Joining the School

At Chipping Norton School the individual is at heart of what we do. Everyone is encouraged to be the best that they can be. Staff and students share the same values of excellence, respect, tolerance, enjoyment and commitment. Our ethos and these values make the school a special place in which to learn and work.

We firmly believe that students achieve their full potential if they are happy, safe, supported and enjoy school life. The importance of high quality pastoral care is never underestimated here.

Welcome to those in Year 6

We have asked some of our new Year 7, from our feeder Primary Schools, to recall their transition from primary to secondary school. Please take a look at their letters and read about their recollections. 

Click a button below to read a letter by a current CNS student to the year 6s in their old school.

Dear Year Sixes,

I thought it would be useful for you if I told you a bit about Chipping Norton School. Since joining the school, I have made many new friends, which has been lovely because they are all different, and all really nice.

My favourite lessons are art and drama, but there are so many more subjects to learn than I imagined! There are also loads of clubs’ after school. In Year 7, I did LAMDA (London Academy of Dramatic Arts), trampolining, dance and art. There are also a huge variety of sports clubs.

If you do not live in Chipping Norton, there are buses, that take you to and from school. You do not have to get the bus, but it is good fun to do it.

Meeting many new people has been really good and has had a good influence on me, because I am meeting people from different backgrounds and societies. All the teachers at Chipping Norton School are really kind, and always help me when I am struggling.

The best thing about Chipping Norton School for me has been the library because it has such a wide selection of books to read, and I have really enjoyed reading them throughout the year. You can also go to the library for lunchtime clubs, to play chess, to use the computers, or just to chat to your friends. It is a really nice place to go to.

I recommend Chipping Norton as a secondary school, and hope to see you soon.

Poppy

Dear Year 6

Since you’ll soon be starting to think about coming up to secondary school, I thought I’d write to tell you about my first year at Chipping Norton School, which has been great.

At the start of the year, I thought my favourite lessons would be dance and art, but it turns out my favourite lesson is English (I like drama too). This is because I love writing stories, poems and letters. I also love reading and listening to stories and poems.

I’ve joined some clubs and taken part in other activities. The clubs I’ve joined are LAMDA (Drama) and for a bit I did trampolining. I even became a house representative for my house!

Meeting new people has been interesting. I’ve made lots of new friends from clubs after school. The good thing about classes is that you sit next to different people a lot and it helps make friends.

The best thing about Chipping Norton School has been challenging myself and meeting new people.

I hope to see you soon.

Matilda

Dear Year 6 at Enstone Primary School,

Since you’ll soon be starting Year 7 and coming up to secondary School, I thought I’d write to tell you about it. My first year at Chipping Norton School, has been such a great year. I have really enjoyed it and met loads of new people.

At the start of the year, I thought that my favourite lessons would be maths and French, but now the thing I like learning about best is technology and PE. This is because in tech you do a lot of different things like woodwork, textiles, food tech and graphic designs. In PE, I can do different sports that I have never tried before, which are really fun to learn.

Meeting so many new people has been so fun. The good thing about having lessons with different people is that you can make a lot of new friends, as you don’t always have the same people in each lesson.

The best thing about Chipping Norton School has been meeting loads of different people and finding so many amazing friends.

My ambition for this year is to get really good scores in my lessons and to work really well.

I hope to see you soon.

Edee

Dear Year 6

So far, I’ve had an incredible time at Chipping Norton School – from the teachers and the learning to the food and friends. I’ve stayed with friends from the past and have made some new ones.

Although this sounds amazing already, it just gets better. The facilities are absolutely incredible: to say the canteen food is delicious would be an understatement and the field is so big it can happily fit the hundreds of buzzing students in the school already.

The days are amazing but when the clock strikes 3:15 you may begin to feel a bit gloomy and annoyed that the day has ended so quickly. If you’re like me you should take a look at the broad selection of after school clubs: if things like football, rugby, martial arts and hockey aren’t your thing, then give meditation, trampolining or LAMDA a try.

My favourite subjects are currently geography, English, science and drama, which I hope to excel at in the future.

The school is built on Everyone Achieving, Everyone Belonging and I’m sure that you could both achieve and belong at this incredible school.

I hope to see you here soon.

Joe

Dear Year 6,

We all welcome you to Chipping Norton School and we hope you have a great time. I thought I’d write to tell you about my first year at Chipping Norton School – which has been amazing and fun.

At the start of the year, my favourite lessons were art, computing and PE. It was a fun year to be in, because you got to learn the basics of every subject, some of which you haven’t done before. In science, you do a load of practical experiments, like how light can bend and go into a different direction.

I have joined many clubs and there is a wide range of activities to have fun with and have a relaxing time after school.
You can also join in school sports teams; I like football and cricket. You meet a lot of people and have more friendship groups when you do this.

I hope to see you soon.

Matthew

Dear Year 6 student at Holy Trinity,

As you’re soon coming up to secondary school, I wanted to tell you how my first year at Chipping Norton School has been.
My favourite lessons are currently PE and art. I really enjoy PE because even if you struggle in the other more academic lessons, PE is really fun and teachers will make sure you aren’t doing exercises out of your comfort zone. I also like art a lot because you can really express yourself and your emotions through it and it’s really fun.

At Chipping Norton School there are loads of different clubs that you can join and last year, I signed up for cookery and table tennis because each week we would talk about and make new foods and it also encouraged me to try lots of different foods. The clubs are also a really good way to make lots of new friends.

Meeting people and making new friends is really exciting because you get to meet others with similar interests and hobbies as you.

When I first started Year 7, I was really worried about things like homework, getting lost and school work being too difficult. The best way to stop worrying about these things is to get into a good routine that works for you. I recommend doing your homework as soon as possible and if you are struggling with it to ask a teacher for help.

My favourite thing about Chipping Norton School has been all the new opportunities you can have. There are so many clubs to do, trips to go on and fun to have.

My main ambition for this year is to try my hardest in every lesson. Sometimes you can be really tired at the end of the day in a lesson that maybe isn’t your favourite, but having a positive mindset and trying your hardest makes it more fun and easier.


I hope to see you here soon.

Megan

Dear Year 6 at Hook Norton

Since you’ll soon be coming up to secondary school, I am writing to you about my first year of secondary school at Chipping Norton School.

Before I started secondary school, I thought my favourite lessons would be art and history, but now I am here I have another favourite lesson: design and technology. In D&T you do 3 subjects – resistant materials (woodworking), textiles (sewing) and food tech (cooking). I like all three at the moment but I think my favourite is textiles.

I also joined some clubs in Year 7 but I can’t join any at the moment because I am part of the chorus in our school play ‘Matilda the musical’. The clubs I did join last year were: netball, rounders, art club and origami. I can’t say I had a favourite out of these however because I have enjoyed them all equally.

I have met many people and made many friends with students from other schools. I am glad I had the opportunity to meet these people from clubs and my classes.

However, I think one of the best things at Chipping Norton School so far was our trip to Legoland. It was amazing and hopefully you get to go there too.

I hope to see you at Chipping Norton School soon!

Darcy

Dear Year 6,

Starting Year 7 is so much fun!

There are so many people that you don’t know and out of the 150 (or so) that will come here, there will almost certainly be the type of people that you’ll want to be with. I’ve made 6 new friends and we all come from different primary schools, but I’ve also kept the friends that went to Kingham as well.

There are a lot of after-school clubs too. These help you to meet new people and socialise with people who have similar interests as you. I’ve done trampolining, origami, and some additional sports clubs – hockey, netball and rounders. This term I’m starting LAMDA, and the girls football team has started, which I’ll definitely be part of.

The canteen food is amazing. There are cakes, biscuits, sausage rolls, jacket potatoes, pizza slices etc. All of the teachers are really nice too. To start with if you’re late because you got lost, it’s fine. The English department is very inspiring – Mrs Harrison will be pleased to hear that! – and D&T is so interesting!

My favourite subjects are music, drama, DT and PE. They are all fun! My favourite academic subject is German. I’m going on the German exchange in June too!

That’s all from me.

Isla

Dear Year 6,

Since you are soon to be thinking about coming to secondary, I thought I’d write to tell you about my first year at Chipping Norton School, which has been very good and exciting.

At the start of the year, I thought my favourite subjects would be PE and technology and they still are my favourites. This is because in PE you play lots of sports including football, rugby, hockey, athletics, gymnastics and sometimes a bit of basketball as well. I like Tech as well because you learn 3 different types of technology which are: food tech, woodwork and sewing. My favourite technology is food tech because you do a lot of cooking such as biscuits, pizzas and more.

I have joined some clubs and activities such as afterschool football and a few more. I particularly enjoyed football because it’s my favourite sport and you get to play matches and learn new skills.

The best thing about Chipping Norton School has been meeting all my mates and playing lunchtime football with them.

My main ambition for this year is to do more clubs and play a variety of sports.

I hope to see you here soon and good luck in your last year.

Ollie

Dear Year 6,

As you are nearing the end of primary school and may be thinking about choosing a secondary school, I am here to give my opinions and how I thought Chipping Norton School was in Year 7.

Near the start of the school year, I assumed that my favourite subject would be computing, and it still is. The thing I like most about learning ANY subject is the lesson structure is clear and the teachers provide more help than you could imagine. It is a friendly and educational environment that new students can feel comfortable and familiarise themselves with.

Midway through the year, I joined a club (extra-time table tennis) and it is a fun but competitive place. I particularly enjoyed the understanding coaches, the determined players and the vast playing area that they provide.

Going from class to class, you may worry about having to make friends, but rest assured, it is generally easy. Having to meet new people was exhausting at first, but over time they slowly ease up and talk more to you.

The absolute best thing about Chipping Norton School is that the school grows with you. They listen carefully as you speak about important issues or major concerns that you may be seeing. They stay with you and help you learn, achieve and succeed until you are ready to enter the stage of adulthood.

I hope to see you here in the future.

Ethan

Getting ready for Year 7

Forms to complete before you start Year 7 – click to download.

Year 7 Transition

Big changes made easy

Uniforms

See the full list and where to get it from

FAQs

Answers to all your questions

OFSTED Report

"Teachers are firmly focused on helping pupils achieve their best"

Subject Areas

See what we offer across the curriculum

Exam results

See our latest exam results

Sixth Form

Everything you need to know