Dear Trottiscliffe Parents and Guardians,

As we look forward to an exciting school year, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated parents who tirelessly contribute their time and energy to the Trottiscliffe School Association (TSA). Thanks to their efforts, our children enjoy wonderful experiences such as the whole school pantomime, the creation of our new library, outdoor African Lapa hut and memorable events like the Year 6 leavers trips, second-hand uniform sales, firework night, your child’s artwork on merchandise, discos, and even The George beer festival!

However, we believe that the joy of giving back should be shared by all. Currently, a small group of parents is shouldering the majority of the responsibilities, and we would love to see more of our community come together to support these initiatives. Whether you can spare a little time for small tasks or take on larger projects, every bit of help makes a difference. With more hands on deck, we can lighten the load and continue to provide enriching experiences for our pupils.

If you’re interested in joining our team of volunteers, we invite you to connect with us! We have a TSA WhatsApp group where you can stay updated and coordinate with other parents. Being part of this group not only allows you to contribute to our school community but also helps you connect with fellow parents who share the same passion for enhancing our children’s school experience.

To express your interest or for more information, please contact the school office. One of our volunteers will reach out to you with details on how you can get involved.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a positive impact at Trottiscliffe. Together, we can achieve so much more!

Warm regards,

Trottiscliffe School Association.

We are delighted to announce that we achieved the School Games Gold Mark Award for the 2023/24 academic year.  This is the first time our school has ever achieved this level of the award. 

The School Games Mark is a Government-led award scheme launched in 2012, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community, and we are delighted to have been recognised for our success.

With several of our young people competing in local inter-school competitions this year, we are extremely proud of our pupils for their dedication to all aspects of school sport.

As part of our application, we were asked to fulfil criteria in the areas of participation, competition, workforce and clubs, and we are pleased that the hard work of everyone at our school has been rewarded this year.

A special thanks to Mrs Smith and Mrs Wickett for all their hard work in supporting our school to achieve this accreditation, including the rigorous moderation process. We look forward to applying once again in 2025!

We are now able to announce that we have a provider for wraparound care after school each day in addition to our school Breakfast Club. 

This will be launching from November 4^th at school and parents are able to book online from today.  DDivine offers a mix of arts & crafts, games and sporting activities at each session.  The organisation is already established at a number of other schools and we are pleased to be able to offer this to support our working families. 

Until the final registration with Ofsted comes through, they will initially be operating until 5:30pm but once the registration is in place, they will be able to offer care until 6pm each day.  To fit in around the after-school activities the school already offers, parents are able to book sessions from 3:30-4:30pm and 4:30pm-5:30pm so that children who wish to attend school clubs can still do so and then go to the after school club afterwards. 

To book sessions for your child, you can use the following link  https://ddivine-training.classforkids.io/  

It was so lovely to have the whole school on the field on Monday participating in Sports Day together.  The children worked wonderfully together in their house teams and, as always, it was lovely to see the older children helping and encouraging the younger pupils across the school.   Thank you to all the families who spoke to staff or emailed after the event, it is always reassuring for us as a school to know that we've struck the right balance between competition and fun for events like these.  Huge thanks to Mrs Smith for taking on the mantle of organising the afternoon, assisted by Mrs Wickett-Smith from PASS.

Lastly congratulations to all the children for trying their best in the sun but especially to our winning house – SYCAMORE!

What a fabulous week the Year 6 children had on their residential trip last week.  We are so very proud of all they achieved, overcoming many fears, developing their independence, being away from home and their families and taking responsibility for organising themselves.

They took part in nearly 20 activities during the week including abseiling, campfire, Jacob’s ladder, canoeing, archery, buggy building, zip wire, sensory trail, beach walk, disc golf and more.  They all ate incredibly well and learnt various songs that we are still hearing back in Trottiscliffe.  The enjoyment and personal development a trip such as this gives the children is so worthwhile and it is a pleasure to look after the children each year during this experience.  Huge thanks to Mrs Lane and Miss Hardy for accompanying the trip this year.

Another busy day at Bawdsey.  This morning the children conquered the trapeze and excelled at problem solving. Then this afternoon it was time for orienteering and the long awaited zip wire, which all the children had a go at and enjoyed.

For our last night, the children enjoyed themselves at a disco in the Manor House. Now it’s time to pack ready for tomorrow.

All the children struggled to wake up for breakfast this morning, tiredness has kicked in early this year.  The morning began with Giant Swing which was a definite highlight for most of the children. Then we went a coastal walk and had a paddle in the sea. After lunch, the groups had canoeing and sensory circuits and then after dinner they took part in the PGL tournament of Wacky Rounders.

Sadly, we’ve lost all of the photos from this morning due to a slight hitch but here are some from the rest of the day.

First full day has been a busy one. The children have done raft building and abseiling, followed by Jacob’s Ladder and the Challenge Course.  All of this fuelled by 3 large meals and a trip to the PGL shop.  

After a few traffic delays, we arrived in Suffolk at 4pm.  We had a tour of the site, ate our dinner and then got settled into our accommodation before having a campfire. The children settled to bed surprisingly quickly ready for the next day.