Hot on the heels of completing our successful launch year of Caterham Summer School, we’re very happy to have opened sign-ups for Caterham Summer School 2027! Our new course line up features Edge and Oracy, Finance Futures, Medical Innovation, English as an Additional Language and our brand-new Elite Football Coaching course in conjunction with the Palace for Life Foundation. Our courses reflect Caterham School’s commitment to innovative learning and personal development, combining academic input with creative activities and opportunities to develop confidence and independence. With residential and day student options available, our bookings platform is now live here. Follow along through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and check out our website here. We’re looking forward to Summer School 2027 already!

Our weekly Street Dance and Ballet classes are officially underway, and the energy in the studio has been incredible! Pupils from Reception all the way to Year 4, both boys and girls, have been giving it their all. Even our nursery pupils have joined in the fun, trying out their very first street dance moves!

​This week, the children started learning their official routines for our upcoming show. Moving to hits ranging from Taylor Swift and Descendants to Woody’s Round Up, every dancer left the studio beaming with pride. Mrs Curran and I have absolutely loved teaching at Copthorne; every single dancer shone bright this week!

​Key Dates for the Calendar:

​Saturday 16 January: Show Dress Rehearsal

​Sunday 17 January: The Big Show at The Leatherhead Theatre!

It’s not too late to get involved! If your child would love to build confidence, learn exciting routines, and take to the stage in January, please contact the school office to book their place.

Year 1 have been busy exploring the fascinating world of dinosaurs through a range of creative art activities. Using a slider mechanism, the children designed and made their own pop-up dinosaurs, carefully creating tissue paper collage eggs, colouring their dinosaurs, and neatly cutting out the different elements before assembling them. It was wonderful to see their hard work rewarded as their dinosaurs successfully popped out of their eggs!

The children also closely observed and sketched ammonite fossils, developing their observational drawing skills by looking carefully at shape and pattern. They explored different textures by creating rubbings and enjoyed imagining what a dinosaur’s skin might have felt like. This hands-on project allowed the children to combine creativity with careful observation while developing their cutting, colouring and drawing skills.

What a fantastic afternoon for our Year 5 and 6 House Football matches! With glorious weather, beautiful pitches and plenty of excitement, Snowdon, Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Slieve Donard took to the field ready to battle it out for house glory.

There was some excellent football on display, with well-timed tackles, some cracking goals and a few missed opportunities that may still be talked about tomorrow! A couple of tackles were perhaps a little more enthusiastic than technically perfect, but that is all part of the learning curve!

The team spirit throughout the afternoon was brilliant, with players encouraging one another and giving everything for their houses. The touchlines were equally lively, particularly thanks to our Year 3 and 4 pupils, who came out to support the matches. Their enthusiasm was fantastic, and no doubt some were already imagining themselves as next year’s football stars!

Every house won at least one match, so it was a close contest with plenty to cheer about. The final standings were:

1st place: Scafell Pike
Joint 2nd place: Snowdon and Slieve Donard
3rd place: Ben Nevis

Congratulations to Scafell Pike on their victory and well done to all four houses for their effort, sportsmanship and fantastic team spirit. A brilliant afternoon of football, with plenty of smiles, red faces, some memorable moments and hopefully only a few grass stains to show for it!

Art Club has got off to a fantastic start, with the children enjoying the relaxed and creative atmosphere. The club give pupils the opportunity to develop their artistic skills while exploring their own interests and ideas.

So far, pupils have been exploring colour through exciting drip painting techniques, experimenting with a range of colour combinations and effects. They have also been drawing back into their paintings, adding detail, pattern and imagery to create unique and expressive artworks.

It has been wonderful to see the enjoyment, enthusiasm and creativity on display, and we look forward to seeing how the pupils’ ideas and artistic skills continue to develop throughout the term.

The children have been participating exceptionally well in their wellbeing lessons this term. Our half-term focus is My Healthy Self, centred around the key question: How do my choices today shape my future self? This week, pupils explored how the daily habits they develop now can help protect their long-term dental health.

We were particularly proud of Siya, who took the lead in preparing and delivering an engaging presentation on dental hygiene. Supported by her chosen assistant, Clarissa, she confidently shared her knowledge and taught her classmates about the importance of caring for their teeth. As a follow-up activity, pupils reflected on their own routines and identified one way they could improve their daily dental hygiene habits. It was wonderful to see such thoughtful contributions and active participation from everyone involved.

The Year 3 and 4 girls were full of excitement as they took part in their second hockey fixture of the season against Brambletye. Playing at home meant no travelling, and with lovely weather and plenty of parents supporting from the sidelines, it was a fantastic afternoon of hockey.

With the girls split into age groups and mixed-ability teams, everyone had lots of opportunities to play in the 4v4 small-sided games. There was plenty of running, some excellent goals scored, and great examples of teamwork throughout. Most importantly, the girls demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship and enthusiasm, making it a very enjoyable and successful fixture for all involved.

At our End of Year Celebration, back at the end of summer term, pupils took home a very special Copthorne duck and were tasked with the challenge of taking their duck on some summer adventures. From flying an aircraft simulator to a trip to the Eiffel Tower, our ducks have had a busy summer. We hope you will continue to be adventurous and curious and please send us more photos!

As part of our Year 6 Leavers’ Programme, our pupils recently stepped into the exciting world of business – and what a success it was! With creativity, teamwork and plenty of enthusiasm, the children planned and ran their very own enterprises, offering a fantastic range of products and services to younger pupils across the school.

From lively karaoke booths and colourful bracelet stalls to popular fidget toys, darts challenges, and even a pie-throwing raffle, the variety on offer was impressive. Each group carefully thought through their ideas, prepared their products, created eye-catching advertisements, and confidently ran their stalls on the day.

This experience was not only hugely enjoyable for our Year 6 pupils, but also incredibly valuable. They developed key life skills such as teamwork, organisation, communication and financial awareness. Managing money, setting prices, and calculating profits gave them a real taste of enterprise in action.

The benefits extended to their younger “customers” too, who practised their own maths skills by handling money, counting coins, and calculating change. It was wonderful to see such purposeful learning happening in a fun and engaging environment.

Some groups proved to be especially successful entrepreneurs, making an impressive profit – which they were delighted to keep! Many went home with pockets (and purses!) bulging with coins, a tangible reward for their hard work and clever thinking.

Overall, the event was a fantastic celebration of creativity, independence and real-world learning. We are incredibly proud of our Year 6 pupils and the initiative they showed — a wonderful way to mark their final year and prepare them for the next stage of their journey.