0 January 2026 - Letter to Parents

30th January 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a great week at Orchard School, with two great girls’ football victories on Wednesday evening, demonstrating that our girls’ teams are going from strength to strength, across many year groups. Bristol Youth Elections took place on Thursday, and we encouraged everyone to get a taste of the voting process that they will experience as adults, with voting booths and ballot papers. Students were voting for young people from across the city to be representatives on the Bristol Youth Council. They have had a chance to view them making a case for votes via video during tutor time.

Next week, we have a technology trip to UWE for a group of our female students encouraging more girls to get into technology careers. We also have our first school trip to Rome which will involve 30 lucky students flying out on a four-day Classics Trip at the end of next week. Buon viaggio!

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 9 Parent Subject Consultation Evening – Thursday 19th March 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

Recently we have launched Sparx Science for Years 10 & 11 – a new online platform for Science home learning from the same company as our Maths platform, Sparx Maths. Log in credentials are the same as your child’s normal username and password, with work set and due every Wednesday.

If your child is in Year 10 or 11, we would encourage you to log in with them at Sparx Science Login by clicking ‘log in to Sparx using Microsoft’.

We were also pleased to give Year 9 students the chance to watch an interview with author Tom Palmer, and Ruth Barnett, talking about her transportation to England on the Kindertransport during the 1940s. This event was organised by the National Literacy Trust to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day. During this week, students have received assemblies from Mr Harrison about the Holocaust.

Clubs – Term 3

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. You can find the Term 3 list of clubs on our website here.

Attendance

Well done to 8D2 for last week’s top attendance in school!

Thank you for continuing to call the absence line in the morning to report your child’s absence if they are too ill to come to school. Our attendance team log the calls and reasons for absence, and we use the Is my child too ill for school? - NHS to support the conversations. If, for example, a parent or carer reports an illness such as a cold, or cough, our team will suggest that over the counter medication could be taken and that the child can come into school. Similarly, with period pains, or headaches, as these aren’t reasons to be away from school, we would advise that, if able to, to administer painkillers which effectively help with these common aches and pains and that your child can still come into school, even if they therefore end up being a bit late that day. We can also support in school and check on their wellbeing.

Belonging

A Marvel-themed House competition has been launched this week. Students who enter will be in for a chance of winning a Marvel backpack with some Marvel goodies. The quiz has been e- mailed to students - good luck to all!

Interhouse competitions are a go this term, and the next one is a chance for students to compete against each other in our very own Rugby Fantasy Six Nations tournament! Joining details have been shared with students in tutor time and students can see Mr Ripley if they need a reminder.

Trust SEND Parents’ Survey – Now Open

Our Trust is inviting all parents and carers of SEND students to complete a Family Voices Survey. This will replace the school’s Term 3 SEND survey that is usually sent out.

There are a couple of ways to access the survey: you can scan the QR code on the flyer below, or follow this link: School Surveys

The survey closes on 2nd February. We look forward to receiving your feedback.

Behaviour Update – New ISR Room

Start with a 2

All students enter the classroom on point “2” which indicates Good behaviour, as we expect all of our students to be at least “good” in each lesson.

Gain a 1

If students perform exceptionally well all lesson, then the teacher will award a “1” – a celebration of their hard work and effort, brilliant contributions or dedication. 1s add up to House Points, certificates and further rewards.

Warning = 3

If students do not follow one of the rules, a warning is given by the classroom teacher. This is called a “3”.

Second incident = 4 Should the disruptive behaviour continue, a “4” is issued. The student is removed from their classroom to spend two hours and a social time. Here, the student is supervised to complete their work independently and parents or carers are informed.

Our Independent Study Room (ISR) allows students to silently:

Work away from the main class after a disruption

Reflect and reset in a supervised, structured environment

Continue learning rather than being sent home

From the first day back after half term, the ISR room will be moving to another part of the school, to the current classroom ‘G6’. Many students, particularly those with sensory sensitivities, attention difficulties, or anxiety will benefit from more space, less noise and ultimately a more inclusive space. We will carefully prepare students for this through communications with staff, and through tutor notices and additional support for pupils with SEND where appropriate.

iPads in School

As a school we have successfully implemented the use of Yondr pouches for mobile phones. Following advice from the Department of Education, we also need to make students aware that they should not be bringing in iPads, for any reason. Additionally, they are expensive items that are not covered by the school's insurance policy.

Safeguarding

Safer Internet Day is celebrated on 10th February this year. The theme is ‘Smart tech, safe choices – Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI’. AI technology is increasingly part of all our lives, so this Safer Internet Day we are starting a conversation about how to use it safely and responsibly. UK Safer Internet Centre has a lot of resources for parents to help support their children in understanding how AI is used and the impact it can have.

Whole School Character Competition - Reminder

We have an exciting opportunity for students in Years 7-11 to design a badge to be worn on blazer lapels for the winners of the highest participation in clubs and extra-curricular activities, an award that is handed out every term to someone in each year group, and for the person who has the best participation whole school. We would like to reward the winners with not only a certificate, but a badge they can wear with pride, and we are asking students to design this badge. The prize will be in seeing students around the school wear it, and they will get one, too, as a memento if they win the competition! Please encourage your child to participate in the competition. Students should send their entries to charactercompetition@orchard.school, including their full name and tutor group in the e-mail. The deadline for submitting their design is Monday 2nd February 2026. Please see the flyer attached.

Community Events

Bristol Parent Carers Forum is hosting their annual Together for SEND event on 16th March at We the Curious. There are sessions for families as well as for those in education. For more information follow this link: Bristol’s third annual event - Bristol Parent Carers

Finally, we are delighted that our Grove SEMH team were able to receive their Horfield and Lockleaze Community Award recently. They attended the awards evening alongside many other amazing people from our local community, celebrating everyone’s contributions.

 With best wishes,

Mel Sweet, Headteacher