Dear Parents and Carers
I cannot stress enough how important regular attendance and punctuality are to your child’s success at school.
We recognise that there have been some particularly unpleasant illnesses circulating recently, and we completely understand that there will be occasions when a child is genuinely too unwell to attend school. However, where your child is well enough to be in school, we ask that every effort is made to ensure they attend. Every day and every lesson matters.
Punctuality is equally important. Being in school on time and arriving promptly to every lesson is not simply about meeting expectations; it is about ensuring that our young people do not miss valuable learning, instructions and opportunities to succeed. Please have a conversation with your child about the importance of being in school, being on time and making the very most of every opportunity available to them.
We would hate for any young person to miss out on the experiences that make school such an important part of their lives — whether that is rewards, trips, enrichment opportunities or, for our Year 11 students, their much-anticipated Prom. Good attendance really does make a difference.
We also ask that, wherever possible, routine medical, dental and other appointments are arranged outside of the school day. We fully appreciate that this is not always possible, particularly when it comes to hospital or specialist appointments, and of course we will always work with families where appointments genuinely cannot be avoided. However, even a short absence from school can mean a young person misses important learning, and teachers then have to spend valuable time helping them to catch up.
Our young people need to be in their lessons, with their subject experts, so that they can build their knowledge securely and avoid gaps developing in their learning. Being in school, being on time and being ready to learn are some of the simplest but most powerful things we can do to support future success.
This is not about attendance figures for the sake of attendance figures. It is about life chances. The more consistently a young person attends school, the more opportunities they have to learn, participate, build relationships, experience success and achieve their potential. We all want the very best for our young people, and this is an area where school and home working together can make a significant difference.
A huge thank you to our Boteler Family
On a much more celebratory note, we have had an incredibly successful Open Evening this week, and I would like to say a huge thank you to all of our parents and carers for the wonderful support you continue to give our school.
The feedback we received was incredibly positive, and it was fantastic to see so many families engaging with our school community and hearing about the many strengths of our Boteler Family. I know that many of you are already incredibly supportive of the school, and I want you to know how much that is appreciated. Our continued success is very much a collective effort, and you are a hugely important part of that success.
We are incredibly proud of our young people, our staff and our wider school community, and we continue to go from strength to strength. Thank you for everything you do to support your children and for working alongside us to ensure that they have the very best possible opportunities.
Together, we can make sure that every young person is present, engaged, supported and able to make the most of every opportunity that comes their way.
Beverley Scott-Herron
Headteacher
Thank you for your continued support regarding mobile phones. Please be reminded of the link to our Mobile Phone Policy, which also includes expectations regarding smart watches:
https://app.iamcompliant.com/policy/preview/112217/lQIzVxeEeozH6DxD
Success Outside of School
If your child is involved in activities, events or clubs outside of school that we should know about, we would love to hear about their achievements. We are always keen to celebrate our students’ successes and recognise their talents beyond the classroom.
We are fortunate to have so many outstanding young people whose commitment, dedication and accomplishments make them excellent role models for their peers. Sharing these success stories helps to inspire others and allows us to celebrate the wider contributions our students make within the community.
Keeping Contact Information Up to Date
To help us safeguard all students effectively, it is essential that we have at least two up-to-date emergency contacts recorded for every child. There may be occasions when we need to contact a parent or carer urgently due to illness, an emergency, or a safeguarding concern during the school day. Having more than one available contact helps ensure we can reach someone quickly when needed.
If any of your contact details have changed recently, or if you are unsure whether we hold two emergency contacts for your child, please contact the school office so we can update our records or amend on the Arbor App. Thank you for helping us keep our students safe.
RSE Policy
The updated RSE policy in line with new Statutory guidelines can be found here: https://app.iamcompliant.com/policy/preview/7462/WBMpJcLGKwfdpbJn?organisation_slug=1562184198
Year 7 on their thoughts regarding transition and their time at school so far: https://youtu.be/1vXQloWpBPg
If you have a child in Year 6 and would like a tour of our school please email transition@boteler.org.uk
Year 11 should be deciding on which college to attend next September. Their applications need to be completed before December and they should be attending Open Evenings to help them decide.
Priestley College: Priestley College Warrington – Sixth Form College
Cronton College: Welcome to Cronton Sixth Form College
Riverside College: Riverside College – Widnes & Runcorn – Further Education
Warrington & Vale Royal College: Part Time College Courses | Warrington & Vale Royal College
Myerscough College: Warrington
Carmel College: Home – Sixth Form College – Carmel College
If you would like a careers meeting with our career’s advisor and your child, please email amawby@boteler.org.uk
House Pop Up Challenges
Viribus hosted our first Pop-Up Challenge, led by Apoorva Manu and Mrs Tarry. A huge success for our very first Pop-Up Challenge this year! It was amazing to see everyone getting involved, having fun and bringing such great energy. A massive thank you to everyone who took part and helped make it so special!
Please find our Boteler Enrichment programme here: Enrichment Programme – Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School
A Strong Start – Let’s Keep the Momentum Going
We have made a really positive start to the new academic year, and it has been fantastic to see our students returning to school with enthusiasm and commitment.
Our attendance during the first full week was very encouraging, but the message this week is simple: we need to maintain this momentum.
Good attendance is one of the most important things we can do to support our students’ progress. Every day in school provides valuable opportunities to learn, develop confidence, build friendships and receive support from teachers.
Every Day Counts – Don’t Lose Learning
Our Attendance Matters message highlights just how quickly missed lessons can add up.
At 99% attendance, a student has already missed around 5 lessons. At 97%, this rises to around 25 lessons, and at 90% attendance, approximately 90 lessons have been missed.
This is why we encourage every family to make attendance a priority wherever possible.
Every lesson shapes your future.
Where there are difficulties affecting your child’s attendance, please speak to us. We want to work with families to identify barriers and provide the appropriate support.
Celebrating 100% Attendance
It was also fantastic to celebrate students who have started the year with 100% attendance.
This week, we held a live attendance draw, with five students randomly selected from those who had achieved 100% attendance. It was brilliant to recognise their commitment to being in school every day and give them the opportunity to be rewarded for their excellent attendance.
Congratulations to our five winners – and well done to every student who has achieved 100% attendance so far.
Let’s keep going!
Boteler Rewards – Ready to Learn
Our first Boteler Rewards focus of the year continues this fortnight:
READY TO LEARN
We are looking for students who consistently demonstrate excellent routines and are prepared for learning.
This means:
Arriving at lessons on time
Bringing the correct equipment
Getting settled quickly
Demonstrating a positive start to learning
Being prepared and ready to participate
These small habits make a big difference. Being ready to learn means students can make the most of every lesson and maximise their opportunities to succeed.
Teachers will be recognising students who demonstrate these behaviours, with some fantastic rewards available throughout the term.
Are you Ready to Learn?
Make sure you arrive on time, have everything you need and start every lesson positively.
Be Ready. Be Engaged. Be Rewarded.
Working Together with Families
The start of a new academic year is an important opportunity to establish strong routines at home and at school.
We encourage parents and carers to support their children by:
Establishing a consistent bedtime and morning routine.
Checking that equipment and uniform are ready the night before.
Encouraging children to arrive at school on time.
Talking positively about school and the importance of learning.
Checking Arbor regularly for attendance, achievements and communication from school.
When school and home work together, our students are better placed to succeed.
Our Focus This Week
High attendance.
Strong routines.
Ready to learn.
Positive engagement.
It was great to recognise those students who have achieved 100% attendance so far this year. These students were selected at random from each year group from those with full attendance. This is a real positive start to the academic year. Friday morning also provided a great opportunity to recognise those students who earned a breakfast reward for receiving the highest number of house points through consistently being ready to learn. We now move into the final week of the form attendance challenge, with the winning form receiving donuts as their reward.
Here are the current standings so far:
Year 7:
- 7 Viribus (RLA) – 98.6%
- 7 Molitiam (CBR) – 96.8%
- 7 Arbitrium (RHU) – 95.7%
Year 8:
- 8 Arbitrium (EHO) – 94.8%
- 8 Veritas (AAR) – 93.0%
- 8 Honoris (DSU) – 92.7%
Year 9:
- 9 Molitiam (BGO) – 92.4%
- 9 Virtus (ASA) – 92.6%
- 9 Viribus (LCH) – 91.4%
Year 10:
- 10 Molitiam (HPO) – 96.1%
- 10 Honoris (FBL) – 86.4%
- 10 Viribus (KEL) – 89.2%
Year 11:
- 11 Arbitrium (ACA) – 92.8%
- 11 Honoris (HMA) – 92.4%
- 11 Veritas (UMO) – 92.1%
Ethos Council
This week students from the Ethos Council took part in the ‘Peace in our village’ walk around Latchford in collaboration with the local churches. They began from Christ Church visiting different areas of the village and ending with reflections at the prayer tent at Latchford Methodist Church. The Worship Ambassadors led prayers they had written themselves throughout the walk and joined in saying the Peace Prayer.
It was a wonderful way for students to be involved in the Latchford community.
If you would like to take a moment to pray for Peace, please consider this reflection:
Music Department
Boteler is a school that sings. We have three different clubs for young singers, each tailored to the wants and needs of teenage voices during their voice change.
- Boys Singing is for lads in years 7 to 9, and they rehearse on Tuesdays in week A and Mondays in week B during morning registration.
- Girls singing is for girls in years 7-9 and they rehearse on Mondays in week A and Tuesdays in week B.
- Vox One is the school’s elite choir, open to students in year 9, 10, and 11. They rehearse after school on Tuesdays, and lead the school through numerous high-profile events like inauguration, our carol service, and remembrance Sunday. They also regularly steal the show at our biannual ‘TCAT Performs’ concerts.
For more information, or to take part, please visit Mr McCombs in R4b. Students are rewarded with House Points for attending.
