In this issue:
Years 1 and 2 sneak out to Studland!
Year 3 camp overnight at school
Years 5 and 6 enjoy the shade in CAVE
Success on a National level in Athletics
Pre-Prep Sports Day images from last week
Sailing for Fun at Spinnaker Lakes and more!
Dear Parents,
Like many of you reading this, I spent yesterday evening in the company of parents, colleagues and proud siblings in the school hall watching “The Wizard of Oz”. As I mentioned at the conclusion of the performance, the children were simply outstanding: they did you, Mrs Wilde, and the school, proud. What in particular stood out for me was the way in which they all came together to work as a group; the different personalities in the cast entwined in such a way as to create a wonderful result.
This reflected the assembly that I led on Monday We conducted then discussed the coke and mentos experiment (luckily no-one was too close to the action!); how while one thing or person is powerful on their own, when combined with the power of others, the outcome can be really dramatic and transformative. At Castle Court, our family is so strong because of the way pupils, staff and parents work together, creating a powerful bond. This partnership is something that means so much to me
This week’s Newsletter is fittingly full of examples of unity and cohesion: the Sailing for Fun group have gelled over the past few weeks and have made strong progress; Years 1 and 2 were able to have such fun together on the beach at Studland; Year 3 absolutely leapt to the challenges set for them at their overnight camp. These children will be our leaders in future years and we can’t wait to see how they come together further, how their bonds will strengthen further and what they will go on to achieve.
As we look to next week, we have lots of ‘lasts’ for those leaving us on Wednesday: the leavers’ service, the Year 8 fair, their last Speech Day, their last bus trips, last lessons in each subject. It can be difficult to break the bonds that have been formed: in some cases, our leavers have been part of our Castle Court family since their second birthday As they move on to the next chapter of their lives, my wish is that the bonds that have been created here will stand the test of time. Our leavers will always be Castellans and we will continue to cheer them on and be there for them if they need us
As this is the final Newsletter of the term, and indeed the academic year, all that remains is for me to wish you all a restful summer holiday. I look forward to celebrating this year as a whole family on Wednesday at Speech day
With best wishes,
Katie
16:15 No Activities: TEA and PREP available
Monday 07-Jul-25
Tuesday 08-Jul-25
18:00 Leavers' Event
08:35 Move-Up Morning (Yr 3-7)
08:35 Gideons Assembly (for leavers in Years 6, 7 and 8)
11:00 Speech Day Rehearsal / End of Term Prizes and Awards 14:15
Year 8 Fete
Year 8 will be running a small fete outside the main hall and the younger children will be taken to see the stalls during the afternoon If you would like your child to be able to purchase items from the stalls, please send them in with a maximum of £5 in change in a named envelope/purse
16:15 No Activities: TEA and PREP available
Speech Day
Wednesday 09-Jul-25 10:30
The celebratory service will begin at 10 30am and will likely finish around 12.30pm. All children in Reception to year 8 will be included, with the Pre-Prep children being led in whilst the service is underway Refreshments will be available for parents on the terrace of Knoll House from 9.45am. Due to the heat in the marquee and the length of the service, we advise no dogs on this occasion please.
Nursery children will remain in their classrooms and will be available for pick-up from the Pre-Prep entrance at the conclusion of the service.
Thursday 10-Jul-25 09:00 INSET Day - No children should attend on this day
TermDatesfor2025-2026
The term dates for next year are on our website; please click HERE
The return date after the summer break is Wednesday3September.
ANotefromour
FinancialController,MrsBall: Ifyourchildisleavingusnextweek, leaversbillsaresentoutduring August,andwillincludedeposit returnsandchargesforanyextras thathavebeenincurredduringthe Summerterm.Ifarefundisdueback toyou,wewillrequestyourbank details.Ifapaymentisdue,wewillask forthistobepaidbyBACS.
Freeparenting magazine!
OldSportsKit
If you have any old sports kit at home, please do bring it in to the office; we have a home for it in Africa.
LittleNinjas
Do you have a child in Reception, Year 1 or 2?
AutumnTerm2025
While we will aim to get a full parent calendar out to you as soon as possible, here is a sneaky peek at what we have lined up for you in the Autumn Term:
We have a few spaces remaining in our Little Ninjas class on Saturdays at 9am in the Sports Hall.
Call Sensei Ben on 07801730097 to arrange a free try out!
Wednesday3September - return to school. Tea and prep will be available. Buses will run as normal
Thursday4September - early morning activities begin At the end of the day, tea and prep will be available and buses will run as normal.
Friday5September - tea and prep will be available Buses will run as normal.
Monday8September - School photographs will be taken. After school activities will begin.
Tuesday9andWednesday10September - Fixtures begin
Friday12September - Castle Court Food Festival - 7pm
Monday15September - Scholarship Information Evening
Tuesday16September - Community Choir resumes from 830am
Thursday2October - Harvest Festival - 2pm
Friday12December - Carol Service at Wimborne Minster
andpupilscricketmatchonTuesday8Julyfrom5.30pmon theMWfield.Therewillbea£10chargeperfamilytocovera BBQanddrinks. Toregisteryourinterest, clickHERE .
Congratulations to the CCS Mini Handball team, who competed in a Beach Handball Event last week
They won all six of their games, some by as much as 11 goals! This made them the overall winners for Years 3 and 4
Well done, team!
Congratulations to Maddie, Finley and Jack, who represented Wessex and CCS at the National Prep Schools’ Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
Finley came 8 in the U13 discuss, Maddie came 11 in the U13 1500m and 8 in the U13 javelin, and Jack came 9 in the U12 discus and 15 in the U12 javelin th th th th th
These are fantastic achievements and we are very proud of them.
Well done!
We hope you enjoy this little selection of pictures of Sports Day last week A huge thank you to Mr FermorDunman, Mrs Major and the whole Sports team for all their hard work in making this day possible
Years 1 and 2 ended their learning on Oceans with a trip to Studland this week!
Thank you to all the PrePrep team for making this such a wonderful day.
A very excited but a little nervous pack of Year 3s descended upon the school grounds late last week for their overnight camp
A huge thank you to Mrs Baugniet and Mr Bambrey and their team for leading the children in camp songs, early morning swims and not to mention the cooked breakfast!
Some sleep was had by everyone and we’re sure they can’t wait to do it all again in Year 4!
Our Sailing for Fun crew are the apple of Mrs Hoey’s eye: they make her smile every week with the progress that they’ve made and the fun that they have together on the water
Well done, crew!
Years 5 and 6 were set some team building challenges this week in CAVE time, and also made the most of the opportunity to find some shade and cool off!
Mrs Gallop, our Head of Science, was delighted to welcome the Head of Chemistry from Canford School, Gary Shaw, this week.
Gary spoke to the Year 7 children who have been identified as potential academic scholars Their additional science lessons to prepare them for their scholarships started this term and will run until the scholarship exams next Spring. He was here to explain his expectations, particularly in terms of the random practical paper which each child will be assigned. It was so helpful for the children.. and very reassuring for Mrs Gallop that she is on the right track!
A huge thank you again to all parents, siblings and wider family members who supported our wonderful cast as they put together
The Wizard of Oz.
As Mrs Johnson said on the night, these kinds of productions are only possible at Castle Court because of the support of our families.
Thank you for all the Saturday rehearsals, after school rehearsals, line learning and any singing/dancing that you’ve had to do at home! It really is very much appreciated
MONDAY14THJULYUNTILFRIDAY18THJULY,9-3pm
(Early and late pick ups available on request)
As our new holiday course providers, Foundation Sports, are not able to offer holiday provision until Monday 21st July, our CCS team are excited to be able to host a five day holiday course during the first week of the summer holiday for children from Badger Cubs to Year 8.
The cost of the course is £35 per child per day
BadgerCubstoYear2
This will be led by Mrs Speer and members of the Pre-Prep team. The five days will be full of creative fun, friendship and laughter
Year3toYear8
Led by Mr Fermor-Dunman, this will be a hockey training camp each morning mixture of multi-sport and fun activities each afternoon A chance for you to d hockey skills, tactical awareness and general hockey fitness.
Ifyouwouldliketoknowmore, please email: Mrs Speer (lspeer@castlecourtcom) or Mr Fermor-Dunman (afermor-dunman@castlecourt.com)
We are delighted to announce that Foundation Sports and Play will be managing our holiday provision from July 2025
They are a highly experienced company who currently offer before and after school provision, as well as holiday provision, in a number of schools across the local area
Their provision will run from Monday21stJulyuntilFriday29thAugust andwillbeopentoallchildrenaged3-13
The activities on offer will be varied: a mixture of sport (from multisports to swimming), dance art and crafts making full use of our lovely 50 acre estate. The children will be based at two locations in the school, with the older ones in the Jubilee block and the younger children in the Badgers/Badger Cub area
You will be able to book for ad-hoc days, or full time; whatever works best for your family.
Foundation Sports and Play will then run further provision eachhalfterm,plusduringtheChristmasandEaster holidays. They are able to offer wraparoundcarefrom8.00am,andifyouwouldlikeit,ahotlunch.
IfyouwouldliketoregisteryourinterestinthesummerprovisionthenpleaseuseTHISLINK.
We hope that this exciting opportunity will prove to be a great help to you as you plan your child care for the summer months.
This year’s task is to createanA3posterexploringatleastoneisland: its location its people its places its environments
The poster can be handmade (then submitted electronically using a scanned copy or photograph), or made electronically using PowerPoint, Canva, Word, Publisher or PDF.
WhataretheRoyalGeographicalSociety lookingfor?
Eye-catching, innovative, informative and accurate submissions.
A well-written and informative piece that demonstrates geographical knowledge and uses accurate geographical terminology
Any images used must be copyright free – you may choose to visit an island and take your own images
All images must be credited. Excellent attention to spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Original and independently produced - class sets of identical entries or entries which have copied information from other sources, such as the internet or AI, will not be accepted
Entries must be produced by single pupils – no group entries allowed.
If produced electronically, please use a minimum font size of point 10
Entries must not be 3D or have tabs or hidden information.
Ideasforislands:
Local- Brownsea Island, Green Island, Long Island, Isle of Portland
National- Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly, Lundy Island, Scottish Islands, Islands on Lakes, Isle of Man
Global- Remote Islands (Artic/Antarctic), Tropical Islands (Pacific, Caribbean, Coral Reefs), Holiday Islands, Islands for defence...
Howtoenter:
All entries must be made as an online submission via the RGS website: https://www.rgs.org/ygoty2025.
The deadline for doing this is 3 October 2025; however, the RGS recommend submitting them in good time before this date.
Whocanenter?:
There is a category for Key Stage 2 (pupils aged 7-11) and for Key Stage 3 (pupils aged 11-14)
Badger Cubs
Class Teachers / Form Tutors
Mrs Genge | Mrs Tomblin
Badgers Mrs Bartlett | Mrs Wilson
Reception Mrs Brewer | Mrs Speer
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Nursery
Pre-Prep
Years 3&4
Years 5&6
Mrs Dobson | Mrs Zachariades
Mr Antell | Mrs Glenn/Mrs Hellyer
Mrs Baugniet | Mr Bambrey
Dr Lippiatt/Mrs Deards | Mr Laidler
Mr Mills/Mrs Vivian | Mrs Miller/Miss Sinclair-Smith
Mrs Rule/Mrs Major | Mr Fermor-Dunman/Mrs Hoey
Mr Jordan/Mrs Harmer | Mrs Lea/Mr Cheadle
Mr Phillips/Ms Thompson | Mrs Gallop/Mr Smith
Section Leaders
Miss Hixson
Mr Antell
Mr Laidler
Mrs Munns
Years 7&8 Ms Thompson
Heads of Department
English Ms Thompson
Maths Mrs Miller
Science Mrs Gallop
History Mrs Rule
Geography Mrs Hoey
CAVE Mrs Hoey
Music Mr Smith
Art Miss Sinclair-Smith
DT Mr Phillips
Sport Mr Fermor-Dunman
Yourfirstpointofcontact foranydaytoday questionsandenquiries relatedtoyourchild(ren)is theirtutororclass teacher.
Leadership Team
Mr Dunsford Assistant Head (Pastoral)
Mr Edmond Assistant Head (Operations)
Mrs Hoey Head of CAVE
Mrs Munns Director of Teaching & Learning
Mrs Robson Admissions & Marketing
SENDCo
Mrs Harmer
Absences:
Please report absences to the School Office on office@castlecourtcom or by telephone to 01202 694438
MrsJohnson:
To make an appoointment to see Mrs Johnson, please contact her PA, Hannah, on hmsec@castlecourt.com or use the telephone number above.