14 November - Letter to Parents

14th November 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a good week at Orchard School, where we have celebrated Odd Socks Day which marks Anti-Bullying week, A Girls Get Set for Engineering Masterclass, A Curzon cinema trip, BMX Club, A Bake Sale (for Anti-Bullying week) and an important Year 11 Apprenticeship assembly. Next week, we have a big athletics festival across our Trust, called TilaFest, where we hope (and expect!) to be victorious, Year 11 have a realising talent event with the BBC and we continue our careful build up to the Year 11 mock exams.

We have also had a really positive week in sport, with three separate rugby fixtures in gloomy weather conditions against Redland Green, Trinity and Cotham schools. The resounding win against Trinity on Wednesday was a particular highlight! We also had a great Year 7 and 8 mixed team taking part in Sportshall Athletics against schools across the north of Bristol. Sports Fixtures next week include another three rugby fixtures, an under 14 Boys Basketball Cup game in the Co-Ed Dynamik Schools Cup competition and Under 13 Girls Football in the EFL Cup.

Key Dates

There are some important dates to be aware of this term. Please make sure you put these dates in your diary.

Year 10 Mock Exam Information Evening – Wednesday 20th May 6- 7pm   

Parent Subject Consultation Evenings

The dates for these through the year are as follows:

Year 7 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 23rd April 3.30 – 7pm  

Year 8 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 11th December 3.30 – 7pm   

Year 9 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 19th March 3.30 – 7pm  

Year 10 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 27th November 3.30 – 7pm  

Year 11 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 12th February 3.30 – 7pm  

Please also note the following date: 

Year 9 Options Evening – Thursday 26th February 6 – 7.30pm  

To help parents and children decide together which options subjects/GCSEs they might choose to take over the next two years in school.  

Teaching and Learning/Curriculum

We have been looking at the use of visualisers in lessons and asking teachers to use visualisers to model their thought process. A visualiser is a high-definition camera, usually put on a mount, and used to zoom in on an exam question shown on a piece of paper.

We have also had our Year 11 mock exam information evening. The mock exam timetable will be shared with parents and carersnext week, and individual student copies featuring each student’s specific seat later this month.

Safeguarding

'Togetherness' Pathways is the new name for the 'Solihull' approach which supports mental health and wellbeing in parents, children, school, older adults and high stress workplaces through online training and resources. There are some fantastic free online courses which will help you as a parent to understand your child in greater depth. Some members of the staff community here at Orchard School Bristol have used these courses and have benefitted greatly - this comes highly recommended.

Lockdown Practice – Advance Notice

We will be holding an announced lockdown practice during the week beginning 24th November. Staff and students will be informed, 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 and do not worry unnecessarily about this.

Cleverchefs – School Meals

Overview

Further to our communication on Monday regarding the change in lunch service provision, we have been working closely with the Facilities Management team responsible for this service (BAM) to ensure a smooth transition during the transfer of accounts. This process has proved more complex than anticipated, and we understand the frustration of not being able to view your child’s lunch account. Thank you for your patience whilst we resolve these technical issues. We are aware that some families have been unable to top up their child’s lunch account and have not been able to view the history. Please be reassured that existing balances remain visible at school level. The kitchen and the school will be adjusting the balances to take account of any pre-existing credit, top ups completed and all sales during this transitional period. This is a manual adjustment, and we will work as quickly as possible and send you an update once this is complete. You may then clear any negative balance for food your child has received. Discrepancies around this can be directed to sbm@orchard.tila.school and we will investigate them.

Next Steps

In order to resolve the IT issues, we are going to temporarily shut off the ability to add funds to the lunch accounts as of 3.00pm on Friday 14th November. You will be able to top up from Monday; we will communicate when you will be able to view and top up your balance.

Moving Forward

Our facilities management company, BAM, has decided to take food provision back under their direct control. We have a strong working relationship with BAM and believe this is a positive step toward improving the dining experience for our students. We know families and students have raised concerns about portion sizes and healthier menu options offered by the previous providers. We will continue to advocate for feedback from all stakeholders to ensure these improvements are made.

Rewards Trip – End Term 2

Towards the end of Term 2, there will be a rewards trip for Years 7-10 to the cinema as part of our ongoing effort to celebrate students who consistently demonstrate commitment to their learning and attendance. To recognise these positive attitudes, all students with excellent attendance and strong engagement in lessons this term will be entered into a special lottery for the chance to attend this trip. This event is a wonderful opportunity to reward hard work and dedication, and we hope it will inspire all students to continue striving for excellence in every aspect of school life.

Uniform

Our uniform code aims to:

Help students feel equal to others and not left out

Encourage students to wear their uniform with pride

Create a sense of belonging to the school community through a common dress code

Enable students to feel that they are a valued member of the school community irrespective of ethnicity, gender, religion or socio-economic background

Please ensure students wear the correct uniform every day including blazer and appropriate black footwear. A reminder that due to Health and Safety reasons, body piercings are not permitted except one small stud or sleeper in each year. Yondr pouches are required to be brought into school every day with the phone placed inside the pouch.

For a full list of uniform expectations, please see here on the school website.

Clubs – Term 2

Please remember to encourage your child to sign up to one of our brilliant lunchtime or after school clubs. They’re a great way for them to meet new friends, learn new skills and make lasting memories. Orchard School - Clubs and Enrichment

Attendance

7W1, 9W2 and 9W1 top last week’s leaderboard, and all are Wisley tutor groups, too! Well done!

Later this term, we will be changing some of the morning procedures for entering the school site. A specific letter will be shared with you in the next couple of weeks which will explain the detail. Students should be on school site at 8.20am and from 8.30am, the only gate that students can enter by will be the main school pedestrian gate. Northwick Road and Filton Road gates will be closed. More details to follow but we wanted to alert you to some of the changes in this week’s letter, too.

Belonging

Odd socks day on Monday kicked off the start of Anti-Bullying Week in style, with students having the opportunity to complete kindness cards and purchase cakes in the bake sale at the end of the week. Miss Stockley and the anti-bullying ambassadors led assemblies to all student in Years 7-10. Well done to all student leaders involved in the organisation of the events and assemblies.

Students have also been marking Children in Need this week by completing the official ‘25’ quiz in tutor time, and taking part in a ‘keepy-uppy’ challenge.

Mince Pies with the SEND team, supported by Bristol Family Hubs

Parents and carers of our SEND students are invited into school on Tuesday 9th December between 3.30pm and 4.30pm, to meet the SENDCo, Deputy SENDCo and other members of the SEND team. There will be tea, coffee and mince pies, with a chance to chat with other SEND parents/carers as well as staff. We’re pleased that members of Bristol Family Hubs will also be joining us. We hope to see some of you there!

Please complete the short form to register your attendance sent to you via email. 

Update on the Library

We are extremely fortunate to have such an incredible Library and Resource centre at the heart of our school, which enables our students to borrow of a wide range of books for interest and pleasure. In order to ensure our Library and Resource centre remains stocked full of excellent books for all to enjoy, we have reviewed and refined the procedure for overdue loans.

A child is able to borrow their book from the library for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, they are able to either return or renew their book, if they are still enjoying it, via the library. If a book is not returned/renewed within 2 weeks, an email reminder is sent to students to encourage them to return it.

If a student does not return the book following these reminders, and a book has become overdue by 8 weeks, a replacement fee to contribute towards replacing the book will be issued, payable via ArborPay. Students will not be able to borrow another book from the library until it is paid for/returned. Our ‘Charging and Remission’ Policy can be found on our website (see section ‘3.9 - Loss or Damage’ for more information).

Thank you for continuing to support your child with returning/renewing their books on time so that we can ensure our Library and Resource centre is a well-stocked resource for all to enjoy and utilise.

Character Competition

We recently launched our next Character Competition for the students, which is sponsored by Bristol Youth Council. Winners of the best ‘manifestos for change’ (which they have been learning about in tutor time) in North Bristol on the topics of safety, youth services and community projects that could take place, will be able to take part in a fun debating workshop! The competition is open to all year groups, and up to 10 pupils can win a place on the workshop. Please see the poster below for details.

Community Events

You Are Not Alone - Free Online Parent Drop-In sessions, for parents/carers of autistic children run by the Autism Family Support Service. 5 drop-in sessions from Monday 1st December - Friday 5th December from 7pm - 8.30pm. For details of how to sign up, click here.

The Witherslack Group are running a session for parents called Parental Burnout, Meltdowns & Behaviour. Join this free webinar at 10am on 10th December by registering here.

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

With best wishes,

Mel Sweet, Headteacher