We are very excited to announce that we have organised a residential trip for our Year 6 pupils for June 2025 at The Pioneer Centre, Cleobury Mortimer.  Children will leave school on the morning of Monday 2^nd  June (the first day after the May half term break) and return in time for normal end of day collection time on Wednesday 4^th June.

We are great advocates of the benefits a residential trip can give to those pupils who attend. These include:

• team building skills, co-operation and respect (through a series of safe but challenging activities);
• developing greater independence;
• learning new skills and taking part in new and enriching experiences;
• discovering more about themselves and their capabilities and becoming more motivated as individuals; and
• (last but not least) having fun!

The Pioneer Centre is a relatively new purpose-built activity venue, with excellent modern facilities, designed to meet the diverse needs of both staff and children alike, and we have stayed there on a number of occasions now. Each occasion has been very successful and, as such, we plan to take our Year 6 pupils there again in the Summer term.

The centre provides a “home from home” atmosphere and offers a wide range of exciting activities, with experienced and qualified staff on hand at all times. To find out more about the Centre’s facilities and to see a plan of the site, please visit their website at  https://activity-centres.naycacuk.co.uk/pioneer-centre/

The cost of the excursion is £245.00 per child, including transport, food, accommodation, supervised activities and equipment. We recognise that this is a large sum of money so have broken it down into four instalments of £61.25. We would be grateful if you could pay the first instalment by 31^st December, sooner if possible, and the remainder of the trip balance by Wednesday 30^th April 2025. Of course, if you wish to pay this sooner that would also be appreciated.

If you are worried about making full payment by the given deadline, please do come and talk to me or contact the office: we can extend the payment schedule to give you more time to cover the cost.

If your child is worried about any aspect of the residential trip, please do not worry as class teachers have plenty of time to prepare the children.

This trip will be an amazing, once in a life-time, experience for our pupils and we hope very much that all our Year 6 pupils will attend. If, however, your child WILL NOT be attending the trip, please do let the class teacher know as soon as possible.

The closing date for secondary applications is 31 October 2024 which falls in the half-term holidays. If you have not already done so, we encourage you to submit an application as soon as possible but before the deadline date. This will ensure that if you encounter any problems, you can be supported/helped and to submit your application on time. There is no grace period for late applications. The link for the website is – Transferring to secondary school | Shropshire Council

The School Admissions Team strongly encourage parents to name three preferences, particularly if you reside in the Shrewsbury area. Please see the Parents’ Guide to Education in Shropshire Booklet for further information. The link to the document is Parents’ guide to education | Shropshire Council

If you have already made an application and wish to add additional preferences please contact school-admissions@shropshire.gov.uk

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 Wednesday 16^th October.   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.

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 8:00am prompt, so children need to arrive at school by 7.50am. We will leave Liverpool at 2:00pm, and expect to arrive back at school around 4.00pm. 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 – no glass bottles or fizzy drinks please. Those pupils entitled to free school meals will be given a packed lunch by our school meals provider before departure. Please also ensure that they wear school uniform and have a lightweight coat with them. As the day will be packed with activities, there will be no time to visit the souvenir shop so no spending money is required.

The cost of the trip is £26.60, which includes transport, workshops and insurance.  Payment for this trip should be made via your child’s Arbor account prior to the date of the trip. We hope that everyone can contribute to the trip in some way.

Please note that this visit is covered by the Annual Consent Form for Trips/visits & Medical Information. Please notify the school immediately if there are any changes to your contact/emergency contact details or medical information.

Parents of children in Year 6 may understandably wish to encourage independence prior to their child going to Secondary School and allow their child to travel (walk or cycle) home alone, or with a friend.

Please complete this form if this is the case.

This is for our information only. It is the parent’s responsibility to talk with their child and ensure their child understands the parent’s wishes regarding the end of the school day as to how they get home.  It is the parents responsibility to put in any place any safety measures they deem necessary to check their child has arrived home.

Pupils will independently leave school at the end of the day and we expect these older children to be responsible and walk straight home or wait to be collected in accordance with their parent’s instructions.

PLEASE NOTE ALL YEAR 6 PUPILS SHOULD BE COLLECTED FROM ALL AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS and CANNOT WALK HOME ALONE

https://forms.office.com/e/vNSLMAvf1x

We have arranged a party for our Year 6 Leavers to mark the end of their time with us – a momentous milestone in their growing up and moving on. Following the success of previous years’ celebrations at the Trampoline Park in Harlescott we have arranged for this year’s Year 6 to attend the same venue.

The children will be leaving school around 12.30pm on Monday 15^th July and travelling by coach to the trampoline park where they will have a one-hour session on the trampolines followed by a meal and a drink. They should be back in time for normal end of day collection time, depending on the traffic they encounter on their return journey.

The cost of the event is £17.40 per child including transport, activity (and a pair of special trampolining  socks), pizza and a soft drink.  Payment should be made via your child’s Arbor account by Wednesday 10^th July please.  We hope that everyone can contribute to trips in some way. If you are concerned about making payment, please contact the office who can support with payment options.

 Please note that this visit is covered by the Annual Consent Form for Trips/visits & Medical Information. Please notify the school immediately if there are any changes to your contact/emergency contact details or medical information.

We very much hope the children will have an enjoyable and memorable afternoon at Air Hop Trampoline Park.