Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope this letter finds you well and hope you had a good start into the festive season. I am not yet able to update you about our school visit from MP Sean Woodcock as he moved his visit by one week, so I will share the content of our discussion in my final letter for this calendar year. Just a reminder to follow us on BlueSky and Facebook where we regularly share highlights from events in our school community, and where we will also share impressions from MP Sean Woodcock’s visit, our trip to the German Christmas Market which is currently in Cologne and much more.
School Uniform Consultation
As promised in my previous letter, please find the link to our uniform consultation here. Our aim is to help reduce cost for families and meet new statutory government guidelines which are taking effect from September 2026. We are consulting on two proposed updates to our uniform:
- Blazer or Branded V-neck jumper
Students would be able to choose either the blazer or the branded jumper as part of their compulsory uniform.
- Simplified PE Kit
Two branded PE items (socks and outer layer) would be replaced with non-branded options.
These changes would reduce the number of compulsory branded items from six to four and lower the average cost of these by around 30%. The consultation is open now and ends Friday 19 December. I will share the outcome of the consultation in the new year.
River Learning Trust – Review Day
As part of the River Learning Trust, we regularly welcome colleagues from other schools to quality-assure what we do and improve the experience of our students. The latest Peer Review took place on Thursday 27 November when we were visited by four senior trust leaders who looked at Personal Development, Attendance, Behaviour and Achievement. They visited a wide range of lessons and conducted a number of student interviews to gain their voice. I have included some key points below and am delighted that our judgement of where Chipping Norton School’s strengths are and where we can build further on these aligns. I am also proud that our prized community ethos came across strongly throughout the day:
“This was a very positive review which paints a picture of a warm, positive and inclusive school, with staff who are rightly proud of their work and its impact.”
“a calm, purposeful and positive school.”
“There is clear evidence illustrating a significant positive shift in whole-school attendance.”
Our plans to raise achievement further were reviewed and found “robust and convincing”
“When asked about bullying or derogatory language, pupils said this was rare and dealt with swiftly. They also indicated that there were clear reporting systems. One pupil noted that the school has worked really hard to make it “equal for everyone” (their favourite thing about the school).”
From Chippy to Chippo
When preparing my application as Headteacher at Chippy, I discovered that there is ‘Doppelganger’ school with the same name in the town of Chipping Norton in … Australia! It is a suburb, founded by an Australian businessman in the 1800s, who controversially acquired the land from the Aboriginal owners and named it after ‘our’ Chipping Norton as he spent several years in the area and was involved in horseracing. Our twin school is commonly referred to as ‘Chippo’ and I am in contact with their Headteacher to see what links we might be able to establish. More news as I get it…
Dream Job Winner
Congratulations to Stepan Shumanskyi who recently won the runners up prize (£50 Amazon voucher) in Abingdon and Witney College’s T-Level Dream Job Competition.
Students in KS4 were challenged to think about what work will look like in 2040. Will we have AI therapists or Hologram teachers? The competition invited students to dream big and design a job that doesn’t exist yet but could so in the future.
Stepan’s competition entry described what it would be like to be an Artificial Gestation Engineer – a scientist or engineer working on the development of technologies for ectogenesis, which is the artificial growth of a foetus outside the body. Well done Stepan!
Our values in action
Over forty Year 12 students joined the Anthony Nolan register at our recent donor event. This followed on from a presentation from the Anthony Nolan charity promoting the Hero Project. The Hero Project educates students about blood, organ and stem cell donation and encourages new potential donors to join the Anthony Nolan register. The volunteers who ran the donor event were amazed at the number of students who registered and wanted to pass on that “Your students are a real credit to your school” We couldn’t agree more!
Christmas Concert
The Folk Group, Choir, Concert Band and Flute Ensemble will be performing, with a selection of soloists and other groups. The CNS PTA has kindly agreed to supply a bar on the evening, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. This will be served outside the canteen. Tickets are on sale via MCAS for £4.00 and will be available in school on entry to the concert via tap and go.
Local company helping to reduce the cost of Food lessons
FWP Matthews (Cotswold Flour) of Shipton under Wychwood answered the call to help reduce the cost of ingredients for students. Cotswold Flour have kindly donated over 200 kgs – enough flour to keep us going for most of the rest of the academic year. This means that parents and students no longer need to supply flour for any of their child’s recipes that are cooked in school. We would like to say a huge thankyou to Emily East (Business Manager) at FWP Matthews for their generosity and support of our students. If there are any other local food suppliers out there that would be in a position to help with any other ingredients, please contact Simon James via [email protected]
I look forward to sharing and celebrating more news from our community again in my next letter which will be the last one for 2025 and wish you a good second advent weekend in the meantime.
Yours faithfully,
Bertram Richter
Headteacher
Key dates:
Wed 10 December Christmas Concert
Thu 11 December Non-uniform day / Christmas Jumper Day (for Aspire Oxfordshire, supporting vulnerable people with housing and employment)
Fri 12 December Flu vaccinations for Yrs7-11
Fri 19 December Early closure (12.35pm)
