13 June 2025 - Letter to Parents

13th June 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that you have had a great week. We’ve had a good week at Orchard, with another excellent week of attendance to exams, plus exciting trips out to the University of Bath and the University of the West of England (UWE) for our Year 10 students. We also have a trip out to City of Bristol College, a visit in from an expert in helping students become better public speakers and our regular BMX trip to Lawrence Weston. In the next few weeks, we have Geography Field Trips, Transition Day, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition and the Year 11 Prom, not to mention the annual Sports Day!

Key Dates

Prize Giving Evening - Wednesday 18th June 7-8 pm

Y11 Leavers’ Assembly – Thursday 19th June 9.15 – 10.15 am

GCSE Contingency Dates - Wednesday 25th June

Y11 Prom – Thursday 26th June 6.30 pm

Y7 Transition Day - Wednesday 2nd July

Y7 Transition Parents’ meeting – Wednesday 2nd July 5.30 – 6.30 pm

Attendance 

Again, we have seen rates of attendance lower on a Monday and Friday. If you need any support with morning routines and getting your child in in the morning, please contact the school and we will be happy to help.

Just a reminder that basketball and board games are available every morning, along with a free breakfast at 7.50am.

 Attendance winners this week:

7 – Avalon

8 – Avalon

9 – Avalon

10 – Avalon

11 - D2

Attendance and punctuality are the first steps to success

Update from CleverChefs

As you are aware, we do not contract the catering company. We are a PFI school, which means that the site, including catering, is overseen by a company called BAM. Last week, we were made aware of an issue with a sudden charge for toast in breakfast club without consultation or approval from the school for this to take place with immediate effect. Our School Business Manager, Mrs Streeting, has investigated this through BAM and CleverChefs where it was discovered that by error CleverChefs had been providing free toast instead of just providing free porridge which was the offer that was originally agreed at the start of the contract with the catering company. The good news is that Mrs Streeting has agreed with CleverChefs that they will continue to provide a free slice of toast and porridge each day at Breakfast Club and the school will continue to fund the provision of a free bacon roll or beans on toast on a Friday.

Year 11 Lunch Balances

We will be issuing refunds to families for unused lunch balances remaining on Year 11 student accounts. The refunds will be against the card that was used to make the top up payment and will happen automatically after 20th June 2025. If you have another child at the school in a lower year group, any credit or debit balances can be transferred to their account. If you would like to contact us about anything in relation to this, please email sbm@orchard.tila.school.

Year 11 – Exams Information

Attendance to exams this week has been excellent. Next week, our final week, we have:

Safeguarding

There have been incidents involving young people in Bristol in recent weeks that have been well publicised in the local press. To ensure that the police are able to fully investigate these incidents, it is essential that speculation around these incidents is avoided to protect the dignity of those affected. If you would like to share any worries or potential crimes in your area anonymously, you can of course do this via Crimestoppers and Fearless.

Practice Lockdown

We will be holding an unannounced lockdown practice during the week beginning 7th July. Staff and students will be informed, although not of the specific date or time, so they can prepare for this and make sure they are aware of what they need to do should the school need to lock down. It is important that we carry out these types of practices to ensure we are prepared and know what to do in the event of an emergency in the same way as we practise evacuating the building in the event of a fire. You will also receive a text from the school just before the practice, as a gentle reminder that this practice will take place. Please speak to your child about this at home. In the event of a real lockdown, you would of course be notified that it was an actual lockdown, so we just wanted to let you know now in order that you are aware of the practice.

Celebrate Creativity: Join us for our Annual Arts Showcase

Orchard School is thrilled to invite you to our Annual Arts Showcase on Tuesday, July 9th at 6:00 pm.

This special evening is a true celebration of the incredible talent and hard work of our students across multiple artistic disciplines. You will see a collection of captivating musical performances, speeches and readings, as our students share their skills with confidence.

Beyond the live performances, the showcase will also feature a stunning exhibition of artwork on display, where our students' visual creations promise to impress and delight. It's a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the creativity thriving within our school community.

Tickets are priced at just £2 and can be purchased via Arbor. Once purchased, your tickets will be available for collection from the school reception.

Community Events

Wear it With Pride Day- Friday 20th June

To celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride month, Orchard's Pride Club has co-designed a Wear it With Pride Day on Friday 20th June. Staff and students are invited to come to school wearing a brightly coloured, or multi-coloured, item of clothing or accessory. Examples could include socks or tights, a badge, wristbands and hair accessories. We would love to see as many people embracing the day and celebrating our inclusive school as possible!

Bookings are now live for Clifton College’s Summer Holiday Club. The programme includes a fantastic mix of age-appropriate activities for children and young people including activity and creative courses in Textiles, Cookery, Mountain Biking, Football and Street Dance.

Parents can learn more and book here: 

 https://www.ccsl-cliftoncollege.com/holiday-club-and-activities/

Lockleaze community favourite The Vench is looking for kitchen volunteers to join their team. See the flyer below for more details:

For those that like to get ahead, please see the link to our website for our 2025-2026 (next school year’s) term dates. Orchard School - Term Dates & School Day

Have a restful weekend.

Kind regards,

Mel Sweet, Headteacher