Dear Parents and Carers

We have reached the end of a very busy week at school. We began with the induction of our new year 12s and ended the week with the traditional transition days for our new year 7s. We formally welcomed our new parents and carers last night, but left plenty of time to get to the polling booths! Meanwhile, we have raised over £2,000, so far, for Dominic Parker, and continue to ask families to consider a contribution to Dominic’s GoFundMe page.

Our year 10s have also been out on work experience throughout the week. It remains a great way to help students identify specific or broad career goals – and we know that students with a clear ambition find it easier to make those necessary sacrifices for success in their examinations. For many weeks now, we have also seen huge numbers of students take part in Duke of Edinburgh Award Bronze, Silver and Gold expeditions that have involved many staff volunteering to give up their time but also staff coordinating and leading what are complex activities that require a huge level of planning and care – in particular I wish to thank Mr Brown, Mrs Huddleston and Mrs Thomas for ensuing these have taken place and with such success.

There really is a dizzying array of trips, visits, clubs and activities that have continued to enhance your children’s lives at this school. Please look out for the end of termly CNS-Newsletter to learn more of these and other experiences, including the recent theatre trips to Macbeth and the Six The Musical, a Key Stage 3 theatre workshop at the Chipping Norton Theatre, a sixth form visit to Oxford Brookes University –  and also the superb successes of our students in various sports and athletics.

Special Request

You will be very aware of the war that continues in Ukraine and its far-reaching consequences on Ukrainian families. CNS has welcomed and been enriched by the enrolment of children from Ukraine and we feel honoured and privileged to help those children continue with their studies and forge their own plans for adulthood. With this in mind I ask that you read the following segment from Yuliia…

I am Yuliia Zhdanova, mom of two students of the Chipping Norton Secondary School, Stepan Shumanskyi (Year 8) and Illia Shumanskyi (Year 10), we are Ukrainian refugees who came to the UK because of the war.

I have registered for the ‘CIC Blue and Yellow Cup’ and would like to organise Ukrainian community events in Oxfordshire (cultural, art events, mental health day and an English-speaking club). For this matter, I have started a crowdfunding campaign: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/blue-and-yellow-cup.

Hosting events for Ukrainian refugees would not only provide a welcoming space but also will allow others in the community to learn about Ukrainian culture and connect with those who are new to the area.

Your contributions will help us:

• Organise cultural events and activities that celebrate Ukrainian heritage;
• Maintain and improve our community space to make it even more welcoming;
• Provide language classes and other educational resources to aid integration;
• Support our outreach efforts to connect with more Ukrainian refugees and community members.

If you feel you are able to support us, then any contribution of any value would be greatly appreciated.

Community Heroes

I now wish to draw attention to two wonderful students at CNS: Archie Bagnall and Harvey McCallum. Earlier this week, I was contacted by a member of the Chipping Norton Town Festival Team to express heartfelt thanks and admiration for how both boys supported the town event on Sunday. They, “… both worked passionately all day to support the event. They lugged tables and chairs, moved hay bales, swept straw, supported stall holders with loading and unloading, provided the crew with food and drink and always had a smile on their faces.” We are so proud of Archie and Harvey and both deserve this public recognition.

Anyone for Lacrosse?

Led by Mr Robinson, we had ten teams participating in our first ever Lacrosse Festival for Year 9 and 10 girls. The afternoon was a chance to introduce schools to the game of lacrosse with a coaching session and competition run by a national coach for the beginners, while slightly more experienced players went straight into a tournament.

Over seventy girls were involved on the day. Students who had never picked up a stick before enjoyed a great afternoon learning a new game and associated skills – and meeting new people and went home buzzing about their new experience.

The Chipping Norton first team girls can be very proud of themselves as they clinched a last-minute winner against The Cheltenham Ladies’ College first team and won 6-5. This was very impressive as they had a number of regional level players in their team. The southwest coach was in attendance and has now asked for a number of our girls to attend the regional trials on the back of this performance…

The Martians

Last week the following students participated in Harwell Open Week at the Rutherton Appleton Laboratory: Ben Muller, Mark Parker, Hanne Lutman, Harri Houzet, Bee Baker, Noah Poole, Matilda Coates, Oliver Mulley, Lily Johnson, Bella Webb, and Cameron Ramsay. Mrs Eakins (Head of Physics) and Mrs Craig (Lead Science Technician) organised and led the trip and enabled our students to enrich their knowledge of physics, mathematics, Martian geology, augmented reality and space! Not bad for just one day.

And finally

Parents and carers of children with SEND should have received the latest newsletter from our SENDCOs: Mrs Smart and Mrs Chard. This included an invitation to take part in the annual survey of SEND provision which you can find by following this link. If you have a child at CNS on the SEND register, we value your time and responses to support our work in this area.

Have a lovely weekend when it arrives and good luck to England!

Yours faithfully
Barry Doherty
Headteacher