17th July 2026

Dear Parents and Carers, 

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the end of another school year already! Ashton Gate continues to be an inspiring, caring, and fun-filled place to learn and work, and the terms and weeks always seem to fly by! This year has been filled with wonderful learning, creative experiences and community spirit. I hope you get the chance to reminisce with your children over the holiday about the year just gone, I am sure they will  have many highlights that they will recall. 

We are incredibly proud of all that we have achieved together this year. The children’s energy, enthusiasm and curiosity is always at the heart of all that we do, and it has been wonderful to see their progress and resilience grow throughout the year—from our youngest children in Reception to our Y6’s who are now heading off to the next stage of their learning journey.

A huge thank you as always goes to our wonderful PTA. Your tireless commitment, creativity and fundraising efforts have once again helped enrich the school experience for all our children. Special thanks to Jo  for your fantastic leadership as Chair. We are all sad to see her step down from the role, but fully appreciate she may want a rest after working tirelessly in the post for several years. We are also deeply grateful to our governors, who give up so much of their time to support the strategic direction and success of the school. 

To our staff—thank you. Your dedication, passion and care shine through in every corner of our school. From the busy classroom learning, to our playgrounds and lunch halls and to the many extra-curricular opportunities and the countless unseen moments of kindness and support, you have all created a safe, warm and exciting environment to help all our children thrive and enjoy their days at school. I would also like to say a special thank you to Mrs Dowlman for her tremendous stewardship of the school while I was on secondment. As you can imagine, leaving the school for a year was a big deal for me, but I had every faith in Mrs Dowlman and I know you will all agree that she was a fantastic Executive Headteacher in my absence. 

This year we also say farewell to a number of valued staff members –  Miss Goadby and Miss Balla – thank you both for all of your hard work and commitment, you will be missed by us all. 

To the children—thank you for your endless creativity, thirst for learning and humour. You are the reason Ashton Gate is such a special place. A special goodbye and good luck to our Year 6 pupils—you have been brilliant ambassadors for the school during your time with us and are all true ‘Ashton Gaters’! We know that you will go on  to do amazing things.

The staff are already busy preparing for September, and we’re already excited for the next academic year. We wish all our families a peaceful and happy summer break. Thank you for your ongoing support—and we look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 7th September. 

Mr Jones 

Please be aware that if you are are currently entitled and you do not re-apply, your entitlement will end on 31st August and your child will not be entitled to free schools meals when we return in September.

As you are aware, from September 2026, Free School meals eligibility is changing with the scheme being extended by the DFE and all pupils who are currently entitled to Free School Meals need to reapply or their entitlement will end on 31st August 2026.  Pupils will need to have a re-check annually to confirm their eligibility.

What you need to do as soon as possible

Check | LGfL FSM.  We will be automatically advised that you have applied and the result.  Once you have completed your application and are on the LGfL system, the school will be able to re-check eligibility for you next year.

The PTA Summer Fair – Another Amazing Event

We wanted to start this week but saying a huge thank you to everyone that made it to the Summer Fair – it was another great success, and we had lots of brilliant feedback, which makes it all worthwhile. What makes it even more special was the total we raised this year which was (Drum Roll) £5,000!!!

It really is amazing to think we can raise that during a single day, and of course we couldn’t have done it without our incredible volunteers – so a HUGE thanks again for all your amazing help!

Here are a few of our favourite pics from the day

Final Thanks

Thanks always for all your support – we say it a lot but every penny we raise with your support goes directly to the school and helps provide much needed addition funds. It really does make an incredible difference, which is why all of us in the PTA are so passionate at putting on events, raising money and gaining all your support. Plus, they are so much fun, and we get huge satisfaction when we see all the kids and adults enjoying themselves!

Your PTA

It’s almost time for the annual Summer Reading Challenge!  

The free, annual programme challenges children, aged 0 to 12, to read up to six library books of their choice over the summer. This includes fiction, non-fiction, ebooks, audiobooks, poetry, joke books, comics or anime. 

Starting on Saturday 4 July, children who take part in the challenge can collect fun stickers and a bookmark. Once participants complete the challenge, they will receive a medal and a certificate at their local library. 

This year’s theme ‘Read to the Beat’, includes music inspired imagery by award-winning author and illustrator, Harry Woodgate and an interactive website. The programme is designed to inspire children to discover new books, take part in fun activities, and explore the connection between stories and music. 

Councillor Stephen Williams, Chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee said: “The Summer Reading Challenge is a fantastic opportunity to inspire children to keep reading throughout the summer holidays, helping them build confidence while exploring new stories.  

“This year’s music inspired ‘Read to the Beat’ theme helps young readers to discover the joy of books and celebrate the magic of music. I hope families across Bristol will join the challenge and take advantage of this brilliant, free programme.”  

The challenge is an initiative by UK Charity, The Reading Agency, and last year over 4,000 children in Bristol took part, exploring a diverse range of books from Bristol’s 26 libraries.  

Head of Libraries, Kate Murray, said: “The Summer Reading Challenge is a wonderful way to encourage young readers to get excited about books and reading. The ‘Read to the Beat’ theme will engage with children and inspire their musical journeys and creative expression. 

“I’m really looking forward to seeing children and their families making the most of this free initiative, which is both stimulating and educational, over the summer holiday. We know that Bristol is an amazing city for creativity and we want our summer reading challengers to enjoy music and stories. So, visit your local library and get started.” 

To take part, children can sign up at their nearest library, where they will be given a collector folder to keep a record of their Summer Reading Challenge journey. The Summer Reading Challenge website also offers book recommendations, quizzes, competitions, author interviews, and activities for all ages, plus resources for parents, carers, and teachers. 

There are a host of fun events and activities planned at Bristol libraries for families over the summer to celebrate the programme, including children’s storytelling sessions and arts and crafts activities. 

So, are you ready to take on the Summer Reading Challenge? Join us in celebrating the joy of reading and the power of stories in a library near you! 

School Compass, an independent parent information service, founded by experienced teacher, school leader and parent Joe Pardoe, has created a range of free resources to help families navigate the secondary school application process with confidence.

Resources include a free Secondary School Visits Guide and a free webinar covering open evenings, admissions, understanding school differences and making informed decisions.

Secondary School Visits Guide:

Applying for Secondary School Live Webinar:

These resources are independent of our school and are shared for information only.

Regular school attendance is one of the best ways to help your child succeed. When children come to school every day, they keep up with their learning, build confidence in their skills, and develop good routines that set them up for the future. Every day at school matters—it helps your child stay on track and get the most out of their education.

It is also important to arrive at school on time. If a child arrives late to school every day, their learning begins to suffer. Below is a graph showing how being late to school every day over a school year adds up to lost learning time over one academic year.

Please remember to order your child’s lunch before 10pm on a Wednesday. If your child only has a meal once a week, you will still need to book this.

We are still having a lot of children who do not have a lunch booked with no packed lunch. Please remember the default meal is always salad bar. No other option will be available.

Please remember not to order a school lunch if your child is on a school trip, where a packed lunch is required. If you have already booked a meal for this date, the meal can be cancelled by the payer until 10pm on a Wednesday for the following week. As all food is pre-ordered there will be no refunds issued for non-cancelled meals.

A reminder that we are a nut free school. Please do not send your child to school with snacks/packed lunch with items containing nuts. This includes items such as Pesto, filled crepes and chocolate spread.

We are now on Facebook. Please like our page, we will be using this page to celebrate events and learning moments taking place across the school. We encourage you to invite other parents and family members to join as well, so that too can be part of our vibrant school network. Rest assured, our Facebook page will prioritise the privacy and security of our children. We will follow all the necessary precautions and guidelines to protect identities and ensure a safe online environment.

Studybugs is no longer in use. Please record any illnesses/medical appointments using the Arbor parent portal app. For planned absences please complete the online form on the attendance page of our website.