring that your child/ren continue to arrive to school on time and thus have the best possible start to each day with us.
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 21 February 2024 and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that day (late morning and the afternoon) to conduct mock interviews with these students. If you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form. Thanks for your support!
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
If your child has additional needs you may be interested in a SEND Information session for parents/carers at 11am on 10 January at the Harlington Centre. See this link for details.
Details have been sent out about the Y9 teenage booster vaccinations as follows:
Click the link below for the consent form and information about the vaccine. Access to the consent forms will close two working days prior to the session.
School Code: SH116436
Session dates: 22, 23 and 24 January 2024
Link to website: Teenage Booster: Hampshire Healthy Families
If you decide you do not wish your child to receive these vaccinations, please submit the form and indicate that you do not consent. This will enable us to update your child’s immunisation record.
A parenting course is being run online this month for 10 weeks to reflect, share and access support for the challenges associated with parenting teenagers. See this link for details.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 46.
Additional Notes:
SSEN will be carrying out advance cable replacement works in the Church Crookham/Fleet area. Works start on 12 January 2024 and will be completed by summer 2024, see details here. They will be hosting a drop-in event for residents, businesses and other interested parties on Wednesday 17 January 2024 from 3-7pm at Ewshot Village Hall, Tadpole Lane, Ewshot, Farnham GU10 5BX and local people are welcome to attend – see this link.
Our Hampshire Local Authority partners have asked that we share information with all our parents, students and staff, notifying you of a public consultation that is being conducted on hospital services in our area. Please see this flyer for more information and how to have your say. Note that this relates to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke.
Friday 15 December 2023
Please see our latest Newsletter for this half term here.
Y11 external examinations will be taking place in January. Wednesday 10 January is the Y11 Health & Social Care examination and the iMedia exam will be taking place Tuesday 23-26 January. Y11 students sitting these examinations will have received an email through Edulink. Please read this carefully, as these examinations are external and will contribute towards their final outcome. All JCQ regulations will need to be followed for these examinations. Guidance is attached to the email sent through by the exams team.
Y8 Assessments will be taking place from the week commencing 15 January. Communication has been sent through Edulink to all Y8 students and parents. Y8 students will be able to access subject specific revision resources in the 'Year 8 Assessment Resources' folder available on MS Teams.
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 21 February 2024 and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that day (late morning and the afternoon) to conduct mock interviews with these students. If you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form. Thanks for your support!
Here are the winners of the Christmas card competition - everyone did a fantastic job!
Winner - Sienna H R03, 1st Runner up - Eva R E07, 2nd Runner up - Rebeca W A08
3rd Runner up - Kate R Q01, 4th Runner up - Amelie T R07
Safeguarding Team
Moving into the Christmas holidays the Safeguarding Team would like to take this opportunity to encourage parents to monitor your child's internet usage and engage in open conversations at home about your child's online presence.
Police have made school aware of suspected fake social media accounts which appear to be targeting young people in Fleet. The accounts are communicating with young people via apps including TikTok and Snap Chat. It appears one particular account has been posing as a young teenage girl. Police are investigating incidents.
We are also aware of WhatsApp groups circulating which appear to be trying to add large volumes of youths from the local area, the purpose of such a huge group is questionable. Please remain vigilant as parents and be aware of the applications and social media apps your child is using. Many social media applications have age restrictions for very good reason.
Wishing everyone a safe and Merry Christmas!
Useful links:
Snapchat safety centre
How to stop people adding you to Snapchat
Tiktok Safeguarding advice
General advice:
Think u know
Online advice
Social Media Guides
Reporting and removing harmful content online
Privacy guide for parents
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 43.
We return to school after the Christmas holidays on Tuesday 2 January 2024 - students should be in their form room by 8.40am. See our Term Dates page for key dates across the school year.
Friday 8 December 2023
The Music Department are holding the annual Christmas Concert on Wednesday 13 December. To book tickets for this event, please use this link.
Year 11 demonstrated considerable maturity during their mock exams and we were impressed by their focus and commitment. They will be receiving their outcomes during a Mock Results event next week.
Year 10 are currently attending revision skills seminars with Mrs Glover to support them in understanding how to revise effectively ahead of their Year 10 assessments.
Please see this letter issued today about a Parent Governor vacancy. The deadline for applications is Friday 5 January 2024.
Miss Cassar is incredibly proud of our community of Creative Writing students who have been writing Christmas stories. Copies of the Anthology of Short Stories and Poems will be presented to the Childrens' Ward Playroom at Frimley Park Hospital next week. We hope you enjoy reading them too!
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Wednesday 21 February 2024 and are looking for volunteers who would be able to come in that day (late morning and the afternoon) to conduct mock interviews with these students. If you are able to commit to this time and help us, please complete this form. Thanks for your support!
Student Printing - Please see this link or click the image below for a summary of the schools approach printing and the facilities that may be available to students.
We now have our final total for the Book Fair – hitting £1100! This is an amazing total and a true reflection of the wonderful support from the CPS community who bought books through the Fair and therefore contributed to the rewards we earn from Scholastic as a result. Students can now look forward to £490 worth of books coming into the library. We have our Christmas Wishes board now to help choose those books, so calling all our brilliant booksters to come along to the library, fill in those stars and add them to the tree.
Click here for Library updates and Books of the Week.
Year 7 & 8 have been working on their ceramics this term with great results. The first group of Year 8s to attend ceramics club were inspired by African Art and Picasso, and produced some fantastic clay masks. The Art department are asking if parents/local businesses may have any ceramics equipment, such as a potter’s wheel, banding wheel and other associated tools that they no longer want and could consider donating to school please.
Last week Science Club hosted Olivia and Antony from Qinetiq Engineering, sharing information about pilot safety, and students were able to try on safety suits.
PE: Congratulations to TOPAZ who took the crown for this terms interhouse! We had great participation from all houses during the events and will look forward to the Easter term event.
We would like to thank Bubblegum Balloons for their recent sponsorship of the year 7/8 football kit. If your company would like to sponsor one of teams across any sport, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Results this week:
Wednesday 6/12
Year 9 Netball 8-1 vs Farnham Heath End
Year 10 Football 8-0 vs Robert May's
Thursday 7/12
Year 9 Football 5-2 vs Collingwood
Year 10 Basketball 65-4 vs Farnham Heath End
The Mental Health Support team are running a webinar for parents and carers on Thursday 14 December. See this link for full details and how to join the zoom.
If your child has additional needs you may be interested in a SEND Information session for parents/carers at 11am on 10 January at the Harlington Centre. See this link for details.
There are some vacancies for drumming lessons in school starting next term – if interested, please contact Tom Vincent.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 39.
This Winter Personal Best Education are running Teen Projects throughout Hampshire. Funded by Hampshire County Council through the Government’s Connect4Communities programme, the events are open to students aged 11-16 who are eligible under the Pupil Premium Scheme, and they are FREE to attend. One project will be run here on the school site during the first week of the holidays from 10am to 3pm, providing a number of different activities and workshops in addition to free hot lunches. See this flyer for details, and this link for booking. Please contact enquiries@personalbesteducation.com directly if you have any further queries.
Friday 1 December 2023
Thanks for all the donations to the November Food Drive - all items have now been counted with an amazing 1603 items donated! Ruby came first with the most amount of items, Sapphire in second place, then Emerald, Topaz, Quartz and Amethyst. Arrangements are being made for the Hart Food Bank to collect everything.
On Monday 4 December, Mrs Al-Dabagh and Ms Wayman are running a relationships and sex education workshop for Year 11 as part of their PSHE provision. Students will have a double lesson in the hall and the year group will be split in half: Period 1 and 2 will be C Half and Period 5 and 6 will be P Half. When not in the workshop, students will attend their lessons as normal and therefore, they must be prepared for their lessons. Our DFL system will also be in place for this event and we ask that all students are respectful and participate as best as they can. We appreciate that these are sensitive topics and ground rules will be in place to help us establish a comfortable and safe learning environment.
On Wednesday 6 December, Mrs Al-Dabagh and Ms Wayman are running a careers workshop for Year 10 in preparation for their Year 10 Business Day in February. Students will have a double lesson in the hall on CV preparation, interview skills and requirements for the event in February. The year group will be split in half: Period 1 and 2 will be C Half and Period 3 and 4 will be P Half. When not in the workshop, students will attend their lessons as normal and therefore, they must be prepared for their lessons. Our DFL system will also be in place for this event and we ask that all students are respectful and participate as best as they can.
The Music Department are holding the annual Christmas Concert on Wednesday 13 December. To book tickets for this event, please use this link.
Apologies from the PE Department but Badminton club is cancelled tonight.
Our Book Fair has been a great success, and that’s all down to the tremendous support from students, parents/ carers and staff. We saw a stream of visitors browsing during both break and lunchtime, and additionally there was a huge amount of interest generated when Year 7 and 8 visited during their English lessons. Whilst we do not yet know the final total, we are currently running at over a £1000 – which is our most successful Book Fair to date. A big thanks to all those who have contributed to the rewards the school will earn back from Scholastic for this super sum!
In last week’s weekly message, we spoke of our Bar Mock team heading off to Reading Crown Court and for the court battles to commence. We celebrated being the winning team of the Regional Heat for the second year running, and our hard-working students are off to the High Court of Justice for the National Final in the Spring! They demonstrated great team work, tenacity and knowledge of both cases – we were so impressed by them and are, of course, very proud of the team. Well done to:
Anna, Joseph L, Seb, Lily, Isabelle, Scarlett, Sophie, Charlotte L, Robert, Charlotte B, Jack, Rebeca and Joseph M
Rebeca was our court artist as well as Jury member and here is one of her sketches – this is Scarlett being questioned.
The regional round of the ESU Public Speaking competition was held on Monday night from 5-8pm on Zoom with teams of three pitting their oracy and debating skills against other schools across the region. Calthorpe Park entered two teams of Year 11 students, with eight teams taking part. Competition was fierce with the judges commenting that the standard was unusually high this year.
The topics included the following:
- Teachers, not politicians should decide policy on the National Curriculum
- Electronic messaging is destroying true friendship
- Science is a threat to mankind
- We are far from removing the stigma surrounding going to therapy
- White lies help to keep life sweet
- One parent should stay at home to raise children
We are very pleased to say that the two teams going through to the next round are the two teams from CPS - well done to Esme, Charlotte, Imogen, Aiser, Jay and Rafi! It is the first time in four years that both teams have gone through to the next stage. The English-Speaking Union have also asked us to host the next round - the Regional Final - and we wish these students all the best for that event.
On 30 November the Music department took another 52 students to see The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in London. We had the pleasure of experiencing the animals and actors coming through the stalls and were captured by the amazing set, lighting, choreography and music. For lots of people this was their first experience of watching a show in London and many students stated they absolutely loved it! Students were great representation of Calthorpe, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it - especially Miss Kearns, Mr Walker and Mr Forster who have now seen it twice in one month!
PE - This week we have had interhouse PE taking place. We have had great participation rates across each year group. Certificates will be handed out next week to all of our winners and the final standings will be posted after today's final competitions.
We would like to thank Bubblegum Balloons for their recent sponsorship of the year 7/8 football kit. If your company would like to sponsor one of teams across any sport, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Year 9 Sports Studies ran the second of their Runways End trips this week as part of their assessment for the subject.
Results:
Monday 27/11
Year 8 Boys football 9-0 vs Oakmoor
U16 Girls Basketball 7- 57 vs Bohunt
Wednesday 28/11
Year 7 Netball 2-1 vs Alderwood
Year 8 Netball 2-2 vs Alderwood
Year 10 Boys Football A-A vs Romsey
Year 11 Boys Football 1-3 vs Tomlinscote
Thursday 30/11
Year 8 District 5 a side
Year 9 Boys football 3-1 vs Wavell
Friday 1/12
Year 11 Boys Basketball vs Eggars
With two weeks left until the end of term, students have decorated the traditional House Christmas trees!
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 37.
Friday 24 November 2023
Year 8 parents are invited to attend the Stay Safe information evening on Thursday 30 November from 6-7.30pm. This will include the drama production that is being shown to these students at the end of next week, a talk and the opportunity to ask questions about the issues raised. Click here to book a place at this informative session.
We will be holding a Scholastic Book Fair in the Library next week – our first since 2019! It will run from 27 November for four days. This is open to all students to come along and browse during break and lunchtimes, and both Years 7 and 8 will be visiting during English lessons. This could be the perfect opportunity for some early Christmas shopping, alongside encouraging reading for pleasure! The wonderful thing about ordering from this is that a percentage of the money made can go back into our school – so that means lots of lovely new books for the library.
It will be cashless, which makes ordering via an online system a key focus. Parents may wish to order/purchase vouchers ahead of the fair, print them out at home and students use them as if they are cash. If they wish to make use of a small leftover amount after they have paid for the book, some fun stationery products are available too. Students will bring home a wish list of their book desires, and parents can then go online and purchase via this link.
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
The Music Department are holding the annual Christmas Concert on Wednesday 13 December. To book tickets for this event, please use this link.
Our Bar Mock team are off to the Young Citizens Mock Trial Competition at Reading Crown Court this Saturday (25th November). The team, made up of Year 10 and 11 students, have been working incredibly hard on the two cases based on real life scenarios. This involves them playing the various roles that feature in a court case and it is an excellent way to experience the judicial system. We know they are ready for the court battle!
Student Christmas Card competition - students should bring their A5 designs with their names and forms on the back to ART1 and post in the post box. Designs can be drawn, painted, digital, photography or collage. The deadline is Friday 1 December.
PE - We would like to thank Bubblegum Balloons for their recent sponsorship, allowing us to purchase new football kit for our year 7 & 8 teams. If your company would like to sponsor one of our teams please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Our Year 7s will be taking part in the district 5 a side tournament today where they will seek to retain the title won by last years Year 7 team.
Next week we have our interhouse PE competition which is taking place throughout the week. Quartz will be looking to defend their crown from last years interhouse competitions.
Basketball club has started and takes place on a Monday. All years are welcome
Fixtures this week:
Tuesday 21
Year 7 Boys Football 1-2 vs Thornden
Year 8 Boys Football 7-2 vs Bay House
Wednesday 22
Year 11 Boys Football 9-1 vs Farnham Heath End
Thursday 23
U13 Girls Football 6-3 vs Perins
Year 8 Basketball 34-9 vs Weydon
Year 9 Boys Rugby 5-4 vs Courtmoor
Friday 24
Year 7 district 5 a side tournament
Thanks to all our leavers from last summer who came back with their parents for Certificate Evening last night. It was lovely to share their successes with a series of awards presented too!
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 34.
Science would like donations of the following items please:
- We need 1 or 2 clothes airers (to dry department laundry)
- old bath mats (for wet floors and for insulation practicals)
- old or unwanted bath towels (as above)
- Approx 3sq metres of good condition carpet; offcuts welcome (for friction practicals)
- 30cm minimum length, heavy duty cardboard tubes of narrow diameter (eg. tin foil and cling film, baking paper, sticky-back plastic inner tubes)
- Old newspapers
Thanks in advance for anything you can send in to Reception!
Friday 17 November 2023
Please note that school is closed to students on Monday 20 November for our staff INSET Day.
The Music Department are holding their Christmas Concert on Wednesday 13 December. To book tickets for this event, please use this link.
Food Drive: We have had 505 items donated so far - thanks to those families who have sent items of food into school. In the House competition, Emerald is in first place at the moment. Please see this letter for further details and continue to donate if you are able - it would be wonderful if we could send 1600+ items to the food bank!
If you have a child in Year 11, please remind them to respond to the form sent out by Mrs Wallis earlier this week. This is to find out whether they want to be part of the tutor time Extra English sessions that will be running from January.
We will be holding a Scholastic Book Fair in the library the week beginning the 27 November for four days. This is open to all students to come along and browse during break and lunchtimes, and both Years 7 and 8 will be visiting during English lessons. This could be the perfect opportunity for some early Christmas shopping, alongside encouraging reading for pleasure! Further information will be shared with both students and parents/guardians next week, but in the meantime please use this link for some details now.
As part of the run up to the Book Fair, the library will be holding a celebrating reading competition next week – can the students match the book to the staff member? Prizes and points on offer!
Click here for our usual Library news and Books of the Week.
We would like to reiterate the importance of clearly naming your child’s uniform and equipment. Bearing in mind the number of students and the size of the site, it makes it much easier for our Lost Property Ambassador to reunite items with their owners when labelling using full names (not initials) is clear.
Medical - A reminder that with the exception of asthma inhalers, diabetic medication and epipens, students are NOT permitted to carry medication on them in school. Any medication required during the school day needs to be given to medical for safe-keeping.
The Immunisation team are running Clinics in the Community for the Flu vaccine for any students who missed out when the nurses were in school. Please contact the Immunisation team to arrange an appointment on northeasthantsimmunisationteam@southernhealth.nhs.uk or 02382 318831
The PE department would like to thank Bubblegum Balloons for their recent generous sponsorship, allowing us to purchase a new Year 7/8 football kit. As a department we are actively seeking additional sponsorship for new kits across a range of sports. If your company would be keen to support, please contact Mr Frizzell.
On Wednesday we took 30 runners to the Senior District Cross Country Championships. Our Year 9 boys were again highly successful and retain their title which they have now won three years in a row. Our Year 9 girls finished in 4th place in a highly competitive field and our Year 10/11 boys finished in 6th place.
Today we are running the first of two Runways End trips for our Sports Studies students, where they will be assessed in climbing.
Congratulations to Amelia C in Year 9 and Orla S in Year 10 for being successful in their selection for the Surrey Storm Netball Academy. This is a very high level of netball and means they will be training weekly with Super League netball coaches. Well done to both girls and congratulations - this is an amazing opportunity and very well deserved!
Results for the week:
Monday 13th
Year 8 Boys Football 0-3 vs Tomlinscote
Tuesday 14th
Year 8 Boys Basketball 27-18 vs Alderwood
Wednesday 15th
Senior District Cross Country
U15 Boys – Winners
U15 Girls – 4th Place
U17 Boys – 6th Place
Thursday 16th
Year 10 Basketball 63–17 vs Fernhill
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 32.
Friday 10 November 2023
Please note that the next INSET Day is on Monday 20 November.
Food Drive: We have had 137 items donated so far - thanks to those families who have sent items of food into school. In the House competition, Ruby is in first place at the moment. Please see this letter for further details and continue to donate if you are able - it would be wonderful if we could send 1600+ items to the food bank!
As we have not had enough applicants apply for the cultural trip to Cologne next year (14-18 July 2024), this will reopen out of the usual trip cycle on Tuesday 14 November for one week for all Year 8 students. We hope that more students will be keen to apply for this trip which will include a river cruise, tasting traditional German food, visits to the cathedral, the zoo and a chocolate factory! The cost will be confirmed in an email next week and can be paid in monthly instalments over the next 5-6 months. An email will be sent out to Year 8 parents on Tuesday with further details.
Each fortnight, we have been discussing and voting on different current affairs topics during tutor time. Here are the results of the two votes that have taken place so far.
Click here for the weekly library update including the Halloween competition winners.
Remembrance - we marked this at school today, although wet weather meant that the Last Post was played and livestreamed from the Cafe at 11am. This was followed by a minutes silence and the Reveille. Thanks to Mr Forster and the two Year 10 students who accompanied him, Robert H and Alice B. ELSA have been working on various Remembrance Day crafts with their students.
Mr Marshall-James in History made an assembly earlier in the week that was shown to all students this morning. You can view this here*. Two members of our SSLT will be representing CPS alongside students from Court Moor at the service at All Saints Church and the Act of Remembrance in Gurkha Square on Sunday. They will be reading a poem and laying a wreath at the Memorial.
*Credit to the RBL, BBC and Gareth Bartlett for the use of their videos in our assembly
Lion King trip - The Music department took 120 students to see the Lion King on Thursday 9 November. We were able to see the show from two different areas - the stalls and royal circle. Students were able to experience the wonderful cast performing in the aisles and on stage as well as seeing the amazing percussion section of the pit orchestra in the theatre balconies. Mrs Coleman experienced first hand the hazards of the aisle seat by getting up close with some rhinos and getting scared by Mufasa within the first act. Students were stunned by the vocal skills of the performers and intricate choreography to recreate the animals and scenery of the film. The group were impeccably behaved throughout and have coped well with the late return back to school at 12.40am!
PE Update:
The Physical Education Department would like to thank Bubblegum Balloons for their kind sponsorship, allowing us to purchase a new kit to be worn by the Year 7 & 8 football teams. If there are any companies which would like to sponsor the department for new kit across the school’s sports teams, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
Senior District Cross Country - On Wednesday 15 November we will be taking selected students to run in the senior district cross country championships. The teams will be looking to retain their U15's boys title from last season, and have the chance to have good placings amongst all four teams which are taking part.
PE Results in week commencing 6th November:
Monday 6/11
Year 8 Boys Football 2-3 vs Collingwood
Year 10 Boys Football 0-2 vs Tomlinscote
Tuesday 7/11
Year 8-9 Cross Country friendly
Wednesday 8/11
Year 7 Netball 1-9 vs Ash Manor
Year 8 Netball 7-4 vs Ash Manor
Year 9 Boys Football 3-0 vs Ash Manor
Year 10 Boys Football 2-3 vs Weydon
Thursday 9/11
Year 8 Basketball 23-55 vs Bohunt
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 30.
Friday 3 November 2023
Please see this letter about our Food Drive in November for the Hart Food Bank.
#BeeWell Survey - Developed in response to a growing concern for the wellbeing of young people in the UK, #BeeWell is a youth-centred programme and, together with partners, they listen to the voices of young people to act together for positive change. Years 8 & 10 will be completing their #BeeWell Survey over the next few weeks. Year 8 students will be completing this during their IT lesson and Year 10 will be completing this during Tutor time. Further information can be found here and this video clip may also help. The results, which will be available in early spring, will help us all act together on what young people are saying, to remove barriers to their wellbeing.
See this link for our regular Books of the Week update and our various book-based activities.
Please note that the next INSET Day is on Monday 20 November.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 28.
This Winter, Personal Best Education are running Teen Projects throughout Hampshire. Funded by Hampshire County Council through the Government’s Connect4Communities programme, the events are open to students aged 11-16 who are eligible under the Pupil Premium Scheme, and they are FREE to attend.
One project will be run here on the school site during the first week of the holidays from 10am to 3pm, providing a number of different activities and workshops in addition to free hot lunches. See this flyer for details, and this link for booking. Please contact enquiries@personalbesteducation.com directly if you have any further queries.
Friday 20 October 2023
Please see our latest Newsletter here.
Year 11 Mocks will be taking place following the half term break. Mrs Glover has shared the Mock Timetable and CPS Extra Programme with all Y11 students and parents by email. Students are able to access the MS Teams folder for Year 11 Information and Examinations which offers a range of resources and information to support this process. If you have any questions in relation to the mocks, please contact Mrs Glover.
Alton College will be running an assembly for Year 11 students on Monday 30 October.
UKMT intermediate club for Years 9, 10 and 11 starts on Monday 6 November in X1 from 3-4pm. Any student keen to enter the challenge or who wants to solve thinking outside the box puzzles is welcome. Students who can't attend in person can sign up in X1 to collect challenge material weekly.
See the latest Clubs list here. A new club about life and faith is starting in the Library on Monday 30 October (3-4.15pm) run by FACCTS.
Two notes from Medical - COVID -19 advice October 23: It is not recommended that individuals under 18 are tested for COVID-19 unless directed to by a health professional (see this link). Individuals should stay off school if they are experiencing a high temperature and are unwell until they no longer have a high temperature and are well enough to attend the setting. Individuals with mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or mild cough, who are otherwise well, are allowed to be in school. Students aged 18 years and under with a positive COVID-19 test result should try to stay at home for 3 days after the day they took their test (4 day absence from day of test). Individuals who usually attend an education or childcare setting and who live with someone who has a positive COVID-19 test result should continue to attend as normal.
A reminder for parents to complete the e-consent form for the flu vaccinations taking place in school on 2 November. Only one parent needs to complete the consent form. Below is the link to the e-consent and school code that is required. Thank you to all parents who have completed the consents so far. Link to website: Winter Flu Vaccination programme : Hampshire Healthy Families. School Code: SH116436
The PE Department are seeking sponsorship to purchase new sports kit for pupils across its sports teams. If you run a local company or know anyone who might be able to support, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 26.
Wishing you a good half term break - school will reopen for staff and students on Monday 30 October.
Friday 13 October 2023
We would like to remind all parents and carers that our preferred method of sending communications to you is via Edulink. Messages sent out from school via Edulink will be visible on the app and also in your email inbox. See this guide to uploading and using Edulink. All messages are automatically sent to the email address that we have registered for you on our system. It is important that we have your most up to date contact information. To inform us of any changes to your contact details, please use the Update Information function on the app.
Year 11 Mocks will be taking place following the half term break. Mrs Glover has shared the Mock Timetable and CPS Extra Programme with all Y11 students and parents by email. From Friday 13 October, Year 11 will be able to access the MS Teams folder for Year 11 Information and Examinations which offers a range of resources and information to support this process. If you have any questions in relation to the mocks, please contact Mrs Glover.
This letter about the School Advisory Council has been issued this week.
Message from School Health and Welfare Officers and Attendance: Please see this link to Frimley Healthier Together website. In particular, please see the 'Should my child go to school/nursery today?' tab which includes information on illnesses, and also guidance on when your child can attend school with an illness. If your child is too unwell for school, please remember to report all absences via the Edulink app before 9am on each day of absence. Thank-you for your continued support with Attendance at CPS.
Click here for Library updates and Books of the Week.
There will be an Apprenticeships assembly for Year 11s on Monday 16 October.
College Open Events taking place in the next few days are as follows - please check their websites for booking details:
Farnham - Sat 14/10
ACM - Sun 15/10
Farnborough 6th Form - Tues 17/10, Wed 18/10 & Thurs 19/10
Aldershot Construction - Thurs 19/10
See more college open evening dates on the website here.
The PE Department are seeking sponsorship to purchase new sports kit for pupils across its sports teams. If you run a local company or know anyone who might be able to support, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 22.
We took our annual Year 10 Art and Photography trip to Kew Gardens, last Thursday. We were very lucky with the weather and the students were able to spend a lovely day sketching and photographing the exotic plant life in the many tropical glass houses on site. The students will use this resource to help inspire their current GCSE projects.
The Year 10 Drama trip to The Woman in Black took place last night, with a change to the usual routine. After seeing it in London where it has been running for the last 30+ years before closing last March, the students and staff travelled to the theatre in Aylesbury.
Our annual Model United Nations event is taking place today and updates will be provided in the Newsletter next week.
Friday 6 October 2023
See this link to view an information briefing about Year 11 mock exams and the preparation process which will be commencing after half-term. Whilst students will also receive their own information, it would be ideal if students viewed this with their parents.
One letter has been issued this week about the Year 7 Meet the Tutor virtual meeting on 17 October.
Below is some information from Medical:
1. Flu Immunisation Info
Your child’s Nasal Flu Vaccination is now due. This is free from the NHS.
Click the link below for the consent form and information about the vaccine.
School Code: SH116436
Session Date: Thursday 2 November 2023
Link to website: Winter Flu Vaccination programme : Hampshire Healthy Families
2. Bottle and medication
Please can you remind your child to bring a water bottle into school as it is very important for them to stay hydrated throughout the day.
Also, a reminder that no medication apart from asthma, diabetes and epipens should be carried around in students bags. If medication is required during school hours it should be given in to medical and a form needs completing which can be found on the school website.
3. Injury over weekend
Please can Medical be informed of any injuries eg. head or breaks, sustained over the weekend on shwo@cps.hants.sch.uk If a student is returning on crutches then a parent will need to accompany the student on their first day to complete a stair assessment in school. Any students with an upper limb injury should come straight to medical on their return to school.
Click here for Library updates and Books of the Week.
College Open Events taking place over the next two weeks are as follows - please check their websites for booking details:
Sparsholt - Sat 7/10
FCoT & Guildford - Wed 11/10
Alton - Thurs 12/10
Farnham - Sat 14/10
ACM - Sun 15/10
Farnborough 6th Form - Tues 17/10, Wed 18/10 & Thurs 19/10
Aldershot Construction - Thurs 19/10
See more college open evening dates on the website here.
The PE Department are seeking sponsorship to purchase new sports kit for pupils across its sports teams. If you run a local company or know anyone who might be able to support, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 18.
Thanks to Farnborough 6th Form who came in to give a Year 11 assembly today.
Our senior students held a MacMillan cake sale today during morning break and lunch. It was very well organised and the cakes looked delicious!
We held a European Day of Languages last week which aims to promote the rich linguistic diversity of Europe and raise awareness of the importance of lifelong language learning for everyone.
We’re excited to be holding our Model United Nations here next week and will provide details and photos in our main Newsletter.
Friday 29 September 2023
From Monday 2 October the way in which achievement points are logged will look slightly different. The purpose of this is to bring all aspects of school life to be in line with the expectations of the Calthorpe Way. The only change for parents and students will be the change of heading for the achievement point.
Senior students are holding a cake sale in support of MacMillan Coffee Morning during morning break on Friday 6 October. Please send in donations of individual cakes and biscuits (homemade or shop bought) for the students to sell at this event. All items will be sold for 50p each and students should bring in the right change. See full details here.
Mental Health Ambassadors - We are pleased to announce the launch of our Mental Health Ambassadors. These are a group of Year 10 and 11 students who have undergone training from CAMHS to be able to offer peer wellbeing support. The Ambassadors have been busy promoting their role and students have heard a presentation in tutor groups to learn how the Ambassadors can support wellbeing.
On Friday, tutor groups completed a special Mental Health Awareness quiz written by the Ambassadors and students were able to visit the Mental Health Ambassador information stand in the foyer.
The Ambassadors are holding lunch time drop in sessions every Tuesday in A2. These are open to all students who would like to come and have a chat.
The Southampton National Cipher Challenge starts on the 5 October up until Christmas, and will run on Thursdays at 3pm. Spaces are limited so students should sign up in X3 with Mrs Jones. The competition looks to challenge students with codebreaking using computer skills and logic. Teams work together to solve the clues which are released each week. This year's competition is entitled "The Body in My Library".
Click here for Library updates and Books of the Week.
Casual Employment Opportunities - We are always looking for keen and willing people to support our endeavours at Calthorpe Park. You may be interested in gaining school-based experience, looking for a change of direction or may simply want to become more involved in the life of our vibrant community. If you would be interested in working supporting school examinations and assessments, trips and events or even be available for supporting our administration functions then please complete this Expression of Interest form.
The Clubs list has been updated again this week – it can be found on the website under Students/Clubs or the link is here.
College Open Events taking place this week are as follows:
BCoT - Mon 2/10
Peter Symonds - Tues 3/10 & Wed 4/10
Merrist Wood - Wed 4/10
QMC - Wed 4/10 & Thurs 5/10
Yateley - Thurs 5/10
Sparsholt - Sat 7/10
See more dates on the website here.
The PE Department are seeking sponsorship to purchase new sports kit for pupils across its sports teams. If you run a local company or know anyone who might be able to support, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this new school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 15.
Careers Fair
This week we hosted a Careers Fair for students in Years 10 and 11 and their parents. After a COVID-19 hiatus, this year's event was highly anticipated, offering students a chance to explore future opportunities in person. With 30+ exhibitors, the Fair showcased local colleges and various businesses, providing exciting apprenticeship options like Engineering, Hospitality, Health & Beauty, Arborist & Tree Surgery, and the Armed Forces. The impressive turnout with over 800 attendees affirmed the event's success. We are proud to have hosted this transformative event, and hope it will have a lasting impact on our students' future aspirations and dreams.
Thanks also to FCoT and QMC for running assemblies for Y11 students this week.
PE Results this week:
Monday 25 September
Year 8 Boys Football 4-1 vs Kings
Tuesday 26 September
Year 7 Cross Country – friendly fixture
Wednesday 27 September
Year 7 Boys Football 1-1 vs Tomlinscote
Thursday 28 September
Year 10 Netball 15-16 vs Ash Manor
Year 11 Netball 12-8 vs Ash Manor
Friday 29 September
Year 11 Boys Football vs Mountbatten
Friday 22 September 2023
To celebrate European Day of Languages on Tuesday 26 September, the MFL department would like students to complete a 'Passport' - this is a quiz on various topics connected with Europe and is open to all year groups. Students should download and print the file, then bring their completed Passport to one of the Modern Foreign Language teachers by Friday 29 September. The best completed passports will then be entered into a draw.
Viel Spass! Amuse-toi bien! Disfruta!
Extra English during Tutor time begins next week for selected Year 11 students. They should report to Mrs Wallis in A1 at 8.40 am. If any student is on the Geography trip on the day of their Extra English, they should come to Extra English on a different day (not Friday).
We are holding a Careers Fair here on Wednesday 27 September for Years 10 & 11 students and parents – details have been sent to parents, with limited spaces left.
A list of all the local college open events is now available on our website here. It is a busy term and there will be some dates that clash, so plan early which colleges you will visit. Check the college websites too as some will require booking a place in advance. A number of colleges are also coming in for Year 11 assemblies over the next few weeks.
Casual Employment Opportunities - We are always looking for keen and willing people to support our endeavours at Calthorpe Park. You may be interested in gaining school-based experience, looking for a change of direction or may simply want to become more involved in the life of our vibrant community. If you would be interested in working supporting school examinations and assessments, trips and events or even be available for supporting our administration functions then please complete this Expression of Interest form.
Click here for Library updates and Books of the Week.
The PE department are seeking sponsorship to fund a new sports playing kit. If you run a local company or know anyone who would be keen to support, please contact Mr Frizzell.
There have been further changes to the Clubs list - please look under Students/Clubs on the website.
Science are appealing for unwanted or old towels again please. Any size - hand towels through to bath sheets - would be welcomed by the Science Dept. They don't need to be perfect, but they do need to be serviceable. Please leave donations at Reception.
The Design and Technology department are looking for any fabric off cuts that you don’t need as they are working on an applique project. Again, please leave with Reception if you can donate.
The Fleet 5K and 10K road races are taking place on Sunday 22 October. The 5K has a minimum age requirement of 11 and the 10K has a minimum age requirement of 15. Please let Mrs Gorton know if you are looking for a challenge and going to take part in this. See this link for further details and to sign up.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this new school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 11.
We held a busy Open Evening on Thursday 21 September for Year 6 children and their families, with around 1200 visitors booked in to look around the school. Thanks to all the staff and students involved in this event – we have had many compliments about the information provided, and the enthusiasm and knowledge of our current students who volunteered to help in departments and as tour guides.
We look forward to welcoming some of our visitors as Year 7 students next September!
PE Results:
Monday 18 September
Year 10 Boys Football 2-1 vs Robert May's
Tuesday 19 September
Year 11 Boys Football 1-7 vs Weydon
Year 8B Boys Football 2-4 vs Wavell
Year 11A Netball – 3rd Place @ District Tournament
Wednesday 20 September
Year 7 Boys Football 5-1 vs Testbourne
Year 10A Netball 15-15 vs All Hallows
Friday 15 September 2023
Timing Change – there will be an early closure at 2pm on Thursday 21 September and a late start at 9am on Friday 22 September. Students should go straight to their first lesson on the Friday and register there.
A Careers Fair is taking place here on Wednesday 27 September for Years 10 & 11 students and parents – details have been sent to parents, including how to book a place.
It has been so lovely to see how our new Year 7s are settling in so well within our Calthorpe Park community. We have seen how their confidence has grown since their first day last week and it is evident that lots of new friendships are forming across the year group. I have had lots of great feedback from staff across the school about how impressed they have been with Year 7s focus and attitude in lessons. I know starting at secondary school is challenging but you are all doing a fabulous job – well done! Mrs Shackell
A list of all the local college open events is now available on our website here. It is a busy term and there will be some dates that clash, so plan early which colleges you will visit. Check the college websites too as some will require booking a place in advance.
Casual Employment Opportunities - We are always looking for keen and willing people to support our endeavours at Calthorpe Park. You may be interested in gaining school-based experience, looking for a change of direction or may simply want to become more involved in the life of our vibrant community. If you would be interested in working supporting school examinations and assessments, trips and events or even be available for supporting our administration functions then please complete this Expression of Interest form.
Homework Club - We operate a Homework Club in IT2 between 3:00 and 4:30pm, Monday-Thursday. Staff are on hand to support students in completing their homework tasks. You do not need to book in advance and students can attend on an ad hoc basis. Do encourage your child to attend if you feel this would be beneficial.
Bar Mock Trial - After a very successful first year entering the Young Citizens Bar Mock Trial competition, we are hoping to emulate last year's triumph with another team this term and preparations are about to start. To try and give the students a depth of experience within the legal system, we are hoping that we might be able to secure some advice for the team from those working within the profession. As such, we are wondering if there are any parents or carers with legal experience who would be willing to volunteer some of their time to come in and work with us during a rehearsal. A key part of the Mock Trial is the opportunity for our students to interact with legal professionals, so your support ahead of the competition could be invaluable.
We are also looking to secure sponsorship to fund the cost of the competition as we feel this could be a fantastic way to further shine a light on the amazing and unique experience the competition offers. Students who take part are encouraged to think critically, build arguments and boost their confidence; we are optimistic there might be businesses in the community that feel these qualities are an integral part of their ethos, and so wish to support our students.
Our team last year represented Calthorpe impeccably on a national stage at the Royal Courts of Justice; we have every faith that some of them will enter the legal profession so forming links between them and the community may help them take these first steps.
If you are able and interested in supporting our students in this way, please contact either Mrs Eastlake or Miss Webb.
The PE department are seeking sponsorship to fund a new sports playing kit. If you run a local company or know anyone who would be keen to support, please contact Mr Frizzell.
Please click here for Library update and Books of the Week.
The updated Clubs list is here.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this new school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 8.
Monday 11/9
Year 10B Netball 13-19 vs Courtmoor
Year 11A Netball 7-9 vs Courtmoor
Wednesday 13/9
Year 7 Boys football 11-0 vs Weydon
Year 10 Netball versatility tournament
Thursday 14/9
Year 10 boys football 1-3 vs Courtmoor
Friday 8 September 2023
Please find attached two letters issued today:
Y9 Options from Mr Borkowski
Y8 & Y0 Bee Well Survey from Mr Jones
Timing Change – there will be an early closure at 2pm on Thursday 21 September and a late start at 9am on Friday 22 September. Students should go straight to their first lesson on the Friday and register there.
A number of trips are open for application this week and will close on Monday 11 September. See this page for details and refer to the email sent out earlier this week.
It has been lovely to welcome everyone back at school this week, especially our new Year 7s. After the summer holidays, it always seems incredible how much students seem to have grown! Our student body has been amazing in how they have returned to Calthorpe Park. Smartly dressed, organised with their equipment and ready for the ‘business of learning’. The focused calm atmosphere around the campus has been very pleasing to experience for everyone. In order to uphold our high standards, tutors have been regularly checking in with their tutees regarding both uniform and equipment. So far this year we have 95% of our students who have managed to achieve this, so we’ll be looking to increase that percentage over the coming weeks. 100% is the target! Thank-you for your support so far, it is always appreciated.
A Careers Fair is taking place here on Wednesday 27 September for Years 10 & 11 students and parents – details will be sent out next week.
Mrs Glover has organised seminars for Year 11 which will be taking place during tutor time. Information will be sent out via email with dates later today. If you have any questions about Year 11, please contact Mrs Glover.
Student Organisers - This week, all students have been issued with a new organiser and timetable. Please see this link on the school website for guidance on how they are to be used and the charges that will apply for replacing any that are lost or damaged.
Please click here for Library news.
Clubs – the updated clubs list is now on the website under Students/Clubs or can be found here. Check the page regularly for updates.
ELSA have now moved into their new area! They are situated downstairs in the science block next to the water fountain. All ELSA, TALA and CAL sessions will be here. This is a more bespoke and calm space for the team. Luna is settling into her new office and loves the light and airy rooms.”
The PE department are seeking sponsorship to fund a new sports playing kit. If you run a local company or know anyone who would be keen to support, please contact s.frizzell@cps.hants.sch.uk
History Notice: in addition to the compulsory equipment that students require, if your child is in Years 7 and 8 or in Years 9,10 and 11 and studying GCSE History, please can they bring highlighters and glues as part of their equipment.
Science are appealing for unwanted or old towels again please. Any size - hand towels through to bath sheets - would be welcomed by the Science Dept. They don't need to be perfect, but they do need to be serviceable. Please leave donations at reception.
Fleet Phoenix are holding the next Hype night at Court Moor School on Friday 15 September. This is aimed at Years 7-9, tickets are £8 and must be booked in advance – see this link for booking.
Positive Calthorpe Points – in this new school year the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 3.
Friday 1 September 2023
We are looking forward to welcoming students back to school for the new academic year!
Please note that start times on Monday 4th September are as follows:
- Year 7 and Year 11 start at 8.40am with Year 7 registering in the courtyard and Year 11 going to tutor groups
- Years 8, 9 & 10 start at 9.55am in tutor groups
See the Term Dates page on the website for key dates over the year.
There has been a change in timings and route for the 10 bus - please see this page for details from Stagecoach.
Finally, the new road layout and crossing is now in operation at the top of Hitches Lane - students may wish to leave slightly earlier so that they are familiar with the new route.
Friday 21 July 2023
Our final Newsletter of the school year can be found here.
Please see this letter from Hampshire County Council about the harmful effects of vapes on young people. You can also find more information at this link.
Click here for the latest Trips Bulletin which provides information about trips taking place over the next academic year, along with trips opening for application on 5 September.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 226.
On Friday 7 July we hosted our annual Primary School Sports event, inviting all junior schools in the local area to come and take part in different sports. The students all gathered at Everyone Active, where the Bee Active mascot met them for photos. The schools took part in an opening ceremony parade as they entered the CPS sports grounds.
Special thanks to Eversley Cricket Club, Hart Gymnastics and Hart Netball Club for providing coaches and Miss Perkis and Mr Taylor for also hosting Volleyball and Softball. The students had sessions on various sports and enjoyed the afternoon.
Friday 14 July 2023
Disruption Free Learning
We have been very pleased and impressed with the way in which students have responded to the Disruption Free Learning trial period this week. Initial teacher feedback has been extremely positive and staff have reported that lessons are calmer, focused and more productive.
The data that has been collected over the course of the week indicates that the overwhelming majority of our students have either not attended the Reflection Room at all, or have only attended once. This means that they are following instruction and meeting our expectations within the classroom, and self-regulating if they get things a little wrong. Those students who have persistently disrupted classes and have been referred more than three times account for only 3% of our student body.
We would like to thank parents and carers for their ongoing support of this strategy and invite them to share any views or feedback via our parent consultation form here.
Please see this letter about SLUGG Walk taking place on Thursday 20 July. To support students who are neurodiverse or those students who may find changes to routines challenging, the ELSA Team have written a social story about SLUGG walk. Please use this with your child at home to help prepare them for the exciting day. Click here for the link.
Road Safety – please see this page on our website with guidelines for cycle safety when travelling to school. We’d be grateful if you could review this with your child to ensure they are safe over the summer holidays and that they are prepared for the Autumn term.
As GCSEs have now finished, we are sure that many of you have revision materials and textbooks that you no longer need. It would be a great benefit to the school community if you would consider donating these to the school so they could be distributed to the younger years who will be taking their exams in the coming years. If you can donate old textbooks, revision guides or other useful materials, you will have a direct positive impact on someone at Calthorpe - and we would be so grateful!
Thank you in advance, Lillia and Zara, The Heads of Academic Support
A message from the English Department: Calling all parents – the summer holidays are imminent and we would like you to help us in encouraging your children to read over the holidays. To help you get started, here is a link that can help your child/children find the perfect book. The link will ask them to input an age range and the genres they enjoy and it will then provide them with a list of titles and blurbs. We hope you have a lovely summer holiday filled with reading adventures as well as real ones.
Click here for Library news which includes the Summer Reading Challenge for Year 7 (and new students joining in September), and our regular Books of the Week.
Another appeal from Science please, items can be dropped off at Reception:
- Unwanted/old towels from hand to bath sheets - any colour, but they must be usable still as towels.
- Unwanted and/or out-of-date butter, margarine, lard, dripping, cooking oil, olive oil, etc. (unused).
- We are also looking for a working, second-hand washer dryer for departmental laundry. If anyone wants to re-home one as a free gift to Calthorpe Park School or sell one for a reasonable price (a receipt will be required for a purchase) please email m.harris@cps.hants.sch.uk.
There are still places on the Free Hampshire Teen Project being held here over the holidays (for those receiving Free School Meals). Details are available from this letter and flyer.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 220.
Legally Blonde - We have had a packed week with the opening of our show, Legally Blonde on Tuesday night! Staff and students were in all weekend ensuring everything was prepared and ready to start, with rehearsals taking place all day Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The cast, crew and band are on top form, having performed to three packed audience so far, with two more to go on Friday and Saturday evenings, all sold out. Thanks to everyone involved for all the hard work that ensures events like this can take place.
Photo Credit: Lisa Cunnington
Friday 7 July 2023
Please see this letter from Mr Jones and Mrs Rushmere regarding a student survey about bullying. We hope that every student will take part, but parents wishing to opt their children out need to respond using the link in the letter by next Wednesday.
Our school production, Legally Blonde, opens next Tuesday and runs for five nights – with performances starting at 7pm each evening. There are a small amount of tickets available for each night - please see this link to book numbered seats in the Hall and we hope you enjoy the show!
HPV vaccinations are taking place from Monday 10-12 July for Year 8s and 9s, plus there will also be a catch up for Year 10s who are outstanding vaccinations. Only students who have had consent forms completed will be called to attend. Appointments have been sent via Edulink to students please check this and times cannot be changed.
Click here for Library news, along with our regular Books of the Week.
Advance notice for students currently in Years 9 & 10 and their parents – we will be holding a Careers Fair at school on the evening of Wednesday 27 September. Further details will be sent out nearer the time and we hope this will be a very informative session for you.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 214.
Art & Photography Exhibition – on Thursday 29 June we held our annual Art & Photography Year 11 exhibition with a fantastic turnout and a very impressed audience. A huge thank you to all those involved in organising this. Our amazing technician, Mrs Hemmings, and Miss Brophy have worked incredibly hard since half term and the site team were on hand to support over this last week with some extra help from past student, Olivia T, and current Year 11 students who returned to support during the last days of setting up, even non-art students! Huge congratulations to our amazing Year 11 Art & Photography students’ creative journeys, we wish you all the very best in your future ventures. Thank you for reminding us why we do this job as you make it worth it!
Year 11 Prom – Last Friday we gathered for the final time with our leaving students to celebrate the end of GCSEs, the end of their time at CPS and the end of 12 years of formal education! 248 students and 60 staff spent the evening together at Warbrook House in Eversley, with the students arriving in a wide range of transport. Although the evening was quite cool and there was a steady drizzle, this did not spoil the evening, with a busy dance floor right up to the end of the evening. It was wonderful to see them dressed up for this event and we wish them all the best for their long summer!
Nearly 100 Year 8 students are on a trip to London today visiting the Imperial War Museum.
Finally, Hampshire County Council and Hart District Council want to invest in walking and cycling facilities in our area. They are looking for input regarding the routes and areas in the draft plan. Please could you give feedback at this link.
Friday 30 June 2023
Monday 3 July is an INSET Day when no students attend school
The majority of students have been to assemblies this week and are now aware of the new programme of disruption-free learning. Please see the letter here if you need a reminder as we work towards ensuring all lessons are taught in a calm and purposeful environment.
This letter has been issued today, giving details about uniform in preparation for returning to school in September.
Please see this letter about Sports Day which takes place on Tuesday 4 July.
To support students who are neurodiverse or those students who may find changes to routines challenging, the ELSA Team have written a social story about Sports Day. Please use this with your child at home to help prepare them for the exciting day. Click here for the link.
A letter has been sent out regarding strike day arrangements on Wednesday 5 and Friday 7 July and it can be viewed here. Years 7 & 9 will be in on Wednesday with Years 8 & 10 attending on the Friday.
HPV vaccinations are taking place from Monday 10-12 July for Year 8s and 9s, plus there will also be a catch up for Year 10s who are outstanding vaccinations. Only students who have had consent forms completed will be called to attend. Appointments will be sent via Edulink next week so please remind your students to check their Edulink for appointment times.
Limited tickets are still available for the school production, Legally Blonde, which will take place over five nights next month – Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12, Thursday 13, Friday 14 and Saturday 15 July – with performances starting at 7pm each evening. Please see this link to book numbered seats in the Hall and we hope you enjoy the show!
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 195.
PE Round up: Our cricket teams were in action this week with our Year 9 cricket team losing to Salesian and our Year 8 cricket team winning against Amery Hill.
Our rounders teams also returned to action, our Year 7 and Year 9 mixed teams losing to Courtmoor and our Year 7 team losing to Eggar’s.
Social Tuesday was one of the busiest yet, with over 35 students playing football in the lovely sunshine, whilst Tay from Everyone Active took our fitness sessions in the sports hall. Our badminton courts were nice and busy also. We still have plenty of room on the tennis courts, would be great to see more students on Tuesday.
Geography Urban Fieldtrip - The Year 10s have been out on one of two geographical investigations which they complete for GCSE Geography. This one was a focus on our urban context so a trip to Reading was on the cards. Having almost 200 geographers in Year 10 this was a mighty undertaking for the Geography department, so separate trips were organised on 22, 23, 26 and 27 June. On these days our Year 10s learned how to conduct a geographical enquiry and collect primary data. Well done to all Year 10 geographers who have completed stage one of this aspect of the course.
Wintershall - The RE department organised a Year 7 trip to Wintershall on Wednesday 28 June where hundreds of actors bring the story of Jesus to life in an open-air epic production set in stunning Surrey countryside. The Year 7 students enjoyed the beautiful park and the interactive nature of the performance. The live animals, donkeys, horses, doves were also a big hit! A couple of lucky students got to high five Jesus and lots caught bread during the ‘Feeding of the five Thousand’ scene.
Hampshire Book Awards - Voting day took place on Thursday 29 June, and a crew of 13 Year 8 students headed off to Eggar’s School in Alton to get their say on who is the best of the pick of six. The selection of books this year were:
The Boy Behind the Wall; Rebel Skies; Once Upon a Fever; When I see Blue; When the World was Ours; We Were Wolves
We have had weeks of reading and chatting about the books, meeting at lunchtime (enjoying a biscuit or two as we chatted!) and sharing our thoughts on the merits of the books. Students have done a great job of really considering the value of the 3Es – Enjoyment, Engagement and Enrichment, which were the key factors when evaluating each book. Our students articulated their views clearly both during meetings and on Voting Day, and it was interesting to hear how some the stories resonated with them and that they had experienced books they may not have bothered with otherwise.
Ultimately there was a winner and the students across Hampshire chose ‘When the World Was Ours’ by Liz Kessler. Find out more in our Books of the Week section in Library News.
Well done to our participating students: Asmi, Isla, Amelie, Anastasia, Maya, Mollie, Lauren, Andrew, Andrea, Siana, Megan, Isabelle, Abigail. They gave their time and showed both effort and dedication to the task. We look forward to the Meet the Author event in October. See this link for Library news this week.
Junior District Athletics - 46 athletes took part in the Junior District Athletics Championships at Aldershot Military Stadium on Thursday 29 June. All athletes performed incredibly well and represented the team and school admirably. The Year 7 girls finished 5th in a extremely competitive field. The Year 7 boys finished 3rd as did the Year 8 girls, and the Year 8 boys finished 2nd.
Sports Awards - On Thursday 29 June the PE Department celebrated the efforts and achievements of students at their annual Sports Awards evening. This was a well-attended evening, which saw students from Years 9 to 11 come and celebrate the sporting successes of their peers, watching them win a multitude of awards. With a range of sporting awards on offer, from football to netball to basketball, the evening concluded with the latest inductees to the Calthorpe Park PE Department's Wall of Fame (joining winners such as Jack H, Lois F and Boyd B to name a select few) which saw Nathan S and Felicity S inducted, the former being the latest recipient of the prestigious Legacy Award.
The PE department want to thank all the staff for their help and Simon Burt from Luncheon Muncheon, for putting on an excellent BBQ pre-event.
We hope our Year 11 students have a wonderful evening at the Prom tonight!
Friday 23 June 2023
We would like to congratulate all of our Year 11 students for completing their GCSE examinations. The final examination, Add Maths, is taking place this afternoon which means that they can all rest and relax for the summer break. We have been impressed by the maturity they have demonstrated throughout the examination period and wish them the best of luck for their results in August.
Thanks to all who attended the Information Evening for parents of students in Years 7-10 on Wednesday. The link to the presentation can be found here and is also on the website under Parents/Presentations.
Please can all students be reminded to bring a water bottle into school daily. There are plenty of water fountains around the site where they can be refilled, plus drinks are available from the restaurant and café.
Limited tickets are still available for the school production, Legally Blonde, which will take place over five nights next month – Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12, Thursday 13, Friday 14 and Saturday 15 July – with performances starting at 7pm each evening. Please see this link to book numbered seats in the Hall and we hope you enjoy the show!
Click here for Library news to stay in touch with our CPS library.
A reminder to Year 8 parents about the upcoming HPV vaccinations. These take place in school between 10 and 12 July. See this link to the letter which contains details of how to consent. Please complete even if you do not give consent as students will not be called up if a no consent is given. Only one parent needs to complete the form.
Hampshire Teen Project are running sessions over the summer holidays here at the school for eligible students. Please see this letter for further information and the flyer can be found here.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 191.
Year 9 WW1 Battlefields trip on 14-16 June – see this link for a trip report.
PE Update: Our 7 and 8 mixed Rounders teams both played Robert Mays, it was a loss for both their games, but we competed well against a strong Robert Mays side. The Year 7s came back strong later in the week against FHES winning 21.5 to 14.5 rounders.
It was another busy athletics week, with our Year 7 and 8s competing at Down Grange on Tuesday. Well done to all who took part.
We have two new outdoor table tennis table for use at breaks and lunch times, they are outside the PE Sports Hall and students are welcome to use these at break times.
Leavers' Assembly - We said a final goodbye to our Year 11 students at their Leavers' Assembly this morning! Following the assembly with speeches, awards and films, cold drinks and lollies were served before shirt-signing on the back playground. At break, staff and students gathered to clap the students out in a guard of honour!
A film was created for the assembly by Mr Margilewski and lots of starring students and staff – you can watch it here.
Friday 16 June 2023
A huge congratulations to the majority of Year 11 who sat their final examination today. We hope that all of their hard work and revision is rewarded by successful outcomes in August. We continue to wish the best of luck to students who will be completing their final examinations next week.
The Leavers’ Assembly for Year 11 students will take place on Friday 23 June at 9.30 and will be followed by shirt-signing.
Parents of students in Years 7-10 are invited to an information meeting on Wednesday 21 June. Full details can be seen in this letter, and bookings for either of the two sessions (5.30 or 7pm) should be made at this link.
We are excited to announce the return of our annual Sports Awards! This will be taking place on Thursday 29 June in the school hall from 6-8:30pm. Please can all those who have been invited return their reply slips by Monday 19 June to the PE office. This year, we have the fabulous Luncheon Muncheon serving a BBQ prior to the awards ceremony. Once students have returned their reply slips, please order your food via Scopay if you intend to eat before the event begins. We look forward to celebrating another fantastic year of sport!'
PE Kit - All students must come into school in full school uniform. On days when they have a timetabled PE lesson all students should change into PE kit at the beginning of the lesson in the changing room and they must change back into school uniform at the end of the PE lesson. There will be occasions when we have fixtures and we need to leave school promptly at 3pm and on such days, we will ask students to change at lunch time. Parents and staff will be e-mailed to inform them of this. Any queries regarding changing for PE please contact Mrs Edwards.
HQ need some colouring books and would be grateful if anyone can donate any unused copies. These should be age appropriate and/or mindfulness colouring books. Thank you.
Year 9 students should bring in their English folders for the specified lesson next week. See this letter for details.
Colleges:
Farnborough 6th Form College are holding their Art & Design Summer Show on Thursday 22 June (5-7pm) which may be of interest to students joining them in September. See this link for details, including booking a place.
QMC are holding an event for Year 11 applicants on 27 June, details can be found here.
Duke of Edinburgh Expedition – 5-10 June
The Duke of Edinburgh Expedition this year took place on 5-7 and 8-10 June. The students had been responsible for selecting their groups. On the Monday and Thursday some very bright and breezy participants met at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park near Petersfield. From the very beginning, we were blessed with excellent weather. The first day for both groups was spent learning about simple first aid for hiking, what to do in an emergency, as well as learning how to pitch tents and cook using Trangia stoves.
As usual, there were a number of students who had packed as if they were going on a world cruise with way more clothing than they needed – with a bit of slight-of-hand, and the use of my car boot, we were able to lighten their loads – they still had to find space to pack their tents and cooking equipment.
Their first dinner is always entertaining. Imagine, six students, a kilo of uncooked pasta and a 1 litre pot – what could go wrong? After eating, they had to wash up and sort out the extra pasta they had cooked. Settling down for the night in the middle of a field surrounded by wild creatures (sheep and cows) is not always everyone’s cup of tea, but we eventually got them off to sleep.
The second and third day at the QECP were the actual expeditions for each group. Each team showed amazing resilience and focus, navigating their way around the countryside, working as a team and really doing themselves proud. I am pleased to say that we did not lose anyone (for too long) and the only medical issues we had were a couple of ticks (the biting kind) and some hayfever.
After the expedition, I am pleased to say that despite a few very tired students, it was brilliant to see such happy faces knowing that they had achieved something so awesome. Rumour has it that some staff covered over 80 000 steps over their three days, whilst another logged over 100 miles in his car with the aircon turned up.
I would like to say a huge thank you to the staff who joined me for three days each with these super- amazing students. Thank you to Miss Kiernan, Mr Wright, Miss Perkis and Mr Bernard-Patel for all the miles they walked and the support they gave to the students. DofE cannot run without these tireless heroes.
Mr Moore
DofE Co-ordinator
Year 7 Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium – 12 June
148 Year 7 students visited the Science Centre in Winchester on Monday 12 June. They visited the Planetarium where they journeyed through space exploring the planets and beyond. A practical session of making a space rocketship allowed the students to show off their design skills. There was also plenty of time to explore all the exhibits and get in a bit of shopping in the gift shop too. A big thank you to all the staff who went.
Mr Findlay
Friday 9 June 2023
Tickets are now available for the school production, Legally Blonde, which will take place over five nights next month – Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12, Thursday 13, Friday 14 and Saturday 15 July – with performances starting at 7pm each evening. Please see this link to book numbered seats in the Hall and we hope you enjoy the show!
Our Clubs list has been updated today and can be seen here.
Click here for Library news including Shelf Help and HBA, along with our regular Books of the Week.
We sell maths sets for students which include a variety of 10 items. These are now £2 per set and students can buy and collect from Reception.
Our Heads of Houses are making some banners for sports day in house colours this year, and hoping to be environmentally-friendly by recycling old materials. If you have any old, clean fabric in either white or any of the House colours that you could donate to school, we'd be very grateful! Please drop in to Reception - thank you.
Students who left in Summer 2022 are now able to collect their art or photography work. Contact Mrs Hemmings to arrange a suitable time to come in to collect.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 184.
We will be holding a Careers Fair here in the Autumn term and are looking for companies that run apprenticeships or training schemes for school leavers (16+). If any parents are involved, can recommend a company or would like to book a table, please contact Mrs Hutton.
QMC are holding an event for Year 11 applicants on 27 June, details can be found here.
It's been a busy week in the PE department with many fixtures and leadership events happening:
We started the week off with a great win from our Year 7 Rounders team v Farnham Heath End, winning 19.5 rounders to 6.5 - well played girls!
The return of the sunshine has made Social Tuesday numbers double, with plenty of friendship groups staying after school to play social football. Lovely to see so many students, please do remember your Astros or trainers. Don't forget the MUGA is also available for tennis on a Tuesday and still plenty of space on our girls-only fitness with Tay from Everyone Active.
Year 7 and 8 have both been busy this week with two athletic events hosted by Robert Mays. We were one of nine schools taking part in track and field events on Tuesday and Thursday. Students were able to go and try different events on the day.
On Thursday we hosted eight of our local primary schools for their County Cricket event. Both fields and the Astro were set up with cricket pitches and the games got under way in the sunshine. It was great to see so many primary student enjoying and playing a great level of cricket, some of the bowling and diving catches were amazing! We look forward to these students coming up to Calthorpe in September and joining our cricket teams!
Our Year 9 Cricket team also had a great result this week, with a convincing win over Bohunt School.
Well done to everyone who has represented the school this week.
Friday 26 May 2023
Please see the half-termly Newsletter here.
Sports Day 2023 - The PE Department are well underway with planning and organisation for our Calthorpe Sports Day which is taking place on Tuesday 4 July 2023. We are very excited to be holding our first event with all six of our new Houses and we cannot wait to see who will be victorious and become the custodians of the prestigious Sports Day trophy for the year.
Students will be participating in their Houses in a range of multisports throughout the morning, and relay races in the afternoon. It will be really important for Houses to work effectively as a team in all the activities. There will also be a return of the highly anticipated staff relay that was so entertaining in our last Sports Day! Staff training is already underway and students are welcome to attend Athletics Club on Mondays after school, to perfect relay changeover technique.
Further details of the day and Team Selection will be circulated after half term. Following the success of Inter House we look forward to celebrating the end of the first year in our new Houses. Please contact Mrs Edwards if you have any questions regarding Sports Day.
Mrs Plunkett is conducting a research project as part of the National SENCO Award, with the working title of 'What is the perception of the SENCO in a mainstream secondary school?'. Here is a link to a brief questionnaire to support this research, if you could provide any responses for this by Wednesday 7 June. Thank you in advance for your support.
Year 9 students have been asked to put together their GCSE English folders (see this letter sent earlier in May). Please could parents use the half term break to organise this if they haven’t done so already? The English department will require students to bring their folders, dividers, etc. into school in the week beginning 19 June.
See the Library news page for updated Books of the Week.
Senior District Athletics - last Tuesday we took part in the senior district athletics championships at Aldershot military stadium. Six athletes have been selected to compete at county level next half term.
Holland Football Tour 2024 - Invitations for our football tour to Holland will go out after half term. Current Years 8, 9 & u16 girls teams will be invited.
We are holding our annual Sports Award in June and are looking for sponsorship to support this event via advertising in the programme. If interested or you have other ideas about how to help, please contact Mr Barclay.
If the current Year 11 students are able to donate any PE kit that they no longer require, the PE department would be very grateful. They are particularly looking for t-shirts, leggings, shorts and fleeces to use when students forget their kit.
The Science department are requesting any unwanted marbles, please drop into Reception if you have any spare.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 178.
We will be holding a Careers Fair here in the Autumn term and are looking for companies that run apprenticeships or training schemes for school leavers (16+). If any parents are involved, can recommend a company or would like to book a table, please contact Mrs Hutton.
Friday 19 May 2023
Two letters have been issued this week and you can see them here:
Respect and Responsibility
CCTV Installation
Junior UKMT club will run again from this Monday until 14 June to look at the follow on papers (Kangaroo and Olympiad rounds). Students from Years 7 and 8 are welcome to attend whether they have been invited for the follow on round or not. The club will meet in X1 until 4pm.
10 students from Calthorpe Park School and three from Robert Mays met at Bounty Squash club on Thursday night to learn skills and mini games with Hampshire Squash coach, Andrew May. Our Year 7s played games to test their accuracy and ball placement and our Year 10s competed in games with Robert Mays. Well done to everyone who took part! Squash club runs as a Thursday after-school club and is open to all year groups. Once a month we travel to play matches on the courts in Basingstoke. Students are welcome to come and give it a try.
Click here for Library News - regular updates from our busy library.
Medical: students need to bring a water bottle into school daily to prevent dehydration. We do not stock antihistamines here - these should be taken in the morning prior to coming to school and are not permitted to be carried around in school bags.
The Science department would be grateful for donations of newspapers please.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 174.
We will be holding a Careers Fair here in the Autumn term and are looking for companies that run apprenticeships or training schemes for school leavers (16+). If any parents are involved, can recommend a company or would like to book a table, please contact Mrs Hutton.
Friday 12 May 2023
Please see this letter issued today for parents of students in Years 7-9 regarding relationships and sex education taking place in PSHE lessons from next week.
The GCSE Computer Science Calthorpe Extra sessions on Wednesday morning have now finished for the year. Thank you for supporting your child in attending these sessions. If they missed any, I have been emailing students the resources that I go through each week and they are also available on Teams.
I wish every Year 11 success in their exams. Mrs A Jones
On Tuesday as part of our Social Tuesday events, we held our own in-house 3 v 3 Street Basketball tournament with teams entered from Years 7, 8 and 10. This is a different version of the traditional Basketball game. It involves just half a court, one hoop and only 3 players, lots of pace and speed. It has now become one of the largest urban team sports. Our players competed to battle it out for the winner's title with some great shots and determination to win the ball. Well done to all the players that entered and we’re looking forward to the next event!
CPSA: Having raised thousands of pounds for the school via a variety of events and online fundraising over the years, the CPSA now needs parents to volunteer to help and take over some of the roles. If you are interested in being involved, please contact either Mrs Lambert or Lisa Barden. Funds raised always go towards benefitting the students and/or the school site in these times of limited funds so this way of fundraising is vital. Unfortunately, without further volunteers the groups will have to be disbanded, so we hope that this might appeal to some of you, or perhaps a group of friends. Thanks for your support!
A request from Science for any unwanted or surplus full grown or established variegated leaf geraniums please. They are used in testing for starch in a leaf experiments, and the majority of our geraniums are now just stalks with a couple of leaves left. If you can help, please leave in Reception.
Here’s the Library link with Books of the Week, Hampshire Book Awards and our usual updates.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 169.
London Art Galleries trip on Friday 5 May
We took Art and Photography Year 9 students to the Saatchi Gallery to visit 'Beyond the Streets London'. It was very successful as they were very engaged and interested in this genre which included street art, graffiti, installations and the fashions of rap artists through the 80s and 90s.
We then jumped back on the coach and explored the V & A, a highlight of which was the ceramics gallery. This enhanced the students' current pattern project, and we were lucky enough to see Grayson Perry's newly acquired pots.
Friday 5 May 2023
Year 11 GCSE Examinations 'Study Leave Information' - please check Edulink for a message from Mrs Glover in relation to 'Study Leave' arrangements for Year 11 and a short MS Form which will need to be completed. The letter can be found here.
On Thursday night we launched our new Squash club here at Calthorpe. We had a brilliant session, which was taken by Andy May from Hampshire Squash. The students worked on the correct grip and control of the racquet, ball placement and also fun games to work on moving to meet the ball at all times. The session finished with some mini games on the sports hall wall and the rebound net, and we look forward to our monthly tournaments that will be held at Bounty Squash courts in Basingstoke. Well done to all the team for a great attitude in learning a new sport, and thank you to Andy May for his time and sharing his expertise.
Year 11 Leavers’ hoodies are now available to order at this link up until 5pm on Wednesday 10 May. The minimum order amount has not yet been reached.
See here for Library news with current updates and our regular Book of the Weeks focus
Medical - as the weather is warming up, students should bring in water bottles from home to ensure they are hydrated during the school day and therefore prevent headaches.
See this link for a newsletter from the local Mental Health Support Teams.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 166.
Year 7 trip to Basing House
Year 7 have been exploring the ruins of Basing House in two groups over the last two days. Year 7 Historians explored the site which was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War. They completed a variety of different activities from geocaching around the ruins to looking at letters written during the time and holding artefacts found on the site.
Thanks to all the staff and students for excellent trips!
Mr Marshall-James
Friday 28 April 2023
School will be closed on the following two Mondays, 1st and 8th May, as they are Bank Holidays. See our Term Dates page to check timings for the rest of 2023.
There will be an apprenticeship assembly for Year 10s next Friday (5 May) given by Judith Moule, AAN & ASK Ambassador for DfE. More details about apprenticeships available at this link.
This morning there was an assembly for Year 10s about an A-level and T-level day being held here – students should complete a form about this in Edulink by Friday 5 May.
Click here for Library news with our usual updates designed to keep you in the know for all things reading!
Our netball club players had a brilliant experience to close the season when Mikki Austin, Surrey Storm Netball Super League player and Director came to visit. Surrey Storm netball are based in Guildford at Surrey Sport Park. Mikki came and spoke to our players about what it takes to be an elite athlete and was a brilliant role model for our female sports students to learn about her work with Sky Sports and the Super League. Thank you to Mikki for taking the time out of her very busy schedule to come to Calthorpe.
See our latest clubs held here at lunchtime and after school here.
PS Catering have a special Coronation menu next week - see this link.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 163.
If you are interested in Teacher Training in Primary, with places from September 23 at All Saints Junior School and other local Primary Schools, please contact Mrs Beacroft.
Year 7 Finding your Feet residential trip to PGL Liddington, 21-24 April
What an amazing weekend - we were very lucky with the weather with lots of great laughs and fun! Students were a pleasure to take on the trip and rose to the challenge and found their feet. They completed so many adrenaline-rush activities such as climbing and zipline to working on our team building in raft-building and orienteering. They survived a zombie apocolypse by building some shelters from scratch in the forest! The evening activities were fun, including balloon-splash, capture the flag and the disco where we danced the night away. Some may argue the staff enjoyed it a little too much with the opportunity to dress up!
Big thanks to all the staff who gave up their weekend this time and on the trip in March, and to Max and Lizzie our PGL instructors. This trip has been a pleasure to lead and we look forward to the new Year 7s finding their feet next year.
Mr Marshall-James
Friday 21 April 2023
Year 11 Calthorpe Extra Sessions currently offered are outlined on this timetable. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Glover.
The Year 8 Options form closes on Wednesday 26 April - see this page for details, including the Options book.
Medical do not stock hayfever medication in school and students need to take this at home prior to coming into school, as they are not permitted to carry it in their bags.
The PE Department would like to wish our GCSE PE students the best of luck for our Moderation Day on Wednesday 26th April. It is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their high level of skill and quality team work to the AQA Moderator. Students will be preparing this week and next to make sure that the day runs as smoothly as possible.
Click here for Library news with our usual Books of the Week and a reminder about our virtual library, Sora.
The new Clubs list for lunchtime and after school activities is now available on the website under Students/Clubs - link here.
Thursday 30 March 2023
Please see the Newsletter for this half term here.
Year 11 French, German & Spanish students have their final speaking examination during the week commencing 24 April. Teachers will send out information with the individual dates and times.
Sora, our digital reading app, has now been launched to all students via tutor time. Guidance will also be shared with students via Edulink if they have missed it. This virtual library provides ebooks, audiobooks and magazines/comics - it really is such a great addition to our on-site library. Please encourage students to download the app to make good use of it - it has a dyslexic font option and students can highlight sections of books for future reference too. They will need the set-up code and then their Calthorpe School log in details. Check out the guidance sent out to students.
The latest Trips Bulletin can be found here. This includes a list of trips that are opening for application on Tuesday 18 April, the trips running from now until July, and residential trips running up until the end of 2023.
The new menus from PS Catering will be available after Easter. You can view them on the website here.
College Open Events taking place in the summer term include QMC on 27 April (for Year 10 & Year 11 students), Basingstoke College of Technology on 2 May and Sparsholt on 3 May. See this page on our website for college links and times.
The Summer term starts on Monday 17 April – see our Term Dates page on the website for further dates in 2023.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 155.
Bar Mock Competition
Our Bar Mock team took part in the National Final held at the Royal Courts of Justice on Saturday 25th March. There were 21 schools participating, with our students being the youngest team there as the competition was made up of Sixth Form schools and colleges. Once again, the team showed how well prepared and focused they were, with their knowledge of the case and their precision in their responses being praised by Judges. Whilst we did not return with a trophy, we are immensely proud of all the students for their hard work and commitment, in addition to the huge accomplishment in getting to the National Final.
The Young Citizen group who organise and run the competition have since been in touch to let us know that we came 7th overall, an amazing achievement out of 117 schools and almost 2000 students taking part!
Spring Review
We were delighted to have been able to showcase our amazingly talented musicians in a Spring Review 2023, which took place on Wednesday 29th March in the school hall. The audience enjoyed a wide range of music from the jazz band, ceilidh band, samba band, wind band, vocalists, guitar and ukulele group, GCSE Music groups and a wealth of soloists and small groups.
We were joined by The North Hampshire Organists' Association who set up a virtual church organ for our musicians, and by guest performer, violinist Clara Finch, who was a student at Calthorpe Park School.
It was an amazing evening of beautiful music, enjoyed by the performers and the warm audience that attended.
Fleet Phoenix are hosting their next HYPE Club Night on 21 April for students in Years 7, 8 and 9. See this link for details.
Friday 24 March 2023
Please see the following two letters issued today:
Uniform (including black shorts)
Congratulations and well done to our 56 newly appointed Prefects for 2023-2024. Your applications were a pleasure to read, and we are excited for you to embark on this next journey! If you are interested in applying for our SSLT please see information from Mrs Al-Dabagh.
The Bar Mock team will be participating in the National Final on Saturday. This takes place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. We know how well prepared and focused the team are, and we are all looking forward to both the competition and the experience of visiting London’s High Court.
Reminder: Important Year 11 History Assessment Information:
Week beginning March 27th: All students will be sitting a full Germany Mock paper in their double lesson. The paper is 1 hour and 20 mins.
Week beginning April 24th: All students will be sitting a full Superpower Relations and the Cold War 1941-1991 in their double lesson. The paper is 50 mins
Our Spring Review music concert takes place at 7pm next Wednesday 29 March. Final chance to buy tickets which are available at this link, primarily for relatives/friends of the performers, but all are welcome to attend this event.
See this link for general Library news including Books of the Week.
The ELSA Team have delivered two Exam Pressure seminars for the Year 11s. The presentation will be added to the ELSA MS Team and the ELSA Exam Pressure leaflet can be found in reception, HQ or ELSA.
Next week is the last week of term, with students finishing at 3pm on Thursday 30 March. The Summer term starts on Monday 17 April, when the optional summer uniform of polo shirts may be worn. Please see the letter issued by Mr Borkowski for full details.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 147.
Year 7 Spelling Bee Winners
Congratulations to the following students for placing in the Year 7 Spelling Bee.
1st- Xavier M 7C1
2nd- Izzy H 7S4
3rd- Sophia P 7P4.
Well done to all who participated in the event!
Our team of Joshua N, Zander S and Alistair W competed in the Regional Final in Churchill’s College Petersfield on Monday 20 March against five other schools and they did the school proud. Alistair delivered a very insightful speech on peaceful revolutions and responded extremely well to his questions. Joshua chaired the event with clarity and ease, engaging the audience throughout his introduction and closing, while Zander showed his quick thinking skills when probing the competition for questions on anger. Although the boys did not progress further in the competition, they should be extremely proud of themselves for making it this far.
Our fundraising campaign continues and we are getting close to our target. If you are able to help us reach this, please donate at this link. Many thanks for your support!
Fleet Phoenix are hosting their next HYPE Club Night on 21 April for students in Years 7, 8 and 9. See this link for details.
Friday 17 March 2023
Please see these links for recent letters:
Summer Uniform
Year 8 Options – Prelaunch
Year 11 English Revision Sessions
Interhouse PE takes place over the next two weeks, covering Years 7, 8 and 10 from 20 March and Year 9 from 27 March. See this link for details.
This week some Year 7 Students took part in the Year 7 Spelling Bee. The 29 selected students did a fantastic job and showcased their spelling skills. After many rounds 9 students have been invited to the final on 22 March after school in A2. Good luck to those nine students competing.
On Monday 20 March our three Year 11 students (Joshua N, Zander S and Alistair W) will travel to compete in the Regional Final of the ESU Public Speaking Competition. We wish the boys the best of luck as they compete with some of the best schools in the area.
Our Spring Review music concert takes place at 7pm on Wednesday 29 March. Tickets are available at this link, primarily for relatives/friends of the performers, but all are welcome to attend this event.
Please see this link for our current job vacancies. Roles being advertised at the moment include a Cover Officer and a Creative Print Room Assistant – please share the link if you know of someone who would like to join our team.
See this link for general Library news including Books of the Week.
This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week. We'll be holding assemblies during the first two weeks after Easter to both celebrate Neurodiversity and raise awareness.
The Hampshire Teen Project will run at Calthorpe Park School from Tuesday 11 April to Friday 14 April, from 10am to 3pm. This is free for students aged 11-16 who are eligible under the Pupil Premium Scheme. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with a number of different activities and workshops whilst also receiving free hot lunches. Further details, including how to book a place, can be found at this link.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 143.
Year 7 trip to Winchester Cathedral
On Friday 10th March, we undertook our second Year 7 visit of the year to the delightful Winchester Cathedral and Education Centre. The group enjoyed a very informative tour of the Cathedral and took part in a workshop about Medieval Medicine, which included the making of restorative Pomanders as well as the enthusiastic role-plays for which our students have become rather renowned! It was a really enjoyable and informative experience for all involved.
Gremlin Dance Challenge
Two Dance teams entered the Gremlin Dance Challenge in Aldershot last night. The Year 8 team won Best Use of Musicality and the Year 11s won Most Dramatic Performance. The standard was extremely high and our Dance teams did our school proud!
Friday 10 March 2023
Congratulations to all students who were successful in their auditions for Legally Blonde – we have just decided on our largest ever cast!
Year 11 GCSE Drama students have their dress rehearsals next Wednesday and Thursday (15th & 16th March), with practical exams taking place after school on 20th, 21st and 30th March.
Our Spring Review music concert takes place at 7pm on Wednesday 29 March. Tickets are available at this link, primarily for relatives/friends of the performers, but all are welcome to attend this event.
Library News - this contains information about books of the week and a reminder to use World Book Day tokens.
Winchester Law Courts have an Open Day on Saturday 18th March from 10.30am to 3.30pm which might be of interest to any students thinking about a career in Law. See this link for details.
Please see our Letters page for recent letters. This week two letters have been sent out, one about Industrial Action next week and the second about the Year 8 Progress Review and Parent Consultations taking place on 21st and 23rd March.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 137.
Y7 Finding Your Feet Trip
A group of Year 7 students went on a residential trip last weekend. Although the weather was cold they still had an amazing weekend of fun, conquering fears and making new friends at PGL Liddington. They took part in a variety of activities from the Giant Swing, Buggy Building, Archery, Fencing and Jacob’s Ladder to name a few. The students were awesome even if they were woken up by Mr Marshall-James' poor choice of music for a wake up call. Thanks for an great weekend, and we're looking forward to our second trip in April.
Year 10 Business Day
We held a Business Day for all Year 10 students on Tuesday 7 March, our first for several years. We had two speakers in the morning talking to the students about their career experiences and giving valuable advice. Lessons and homework had been organised in advance so students had prepared their CVs, prior to having a mock interview in the afternoon. These were carried out by a large group of external volunteers, all of whom had interviewing experience. The feedback about the day has been hugely positive - it was a great learning experience for the students and the volunteers were very impressed with the candidates!
Year 8 Imperial War Museum
On Thursday 9 March we took a group of Year 8 students to visit the Imperial War Museum in London. This was to build on work we have been doing so far in History as we have been looking at the First World War, and will be moving onto further conflicts later in the year. The students moved around the museum exhibits with a booklet to complete, finding out the personal stories of the people who lived through these times and to extend their knowledge further. Our students were amazing and we are looking forward to taking our postponed trip to the Imperial War Museum on Friday 7 July.
Amie: ‘My favourite part of the visit yesterday was how interactive the museum was, in particular walking through a replica of a First World War Trench’
Will: ‘My favourite part of the visit yesterday was the Second World War section where we got to look at the different types of planes and tanks.’
PE Update:
Football:
U16 girls in Hampshire Cup Final
Year 9 boys in Hampshire Cup Semi Final
Year 7 and 9 Boys currently unbeaten in their district leagues and one game away from being crowned league champions
Year 7 Boys District 5 a side champions, Year 7 Girls District 5 a side Runners Up
U13 girls representing Hart & Rushmoor at Hampshire u13 football tournament in Southampton on Tuesday
Rugby:
Year 7 Rugby came second in local tournament at Farnham Rugby Club
Basketball:
Year 9 Boys District Div 1 League Champions
U14 girls Div 3 District League Champions
Year 7 and 10 boys basketball teams in District Cup Finals
Cross Country:
Year 7 Boys Cross Country team District Champions
Year 8 Boys Cross Country team District Champions
Netball:
Year 9 'A' Netball District Tournament runners up
Year 9 'B' Netball District Tournament 3rd place
The ELSA team wanted to say a big thank you for all the board game donations we've received. We've been enjoying playing different games, socialising and connecting with one another.
Friday 3 March 2023
This is a busy week for trips with two Year 9 Sports Studies trips to Runways End (today and next Friday), the first Year 7 residential trip this weekend to the PGL Centre at Liddington, a Year 8 trip to the Imperial War Museum on Thursday and a Year 7 trip to Winchester Cathedral next Friday.
We were thrilled and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of students who auditioned for ‘Legally Blonde’. We have some tough decisions to make regarding our cast, but are spoilt for choice by the amount of talented students we have here. The cast list will be announced to students in the next week. Thank you and well done to everyone who has participated so far!
Our Spring Review music concert takes place at 7pm on Wednesday 29 March. Tickets are available at this link, primarily for relatives/friends of the performers, but all are welcome to attend this event.
Click here for Library News including Books of the Week, World Book Day celebrations and the launch of Sora to Year 7, being rolled out to the whole school next week.
Science have another appeal this week. They would be grateful for any unwanted or out-of-date food items to be used for food testing, digestion and energy in food experiments, as follows:
Crisps
Porridge oats & other cereals
Instant gravy granules
Instant coffee
Tea bags
Tinned garden peas, potatoes, sweetcorn and soup
Biscuits
Powdered milk or coffee mate.
If you are able to donate any of these items, please drop into Reception. Thanks for your support.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 131.
Friday 24 February 2023
Punctuality - next week we are focussing on punctuality, both to school and to lessons. Students should be at their tutor base ready for morning registration which begins at 8.40am, so we ask for your support to ensure that your child arrives at school on time. Lessons are slightly trickier for you to have an impact on, however, we also ask that you check EdulinkOne after 4pm each day and review your child's attendance record for that day. Click on the Attendance icon and then Attendance Today tab along the top bar. This will indicate whether they have arrived to their lessons on time or not, and is a really useful way for you to keep an eye on this. For those students who fail to arrive on time, we will be contacting parents/carers and putting appropriate sanctions in place. Hopefully, this won't be needed, so could we please ask that you discuss your child's punctuality over the weekend in preparation for Monday.
Year 10 Business Day - following the assignment that has been set, all Year 10 students should submit their CV to Ms Wayman by Monday 27 February.
We would like to hear your opinion on trips organisation. Your feedback will help us to determine the effectiveness of the current practice and what improvements are required. Please provide your response by Monday 27 February at this link. The survey is anonymous and will take you approximately two minutes to complete.
School Production - Legally Blonde: Auditions for Principals are taking place on Monday 27 February and Tuesday 28 February in the Drama Studio until 5pm. Ensemble Auditions are on Wednesday 1 March until 5pm. We are really excited to get started on the show and wish everyone lots of luck!
Library News - this contains information about World Book Day, Sora, our Ebooks platform, and books of the week.
The latest list of school clubs can be found here.
The Two-Clicks Survey - thank you for contributing to these surveys over the last few months. We are taking a break to review the feedback received so far. However, you can continue to feedback your thoughts on Calthorpe Park Communications at any time by clicking here.
The Science department are grateful for all the donations of old newspapers and now have enough. However, they are still looking for a variety of balls if you have any to donate - they need anything smaller than a football, for example, old tennis, squash, golf or ping pong balls. Thank you.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 127.
Friday 10 February 2023
Please find our latest Newsletter here.
Thanks to all of you who have completed the uniform questionnaire so far. We would still like to hear your views on anything to do with uniform and the survey will remain open over the half term week. Please see this link.
Please find attached a letter about Andrew Tate, along with a useful guide for parents. The letter and guide can also be found on the website.
An increasing number of students are bringing medication to school with them and are keeping this, both prescription and non-prescription, in their bags. This is absolutely forbidden and we would ask you to ensure that your child is not carrying medication with them or taking medication without supervision. Please see this letter for details about medication in school.
A reminder from Mrs Binding to parents/carers of Year 11 History students - please can you check in with your child over the half term holidays regarding their History Home Learning and ensure that it has been completed. The schedule has been communicated in an email and your child can also find it in their Year 11 History Teams Folder and on Edulink.
The Two-Clicks Survey - please click this link to help inform and improve our school communications. It's just one question and all answers are anonymous. Thank you for your help.
Two-Clicks Update - last week we asked you what you thought of the number and frequency of school emails. We received 148 responses (9% of the school community), of which 25% provided valuable feedback. The form will be available for one further week, so if you haven't yet contributed or wish to provide additional feedback following this week's communications, you can do so here. Thank you for your support and contribution.
The previous week we asked you what day of the week was preferred for the Weekly Update and provided a final opportunity to share your thoughts before closing the form, prompting a further 66 responses. 85% of respondents indicated a preference for a Friday Weekly Update. Overall, the total number of respondents was 12% of the school community.
This Year 9 letter went out last Friday about buying English Language and Literature texts. Also, Year 11 English Revision continues on Thursday 23 February after school and Literature Revision on Friday 24 February from 8am.
Please can you ensure that students come to school with the right equipment - see this link for a guide as it may be useful if shopping for supplies over the break.
We are grateful for your generosity with the current CPSA fundraising campaign for benches to go under the new canopies, and with recent donations we are much closer to our target. If you haven't yet done so and are in a position to help, please see this link for full details.
Science are looking for more donations to help the department please - this time they need old newspapers and a variety of balls: tennis, golf, ping-pong, etc. (not footballs). These can be dropped or bounced into Reception - thank you!
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 118.
Wishing you a good half term break!
Friday 3 February 2023
As part of our ongoing review process, we would like to gather feedback from parents/carers on certain aspects of our school. Our current focus is uniform and we would like to ask you to complete this questionnaire. Your input will help us shape our uniform policy now and in the future. It only takes a few minutes, so please 'have your say'!
The Year 11 English Language revision session next Thursday (3-4pm) will focus on literary reading skills. On Friday from 8-9am in the old Hall, there will be a Literature Booster session on Lord of the Flies, Part 2 (with free croissants/pain au chocolat!).
A letter about Year 9 English Literature and Language tests will be sent out later this afternoon.
The Two-Clicks survey - please click this link to help and improve our school communications. It's a different question each week and all answers are anonymous.
Two-Clicks Update - last week we asked you what day of the week you prefer to receive the Weekly Update. We had 118 responses (8% of the school community), of which 98 stated a continued preference for a Friday. The form will be available for another week so if you haven't yet had a chance to share your preference, you can do so here. Thank you for your support and contribution.
The student-led Panto, Peter Pan, takes place in the Drama Studio on Monday 6 February with two performances at 4.30pm and 6.30pm. There are currently 6 seats left for the 4.30pm show at this link; the later one is sold out.
The Drama and Music departments are looking forward to announcing to students details of the school production next Thursday! This will take place during lunch in the Drama Studio and will include audition dates and times.
Click here for Library News, including books of the week.
It's National Apprenticeship week from 6-12 February - see this link for details.
Please see the attached poster to mark LGBT+ History Month.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 110.
Friday 27 January 2023
It is an INSET Day on Tuesday 31 January when no students attend school. The Year 11 students invited into school that day should sign in at Reception on arrival and sign out when they leave. Full school uniform is required to be worn, unless students are also involved in the PE sessions in the morning, in which case they are permitted to remain in their PE kit. Please email Mrs Binding urgently if your child is unable to attend on Tuesday.
A letter has been issued regarding industrial action on Wednesday 1 February. There are two school trips taking place that afternoon/evening and they are still taking place - the snowboard/ski lesson and the Year 10 trip to The Woman in Black.
What do you think is the best day of the week to receive a Weekly Update from the school? Please click this link to the Two-Clicks Survey which will help inform and improve our school communications. It's just one question and all answers are anonymous. Thank you for your help.
Click here for Library News - this shows details of library lessons on 'Banned Books' and 'Meet the Author', and the regular Books of the Week recommendations.
There will be a further session soon for any Year 11 students who weren't able to attend their Farnborough 6th Form interview. Alton (HSDC) College interviews will be held in school, face to face, on 28 February. Details of both sessions to follow. Careers support is still available for all students, please contact Ms Wayman with any queries.
We have had an excellent response to our request for volunteers to come in to conduct mock interviews with our Year 10 students during the afternoon of Tuesday 7 March. We still need more people to add to this team, so if you are interested and have time to help us, please email businessday@cps.hants.sch.uk. Many thanks for your support.
Please can you ensure that students come to school with the right equipment - see this link for a guide.
Local Charities - there are two local charities that we are mentioning this week. Rushmoor and Hart Aid for Ukraine are collecting winter aid items to be taken to Ukraine. You can find the list of items they require here and these can be taken to the drop off point at the Nationwide in Fleet. Also, you can see a list of requirements for the Hart Foodbank here, along with a number of locations where you can donate items.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 108.
See our Term Dates page on the website for relevant dates, including the Autumn Term.
Friday 20 January 2023
The following letters have been issued this week - they are attached and also on the website:
Holocaust Memorial Day 2023
Building Resilience
The Year 10 Parent Consultations take place next week, on Tuesday 24 and Thursday 26 January. If you haven't already done so, please book your appointments via Edulink.
Computer Science revision sessions for Year 11 students are being held at the following times:
Tuesdays, 8-8.30am in IT1 for Mr Lugg's classes
Wednesdays, 8-8.30am in X3 for Mrs Jones' classes
There is an INSET Day on Tuesday 31 January.
See this link for Library news - this includes details of our Readathon total and our Reading Raisers. Well done to our winners - Immy G, Matilda P, Evie B and Dylan M who will be awarded their vouchers in Library lessons next week!
The Science department are appealing for more items please. They would like square-shaped empty coffee jars with their lids for chromatography practicals, the bigger the jar the better, but any size is welcome. They also need empty, very small jam jars with lids to store non-hazardous chemicals and substances. Finally, empty plastic chocolate tubs, eg Heroes/Quality Street would be very useful to use as small water troughs during science practicals. If you have any of these items to spare, please drop off in Reception - thank you!
Ms Wayman would like to pass on her thanks for all the parental support for Year 11 students this week during their Farnborough 6th Form College interviews. Well done too to all the students who attended and got places at the college - they conducted themselves brilliantly and should be congratulated!
Thanks to all parents who have volunteered their time to come in and hold mock interviews for Year 10 students on our Business Day taking place on Tuesday 7 March. If you are able to help out as an interviewer on that afternoon (no experience necessary), please send an email to businessday@cps.hants.sch.uk.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 101.
The Two-Clicks Survey - please click this link when you've read the Weekly Message to answer just one question, all answers are anonymous. Thanks for your help.
Friday 13 January 2023
Holocaust Memorial Day is on 27th January. There is an opportunity for us to listen to a first-hand testimony from a Holocaust survivor, Ruth Posner, on Thursday 26th January. This is being organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust and is being live-streamed to schools across the country. All Year 9 students will listen to this Holocaust survivor and we will be hosting this in the Hall. During House assemblies over the next two weeks, we will be looking at the Holocaust with all year groups, and reflecting on this during tutor time.
There will be English revision support next week for Year 11 as follows:
Tutor time Extra English for selected students on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
Language revision after school on Thursday, 3-4pm - reading skills
Literature revision before school on Friday, 8-9am - Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, part 1
We are holding a Business Day for our Year 10 students on Tuesday 7 March and are looking for around 40 volunteers who would be able to come in that afternoon (approx 12.45-4pm) to conduct mock interviews with these students. If you are able to commit to this time and help us, please send an email to businessday@cps.hants.sch.uk. Thanks for your support!
Farnborough 6th Form interviews take place in school all next week for Year 11 students. They have been notified and the schedule is available in Teams or there is a paper copy in the foyer. If these students have any queries they should contact Ms Wayman.
See this link for Library news.
Congratulations to the following students for winning the Calthorpe Chronicle competition! The task was to write an engaging article to be published in the school newspaper:
Emmie N - 1st place for 'Beginners Guide to Crochet' - £20 Amazon gift card
Lily D - 2nd place for 'Gift Ideas' - £10 Amazon gift card
Sateja B - 3rd place for 'The Rise and Downfall of Barbie' - £10 Amazon gift card
There are some further college open evenings taking place over the next few weeks as follows:
ACM Guildford - Tuesday 24 January, 4pm
Sparsholt - Saturday 4 February, 10am-2pm
BCoT - Monday 6 February, 4.30-7pm - Apprenticeship Event
FCoT - Wednesday 8 February, 4-7.30pm
FCoT (Aldershot Campus) - Thursday 9 February, 4-7.30pm
Please see this page on our website for details, or check the college websites.
Please see these dates from the Hampshire Parent Carer Network for the term ahead which might be useful for parents/carers of children with additional needs.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 96.
The Two-Clicks Survey - please click this link when you've read the Weekly Message to answer just one question, all answers are anonymous. Thanks for your help.
Friday 6 January 2023
Happy New Year - welcome back to the Spring Term!
Parent Consultations for Year 11 are taking place next week on 10 and 12 January, followed by those for Year 10 on 24 and 26 January - bookings will open soon.
There is an INSET Day on Tuesday 31 January. Key dates can be found on our website here.
See this link for Library news.
The Junior UKMT club for Years 7 and 8 starts on Monday 9 January in X1 from 3-4pm with Mrs Powell, and will run until the competition in April.
Duke of Edinburgh drop-in sessions will continue on Friday afternoons (3-3.30pm) with Mr Moore for any Year 10 or 11 student who needs help/support with this award.
Positive Calthorpe Points - the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is now 91.
The Two-Clicks Survey - let us know when you've read the Weekly Message by clicking this link and answering just one question!
Friday 16 December 2022
Please find our latest Newsletter here.
Year 11 Parent Consultations take place on 10 and 12 January - please ensure your bookings on Edulink are made in plenty of time.
Our latest Trip Bulletin can be found here.
Year 11 English revision will be starting up next term as follows:
Thursday after school - non-fiction reading paper
Friday morning at 8am - Macbeth
Tutor Time Year 11 Extra English starting from 9 January
All Year 11 students should have applied for a college place or training provider by Christmas. If they haven't for whatever reason, please contact Ms Wayman who will help. Farnborough 6th Form College interviews will be held in school during the week of 16 January, with appointment times being sent out during the first week back.
A huge thank you to parents and carers who have sponsored our Year 7 students for Readathon. You can still do so online here. Students can bring in their sponsor forms after the break and hand in at the Library to make sure they are entered into the draw for participation prizes. It's been a great first term for Year 7 reading - more reading competitions to come next year.
The PE department are seeking sponsorship to help buy new kits for teams across the school. If you run a local business, or know if anyone locally would be willing to sponsor us, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Mr Frizzell.
We are excited in PE to confirm we have received a grant from Energise Me and the Youth Sport Trust that will see a new club available to all our students from January. This will be a dance/fitness session held once a week by a qualified instructor. More information will be available in January.
Positive Calthorpe Points - at the end of the Autumn Term, the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 84.
The Two-Clicks Survey - let us know when you've read the Weekly Message by clicking this link and answering just one question!
Wishing you all a wonderful break and we look forward to seeing students back in school on Tuesday 3 January.
Friday 2 December 2022
English - the Year 11 tutor time Extra English sessions are resuming from 5 December and running on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Those involved will have received a communication and been told by their English teachers. Crutches advice from Medical - we have noticed an increase in the number of students coming into school on crutches. Please can parents contact Medical (shwo@cps.hants.sch.uk) prior to sending their child into school on crutches, or come into Reception with them, so that an assessment can be carried out to allow the student to stay in school. Any crutches in school should only be provided by a hospital and not borrowed from others. Thank you for your support in this matter. REaL3 are collecting Christmas Cards to be donated to F1 Ward at Frimley Park Hospital and to members of the school community. Collection will take place from Monday 5 December up to Thursday 15 December. These can be handmade or purchased, then dropped in to Reception - further details can be found in the homework section of Edulink. Positive Calthorpe Points - at this point in the Autumn Term, the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 73. Click here for Library News this week. Lost Property - we now have so much lost property here at school that we are running out of storage space. If your child has lost any items, please could you encourage them to check lost property (by the boys changing rooms at the end of the gym) by Thursday 8 December. After this time, we plan to donate any unclaimed items, especially coats, to charity at the end of term. Thanks to Dan J in Year 11, our Lost Property Ambassador, for sorting so many items and trying to reunite them with their owners! The CPSA would love to have more volunteers join their new team! Please see this link for more details. Their next meeting is at 7.30pm on Monday 5 December at the De Havilland on Elvetham Heath. If you would like to order a freshly-cut Christmas tree from local company, Tincleton Trees, with free delivery to your home, please use this order form. For every tree ordered via this form, the CPSA will receive 10% of sales.
Friday 25 November 2022
Cycle Safety - please remind your child, if they use a bike to get to school, to wear a high-vis strap or a bright jacket whilst cycling, turn on a front and back light, as well as wearing their bike helmet. Safety on the roads is paramount and with the darkness being earlier after school, responsibility lies with the cyclist for ensuring that they can be easily seen whilst on the road and at junctions.
College & Careers support - a reminder that there is careers support for Year 11 students if they need it, particularly in relation to college applications. Please contact Ms Wayman for any help with this (b.wayman@cps.hants.sch.uk).
See this link for details of the Holiday Activities and Food scheme funded by the Department for Education for eligible students. This shows sites delivering these schemes locally over the Christmas holidays.
Library News includes details about Readathon, opening times and books of the week.
CPSA Fundraising - with the recent installation of more canopies around school creating shelter for students we are continuing with our campaign to raise money for benches to be used in these areas. Although the campaign has been running for some time, we have only just reached the half way point, with another £3000 still to raise. With a small donation from every family at school, we could easily meet this target and are always grateful for your continued support. The link for donations is here.
Friday 11 November 2022
On 17 November, Year 7 will follow their timetabled lessons but their teacher will be delivering a lesson focussing on this years OutRight campaign, "The right to the best possible health care" (Article 24 of the UNCRC). REaL3 have put together six lessons on an area of this topic about which they felt strongly. This date has been chosen to coincide with World Children's Day 2022 (18 November). CPS and REaL3 are looking forward to supporting children and young people to learn about children's rights and ensure their voices are heard by decision makers.
Year 11 students applying for college should be aware that some college deadlines are imminent, please check via the college website and ensure your application is completed and submitted in time. Farnborough 6th Form interviews will take place in school during the week beginning 16 January 2023, with details and appointment times to follow. Please contact Ms Wayman with any queries (b.wayman@cps.hants.sch.uk).
See this link for Library news, including Remembrance Day, Readathon for Year 7 and Books of the Week.
Positive Calthorpe Points - at this point in the Autumn Term, the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 55.
Two events will be taking place in the next few weeks - the ESU public speaking competition on 28 November and the Year 10 Dragons' Den on 6 December.
Details from English about two external competitions:
1. For those Year 11 students who are/will be 16 by the close of the competition on 24 February 2023, they might like the opportunity to write a poem of up to 48 lines on the theme of "The Planets". First prize = £5000, second prize = £3000, third prize = £1500 and 10 commended awards of £500 each. Find out more at this link.
2. KSCPP are holding their second essay contest for UK schools. The essay topic is based on the publication Chung Hyo Ye, a book of traditional tales of filial devotion, loyalty, respect and benevolence from the history and folklore of Korea. A free download and full contest details are available here.
Hampshire Teen Project are running a week of free activities/workshops/hot meals for students aged 11-16 who are eligible under the Pupil Premium Scheme during the first week of the Christmas Holidays. See this letter for details.
Friday 4 November 2022
Each year our assembly programme changes to reflect topical issues, events and themes that embody our shared values. Our students have the benefit of having these delivered to them within their House, in the formal setting of our main Hall. To ensure that our students really engage with the messages that we deliver, an "all-in" activity is delivered by each of their tutors that supports each assembly theme. See this link for more details.
There are a number of trips open for application this week, with the deadline on Monday at 9pm. See this link for the full list of trips.
There are further college open evenings taking place this month - Alton on the 9th, Sparsholt on the 12th, Lord Wandsworth on the 22nd, FCoT on the 23rd and BCoT on the 29th. See this page for details.
The PE team are looking for donations of second-hand, good condition PE tops, shorts or leggings. Please could these be taken to the PE Office.
Click here for news from the school Library, including Book of the Week. Also from Hampshire Libraries see these links about their general service, a coat exchange and bring a mug.
Positive Calthorpe Points - at this point in the Autumn Term, the average amount of House or Achievement points allocated to students is 50.
See the Community Events notice on our website which currently contains details of two sports clubs that take place here, rugby taster sessions for girls at Camberley Rugby Club this Sunday, a girls football club in Hartley Wintney and the restart of Hype on 9 December.
Friday 21 October 2022
Please see this link for our Newsletter this half term.
We are pleased to announce that the Year 11 Leavers' Prom will be held on Friday 30th June 2023 at Warbrook House in Eversley. An assembly giving details will be held for Year 11 students on 31 October, with further information being sent out to parents in the new year.
Safeguarding matter - we have been made aware that young people in the area are making plans to host a large gathering over half term. We understand that over 100 students have been invited from a range of local schools. Information suggests that quantities of alcohol and controlled drugs may be available. The police are aware of such plans and we feel it is sensible to share this information with our parents so that if you are aware that your child has received such an invitation you can exercise caution as appropriate.
We are holding a Stay Safe Information Evening for parents of students in Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 on Tuesday 1 November, from 6-7.30pm, with a specific focus on Child Criminal Exploitation. For further details and to book a place, please see this link.
Attendance Matters - we are pleased to inform you that our most recent attendance figures put us at 93.4% which is above the national average of 92.4%. We want to exceed our target and aim for at least 96% across the whole school - please can you help us reach our target?
See this link for the latest Library news.
PS Catering have planned new menus in the Restaurant and Café starting after half term - see this link on the website for details.
The UKMT Intermediate Club for Years 9, 10 and 11 starts on Mondays after school until 4pm in X1.
Science are very grateful for all the recycling donations so far! Due to regular use, they would welcome further donations of empty aluminium soft drinks cans. Please can students take these to the second floor science prep room after half term.
Hampshire Libraries are inclusive, non-judgemental spaces where everyone can expect a warm welcome from staff and volunteers. See this link which explains in more detail their facilities, free activities and service.
Wishing you all a good half term break - school reopens on Monday 31 October.
Friday 14 October 2022
Please find attached a letter from Mr Borkowski about uniform expectations. You can also see this letter on our website here.
On Monday 10 October, Year 11 received an assembly about the different 'Revision Skills' and how to prepare for their mock examinations. The CPS Extra Programme starts next week and students will attend subject specific revision sessions to prepare them for the mocks. In addition, a Year 11 formal mocks assembly will take place on Monday 17 October to explain the processes and students will receive a 'Mocks Revision Booklet'.
There is a Year 7 Meet the Tutor virtual event for Year 7 parents on Tuesday 18 October - see this letter for details about booking your appointment.
The UKMT Maths Challenge Intermediate Club for Years 9, 10 and 11 starts again after half term on Mondays after school. It would help if students would register their interest either with Mrs Powell in X1 or their Maths teacher.
Science - as mentioned last week please could students drop the requested recycling items off at the second floor Science prep room. These items are empty, uncrushed soft drinks cans, food can lids (without sharp edges), empty ice cream tubs/takeaway containers, old bath towels - thanks for your support.
Library News - see this link for details of Black History Month, timings and Book Club.
College Open Evenings for Year 11 students are taking place next week as follows:
Farnborough 6th Form - Tuesday 18, Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October, 4-6pm or 6.30-8.30pm
(book tickets at this link or see their website here - please note that the later time has now sold out for all days)
Peter Symonds - Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October, 5.30-8.30pm
You can see the College Open Evenings page on our website here.
Finally, we are always very grateful when you take the time to make contact with us to celebrate the dedication of school staff in supporting and educating your children. The Pearson Education Awards have now opened their nominations for 2023. If you or your child would like to recognise a teacher for their dedication, creativity and support, then please do see this link and submit a nomination.
Friday 7 October 2022
This week, the Y11 Parents' Information Evening presentation was sent out and this can be viewed by Year 11 parents and students at this link. Next week, students will attend a seminar on revision skills to prepare them for their mock exams in November.
We are holding the 21st Model United Nations event on Friday 14 October with participants from Years 10 and 11. Each country has a representative for each of the three committees - Security, Social and Economic. On the evening of Wednesday 12 October, the delegates from each country will visit their relevant committee, giving the delegates the chance to vote on resolutions and to ask for support from their allies.
We are excited to see the return of this event after a hiatus of three years due to covid. This year, we have decided to keep the event for Calthorpe students only, but we are looking forward to inviting participants from other schools and colleges next year.
Medical - with the cold/flu season approaching and with covid still in the community, we would request that all students bring in their own tissues and hand sanitiser. This is for the protection of students and staff. Please could you also remind your children to regularly wash their hands. To ensure students stay hydrated, please ensure students bring in their own water bottle daily.
As per Ms Jones email sent during the summer term, this is a reminder that students are not allowed to carry medication in their school bags with the exception of diabetic medication, inhalers and epipens. If medication is required during the school day, it needs to be stored in the medical room. This is for the safety of students - a local school has had an overdose case due to students obtaining medication from others.
Female students are welcome to come to medical for supplies of sanitary products which are readily available free of charge.
Restaurant payments - we are keen to make sure our students are always able to purchase food/drink, and not end up being hungry. With the re-launch of our restaurant, new café and our new catering team, PS Catering, in September 2021, we have trialled the use of student overdraft facilities as a mechanism to make sure students are able to purchase food/drink on the odd occasion parents forget to top up their accounts. If you wish your child to have a £5 overdraft facility, please complete this form.
Science need the following items - please could you collect over the next week and then we'll advise where they can be dropped off during the week of 17 October:
- Uncrushed, empty aluminium soft drinks cans
- Food can lids removed by can openers that leave a lip on the lid (no lids with sharp edges)
- 1 and 2 litre ice cream tubs/food tubs with lids
- Empty plastic takeaway food containers with lids
- Old or unwanted large bath towels
Library News - see this link for details of the National Poetry Day, lunchtimes, opening times and Book Club.
College Open Evenings over the next fortnight for Year 11 students - see this page on our website for details:
Farnham - Saturday 8 October, 9.30am-12.30pm
Sparsholt - Saturday 8 October, 10am-2pm
Basingstoke College of Technology - Saturday 8 (10am-12.30pm) and Monday 10 October, 4.30-7pm
Farnborough College of Technology - Wednesday 12 October, 4-7.30pm
Guildford - Wednesday 12 October, 4.30-7.30pm
Alton - Thursday 13 October, 5-8pm
Peter Symonds - Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October, 5.30-8.30pm
Farnborough 6th Form - Tuesday 18, Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October, 4-6pm or 6.30-8.30pm (book tickets at this link or see their website here)
Friday 30 September 2022
We would like to inform you that we are running a "push on punctuality and attendance programme" over the next two weeks.
Whilst the overwhelming majority of our students have excellent attendance records, we know that for some arriving on time is a challenge and this can sometimes be due to complex circumstances. However, excellent attendance and punctuality has repeatedly been shown to have a positive impact on progress and attainment. In addition, we want to encourage good routines and promote being on time as an important life skill.
Starting on Monday 3 October, if your son or daughter is late to school in the morning, you will receive an Edulink message advising you of their lateness and offering support to improve this. This is not intended to be a punitive initiative, rather a way to be transparent with our parents and to identify students who might need our support.
Southampton University Cipher Challenge - this club is starting on Thursdays from 6 October. Numbers are limited to 25 students and can be individual entries or as a team. Students should see Mrs Powell in X1 or Mrs Jones in X3 if interested. More information about this club can be found here. Our full clubs list is also here.
The Maths weekly puzzle has restarted. An email is sent each week from Mr Marzetti to all students with two types of questions. All responses get house points, with more if correct, plus the fastest response gets five house points! Please encourage your children to take part.
Library News - see this link giving details of opening times, Y7/8 Book Club, the book amnesty and National Poetry Day.
College Open Evenings for Year 11 students - there are a number of college open evenings taking place over the next 10 days as follows:
Farnborough College of Technology - online information meeting for parents/students living in Fleet - Monday 3 October, 7.30pm
Queen Mary's College - Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 October, 5-8pm
Merrist Wood - Wednesday 5 October, 4.30-7.30pm
Salesian - Wednesday 5 October, 6.45-9pm
Yateley - Thursday 6 October, 7-9pm
Farnham - Saturday 8 October, 9.30am-12.30pm
Sparsholt - Saturday 8 October, 10am-2pm
Basingstoke College of Technology - Saturday 8 (10am-12.30pm) and Monday 10 October, 4.30-7pm
See this page on our website and visit the college websites to book places where relevant.
Friday 23 September 2022
Social Media – It has come to our attention that a small number of our students have not been using social media, including Snapchat and Whatsapp, wisely or indeed legally. Please could we request that parents check mobile devices and social media accounts regularly for inappropriate content? It would be incredibly helpful to our efforts to safeguard our young people if you could remind them that:
- Filming people without consent is a criminal offence
- Circulating footage or images of people without consent is an offence
- Engaging in online abuse or inciting others to victimise peers represents child-on-child abuse and it will not be tolerated
- Sending or sharing indecent images received is illegal
- Befriending strangers that are unknown to them is unwise and could result in them being targeted by those wishing to groom young people
Should you have any concerns, please do contact us directly, and should you wish to learn more about online safety please consult this link.
Year 11 Geography Field Trip, Monday 26 & Tuesday 27 September - students are reminded that meet time is 7.45am in the Restaurant next to Geography in non-school uniform, with a packed lunch and appropriate wet weather layers.
Free School Meals - Calthorpe Park School are mindful that financial circumstances may change rapidly in light of the current cost of living crisis. Your child may be eligible for ‘free school meals’ and support through ‘pupil premium’ funding. Details can be found on the website under Information/Pupil Premium here and to check the criteria for eligibility here.
Please complete this Form if you would like to be contacted to discuss further.
Fleet 5k & 10k – see this link if students would like to take part in these events on 30 October.
Year 10 Health and Social Care revision sessions begin next Thursday after school in Mu3 for 4 weeks in preparation for their first formal assignment.
Macmillan Coffee Morning – this takes place on Friday 30 September and we’d be very grateful for donations of cakes next week for this event. Further details will be sent out next week.
Library News – see this link for Library news, a book amnesty, the Y7/8 book club and student librarians.
Friday 16 September 2022
Next Thursday 22 September, school will close early at 2.10pm in preparation for our annual Open Evening for Year 6 children. Provision will be made for students who normally catch the bus at 3pm - if your child does need to stay on site up to 3pm, please contact Reception. Thank you to all students who have volunteered as Tour Guides and to help in departments during the evening - we are looking forward to a great event!
On Tuesday 20th September, Year 11 will have a Relationships and Sex Education Workshop with It Happens Education. The workshop will focus on consent and healthy relationships. We look forward to welcoming our speaker to CPS.
School photographs are taking place next week - see this link for the timings for each year group and for sibling photos.
There have been some updates to the lunchtime and after school clubs list - here is the latest version. The Diana Award will run on Wednesday lunchtimes, Y7/8 Photography Club after school on Wednesdays, and the Southampton University Cipher Challenge on Thursdays after school (from 6 October).
Library News this week - see this link for details about opening times, a book amnesty, a Reading Line, student librarians and Book Club.
The main college open evenings are about to take place over the next few weeks and we have collated details of these dates and timings on the website here. There are still some timings to be confirmed so we recommend that Year 11 students/parents also check the college websites prior to visiting.
Finally, as a reminder, school will be closed on Monday, observing the bank holiday for the State Funeral.
Friday 9 September 2022
Welcome back to the first term of the new academic year!
Today we remembered the Queen during our morning briefing and students were shown a presentation during tutor time. We include this link from Winston's Wish with advice and guidance on how to support young people.
The Library is now open and our new Librarian, Mrs Eastlake, is looking forward to meeting students. Please see her introduction and details about opening hours here.
Our clubs list has been updated showing activities taking place at lunchtime and after school. It can be found on the website under Students/Clubs here. It will be updated at regular intervals each half term so please check the page on a regular basis. Most clubs will be starting during the week of 12 September. One new club is the Social Sport club on a Tuesday after school. Students can turn up and book an allocated sports area for their own use with friends, providing a great way to be active, build confidence and fitness, and enjoy sport with friends. See this link for details.
Permit - Traffic Management System: Following the Permit Application Letter (Y6 into Y7) and the Renewal Invitation Letter (Y8-11) issued in July and the permit checks and conversations that have taken place this week, please be aware that from Wednesday 14 September there will be no access to the site for non-permit holders at the end of the day, during pick-up. Any parent who has not yet made an application or renewal request and is eligible for a permit (see here for eligible postcodes and additional information regarding extenuating circumstances), should email permits@cps.hants.sch.uk to request an Edulink application form and may need to make alternative collection arrangements until they receive their permit (where eligible).
Our careers page can be found on the website here. This includes a link to request a careers appointment for Year 11 students.
Two letters have been issued this week - one about trips and one for Year 9 about options. They can be found on this page.