Dear Parents/Carers

I hope you are well.

The weeks are certainly flying by, and school life continues to be extremely busy and purposeful. I would like to thank you for your ongoing support, which plays a vital role in ensuring our students thrive.

The Period 6 sessions for our Year 11 students are proving highly successful, with excellent attendance. Overall attendance across the school has also been strong this week, and your support in maintaining this is crucial. When our young people are in school, they are best placed to learn, flourish, and achieve their full potential. Absence can lead to gaps in learning, which may place students at a disadvantage, and our shared aim is always to secure the very best outcomes for every child.

We kindly ask that you continue to support your child’s daily attendance wherever possible. We fully appreciate that there are occasions where illness or exceptional circumstances arise. However, punctuality to school remains an area where we need your continued support. Traffic in Warrington can be challenging, with gridlock occurring more frequently, and we ask that students plan their journeys carefully to arrive on time. While we recognise that traffic can sometimes be unavoidable, more often than not lateness is due to student choice, and this is where your partnership is invaluable.

As a parent myself, I fully understand how difficult it can be to get young people out of bed in the mornings, and I know that you are doing everything you can. However, the evidence around attendance is clear: poor attendance has a significant impact on academic outcomes and, ultimately, life chances. We address this regularly with students through PD lessons and tutor time. At present, some students are finding that attendance is becoming a barrier to college applications. Colleges now scrutinise attendance very closely, and in some cases, poor attendance may result in students not being offered a place. As always, we recognise that there are exceptional circumstances.

I would like to provide you with an update regarding school uniform. From September 2026, we will be introducing a new compulsory school skirt design. The Uniform Shop in Warrington and Touchline will be our suppliers, with Touchline also continuing to supply all other uniform items. We are currently working with them on a brochure, including cost-effective uniform bundles. Following your valuable feedback, we will not be making any changes to the PE kit at this time. While I do intend to update the design in the future, this will not be implemented in September, as I am mindful of cost and recent purchases already made.

We are hoping to phase in the new skirt over the coming months so that students may move to it sooner if required. Please do not purchase the old-style skirt from this point onwards if a replacement is needed. If you experience any difficulties or have any questions, please contact Miss K. Dowling at kdowling@boteler.org.uk.

Finally, a brief update to inform you that we are now within the Ofsted inspection window. Unfortunately, we were not selected as a volunteer school prior to Christmas under the new framework; however, this means we may be notified at any time. When this occurs, your support in responding to the Ofsted Parent Questionnaire will be incredibly important. It is vital that inspectors see the strong, positive relationships we share with our families and how we work in genuine partnership, united by the common goal of achieving the very best for every child in our care.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. I wish you and your families a wonderful weekend.

Beverley Scott-Herron

Headteacher

 

Traffic Around School 

As many of you will be aware, we have received reports recently highlighting increased traffic at peak times, which can make the journey to school more challenging.

We want to reassure families that we are very aware of these issues and fully recognise that some factors are outside of parent/carer control. We also appreciate the efforts many of you already make to get students to school safely and on time despite these difficulties.

Where possible, we kindly ask parents and carers to consider setting out a little earlier in the morning. This small adjustment can make a significant difference in helping students arrive on time and ensuring that learning starts promptly for everyone. Our aim is to prevent any unnecessary rise in lateness, particularly as traffic pressures continue.

Thank you, as always, for your understanding and support. By working together, we can help ensure a safe, calm and punctual start to the school day for all students.

 

Personal Development/Careers learning Journey

On Thursday 5^th February we have our Annual Careers Fair. This will be for all students in all years and will be held in the school Hall. There will be around 25 Warrington Businesses and local colleges here and students will have the opportunity to engage with them to develop their knowledge of qualifications needed, jobs available, and essential skills required to work in that industry. They will have prepared for this beforehand during the tutor time and will also have follow up work to complete. Students will have a full list of companies joining us next week. 

We welcomed Cronton and Riverside College into school this week to interview the Year 11 students who have applied to go there next year.

Feedback from the staff regarding our students was exceptional, they were well prepared and articulated themselves extremely well.

Year 7 ambassadors supported the event and demonstrated excellent essential skills.

Well done to all involved.

 

National Apprenticeship week and National Careers week

National Apprenticeship week and National Careers week take place over the next couple of months so next week we are hosting the following assemblies:

Year 11 – Priestley College will be talking about ‘Life at Priestley’

Year 10 – Warrington Vale Royal college – Apprenticeships – What are they?

Year 9 – Higher Horizons – What is University

Year 8 – Apprenticeships

Year 7 – Apprenticeships

The following events will also be taking place:

• Wednesday 28th January Year 7 ‘Careers of the Future’
• Thursday 5th February – ‘Careers Fair’ all Year groups
• Friday 6th February – United Utilities identified Year 10
• Tuesday 10th February – Year 9 Options talk from Higher Horizons
• Wednesday 11th February – Women in Stem Seminar online – Year 9,10 and 11
• Thursday 12th February – Work Experience day at United Utilities identified Year 9
• Wednesday 25th February – ‘Encounters with Employers’ – Year 7, 8 and 9  
• Thursday 26th February – All Year 10 Modern Work Experience with Sellafield  
• Monday 2nd March Year 9 selected students AI workshop with Higher Horizons
• Tuesday 3rd March Year 9 CV writing workshop with DWP
• Wednesday 4th March Year 10 CV writing workshop with DWP
• Wednesday 12th March – ‘Future Ready’ programme Year 8 selected students
• Wednesday 18th March –  Year 10 ‘Encounters with Employers’
• Monday 23rd March – Year 10 ROAR programme with Priestley scholars starts
• w/c 30th March Work Experience Year 10

 

Upcoming Events This Half Term 

We look forward to welcoming parents and carers to the following key events: 

📅 Parent Forum – Monday 26th January (18:00–19:00, Main Hall) 

This half term’s Parent Forum will focus on Supporting Your Child with ADHD. The session will provide practical advice, key information, and effective strategies to support children both at home and in school. Parents and carers will also have the opportunity to ask questions and share experiences in a supportive environment.  Information from the event will be shared via a link on the school website. 

📅 Year 9 Parents’ Evening – Monday 9th February (15:30-19:00, Main Hall) 

This important evening will allow families to review progress and discuss next steps before students confirm their option choices. Teachers will provide clear feedback to help guide informed decisions as students prepare for Key Stage 4. 

 

WarrPAC are hosting a ‘Check in and Chat’ session on the 26^th January. Click here for details and to book your place: https://tinyurl.com/m8jb9yez

 

 

 

Girls ROAR Project

Girls ROAR is an ongoing project for young females of high school age, focused on empowering young women, building confidence, and exploring what it means to be a strong female in a supportive, female only space.

Sessions run every Thursday, 6:30pm–8:30pm, at The Hub (formerly Orford Youth Base), Capesthorne Road, Warrington, WA2 0JF. The programme includes creative activities such as music tuition (singing, song writing and DJing) delivered by Score Creative (Plugged In), alongside relaxed group discussions and practical activities.

 

 

English Department

A fantastic opportunity for aspiring writers:

Cheshire Prize for Literature 2025/26

This year’s competition is open to anyone who has ever lived, worked or studied in Cheshire, Wirral, Warrington or Halton to enter in three age categories:

Primary (4-11):  poetry or short story category

Secondary (11-18): poetry or short story category

Over 18: poetry, short story, flash fiction, children’s literature, scriptwriting

There is no theme; writers can write about anything that inspires them.

You can enter two entries per person, but they must be in different categories.

Closing date for entries is 31st January 2026.

Please follow the link below for further information and how to enter: https://www.chester.ac.uk/about/events/cheshire-prize/

 

Hospitality

It smelt like Italy in the Hospitality room, as Year 8 were baking Garlic and Rosemary Decorated Focaccia. Ms Fallon was very impressed by the skills executed and products created!

 

Spring Spectacular

Spring Spectacular has officially begun! Rehearsals are already under way for our next dance show. It is not too late to sign up. Rehearsals are a Tuesday and Thursday lunch and Thursday after school. See Mrs Hughes, Mrs Graham or Miss Wright in these rehearsals to sign up. You can be a part of our group pieces or create your own.

 

 

Music Department