Castle Court School: Newsletter: 17.10.25

Newsletter 17 October 2025

In this edition: Sailing is back!

Awesome Autumn Day in the Pre-Prep Football and Hockey galore as we welcome Sherborne Sugarcraft and their woodland creations Cooking Club tackle Rocky Road!

Head’s Note Dear Parents, As the golden hues of autumn cast their magic over our school estate, it is a wonderful reminder of the beauty of change and the rhythm of the seasons. As William Cullen Bryant said, ‘Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.’ In Pre-Prep, pupils have certainly been making the most of Autumn, creating art from natural resources, enjoying campfires with toasted marshmallows and looking splendid in their Autumn-coloured clothes.

It was wonderful to be able to share in this joy on Thursday for the sponsored walk around the grounds in aid of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us, it was lovely to catch up and enjoy the benefits of being outside in nature.

The older children have been busy too, with our Year 8 pupils attending Canford Model United Nations on Monday, where a number of our pupils received certificates. Our senior pupils have shown great servant leadership this week supporting our younger pupils in their Autumn events as well as helping to welcome visitors and parents to the school.

Today, I had the pleasure of welcoming 34 pupils from local primary schools to enjoy a Performing Arts Day on the theme of Matilda and culminating in a concert to their parents this afternoon. Servant leadership is at the heart of our school and seeing the joy on the children’s faces as they performed on the stage today filled me with pride and a deep sense of gratitude for all that this school does.

A reminder that next Wednesday we will be breaking up for our half-term holiday. Half-term offers a valuable pause to enjoy time with family and friends and appreciate the beauty of this season.

Whether your plans involve travel, quiet moments at home or simple walks in the countryside, I hope this break brings you joy and an opportunity to recharge. I look forward to us all returning full of energy and with a renewed enthusiasm for all the delights that await – is it too early to mention Christmas and Nativities yet?!

Dear Mrs Johnson, On behalf of Corfe Mullen Foodbank, please give a very heartfelt thank you to all at your school who gave items for us in your Harvest Festival. Your school has been so constant in the support it has given us in so many different ways, and without your help we would struggle to meet the increasing needs of local families. Our shelves were looking rather empty so the Harvest gifts were so welcome.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Ann Blake Foodbank Volunteer

Best wishes, Katie

P.S. I was delighted to receive this note from the Corfe Mullen Foodbank this week. A huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who was able to donate at Harvest.

Head’s Awards Head’s Awards are given out every Friday morning in assembly to children nominated by their class teacher or form tutor; the reasons for these are many and varied, including outstanding effort, overcoming difficulty, or helping a friend in need. A huge congratulations for their efforts goes to…

RECB

Emily

RECS

Alora

1H

Charles

1Z

Olivia

2A

Rosie

2GH

Olivia

3D

Claudia

3M

Jessie

4D

Archie

4M

Hannah

5D

Freddie

5M

Max

6D

Jasper

6M

George

7D

Kobe

8D

Poppy

8M

Teddy

Parent Calendar

for the next two weeks Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

20 Oct

21 Oct

22 Oct

16:00

Nursery Parents' Evening

16:30

Year 3&4 Parents' Evening

08:30

Community Choir, Family Lounge

14:15

Years 3&4 matches with Yarrells

16:30

Years 1 & 2 Parents' Evening

09:00

Flu Vaccinations (Rec-Yr8), Hall

09:30

Charlie's Chimps, Family Lounge

14:15

Years 5&6 Boys' & Girls' Football vs Yarrells

14:15

Years 7&8 Boys' & Girls' Football vs BCS

Emails have be en sent the par to ents inv o l v ed. If yo need a u ny help , please contac t the He ad’s PA Hannah , , on hmsec @castle court.c or via 0 om 1202 69 4438.

Half-Term starts on Thursday 23 October for all children.

School returns after the break on Monday 3 November.

Monday Tuesday

Wednesday

Friday

03 Nov 04 Nov

05 Nov

07 Nov

08:15

Half Term Ends - Everyone returns to school today!

08:30

Community Choir, Family Lounge

14:15

Years 3&4 matches with Durlston & West Hill Park

09:30

Charlie's Chimps, Family Lounge

14:15

Years 5-8 Boys' Football & Girls' Hockey vs Durlston & West Hill Park

08:30

Parent Payer Group, Boardroom

We have made some amendments to the Parent Calendar that was sent out at the beginning of term. To view an up to date version, please click HERE. We will keep updating this link as arrangements for events are confirmed.

Remembrance Day

This year, Remembrance Day falls on Tuesday 11 November.

Year 8 will be visiting classes and tutor groups during registration times and break times to sell poppies on the following dates: Thursday 6 November - Years 7 and 8 Friday 7 November - Years 5 and 6 Monday 10 November - Years 3 and 4 Tuesday 11 November - Pre-Prep If you would like your child to wear a poppy, please send them in with a donation on the appropriate day.

For Pre-Prep, please ensure that change is placed in a named envelope or purse and handed to the class teacher.

There will be a whole-school act of remembrance on Tuesday 11 November for staff and children.

Parent Noticeboard Smartphones/Smartwatches Please can we remind parents that per our e-safety policy, any phone or Smartwatch that can take photos, play music or has cellular access must be signed into the office at the start of the day and can only be returned when leaving the school.

They should not be used on the minibuses. Parents of children who move between households and may need a phone or device as a matter of routine should seek permission from Mr Dunsford.

Old Sports Kit, Phones and Tablets We have a parent who has very kindly offered to collect any old sports kit, phones or tablets, and donate them to a charity helping families in Uganda. If you have items to donate, please do bring them to the school office and they can be collected from there.

It’s Triathlon time again!

The event will take place in May 2026, so there is plenty of time to sign up. The link that you need to do so is HERE.

UK Schools Biathlon Castle Court pupils have a history of enjoying this event. It is for pupils in Year 3 upwards and the entry link is HERE. The event comprises a 25m swim and a 400m run, both of which can be practised in school by signing up through SOCS to early morning running or swimming.

The two qualifying events are at Millfield - Sunday 23 November (entries close on 2 November) or Leweston - 30 November (entries close on 17 November).

Unfortunately, we are not able to enter as a school so if your child would like to take part, please use the above link to register them.

Fresh Air Club are delighted to offer Holiday Clubs over the October halfterm. If you are interested, please do click on the image below.

Please click on the image to book!

Pre-Prep

Awesome Autumn Day On Wendnesday, the Pre-Prep children assembled in Forest School to work in teams aged from 2-7 years, producing some fabulous Andy Goldsworthy inspired Art from natural resources.

It was a wonderful day with campfires, toasted marshmallows and hot chocolate. The children looked great in their Autumn-coloured clothes.

CLICK ON THE LEAF TO SEE OUR VIDEO!!

Sailing:

Back at Spinnaker Lakes It was great to see our Sailing Squad back on the water this week after a couple of weeks of rest: and they had a lovely afternoon for it on Thursday!

Sugarcraft:

Woodland Creations Mrs Glenn and her little group of Sugarcrafters have been working on creating woodland scenes. The latest addition this week was badgers! The next steps are white spots on the toadstools, a carpet of deciduous leaves on the forest floor and a velvet ribbon around the cake board to set them off!

Junior Sport Year 4 welcomed Sherborne School to CCS this Tuesday, for an afternoon of football!

Congratulations to everyone for playing so well: we won EVERY GAME!!

Thank you to Miss T, who captured all the photos, and to the Sports team for organising everything.

A huge well done to Kingsley in Year 3, who was selected to play at Southampton Academy last weekend - and wore his CCS top proudly, too.

Senior Sport

Senior Sport on Wednesday saw us welcoming teams from Sherborne School to CCS for both football and hockey.

A wonderful afternoon of Sport was had by all, followed of course by match tea!

A huge thank you to Miss T for capturing some awesome moments, and to the Sport department for making it all possible.

Junior Earthshot

Competition: Years 5&6

Canford School are running their annual Canford Earthshot Prize Competition, aimed at children in Years 5 and 6.

Step 1: Which of these issues do you feel passionate about?

Step 2: Follow these instructions carefully.

Step 3: Either submit your entry to Canford directly, or bring your entry into school and ask Mrs Chudley, Head of Geography, to submit it for you.

Holiday Provision: October Half-Term

Half Term Holiday Course bookings are open!

Foundation Sports are holding their holiday courses at Castle Court this half term.

If you would like to know more, please contact Foundation Sports using the details provided.

If you would like to book your child a place, please click on the image.

Key Contacts at school

Class Teachers / Form Tutors Badger Cubs Mrs Genge | Mrs Tomblin Badgers

Mrs Bartlett | Mrs Wilson

Reception

Mrs Brewer | Mrs Speer

Year 1

Mrs Hanger | Mrs Zachariades/Mrs Wheildon

Year 2

Mr Antell | Mrs Hellyer/Mrs Glenn

Year 3

Mrs Baugniet | Mr Bambrey

Year 4

Dr Lippiatt/Mrs Deards | Mr Laidler

Year 5

Mrs Vivian | Mrs Miller

Year 6

Mrs Rule | Mr Jordan

Year 7

Mrs Lea

Year 8

Mr Phillips | Ms Thompson

Section Leaders

You r firs tp for a oint of c onta ques ny day ct t o da tions y relat a ed to nd enq uirie your is th c eir tu hild( s ren) tor o r c lass teac her.

Leadership Team

Nursery

Mrs McSorley

Mr Edmond

Deputy Head

Pre-Prep

Mr Antell

Mr Dunsford

Assistant Head (Pastoral)

Years 3-6

Mrs Munns

Mrs Munns

Director of Teaching & Learning

Years 7&8

Ms Thompson

Mrs Robson

Admissions & Marketing

Heads of Department

SENDCo

English

Ms Thompson

Maths

Mrs Miller

Science

Mrs Gallop

History

Mrs Rule

Geography

Mrs Chudley

French/German Mr Mills Music

Mr Smith

Art

Miss Sinclair-Smith

DT

Mr Phillips

Sport

Mr Fermor-Dunman

Mrs Harmer

Absences : Please rep ort absenc es to the S office@ca chool Offic stlecourt.c e on om or by t elephone to 01202 6 Mrs Johns 94438. on: To make a n appooin tment to s PA, Hanna ee Mrs Jo h, on hms hnson, ple e c@castle ase conta number ab c ourt.com o ct her ove. r use the t elephone