Headteacher Message
Dear Families,
One of the real highlights of the past week was our September Social on Saturday. It was great to see so many families, children and staff enjoying time together, and a reminder of the strong sense of community that makes Coleham such a special place. Well done to Miss Othen, Mrs Edwards & Mrs Jones for getting everything organised!
We’ve also seen the first week of our new librarians in action. They have made an excellent start, approaching the role with enthusiasm, responsibility and pride. Reading sits at the heart of what we do, and it is encouraging to see pupils stepping forward to help promote a love of books across the school.
Another exciting development has been the launch of our Future Leaders Academy. Providing children with opportunities to develop skills beyond the classroom is an important part of our work, and this programme gives pupils the chance to take on additional responsibilities, serve as role models and grow in confidence.
Already, we are seeing the impact: earlier this week, some of our Future Leaders helped me welcome and show prospective parents around the school as they make their choices about September 2027. They were outstanding ambassadors for Coleham, speaking confidently about their experiences, answering questions thoughtfully and demonstrating the values we are so proud of. As a headteacher, there is nothing more powerful than hearing children talk about their school with genuine enthusiasm and pride!
We’re half-way through the first half-term, and there is still so much to look forward to – keep an eye out in the newsletter!
Have a lovely weekend!
Tom Larkham
Headteacher
End-of-Day Playground Plea
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.
What’s on next week?
Monday
Cricket for Years 1-4
Tuesday
Flu Clinic for pupils
Thursday
EYFS & KS1 Author Event – Donna David
Coming Soon
Monday 5th October – Year 3 Stone Age Workshop
Tuesday 6th October – Year 4 Trip to Deva Roman Discovery Centre & Foxes Family Lunch
Wednesday 7th October – Badgers Family Lunch
Wednesday 14th October – Squirrels Family Lunch
Thursday 15th October – Hedgehogs Family Lunch
EYFS & KS1 Author event- Donna David
Booka Bookshop has arranged a brilliant Author event for EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 taking place on Tuesday 1st October.
Picture book author Donna David will be visiting us with her new book No Way, I’ll Stay!
If you would like your child to have a signed book on the day of Donna’s visit, please purchase one via Booka Bookshops website.
Click HERE
Important! So Booka can compile a list a books to bring to school, when you get to checkout make sure you enter:
- your child’s name and surname in the ‘First Name’ box
- your child’s class and school in the ‘Last Name’ box
- select ‘Collect in Oswestry’ so you don’t get charged for shipping.
- fill in your billing address and email address as normal
This promises to be a brilliant visit.
Kind regards,
Miss Othen
Book Loving Business Manager
House Poetry Competition
We will be participating in the national Michael Rosen 2026 Poetry Competition
The 2026 Silly School Stuff Poetry Competition
Poet Michael Rosen is challenging you to write your own Silly School Stuff poem. Whether it’s about Silly Lunchtimes, Silly Lessons, Silly Rules or Silly School Trips.
What to do:
1. Create a silly school poem! In fact, the sillier the better!
2. Less than 100 words
3. Complete at home or in Mrs Stennett’s poetry lunchtime club in Squirrel’s classroom (dates to be confirmed)
4. Post in the gold Post Box outside the office
We will select winning entries that will win points for their houses and the top 10 entries for different age groups will be submitted to the National Competition.
(These will be typed up by staff and submitted so you don’t need to add pictures)
Closing Date: Friday 16th October
Expanding box opened – preview Closed on page load
▼ What you can win?
There will be FOUR winners in total.
- Two winners in each age category (see below) will have their poems shared by Michael Rosen himself at the HUGE official Michael Rosen Day livestreamed event on 12 November!
- Each winner will also receive a signed library of Michael Rosen books for themselves and their school and a signed certificate from Michael Rosen
- PLUS 18 runners-up in each age category will receive a signed certificate
Get involved and Good Luck!
Community Quiz Night- Fri 9th October
Rally your friends, grandparents and neighbours! Quiz night is back! We may even throw in a few rounds of bingo.
Teams of 6!
£5 pp to pay on the night
Bring your own snacks and alcohol.
Book in a team with the School Office, in person, by email or let us know at morning drop off.
EYFS Pumpkin Party
An evening of fun and games
Details below:
There is a reduced charge of £1 for Targeted Free School Meal families.
No change of clothes is required-school uniform as normal please
Collection 4:30pm Front of School
After School Club children
IF YOUR CHILD NORMALLY ATTENDS AFTER SCHOOL CLUB WRAPAROUND CARE EVERY TUESDAY-you do not need to do anything! You do not need to buy a ticket! Your child will automatically attend if they wish too and if they are not collected at 4.30pm from The Pumpkin Party they will return to After School Club for normal collection by parents at 5.00pm or 5.30pm onwards.
Future Leaders Academy
As part of our Careers Offer, we have launched the Coleham Future Leaders Academy. This offers authentic leadership opportunities for pupils by assisting the School Leadership Team in their duties. From supporting staff recruitment, new parent tours and conducting health and safety walks, pupils will develop communication skills, knowledge and character needed for future careers and success in the wider world.
We made a great start this week with a delightful front of house Reception Team who greeted new Reception Parents looking around our school. They made a great impression and were wonderful ambassadors for our school!
Drama Club visits new performance space: Darwin’s Old School Room
Last week, Drama Club visited the library, originally built as a school, where Darwin himself attended as a boy! We were also able to view the Darwin Room, as this newer wing will be our future performance space when Drama Club performs their production of Darwin The Dreamer – a new play about Darwin’s life – at the end of term. The library staff gave us some history of the building and told us how Darwin was often in trouble with his teachers for not listening, preferring to collecting insects instead. We were also able to see the names of the pupils still carved into the woodwork!
Year 3 step back in time to the Stone Age
Year 3 had a brilliant Stone Age workshop! We did a carousel of activities and learnt how to weave, make butter, grind grain to flour, make smoke using bow drills and build Stone Age houses and shelters. We also used VR headsets to view Stone Age sites like Stonehenge and Skara Brae, as well as learning to make cordage to make bracelets and how to card and spin wool to make material.
September Social
What a fantastic time we had at our September Social! It was wonderful to see so many families, friends and community partners come together to kick off the new school year.
We enjoyed catching up with families old and new, seeing our Year 7’s return and tell us all about secondary school and our Year 6’s taking the lead on running stalls. Top job!
A huge well done to Mr Williams’ choir, whose sweet performance filled us all with pride.
Sunny skies, great company, exotic animals and live music… Coleham School really is a great place to be! 🌟💙 We hope you all had a great time!