Dear Families,

Another week filled with activity has flown by and we are already getting towards the end of the first half term of 2026-27!

This week saw the famed House Cup being lifted for the first time this year: well done to QUARRY for winning the KS2 singing competition.  House Captains Flora and Annabel lifted the cup after some amazing singing from everyone on Wednesday.

We’ve also seen a wonderful author visit to inspire our KS1 children and sporting fixtures in football and dodgeball, giving fantastic opportunities for several children to represent their school with pride and passion.  A highlight of the week has to be Year 1 visiting the United Reform Church where they shared their reading with our elderly neighbours, sharing cross-generational favourite books.  A wonderful experience for our children and a heart-warming afternoon for their older partners.

It’s such a pleasure to be part of such a busy, thriving community!

Have a great weekend!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Please remind your children that the playground equipment (footballs etc) are left in the black boxes at home-time.  It’s not safe for footballs flying about with lots of people, including babies in pushchairs, and we also ask that families leave the school site after collection so we’re able to get the site locked up safe and secure promptly at 3:30pm for our After-School Club.

Dear Families

We seem to be fully into the swing of the school year now and we’re still enjoying a wonderful atmosphere across school!

This week has seen safety afternoons across the school where children have learned about rail, water, home, fire safety and more! Trips and workshops are being organised!

We’ve also been in full-swing organising tomorrow’s September Social – we hope to see you there! Make sure you invite everyone you know. It’s a great way to meet more staff across school, especially for our new families.

Next week we have our open classrooms after school on Wednesday where you will have the chance to pop in, meet your child’s teacher for a chat and see their classrooms.

Don’t forget to book your place for the event of the year – the Community Quiz on Friday 9th October! Come and see me on the road if you have any ideas for special rounds or even the theme for the famous drawing round. It’s a whole lot of fun; prizes to be won…

If we don’t see you tomorrow, have a lovely weekend!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear Families,

Well done everyone (including grown ups!) on managing a full week of early get-ups; uniform sorting and generally having some sort of routine again!  It’s been tiring for all of us, but especially tiring for our EYFS children who have completed their first full week of school!  They’ve done brilliantly and I’m really excited to see what they will achieve.

The positive energy I talked about last week is still very present, and it already feels like we are properly stuck into this academic year.

Well done also to our new Year 6 House Captains and Sports Leaders this week – I was so impressed to see over 40 Year 6 children put themselves forward for election and the chance to lift the coveted House Cup over the course of this year.  They all wrote a speech and then presented themselves to their entire House for election.

There are only ever two Captains per House and it is doubly impressive how well everyone has taken winning and losing.

We have lots of roles in school to help develop leadership and Years 3 4, 5 and 6 will all have Pupil Jobs assigned so everybody has a responsibility and opportunity to participate in school life.

We’ve appointed four sports leaders in Yr 6 who have an exciting job organising lots of sporting events over the year – watch this space for news of Council Elections and Pupil Jobs!

Keep an eye out for lots of exciting upcoming events, including our September Social on the 19th September!

Have a great weekend!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear families,

Here we are again at the end of another school year, and I find myself reflecting on just what a special community Coleham Primary School is. Schools are, of course, about learning, but they are also about people. As I look back on this year, I am incredibly proud of the children, grateful to our families, and full of admiration for the remarkable staff who make our school such a wonderful place to be every day.

Firstly, I would like to thank our staff team. The care, commitment, patience and professionalism shown throughout the year have been exceptional. Whether teaching in classrooms; supporting children’s additional needs; preparing meals; keeping the school running smoothly behind the scenes; or helping children before and after school: every member of staff has made a difference. They give so much of themselves to ensure that children feel safe, valued and successful, and I am hugely grateful for everything they do.

I would also like to thank our parents and carers. The partnership between home and school is one of our greatest strengths. Your support, encouragement, trust and willingness to work alongside us make an enormous difference to the children’s experience. Whether helping with reading; attending events; supporting fundraising activities or simply reinforcing our values at home: your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Most importantly, I want to thank our children. They continue to impress me every single day. This year they have worked hard, shown determination when things have been challenging, demonstrated kindness towards one another and lived up to our expectations with pride. Their achievements, both inside and outside the classroom, have been a joy to celebrate.

There have been so many highlights across the year. Recent weeks alone have seen our Weather Balloon Mission successfully launched and completed, with Bernard returning safely to Earth; Year 4 enjoying pond dipping adventures at Reabrook Valley; pupils representing the school brilliantly at athletics events; our talented artists producing wonderful work through clubs and community projects; excellent assemblies for families; sports teams, school councillors, ambassadors and countless others making us proud. These moments remind us that education is about so much more than lessons – it is about experiences, opportunities and creating memories that will stay with children for years to come.

Finally, a special word for all of our leavers. Whether you are moving on to secondary school, another school, a new job or a well-earned retirement, we wish you every success and happiness for the future. To our wonderful Year 6 children: thank you for the part you have played in the life of our school and remember you will always have a place here. We are incredibly proud of you and cannot wait to see what you achieve next.

Have a safe, happy and restful summer break. Thank you for being part of such a special year at Coleham. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in September.

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear Families,

Welcome to another Friday (our 34th this year!) and the end of another exciting week at school.

There’s been an artistic and musical flavour to this week…

Our amazing Coleham Choir on tour both at Shropshire Sings and Shrewsbury School.  Mrs Porrett has led our wonderful children in such beautiful singing which has been incredibly well-received by audiences and enjoyed by the performing children.  We are so proud of them, and they should be proud of themselves!

As well as the choir’s performances, we had our annual Music Showcase Concert on Wednesday evening.  There were so many children performing this year: music is well and truly alive at Coleham!  The children really impressed with their talent, but also their confidence in performing.  We had piano, trumpet, drums, a rock band, violin, flute, singing and parents joining in, too – it’s always a treat and we have lot to thank Mrs Porrett for!

This is also the final week of the Belle Vue Arts Festival, and is also the week of the famous BVAF Gallery opening: Miss Heap, Miss Othen and myself attended the opening event and were so impressed with the art on show – many of it produced right here at Coleham School!  Highlights include the Coleham pieces and an incredible drawing of Sir David Attenborough by a very talented former Coleham pupil.  Classes have been visiting the gallery this week – make sure you go and take a look!

And finally, please remember that we have our very first Family Forum event for grown ups to ask us questions about anything to do with school decisions, processes or systems (see below).

Have a lovely weekend!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear Families,

This week really has flown by!  Another busy week with plenty happening… Did you know that Monday was World Tapir Day?  The world’s favourite animal has its very own special day, but alas, there was too much happening to be able to celebrate it properly (it got a brief mention in assembly though and it’s an excuse for a picture of me and Baby Ernie for the newsletter).

First things first, though: well done to all the children who completed the Shropshire Primary Schools Half-Marathon last Saturday!  Over 100 children took part – our best yet!

We’ve been thoroughly enjoying using the field this week: the glorious weather at lunchtime has meant the children can properly stretch their legs on the field and enjoy more space to play, chill and chat with their friends.  Well done to all the children for playing so well and following the rules and guidance for this slight change in things!

We’ve been busy planning Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday for next Friday (8th May).  Supported by Shropshire Wildlife Trust, he children will all be engaging in nature and conservation-themed activities and will also be making a Green Promise about how they can make a small impact on the environment around them – maybe you can think together at home about what that could be? Recycling more; turning off lights; making your garden more nature friendly – anything!  We’ll also be having a non-uniform day on the day and celebrating his birthday with a cake (you can buy a slice for a donation for Shropshire Wildlife Trust) and we hope you’ll all join us at 3pm on Friday 8th for our song on the playground!  More details below in the newsletter.

I’m really looking forward to it!

Also, don’t forget the Plant & Craft Fair happening on Saturday 9th May! A lovely opportunity to get together as a community.  We would really appreciate donations of cakes next Friday to help us with this please!  Let us know if you are able to help with anything on the day!

You can sign up HERE

Have a super weekend, everyone!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear Families,

Here we are again at the end of another jam-packed week at Coleham School!

I’ve managed to spend a bit of time in and out of classes this week and seeing what is going on in classrooms which is always a treat!  There’s always something terribly dull and important for me to do, but there’s always time later on for that – being amongst that energy is what it’s all about!

This week I’ve seen two class assemblies (which were amazing!) seeing some fantastic poetry; I’ve seen an incredible football match with our second team through to the County Finals; popped in to hear some amazing singing in Mrs Porrett’s assemblies; heard about our fantastic swimmers at the local gala; catching up about Y4’s fantastic overnight trip to PGL and I’ve given a tour of the school to David O’Toole, our Trust CEO who loved speaking to the children about our art competition to produce work for the Trust offices (the only thing on the wall in the Trust offices so far is a signed Everton shirt – they need something worth looking at…)

I have also spent some time to present our parent / carer survey data.  You can now view our response here: 2025-26 Parent & Carer Survey. 

One of the outcomes of this year’s survey is the new idea to hold a termly Family Forum: an open opportunity for parents and carers to meet with school leadership to ask questions and find out more about operational matters that can sometimes seem mysterious.  We will let you know in advance when that will be and what format it will take.

We are also excited to start getting ready for Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday on the 8th May.  We have a couple of things planned, including a song at the end of the day and an assembly from Shropshire Wildlife Trust.  We’ll be able to give you all more information next week when we have finalised plans – it’s very exciting!

Have a lovely weekend!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear Families – we made it!

This half-term has only been 5 weeks, but it has been SO busy and SO much has happened.  Over the whole Spring Term, we have seen an incredible amount of effort from all our children.  The children, and all of you, can be very proud.

Spring is always the best part of the school year as it is when we see progress really happening in the classrooms after months of toil throughout the darkness of autumn and winter.  I am very pleased, as are the wider Trust, with the successes of our School Community.  We have yet again shown the strength, togetherness and belonging that make our community so strong.

Yesterday we said good bye to the wonderful Mrs Moore – a great example of our great community wrapped up in one irreplaceable person.  She leaves a little bit of herself in all of us so we can make sure her kindness and compassion continues at Coleham.  We are so lucky to not only have had Mrs Moore for the past 10 years, but the many other staff that demonstrate the kindness, compassion and care that helps everybody.

Now we have the summer to look forward to: better weather (hopefully); afternoons on the field; sports days; Year 6 Leavers’ assembly; meeting new teachers and getting ready for September.  It’s a very exciting time and I hope you are all looking forward to it as much as I am.

EXCITING SCIENCE PROJECT HELP NEEDED!

This term, our Space Cadets club has been planning a weather balloon launch, bigger and better than the one launched in 2022 that we want to make a huge community event in the summer. We are planning to launch late June or early July, but need to source some helium.  If anyone works in construction, or knows someone who does that also has access to helium bottles, we need either a 1x 30L bottle, or 2x 20L bottles.  It would be a great sponsorship opportunity!  You can see the video from the previous 2022 launch here:  2022 COLEHAM SPACE AGENCY BALLOON

Whatever you are doing over the next 2 weeks, I hope you enjoy it, feel relaxed and spend time with loved ones.

All the best

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear families,

This first week back has gone by really quick, but 2026 has finally given us a hint of Spring after 54 days of grey which was lovely: the blossom is blooming and the daffodils are popping out to say “hello”.  The world is coming back to life!

This half term is only a short one, but there are plenty of things coming up: parents & carer consultations next week (don’t forget to book!); lots of trips; new clubs starting; school production; World Book Week (next week!) – so much to enjoy over the next few weeks!

I talked to the children about AMBITION in assembly this week and this second half of the Spring Term is the time for us all to show that ambition and find out what we are capable of.  This part of the year is often when things click and children makes great strides in their learning, so it is a very exciting time in school.

Hopefully we will see lots of you tonight at the Family Bingo with lots of prizes to win. I have been busy getting together a job description for the lucky Acting Headteacher who will get to have some important meetings, make important decisions, and be my boss for the day.  Who will it be?  What will they do?  I’m excited to find out!

Good luck to those who are coming, and I wish everyone a super weekend!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear Families,

Some weeks drag on for months, some go by VERY quickly… this week was the latter!

We said a final goodbye to Mrs Caldwell on Wednesday after 13 years service to our community.  In our assembly, EVERY pupil and adult raised their hand when asked if Mrs C had made some kind of impact on them, showing quite how important she has been.

Our sporting teams have impressed this week in both basketball and indoor athletics.  The basketballers secured 2nd place in their tournament, and our athletes secured a second place for the boys, and the girls came out as WINNERS! A huge congratulations to all involved for showing the true Coleham Spirit and winning properly with grace and tenacity.

And finally, another big thank you needs to go to Harriet’s dad for taking time to show Year 5 a real-life satellite this week (which was out of this world) and Cece’s dad (aka The Hungry Guy) for hosting Friday Night Dinner last week (and tonight!), showing Year 4 children how to run their very own restaurant!

Have a super weekend everyone!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear Families,

Dear Parents and Carers,

Dear Parents & Carers,

What a good week it has been in school! Our children have worked hard, been wonderfully kind to one another, and embraced every opportunity with smiles and resilience. A particular highlight was hearing our choir sing so beautifully both in school and at Hickory’s; they represented us with such joy, and we are very proud of them. Thank you to Mrs Porrett for guiding them, and to families who came along to listen and encourage.