BC Newsletter Template (Yvonne)

| Issue 35 | Summer 2 | Week 5 |

Out & About…

Tuesday 24th June | St. Stephens Lunchtime Concert:
As part of the celebrations of St. Stephen’s week, we gave a 40-minute lunchtime concert in the church. Among the programme items were our school bellringers ringing rounds, changes, and favourite tunes on the Burdett-Coutts handbell. We also included ‘Happy Birthday’ as the church is celebrating its 175th anniversary. There were poems read by Joshua (Year 5) and Ren (Year 3). There were piano solos given by Arman (Year 4), Tamer (Year 4), and Jun (Year 5). The school choir sang a chorus from Henry Purcell’s ‘King Arthur‘, and also ‘The Lord is my shepherd‘ by Howard Goodall. The Disney project (Years 3 & 4) sang ‘Look for the bare necessities‘, ‘I wan’na be like you‘, and ‘That’s what friends are for‘ from their show.

Thursday 26th June | Two Cities Ordination, including our curate David Jones, by the Bishop of London: 
Our school choir attended the Ordination Service held at St Stephen’s Church in the presence of the Bishop of London, The Right Honourable and Right Reverend Dame Sarah Mullally. The choir sang the opening anthem of the service as the Bishop entered the church together with the ordinands, one of whom was the curate, David Jones.

Tuesday 1st July | Year 6 Trip to Rochester Cathedral:
Year 6excitedly crowded into Victoria Station to take the 10.10 am train to Rochester. 40 minutes later the cathedral and castle were spotted from the windows as we approached the city in Kent. We had done our research, and the many questions from our guide were answered correctly as we learnt about the 2nd oldest in the UK, 1,400 year old Christian site. We were given the special privilege of access to the cathedral choirstalls where we sang ‘A new commandment‘, and we tried to calculate Mr Carden’s age from the date of his signature in the cathedral’s ledger, written all those years ago when he was Head Chorister there.

Tuesday 1st July | Almshouse Founders Day Service:
Our school choir attended the Westminster Almshouses’ Founder’s Day Service in St Stephen’s Rochester Row, and annual service that was also attended by the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg. Representing the school at a ‘grown-ups’ service‘ like this is unusual for our choir, as most of the services we sing at are specially designed for a children’s congregation. The choir sang the anthem ‘The Lord is my Shepherd‘ by Howard Goodall, and also the Gaelic Blessing led by Graham Buckle, the Vicar. After the service they were congratulated on their singing by several members of the congregation.

Wednesday 2nd July | Saatchi Gallery Trip:
A group of pupils from Years 4, 5 & 6 had the exciting opportunity to visit the Saatchi Gallery to explore FLOWERS – a stunning exhibition showcasing over 500 artworks inspired by the beauty, symbolism and diversity of flowers in art and culture. Our guided tour, led by Karl, took us through a range of immersive gallery spaces, including large-scale installations, fashion pieces, photography and interactive digital artwork. The children were captivated by the creative variety on display, from vibrant floral paintings to a room filled with over 100,000 dried flowers by artist Rebecca Louise Law. One highlight was the Powered by Nature installation, where pupils experienced the world through the eyes of bees using ultraviolet light and sound. Throughout the tour, the children asked thoughtful questions, shared personal reflections and made links between the art and their own experiences. The gallery staff were incredibly impressed with their curiosity, creativity and the way they connected their learning across subjects – from science and nature to emotion and storytelling. After the tour, pupils took part in a creative workshop where they designed their own stained-glass window artwork inspired by the themes of the exhibition. We were also lucky enough to enjoy lunch together in the gallery’s creative setting.

Thursday 3rd July | Year 5 Trip to the Science Museum – Space Exhibition
We had a great trip to the Science Museum this week. We participated in the new ‘Could there be life on Mars?‘ exhibition and thoroughly enjoyed learning all about the solar system. We touched the moon and Mars; and smelt what it could smell like on Saturn’s moon Titan and Mars (one was like sausages!). It was a fantastic experience and great to connect our space knowledge to. In the afternoon, we explored more of the museum and exhibitions related to life over time on Earth, gems and crystals, and living things. A huge day of learning!

Thursday 3rd July | Year 1 Trip to Chicken Shed Theatre – Hyde Park
Year 1 had a fantastic day out on Thursday to Hyde Park! We were lucky enough to go to the Rainbow Theatre to watch a very fun show. There was lots of dancing and singing all morning. We got to meet some puppets and to ‘show off’ our amazing dance moves in the sunshine. We all enjoyed a picnic lunch and a play in Hyde Park. It was a great day out!

Go Live Theatre Performance

Pupils from Years 3 & 4 had the incredible opportunity to take part in the Go Live Music Workshop over the past six weeks, working closely with facilitators from the Go Live Theatre Production Company. Together, they wrote, rehearsed, and performed an original piece all about Kindness—a theme that means a great deal to them and to our school community.

Through drama, music, and teamwork, the children explored what kindness looks like in everyday life and used their creativity to bring that message to life on stage. They showcased their final performance to their peers, and it was nothing short of brilliant—thoughtful, engaging, and full of heart.

Projects like this are so valuable for developing confidence, communication skills, empathy, and a true sense of collaboration. We are incredibly proud of our young performers and the powerful message they shared so beautifully with the rest of the school and there parents.

Splish, splash, water fun in the sun ☀️

Our younger pupils made great use of the paddling pools during the peak heat days this week! This activity helped us to help them to regulate their body temperatures, which younger pupils can find more difficult to do – all whilst having lots of fun with their friends

  • Preschool loved exploring the water together this week. We splashed, laughed and played. It was so much fun!
  • Nursery made the most of the sunny weather by having lots of fun in the paddling pool. The children loved putting on their swimming costumes and cooling off in the water. There were big splashes, lots of laughter, and plenty of happy faces as they played together in the sunshine. It was a wonderful way to enjoy the summer heat while staying cool and having fun!
  • Reception have been making the most of the glorious summer sunshine! We were so lucky to have little paddling pools set up for us – thanks to the wonderful Ms Barnett – and the children had the best time splashing, pouring, and giggling their way through the water play. For those who preferred to stay dry, the sandpit was just as popular, with children digging, building, and creating imaginative worlds together.
  • Year 1 have had a great time swimming in the paddling pools, which helped them to keep cool in the amazing summer sunshine, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

These kinds of sensory, outdoor experiences are incredibly valuable in the Early Years. They support physical development, coordination, communication, and social skills, all while building confidence and independence. It’s been a joyful week of learning through play, and we’ve loved every minute of it!

A warm welcome to all our new families

We have received an overwhelming number of applications for school places for September 2025, across all year groups from Preschool to Year 6. This such wonderful news and we’d like to wish the warmest of Burdett-Coutts welcome to our new families joining us.

While we’re doing our very best to accommodate all our new applications, we are nearly full in several year groups, with only one or two spaces left. Due to our structure, we are unable to exceed above 30 pupils per year group.

However, as our Preschool has been full for most of this term, and with an ever growing waiting list, the governors and school leaders have taken the decision to extend our preschool full-time places from 10 to 15.

This will be effective from September 2025 and will enable us, once all our families on the waiting list have been allocated their places, to have on offer, three full-time and two afternoon places.

If you – or anyone you know – would like to enquire about a pre-school place, or places in other year groups, please contact the school office so a school tour and admission meeting can be arranged. We will do our best to accomodate all enquiries.

1. Wrap Around Clubs: Autumn 2025

With an increase in school admissions for September 2025, there is also an increase in demand for wrap-around care including for Breakfast Club and After School Club (18:00 finish).

On Monday 7th July, an email will be sent out to all families currently enrolled in either Breakfast Club or After School Club (or both) requesting confirmation of your requirements for September 2025.

Please respond by the deadline of Friday 11th July, so that we can ensure that those already making use of our wrap-around care provision do not miss out.

All new applications will be confirmed on Monday 14th July, and any remaining spaces for wrap-around care will be allocated them.

Kindly note that we will not be able to extend the number of wrap-around care places we have available, due to stringent pupil to staff ratios.

2. Extended School Day Clubs: Ending Friday 11th July

A reminder to all parents and pupils that all Extended School Day and Booster/Intervention Clubs (15:30 – 16:30) will finish on Friday 11th July.

Please ensure that you have made arrangements for your child’s earlier collection time of 15:30 from Monday the 14th to Tuesday 22nd July.

A reminder also that school finishes for all pupils at 13:30 on Tuesday 22nd July.

3. Drop Off & Collection: Important message for drivers

If your child/ren are dropped off and collected from school by car, please ensure that you find a legal parking place to park in to facilitate this.

Please do not park/stop or idle on the zig-zag lines outside the school gates, or double park on the road curb opposite (also a school entrance).  This dangerous and illegal.

This is especially important at the moment, as there are three sets of separate street, water or phone line works also taking place along the street. These works already pose an additional hazard to pedestrians who are crossing the roads, and have had an impact on the amount of close parking to school entrance.

Therefore, please ensure that you leave enough time to find a park at the start and end of the school day. This will enable you to drop off & collect your child/ren safely and ensure the safety of all other pedestrians at these busy times.

Many thanks for your co-operation in keeping our school and wider community members safe 🙂

Super Me Drawing Competition

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No… it’s SUPER ME!

We’re excited to invite our Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils at Burdett-Coutts to take part in the Young Writers’ “Super Me” Drawing CompetitionIt’s fun and imaginative way to celebrate what makes every child a hero! The children can:

  • Draw themselves as superheroes
  • Invent a brand new hero (human, animal, robot or alien!)
  • Celebrate everyday heroes like nurses, firefighters or police officers
  • Add labels or a few words about their creation

Amazing Prizes!

  • For schools: £1,000 for the school with the best set of drawings PLUS a free copy of the book our children feature in
    For children: Every entrant receives a bookmark and sticker for taking part. Pupils chosen for publication also receive a certificate and Young Writers’ favourite 5 artists will each win an amazing kit to make their own den

How to enter:

  1. Complete your artwork on the entry form below
  2. Bring your artwork to Miss Jorquera or the school office by Friday 18 July 2025, and we will submit it for you

Class Photos

Class Photos for all pupils will be taken on Tuesday 8th July.  

Please ensure your child comes to school in their full PE uniform including the correct shoes, and ties for juniorsYear 6 pupils will need wear their blazer for their class photo.

If your child is in Preschool or Nursery and has an afternoon session, they will need to be in school from 09:15 – 09:30 if you would like them to be in their class photo.

Swimming Lessons: Years 3 – 6

We are delighted to announce that swimming lessons will begin again this term, for pupils in Years 3 to 6. They will take place Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week.

  • Year 6: Weeks beginning 7th and 14th July

These lessons are an important (and statutory) part of the national curriculum and provide an opportunity for pupils to develop key skills and knowledge about water safety and learning basic swimming skills and strokes.

All swimming lessons will take part at the Queen Mother’s Sports Centre. Classes will complete their lessons in blocks (6 consecutive lessons over two weeks), instead of one lesson per week (over 6 weeks).

This arrangement ensures pupils have the best chance to consolidate and make the most of their lessons, with the opportunity to build on learning over sequential days, as opposed to having a week between each lesson.

On the weeks that your child’s class is swimming, they will need to wear their bathing costume to school with their PE kit over the top. They also need to bring in a bag; a towel, underwear and goggles, plus a cap (if they choose to use one).

Children will change into their PE kit after each lesson and put their towel and bathing suit in their bag to return to school.

Pupils will swim on Monday, Wednesday & Fridays of each week. They will walk to and from the pools with their class teacher and Mr Raheem.

If you have any questions or queries about your child’s swimming lesson, please contact the office to arrange a time to meet with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Burdett-Coutts Summer Fair

Our next school fundraising event will be the Summer Fair, which will take place on Saturday 12th July from 12:00 until 4:00 pm.

There’ll be an exciting range of stalls including games, bouncy castle plus food and refreshments available to purchase on the day, and we’re very much looking forward to welcoming everyone!

If you would like to provide a food plate (similar to what we did at our recent International Evening), please inform the office via email or please come in person to speak to Ms Ilhan.

All donations and provision of food items will be passed onto our school’s PTA The Friends of Burdett-Coutts.

School & PE Uniform:

As we start our new school term, we would like to remind everyone to ensure that all pupils are wearing the correct school uniform, including shoes, to school each day.

The summer term uniform options for all pupils in Nursery to Year 6 are:

Girls:

  • Dark grey shorts, trousers, skirt or skort
  • Short-sleeve white shirt (Years 3 – 6)
  • White school logo polo shirt (Nursery – Year 2)
  • Tie
  • V-neck navy school logo jumper (Years 3 – 6)
  • Navy logo school sweatshirt (Nursery to Year 2)
  • Blazer (Year 6 only)
  • Or dark blue & white gingham dress
  • Plain black shoes

Boys:

  • Dark grey shorts or trousers
  • Short-sleeve white shirt (Years 3 – 6)
  • White school logo polo shirt (Nursery – Year 2)
  • Tie
  • V-neck navy school logo jumper (Years 3 – 6)
  • Navy school logo sweatshirt (Nursery to Year 2)
  • Blazer (Year 6 only)
  • Plain black shoes

On PE days, pupils must wear the school PE kit only.

This is especially important for safety.  Having the correct shoes for physical activities, and clothing that is not restrictive, for completing physical activity are essential for helping us to ensure pupils complete all PE lessons safely.

The summer term PE kit for all pupils from Year Reception to Year 6 consists of:

  • A school navy logo t-shirt
  • Navy shorts, leggings, tracksuit bottoms or skort (no logos etc)
  • Plain black trainers
  • A school logo sweatshirt (not v-neck jerseys for KS2 pupils. Sweatshirts are available from the school office).

Please note that from Monday 28th April, pupils who do not have the correct PE kit will not be able to participate in their PE lesson. They will be given alternate work to do, and a note will be sent home highlighting why they were not able to complete their lesson that day.

After School Cubs (ASC):
Pupils who do not bring in their PE kit to change into for ASC clubs will not be able to participate in theirASC sports lesson. They will be allocated to a different club on these occasions.

We thank you in advance in supporting our school’s uniform policies.

Community Corner

Class Assemblies:

Fridays @ 9am, please be seated in the First Floor Hall by 9am:

  • 11th July: Year Reception
  • 18th July: Nursery & Preschool

PE Lessons

Please ensure that your child is wearing the correct PE kit to school each week on their allocated PE day.

Pupils not wearing their full PE kit will not be able to participate in lessons, and a note will be sent home indicating why they were not able to participate.

Please ensure that all items of school uniform are clearly labelled with either a permanent pen or label.

The full PE Kit for the Spring/Summer Term is as follows:

  • Plain navy blue leggings or tracksuit bottoms or navy blue shorts or skort
  • School navy blue PE t-shirt
  • School navy blue sweatshirt (all year groups)*
  • Plain black trainers (velcro or slip on if they can not do their laces).

* Kindly note: Pupils in KS2 (Years 3-6) must wear a school sweatshirt for PE lessons and not the v-neck jumper from their main school uniform (if needed).

Summer Term 1 – PE Lessons:

  • Monday: Year 1
  • Tuesday: Year 3
  • Wednesday:  Year 5
  • Thursday: Year 1
  • Friday: Reception, Years 4 & 6

Our PTA: The Friends of Burdett-Coutts

Welcome back to the new school year and a warm welcome to all our new families who have joined our school’s community this term.

If you are a parent, carer or a guardian of a child that attends our school, then you are automatically a member of our Parent Staff Association, Friends of Burdett-Coutts.

Being part of our PSA offers an exciting opportunity for you to meet other parents, whilst supporting our school, through organising fundraising events, volunteering and much more.

Even if you can only give a small amount of time, you will be making a difference to the school experience for your child and other pupils in our school.

Our School Summer Fair will be held on Saturday 12th July 2025, from 12:00 – 16:00!

We look forward to seeing you at this exciting event, just before we look forward to the long summer holidays ☀️

Meeting dates:

  • Wednesday 09 July 2025

All meetings are in the Ground Floor Hall @ 9 – 10am

Upcoming Events

July:

  • Tuesday 8th July:  Year 6 Leavers Service: St Stephens Church at 14:30pm
  • Wednesday 9th July:  Nursery Open Afternoon and Parent Meeting for all parents of new pupils starting and those continuing in Nursery in September 2025: 14:30 – 15:30
  • Thursday 10th July: Go Live Theatre children attending Theatre Visit to see My Neighbour Totoro.
  • Friday 11th July: Last Day of Extended School Day Enrichment Clubs and Boosters.
  • Saturday 12th July: FOBC (PTA) Summer Fair, from 12:00 – 16:00 in the school playground.
  • Tuesday 15th July: Whole School Sports Day at St. Vincents Square (more information to follow).
  • Thursday 17th July: Running Club trip to Richmond Park for Cross Country Event, led by Ranelagh Harriers.
  • Tuesday 22nd July: School ends for the Summer Holidays @ 13:30.

Term Dates 2025-2026

Please find here the agreed term dates set by our school’s Governing Body for the upcoming academic year, starting September 2025.

Please remember that holidays will not be authorised during the school term, and that all children should be in school (on time) every day.

Alternatively, you can click on the image thumbnail on the right to view the PDF (please note this will open in a new window) or you can click on the link below:

Term Dates 2024-2025

Please find here the agreed term dates set by our school’s Governing Body for the upcoming academic year, starting September 2024.

Please remember that holidays will not be authorised during the school term, and that all children should be in school (on time) every day.

Please refer to the table below for the term dates, including INSET days and Bank Holidays when the school will be closed to pupils.

Alternatively, you can click on the image thumbnail on the right to view the PDF (please note this will open in a new window) or you can click on the link below:

 

AUTUMN TERM 2024

Start of Term (for Years 1-6)

Tuesday

03 September 2024

To

Thursay

24 October 2024

Half Term

Monday

28 October 2024

 

Friday

01 November 2024

Return on

Monday

04 November 2024

End of Term

Friday

20 December 2024

 

SPRING TERM 2025

Start of Term

Tuesday

07 January 2025

To

Friday

14 February 2025

Half Term

Monday

17 February 2025

 

Friday

21 February 2025

Return on

Monday

24 February 2025

End of Term

Thursday

04 April 2025

 

SUMMER TERM 2025

Start of Term

Monday

22 April 2025

To

Friday

23 May 2025

Half Term

Monday

26 May 2025

 

Friday

30 May 2025

Return on

Monday

02 June 2025

End of Term

Friday

22 July 2025

INSET DAYS
Teaching & Learning: Curriculum & Safeguarding

Monday

02 September 2024

Teaching & Learning TBC

Friday

25 October 2024

Teaching & Learning: Wellbeing

Friday

29 November 2024

Assessment & Pupil Progress

Monday

06 January 2025

Teaching & Learning: Curriculum, Assessment & Pupil Progress

Friday

27 June 2025

BANK HOLIDAYS (school closed)
May Bank Holiday

Monday

05 May 2025

Preschool, Nursery & Reception Admissions

We currently have the following availability for places in our Early Years provision from September 2025:

Reception class:

  • 3 places are available

Nursery Class (3-year olds):

  • 4 full-time places and 2 part-time (afternoon) places available

 Preschool (2-year olds)

  • 3 full-time places and 3 part-time (afternoon) places available

If you are looking for a Preschool, Nursery or Reception place for your child, please come along for a 30-minute bespoke EYFS tour. Here, you’ll have the chance explore our Early Years setting, speak to key staff and ask any questions regarding admissions, and your child starting with us at Burdett-Coutts.

Contact us to register for our tours which take place every Thursday, with times available from 09:15 – 14:30 during term time.

Online Safety

Did you know that not all apps are safe for children, with many popular ones having certain age restrictions. For example, WhatsApp, Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook operate a minimum age of 13+ years, and therefore primary school children should not have their own, nor access to, such apps or accounts.

As parents, you can help safeguard your children online by researching these apps and their purposes, as well as their age restrictions, BEFORE agreeing to download them. If you do choose to download them, remember that parental controls such as password protection, can be set up so that in-app downloads or purchases, cannot be completed by the children themselves.

For example, to prevent iTunes, Apple App Store purchases or downloads, all you need to do is:

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & App Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
  3. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.
  4. Select a setting and set to Don’t Allow.

Tips on how to install parental controls on other apps and devices (Android or Apple) can easily be found online, or even from the app developers themselves.

Funding eligibility letter for Pupil Premium, Early Years Funding & Free School Meals

Due to changes in the eligibility criteria for Pupil Premium, Free School Meals and qualifying for 30 hours of funding for Nursery provision, many pupils currently enrolled at our school may now be entitled to one of these funding allocations.

We will be issuing letters to families who are currently not in receipt of the above, asking you to complete the registration for the identified funding option your child/ren maybe eligible for. Thank you so much in advance for your help in completing this.

This funding allows us to increase additional staffing hours to run booster groups, and an exciting range of extended day activities, that benefit our school and your child, and your cooperation is greatly appreciated at this difficult time for school budgets.

  • If you should have any queries with regards to the letter sent to you, please contact Mrs Deary or the school office.

Preschool:

Exploring sea creatures has been so much fun this week! We have been enjoying the story “Octopus Shocktopus“. To extend our learning, Preschool made their own octopus this week, practice our counting as created 8 long tentacles. We loved demonstrating our creativity and further developing our fine motor skills with sponge stamps.

Nursery:

Nursery have thoroughly enjoyed making repeated patterns using their everyday toys and classroom resources. They explored how they could use different colours, shapes, and objects to create simple, discovering that patterns don’t just come from worksheets but can be found all around them. It was wonderful to see how engaged and creative the children were throughout the activity.

Reception:

Reception’s little mathematicians have been exploring three-part repeating patterns, and having so much fun doing it! Whether indoors or out, the children have been busy creating their own pattern rules using a variety of materials, from blocks and beads to leaves and chalk. They’ve been carefully thinking about colour, shape, and order, building sequences like red-yellow-blue and proudly continuing them with growing independence.

Learning to spot, create, and follow patterns helps to build early algebraic thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as logical reasoning. It’s also a fantastic way for children to develop focus, creativity, and mathematical confidence. We’ve been so impressed with their enthusiasm and the brilliant patterns they’ve come up with—true pattern pros in the making!

Year 1:

Year 1 have continued their learning in Science about humans and animals. We have learnt all about our 5 senses – taste, sight, hearing, smell and touch. The children have recreated their very own senses factories where they can taste, smell, touch and see different things!

Year 2:

As Mathematicians, Year 2 have been diving into the world of data. Pupils began by learning how to use tally charts to record and organise information efficiently – making sure to group in fives using the familiar “gate” mark. Once confident, they moved on to reading and creating simple tables to compare data and spot patterns. Next, they explored block diagrams, discovering how to represent information visually with each block showing one item. They asked and answered questions using vocabulary like most, least and altogether. Finally, they were introduced to pictograms, where they used symbols to represent quantities and practised reading and drawing their own, paying close attention to the key.

Year 3:

Year 3 has been working very hard this week, crafting slogans and persuasive sentences for posters that encourage people to attend the magic show in our class book, Leon and the Place Between. In Maths, we have now completed our statistics unit, and are confident using pictograms and bar graphs. We have continued our PSHE lessons and are enjoying the discussions around this topic. We were also very lucky to have a little performance by a small group of our classmates and a few members of year 4 around the theme of kindness. The performance was absolutely wonderful and we are so proud of our friends!

Year 4:

Year 4 have been busy finishing descriptive narratives inspired by The Butterfly Lion. In Maths, we’ve been investigating statistics, and learning how to interpret and present data in different ways. In Science, we had great fun using our knowledge of sound to make string telephones. Be sure to ask us why sound travels faster through solids than air! We’re also getting creative as we prepare for our class assembly on sound. Please remember to send in any recycled materials (boxes, bottles, tin cans) for our musical instrument project next week. Thank you for your support!

Year 5:

Year 5 have been working hard on their topics during a very busy end of term! We are really enjoying our space unit and the children have been asking and researching some great questions. The class are using this research to write a non chronological report about their chosen area of space. Linked to our space theme, we are creating our own solar system artworks and learning to blend pastels to create value and form. So far we have created our galaxy backgrounds. It’s been real fun developing our techniques to make a 2D object look 3D.

Year 6:

Year 6 have completed their incredible journey through their Banksy art project – and what a journey it’s been! After studying the work and impact of the iconic street artist, the children created their own Banksy-inspired pieces and have truly mastered their copies. Each piece is full of creativity, thought, and skill – we couldn’t be prouder of their hard work and artistic flair. Well done to all pupils!