Dear Parents and Carers
It is finally a little cooler this week – a very welcome relief for students and staff alike. It has also been another incredibly busy and positive week here at school, and I would like to share some key updates and celebrations with you.
Mobile Phones – A Date for your Diary – Thursday 17th July
As you will be aware, as a school we will be making changes to our mobile phone policy from September, namely through the use of the Phone Locker mobile phone pouch for each student. We will be holding an information evening regarding how this will work on Thursday 17th July.
Please see the following link with further details and to confirm attendance. https://forms.office.com/e/a6dnRdQ3z7
EAL Coffee Morning
On Wednesday 25th June, we were delighted to host our EAL Coffee Morning. It was a wonderful opportunity for parents and carers from diverse backgrounds to connect, ask questions, share experiences and learn more about how we support students with English as an Additional Language. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive – thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a meaningful and enjoyable morning. Special thanks to our Parents Supporting Boteler group for their wonderful support.
TCAT Celebration of Excellence
Last week, our students took part in the TCAT Celebration of Excellence. It was a brilliant evening showcasing talent and achievement across all the academies in the Trust. A huge well done to everyone involved – we are incredibly proud of you.
Student Leadership Interviews
We have also been conducting interviews for our new Student Leadership Body. The quality of candidates and their ideas for the future were incredibly impressive, and we are very excited for the year ahead with our new team of student leaders.
New Toilets – Building work begins
Work on our new toilet facilities will begin on Monday. It has been great to work alongside our School Council on this project – their input and hard work have directly contributed to improved facilities for all students. We are aiming for the new toilets to be fully operational by September. As previously communicated, only the KS4 toilets will be available during the construction period. These toilets will be staffed, and we will ensure flexibility with waiting times and access where needed.
Transition Evening
Earlier this week, we hosted our Transition Evening for our new Year 7 cohort and their families. It was a pleasure to meet so many of our new families and begin building those important connections. Particular thanks to the Form Tutors and wider team who helped make the evening such a success.
Behaviour and Standards Update
Our Behaviour and Standards drive has gone extremely well this week, with students responding positively to the new entrance routines. Thank you for your continued support in upholding our expectations.
As we prepare for the new academic year, I would like to remind all families of our uniform and standards expectations. These rules are clear, consistent and non-negotiable. Being part of the Boteler Family means we work together to ensure consistency in high standards for everyone, and I thank you for your support.
Uniform and Equipment Expectations – September Readiness
- Jewellery: No jewellery is permitted in school. Any items will be confiscated and secured in the safe, to be collected by a parent or carer. Facial piercings must be removed during term time.
- Non-uniform items: Any non-uniform top, coat or jumper worn under a blazer will be confiscated until the end of the day.
- Footwear: Shoes must be plain, polishable, and without any sports logos. Trainers, canvas shoes or boots are not permitted.
- Skirts and trousers: Skirts must be knee-length and worn with either plain black knee socks or 70 denier black tights. Trousers must be tailored school trousers – leggings, fashion trousers or flares are not allowed.
- Hair: Brightly coloured hair and extreme hairstyles are not permitted.
- Equipment: All students must carry a bag, a fully stocked pencil case, their ISP, a scientific calculator, and a reading book. A refillable water bottle is also strongly recommended.
Please note that failure to meet these expectations – particularly if there is defiance of school rules – may result in a student becoming ineligible for educational visits or reward trips throughout the academic year.
Thank you once again for your continued partnership and support. Wishing you all a restful weekend when it arrives.
Beverley Scott-Herron
Headteacher
The excitement is building for another action packed, fun-filled competitive Sports Day where our students and staff will take to the field! This event will take place all day on Thursday 10th July. Students will need to come to school in full and correct PE kit and school blazer.
How will the day work?
8.40 – 9.00 Opening Ceremony
9.00 – 9.15 House Tug of War
9.15 – 11.15 Track events (200m, 100m, 4x100m Relay)
11.15 – 11.30 Staff House Relay Race
11.30 – 12.15 Activity 1 (Dodgeball)
12.15 – 13.00 Activity 2 (Flag American Football)
13.00-13.30 Lunch
13.30-14.15 Activity 3 (The Challenge Zone)
14.15-15.00 Activity 4 (Football)
Students will take part in a carousel of activities highlighted above, rotating around each one and collecting valuable House points as they go.
Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate any spectators and Parents and Carers cannot turn up to watch. Please do check our social media channels with regular updates @thomasboteler
The PE Department have delivered assemblies this week including the rationale of Sports Day, what to expect and logistics on the day. The important messages are:
- Positive attitude needed from everyone.
- Full STB PE Kit only. No cycling shorts / no hoodies / no other branded sports clothing.
- Usual school rules apply. Students will be removed from the activities if required – usual school rules apply.
- Bring some small change for the refreshments stall – students can purchase drinks, snacks, sweets, ice lollies.
- Attendance is key and students are reminded to be in school and punctual ready for an 8.30am start.
Thank you for your support in what will be a successful day of sport and exercise!
Year 11 Leavers
I hope your child is enjoying a well-earned break after completing the longest GCSE exam season that has taken place in recent years. We are looking forward to celebrating with them the culmination of five years’ hard work on results day.
Results day this year is Thursday 21st August 2025 where results will be available for students to collect from the main school hall from 09:30. If students would like another person to collect their results, they must contact Miss Morris either by email at jmorris@boteler.org.uk or through a letter, signed by themselves, naming the person who will collect the results. Any uncollected results will be posted home on Friday 22nd August 2025.
Students need to check their personal emails on a regular basis for correspondence from the College they have applied to. Colleges will contact students directly via email.
Rewards Trips
Thank you for meeting the deadline for payment and securing your child’s place on the school trip. To confirm, only students who have paid via iPay or via the FSM voucher system have secured a place on the trip.
The deadline has now past and from the information we have, we have been able to meet the requests from all students.
Mr Mason will be the trip lead for the Chester Zoo trip.
Mr Davies will be the trip lead for the Blackpool trip.
Mr Leonard will be the trip lead for The Trafford Centre trip.
Each of the trip leads will be confirming the final information regarding the trip well in of advance of the date.
We are really looking forward to the day, and for those not attending the trips, they have plenty to look forward to here at school with lots of fun activities planned.
Awards Evening
Invitations have now been sent out to those winners invited to Awards Evening on Wednesday 16th July. The evening will celebrate the performance of overall winners within a range of categories, from subject awards, to Ambassador roles and much more. If you have received the invite, please follow the link and complete the return at the earliest convenience.
Standards reset and single-entrance approach
A big well done to students who have responded very well to the new system of entering the school via our single-entrance. It hasn’t taken long for them to get used to the new routine, with students arriving from 08.10 and socialising in the Canteen and The Orangery.
We have really been able to see how our new phone system approach will work in September, allowing us to make the tweaks necessary.
At this time of the year, we understand that there are some genuine issues regarding footwear and outgrowing of uniform. We will support all families but just ask that you communicate any concerns prior to your child attending school.
The main plea for additional support, is to ensure that your child is not wearing false eyelashes and that they don’t arrive to school with jewellery, which can then lead to a very avoidable sanction. The vast majority of students continue to meet all of our high expectations and standards relating to uniform, appearance and organisation; a big thank you for your ongoing support.
Holiday Activities and Food Programme
Warrington Borough Council are excited to announce that bookings for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme are now open! Places can be reserved by visiting www.warrington.gov.uk/haf.
A variety of engaging activities are available for school-aged children (ages 4–16), including dance, multi-sports, skating, arts, and enrichment days. Additional programmes tailored specifically for older children will be added soon.
Eligible children can book up to 16 sessions throughout the summer holidays. The HAF programme is primarily for children who receive benefit-related free school meals. However, a limited number of places are available for families under social care, Early Help and those that have an EHCP. These places will be allocated on a case-by-case basis.
For further details, please contact us at haf@warrington.gov.uk.
Year 11
We hope that you have enjoyed your taster days at your colleges, it is ow time to make sure you have the information needed for once you receive your results on results day. Some colleges will expect you to email them your results straight away and others will send you an interview time, students must check their personal emails.
Year 10
Well done to all our Year 10s who have been on their taster to Warrington Vale Royal College this week. Please engage with your child regarding their next steps in their careers journey.
Over the next few weeks, please take time to look at courses and qualifications on the college websites and help your child establish what pathway they would like to take.
Year 9
Congratulations to the 64 Year 9 Ambassadors who have supported the Year 6 Transition Programme. You have been amazing role models for our new Year 7 students and have shown excellent leadership skills throughout our taster evenings and transition days. We are very proud of you.
Year 8
On Monday 14th July, you will all be having a 1 hour workshop led by Keele University and in association with Higher Horizons on ‘jobs of the future’. This is part of your careers learning journey. Parents/Carers please use the website to engage with your child on potential career pathways – www.boteler.org.uk/careers
Uniform Donations
Our PE department is welcoming donations of PE kit. If you have any items you can donate, please could they be dropped off at the PE department or brought to the main reception.
In addition to PE kit, we are welcoming donations of the following items of uniform.
-skirts
-bags
-blazers
-ties
–barely worn school shoes
These can be left in the box outside the main reception.
Please can we ask that any donated items be clean.
Shaping the Future – We Want Your Input
As we look ahead to next year’s Parent Forum calendar, we want to hear from you. This year, many of our forum topics were chosen directly based on parent feedback and it made a huge difference to attendance, relevance and engagement.
We believe parents are our partners in education and we want next year’s events to reflect what matters most to you. Whether it’s support with curriculum, wellbeing, digital safety, or something else entirely, your voice helps shape the experience for all families in our school community.
Please complete the form below to select the topics you would like to see and share your ideas.
https://forms.office.com/e/sQs3dLYBvJ
Wellbeing ambassadors at Warrington youth zone
Our Wellbeing Ambassadors recently visited Warrington Youth Zone to tour the facilities and learn more about the support they provide for young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Inspired by what they saw, the Ambassadors returned full of ideas on how to apply these insights to better support our students. The students are excited to begin implementing these ideas within our school community.
Scholastic Book Fair – Friday 11th to Wednesday 16th July
We are delighted to inform you that we will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair in the school library from Friday, 11th July until Wednesday, 16th July.
The fair will contain a wide range of books, including many recently published titles, which are especially suitable for students across all year groups. Many of the books will be on offer at discounted prices.
Students in Year 7 – 9 will have the opportunity to visit the book fair during English lessons. Please see reverse to see when your child will visit the book fair. Further, we encourage parents and carers to attend the book fair along with your child on Friday, 11th, Monday, 14th and Tuesday, 15th July between 15:00 – 16:30. Please complete the form to confirm your attendance: https://forms.office.com/e/sL36rmgaWj
Books can be purchased directly from the fair using cash, card or QR payment. Where titles sell out, orders can be placed for books including any that are discounted. All purchases or orders for books must be paid for at the fair.
Please be aware that all purchases from the book fair will be from Scholastic and not Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School. Therefore, iPay cannot be used to pay for items at this event. Should you wish to use your child’s Free School Meals voucher, please contact the relevant Head of Year who will confirm this.
I hope that you will be able to support your child if they wish to purchase a book and that you find the service of value and that it helps your child to further develop their reading skills and love of reading.
Science STEM Visit
Last week, 30 Year 9 students visited Priestley College for a wonderful STEM trip full of excitement and new experiences.
During the morning, students observed and explored how forensic science works when solving crimes. Liverpool University forensic department had a number of workshops where the students could to apply their crime solving skills.
Firstly, using modelling, they had to analyse a 3-storey building looking for clues to the crime in different locations: what was missing, what had been moved, what shouldn’t be there, was there blood splattering, any DNA to be found? All questions were asked and answered.
Then on to the DNA that was recovered and DNA sequencing. Students were tasked to find a match from a suspect’s DNA to DNA found at the crime scene. They had to analyse the DNA samples and come up with a DNA sequence, and see if they got a match. If a match was found, then they had their criminal.
Finally students had to analyse blood samples from a crime scene, and split the blood into its various components, looking at the ratios of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. From this information, students then had to identify how many different people the samples had come from, and who they were.
Then putting all the evidence together, I am sorry to report … it was the Grandmother who did it!
Next, the students learnt about code instructions for drone operating. Here, groups of 2 – 3 were given the task of programming a drone flight. When the students had all got used to the operating sequencing, then it was a time for the game of noughts and crosses. Could to teams get a straight line by landing the drones on the target from remote programming? Victory was a long and hard-fought battle!
After a tour of the college to show our students what college life is like, they then went into a careers fair to meet representatives from over 50 employers and Universities from all over the North of England. We were thrilled with the maturity our students showed in engaging with all of the institutions at the event, getting the most out of what was on offer.
TCAT Debate Day Success
A group of outstanding Year 9 students from Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School recently took part in the TCAT Debate Day at Priestley College. Our students represented the school with confidence and maturity beyond their years. The day began with a series of workshops led by staff and college students, where students learned and practised key debating skills including structuring arguments, rebuttal techniques, and persuasive speaking.
In the afternoon, the real challenge began as our students went head-to-head with Year 10 and college students in a series of competitive debates. Despite being the youngest team involved, they progressed all the way to the final, impressing judges with their teamwork, clarity, and powerful delivery. Emily W stood out as one of the best debaters of the day, praised for her confident speaking, excellent projection, and mature presence. The whole team were fantastic ambassadors of our school’s values and truly embodied our motto: high expectations, high aspirations, high standards.
ROAR Programme
The ROAR (Russell Group or Alternative Ready) programme officially finished today, our Year 10 students have enjoyed it greatly and done exceptionally well. As part of the programme students developed their debating, critical thinking and writing skills over 6 sessions with Melanie from Priestley college. They each completed a written project under the title “Is Humanity destroying its future?” These were marked and graded at university standard, and all 21 of our participating students passed! As part of the programme they have also learned about Russell Group universities and began to consider if they’d be interested in applying to them in the future. We want our students to be as aspirational as possible, and both Melanie and the staff here at school have been incredibly impressed by the students’ ability to motivate themselves and complete this project in their own time. We had a final celebration today where students received their project grades. Mr Koltan attended to congratulate them personally on their fantastic achievement and reinforced the importance of achievements like these to set our students apart when it comes to applying for college and beyond. We want to thank Melanie for all her work with the students over the last few months and once again a massive well done to our ROAR graduates!”
Dance Show – Meadowside at the Musicals!
On Monday and Tuesday this week, our Dance students performed in the Meadowside Primary School show, Meadowside at the Musicals! We were invited to perform during both parts of the show alongside their students. Boteler Stage Design created some car props to be used during a dance based on the musical La La Land, and our dancers also performed to a medley of songs from The Lion King.
Warrington Town FC
Warrington Town are recruiting players for its U14’s Junior Premier League squad for the 2025/2026 season, with a trial to be held on Sunday 6th July.
This team enjoyed a fine campaign in the Junior Premier League last season and are looking to add players to strengthen the squad.
Under 14s will be school Year 9 from September 2025.
If you are aware of any high-level players specifically within your current Year 8 football teams who would be interested to trial and who are seeking a new challenge for their Saturday football, please feel free to share the following link with them and their parents and request they submit details of the player.
Warrington Town U14’s Trial Submission form
