Our summer newsletter is here! Please read on to find out more…
Summer ‘Tuesday Talks’
We have had a number of Sixth Form Alumni deliver ‘Tuesday Talks’ over the course of this term.
Hannah
After completing time as a PCSO, Hannah is now a qualified PC. She spoke to students about her journey from school, her PCSO experience and how she was then able to apply and complete her PC training. She also gave a valuable insight into the life of a police constable and a career in the police force.
Isaac
Isaac is project lead of Jorvik Space, a team that is building a model mars rover for the Olympus Rover Competition (ORC), run by UK Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (UKSEDS). As part of the project, he is going through the whole lifecycle of the design, building and operation of the rover. The team consists of Isaac and 2 other former CCS students, Esme and Andrii, and 6 other University of York students. Isaac spoke about how the project came about, the ups and downs of the competition and how they see the project progressing. We wish them all lots of luck with the competition!
Renee
Renee attended Chipping Campden School from 2014 – 2021 before moving on to Cardiff University to study medicine. She will be graduating this summer in 2026 and will begin working as a Doctor in Liverpool this August where she will rotate through a range of specialties, helping her decide which area of medicine she wants to pursue. She spoke to students about her course and her experiences at Uni studying medicine.
PJ Day 2026
This year all proceeds from our PJ Day went to the Midlands Air Ambulance, thank you to all the staff and students who donated to this fantastic cause!
Sixth Form Wow!
Over the course of this term a number of our Sixth Formers have been awarded with the whole school ‘Wow’ Award. Congratulations to the following:
Jamie (Year 13)
Jamie recently achieved a silver award in the UK Chemistry Olympiad, which places him in the top 25% of the country’s participants. Jamie also achieved a silver award for the equivalent UK Biology Olympiad earlier this year, and in addition to this is such a consistently hardworking student, who fully deserves this notable recognition.
Well done, Jamie!
Lydia, Nel, and Poppy (Year 13)
All three students have worked tirelessly over the last couple of months to create our Year 13 Yearbook. Relentless in their pursuit of peers who were slow to submit contributions, collating their own photography, organising wider tutor group contributions, and working with staff to ensure they are included.
We could not have asked for a better team and we are extremely grateful for all they have done.
The Yearbook is amazing!
Zita (Year 12)
Zita won a national essay competition, which required her to write a reflective essay of up to 800 words on the theme of ‘The Age of Humans’, in relation to a chosen aspect of Geography. This competition was for Christ Church College, the University of Oxford.
Not only did Zita win the national competition, but she has been invited for a tour and Open Day.
Many congratulations, Zita!
Lucas (Year 12)
Lucas has excelled in A Level Media Studies this year and goes above and beyond in every task. He is humble and dedicated, completing all tasks to a very high level – whether this is homework, stretch tasks, revision or enrichment. His NEA (non-examined assessment) work is wonderful, and we have included some examples of this for you to see.
Coupled with his outstanding contributions as part of his studies, Lucas also goes the extra mile outside lessons, to complement the taught curriculum. He has supported his peers by helping to create high-quality Head Prefect campaign materials, has begun the process of writing a piece for a media magazine and has completed Open University courses to further enhance his specific knowledge and understanding of a subject in which he has a keen passion.
In addition to this, later this term Lucas will take part in the Channel 4 ‘4Skills Online’ Work Experience Programme.
Well done, Lucas!
Ollie (Year 12)
Ollie was chosen for his exceptional design and creation of a public area, as part of his A-Level Product Design course.
Students were asked to create a public area, within certain constraints including dimensions. Ollie chose a multi-use space that offered rooftop seating, and a coffee bar that converts into a cocktail bar.
A fabulous piece of work from Ollie, who is hoping to continue his creative passion and skillset well beyond CCS, as he considers universities and apprenticeships in the engineering and agricultural land management industries.
Well done, Ollie.
Smartest Historians 2026!
It is not about the A*s in History, it is who wins the Smartest Historian 2026 quiz! The quiz covers questions from Year 7 to Year 13 History across the National Curriculum, including a range of GCSE and A Level questions. Congratulations to all the winners!
13A Leila and Georgia
13B Holly, Ned and Poppy.
Slapton Sands Fieldwork Trip
This term our Year 12 Geographers completed their A-Level Geography fieldwork trip to Slapton Sands.
The staff accompanying them fed back that the students were “utterly amazing”, working incredibly hard all week, with long evenings in the classroom, in addition to the daytime curriculum activities.
Year 13’s Final Day
On May 8th we bid farewell to our Year 13’s; ‘Dressed to Impress’ the day included signing of Yearbooks, a final assembly of memories, photos, awards and superb student performances, as well as a BBQ.
Caring For The Cotswolds
Four of our Year 12 Economics students recently took part in the Caring for the Cotswolds small grants scheme run by Cotswold National Landscape. Our students formed a youth panel and worked alongside representatives from CNL to review a range of grant applications supporting nature, local communities and climate action. Together, they helped approve grants totalling approximately £30,000. A fantastic opportunity for students to engage with real decision-making and make a positive impact within the local community. Thank you to Cotswold National Landscape for making this opportunity available to Chipping Campden School.
Head Prefect Team 2026-27
We were delighted with the number of students who put themselves forward this year. All candidates were required to submit an application, deliver a presentation to their peers and attend an interview with sixth form staff.
After a student and staff vote, we were delighted to award the positions of Head Prefects to Lily Rhodes and Theo Sellars, and Deputy Head Prefects to Poppy Withers and Harvey Streets. With the help of the other senior prefects the team have a busy year ahead organising charity events, representing the school and helping out at school events such as our Sixth Form Open Evening. We know that they will work hard and make us and the school proud.
HE & Apprenticeship Day
On the 3rd June, it was the Year 12 Higher Education & Apprenticeship Day. Representatives from the University of South Wales, Oxford Brookes University, University of Gloucestershire, Projects Trust, and the Gloucestershire Careers Hub delivered sessions covering a range of topics including ‘How to choose the right course’, ‘Personal Statements’, ‘Taking a Gap Year’, and ‘Apprenticeship Opportunities’.
‘Much Ado About Numbers’
On the 11th June A Level Maths students travelled to the Arts House in Stratford-Upon-Avon to learn about Elizabethan maths. Our Maths Ambassadors have written about the trip below:
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Shakespeare Club, Students who take A level Mathematics attended an informative and interactive talk exploring how mathematics was used in Elizabethan England (around Shakespeare’s time) and the talk also covered the words and phrases Shakespeare has come up with through his plays and also the founding of the Shakespeare club back in the 1800s.
The talk which explored Elizabethan maths was presented by Rob Eastaway, who’s also an author of the book called “Much Ado about Numbers” which uncovers connections between play writer Shakespeare and maths during the Elizabethan era.
One thing Eastaway spoke to us about was how Shakespeare’s generation was the first generation to learn the Indo-Arabic numerals ( 1,2,3… as we know today) rather than continuing with Roman numerals. He explained to us that adopting this new notation helped increase the efficiency of calculations and also helped to change the way people learned and worked with numbers. Back then the digit 0 was called ‘Cipher’ rather than zero, as we know today.
Eastaway also introduced us to Robert Recorde, a Welsh mathematician who was universally credited as the inventor of the equals sign ( = ), to avoid the tedious repetition of the words ‘is equal to’ and therefore chose two parallel lines as he reasoned that ‘no two things can be more equal’. He was also a famous author. In Elizabethan England and Shakespeare’s time, the main subjects at school were Latin, but along side this was also another class called basic arithmetic, which took place towards the end of the school day back in the 1500s. One thing that they learned was how to multiply numbers together. Recorde’s maths textbook ‘The Ground of Arts’ (1543) has taught a “simple” shortcut to multiply single numbers using only subtraction and 1-to-5 multiplication.
Example: solve 8 x 7.
1) so you draw out a cross and stack the numbers vertically as shown
2) The sum of both rows must sum to 10, so you subtract both numbers from 10 (so 10 – 8 =2 and 10-7=3 as shown in the red)
3) Calculate the ten’s digit: cross subtract one number in red from the opposite original number (so 8-3 =5 or 7-2=5)
4) Calculate units digit just multiply the two differences together ( 2 x 3=6 )
5) Put the tens digit and units digit together to get 56!
Sixth Form Induction Days 2026
We were delighted to welcome all our Sixth Form Applicants for their Induction Days this term. During their time with us they were able to meet their fellow applicants, attend taster A Level lessons, chat to staff, and get a feel of what life will be like as part of our Sixth Form. We look forward to seeing them again on Results Day in August.
Work Experience
During the week beginning the 6th July our Year 12 students embarked on their work experience week. We are extremely grateful to all the employers who allow our students this fantastic opportunity.
Some of the placements this year include:
Cotswold Falconry Centre
University of Birmingham
The Bridal Room, Broadway
Thomas O’Gorman Solicitors
Coventry Magistrates Court
Calor Gas Ltd
Meon Medical Centre
NFU Mutual
Musical Opportunities
Sax masterclass with Superstar Jess Gillam
This was an event organised and funded by the Chipping Campden International Music Festival. Sax players from all around the county came to the Cidermill Theatre to watch Jess Gillam perform, followed by three students performing in a masterclass and culminating in a mass performance of Tica Tica. Year 12 student George Chappell starred as the first performer in the masterclass.
Serge Prokofiev Performance
During the week beginning 6th July several of our Sixth Form students benefitted from a week of rehearsals with a professional group of musicians in a performance of Lieutenant Kije by Serge Prokofiev. This is extremely advanced music that very few school students get a chance to perform, made possible by the support and encouragement of the professionals playing alongside them. Again, this project was organised and fully funded by the Chipping Campden International Music Festival.
Duke of Edinburgh – Going for Gold!
Sixth Form students are currently undertaking their Gold D of E assessed expedition in the Isle of Skye; after arriving at the weekend they set off on Monday morning (13th). We wish them lots of luck for the remainder of the expedition!
Year 13 Dinner Dance
On Friday 3rd July Year 13 students and members of staff gathered at The Crowne Plaza Hotel for the Leavers Dinner Dance 2026. The sun shone and a fantastic night was had by all which included a three course meal and disco. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Dinner Dance Committee who helped to organise the decorations for the room and tables. The evening was the perfect way to commemorate their time at CCS. Good luck Year 13!
And finally…
We would like to wish all our readers a restful and enjoyable summer!