In Year 6, we no longer offer whole-cohort swimming lessons. Instead, we provide top-up swimming lessons for children who require additional support to meet the national expectations for primary school swimming.

These expectations are that pupils can:

• Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
• Use a range of strokes effectively (e.g., front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke)
• Demonstrate an understanding of safe self-rescue in different water-based situations

To help us identify which children would benefit from these top-up lessons, we kindly ask that you complete a short Microsoft Forms questionnaire. Please answer the questions as honestly and accurately as possible, as this information will support us in understanding your child’s current swimming ability. We will use your responses alongside school records from previous swimming assessments in Years 3, 4 and 5.

Please complete the form here:

Year 6 Swimming Questionnaire 2026-27 – Fill in form

Thank you for your support in ensuring we provide the right opportunities for our pupils.

As part of this term’s curriculum work on World War II, we have arranged for Year 6 to visit the Western Approaches HQ’s secret war tunnels in Liverpool on Monday 30^th November.   These secret tunnels were only re-discovered in recent years having been abandoned at the end of the war – a true time capsule for that significant time in our country’s history.  Following our visit to the tunnels we will walk to over to the Docklands area to explore some of the areas targeted during The Blitz. The coach will collect us from the Docklands area before returning to school.

In order for us to arrive at the tunnels on time, we will be setting off from school earlier than usual. The coach will leave school at 8:15am prompt, so children need to arrive at school by 8.00am. We will leave Liverpool at 3:00pm, and expect to arrive back at school around 5.00pm. If we encounter any significant delay on our return journey, we will do our best to keep you informed.

Your child will need to bring a packed lunch and plenty to drink for this trip.  Those pupils entitled to free school meals will be given a packed lunch by our school meals provider before departure. This will include a sandwich, a packet of crisps, desert and piece of fruit.  Children should wear school uniform and have a lightweight coat with them. There will be no time to visit the museum souvenir shop so no spending money is required.

The cost of the trip is £25.50, which includes transport and workshops.  Payment for this trip should be made via your child’s Arbor account prior to the date of the trip.

In case of an emergency or medical incident during the trip we ask that you check that your contact details are up-to-date on Arbor prior to the trip. Thank you for your assistance.

For many years, our Year 6 pupils have enjoyed taking part in a two-night residential visit. It has consistently been a highlight of their time at Coleham, providing a well-earned celebration of their hard work and achievements.  The children have fun with friends and create lasting memories together before embarking on the next chapter of their journey to secondary school.

Residential experiences provide children with a wealth of benefits. They help to build confidence and independence, encourage teamwork, and give children valuable opportunities to develop resilience and organisational skills away from home.  It is always wonderful to see the growth in confidence that children demonstrate during and after the trip.

We are delighted to confirm that this year’s Year 6 residential will take place at the Pioneer Centre, Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.  This is an Activity Centre accredited by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority.

Children will depart from school on Monday 24^th May 2027 and return on Wednesday 26th May 2027 and be back for the end of the usual school day. Pupils will take part in activities over the three days, all designed to develop teamwork, problem-solving skills and confidence within a safe and supportive environment.

The total cost of the trip will be £260 per child, which includes transport, accommodation, meals, supervised activities with Activity Centre staff, evening entertainment, equipment and insurance. 

We fully appreciate that this is a significant cost for families and, with this in mind, we have created a payment schedule that allows the cost to be spread over the next eight months.  A deposit of £44.00 is required by 3rd January 2026 to secure your child’s place.  The remaining balance of £215.00 can be paid in six instalments of £36.00 due by Friday 14th May 2027. 

Please note that these instalments do not need to be paid on fixed dates.  Families are welcome to make payments at any time over the eight-month period, provided the full balance is cleared by 14th May 2027.  Our aim is to make the payment process as manageable and flexible as possible.

If the cost of the trip is causing concern, please do get in touch with me in confidence. We are keen for every child to have the opportunity to attend and would be very happy to discuss alternative payment arrangements with families where needed.

If your child feels a little anxious about staying away from home, please be reassured that this is completely normal. Our staff will spend time preparing the children beforehand and providing support throughout the experience. If you have any specific concerns about your child attending, please speak with their class teacher so that we can work together to ensure they feel happy and confident about the visit.

We hope that all children will be able to attend and will therefore assume participation unless the class teacher is informed otherwise.  Further information will be shared closer to the trip, and we will be happy to answer any questions that you or your child may have.

This residential visit is a fantastic opportunity for children to learn, grow and create lasting memories with their friends. We very much hope that every Year 6 pupil will be able to take part in this special experience.

As part of our topic on the Ancient Romans, each Year 4 class will be having an exciting Roman Day.

The day will be packed with fun activities linked to our Roman topic, giving the children the chance to experience what life was like during Roman times.

Please bring:

🔹An empty cereal box – ideally one where the front is larger than A4. If you have more than one, even better! We will be using these for some Roman-themed crafting activities during the day.

🔹A coat – we will be spending some time outdoors, so please make sure your child is prepared for the weather.

🔹Outdoor shoes – these will be needed for our outdoor activities.

Come dressed as a Roman

If possible, we would love the children to come to school dressed as a Roman. They could come as:

⚔️ A centurion

👑 An emperor

🏛️ A citizen of Rome

🧺 A slave

🌟 A Roman god or goddess

Please don’t feel that you need to buy anything specially for the day! There are lots of simple ways to create a Roman costume using things you may already have at home.

For example:

🔹A flat bed sheet can easily be turned into a toga.

🔹A large piece of scrap fabric, plain clothes and a scarf could make a simple slave tunic.

🔹A cardboard box and some tin foil could be transformed into a centurion’s breastplate or shield.

We’ve included some inspiration below to help you get creative!

We are really looking forward to stepping back in time and being Romans for the day! 🏛️⚔️

Miss Lewis and Mrs Young

Year 4 Class Teachers

As part of this term’s history curriculum work on The Stone Age, we have arranged for Year 3 to take part in a workshop at Shrewsbury Museum on Monday 5^th October, to learn more about life in the Stone Age period.

Turtles will leave school shortly after morning registration and return in time for normal lunch break;

Starfish will leave school following an early lunch and return around 3pm, for normal home time collection.

Pupils should wear school uniform and bring with them a lightweight coat/sunhat (depending on the weather forecast for that day). As they will be doing a fair amount of walking, they will also need to wear comfortable shoes or trainers. Spending money is not required for this trip.

The cost of the trip is £4.15 per pupil.  Payment should be made via your child’s Arbor account prior to the date of the trip where possible.

In case of an emergency or medical incident during the trip please can you check that your contact details are up-to-date on Arbor prior to the trip. Thank you for your assistance.