Ashton Gate Primary School Newsletter

This term, we will be running a parent’s/carer’s meeting about our updated reading curriculum in KS1. We are hoping this will give you the opportunity to ask questions and understand more about: our Little Wandle reading scheme, the Phonics Screening Check, and our teaching of reading skills, fluency and vocabulary.

This will be held on Monday 30^th March, at 9:30am, on the Ashton site.

We look forward to seeing you!

Last week, Year 1 were scientists for the day during their visit to We The Curious! They built parachutes, engaged with a minibeast workshop, visited the planetarium and had loads of fun exploring all things science! The children were encouraged to think like a scientist by asking questions, testing and discussing what they found out.

As part of Ashton Gate’s celebration of British Science Week 2026, all classes in KS2 undertook a science day on Tuesday 10th March. It was an absolute delight to see the pupils engage in, and enjoy, the activities. This was launched with a special Science assembly and next week all KS2 classes will have a wonderful time visiting the Explorer Dome.

Year 2 have been making parachutes and asking questions about which material would be the most effective. Year 1 have been engaging with a variety of different science enquiry activities – Cherry class have been building bridges out of paper, testing if folding, twisting, bending the paper in different ways can make a stronger bridge.

Last week Year 5 were lucky enough to watch a BMX stunt show delivered by champion BMX rider Matti Hemmings from Fusion Extreme. They were also lucky enough to take part in BMX workshops!

This was a reward paid for by the Schools Active Travel Team at Bristol City Council who we have worked closely with us to promote walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting to and from school. The council wanted to recognise and congratulate our school and the children for all our hard work in recently achieving the Modeshift STARS ‘Very Good’ accreditation award level and to encourage more children to cycle. This is a significant achievement, and we should all be very proud of the positive steps we are all taking as a school community to leave our cars at home for those short journeys and choose to walk, wheel, cycle and scoot where possible in order to reap all of the health and environmental benefits!

We have added some helpful information about social media apps (Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok) to the Online Safety section of our website:

The internet offers huge opportunities. From a young age, children have the chance to learn, research, play games, have fun and connect with family who may not live nearby. But it’s important to help them to use the online world in a way that’s safe and positive for their mental health.

We hope you find them useful.

Over the past few weeks in our History lessons, Year 2 have been learning about Grace Darling and the brave actions she took to help save people at sea. Next Friday 20th March, we are very excited to welcome the RNLI into school. They will be sharing stories and knowledge with the children about the impact and importance of Grace Darling’s actions, as well as the lifesaving work they continue to do today. To support this wonderful charity, we would really appreciate any small donations you are able to make. A donation option will be available on ParentPay for you to access.

Thank you very much for your continued support.

The Year 2 Teaching Team

After Easter Year 2 will be taking part in a DT day, sewing and decorating a pouch. We would love to have as many volunteers as possible to come and support us. Timings for the day will be 9.10 to 12ish. 

Please let your child’s class teacher know if you are available to attend. 

• Maple – [email protected]
• Rowan – [email protected]
• Oak – [email protected]
• Sycamore – [email protected]

On Thursday 2nd April, Year 4 are going to be visiting the Explorer Dome. 4G and 4L are looking for parent volunteers to help walk to and from St Francis Centre. If you are able to support this trip, please contact your child’s class teacher. The timings for the sessions are below:

Year 6- Explorer Dome – Tuesday 24th March

To enable us to walk to St Francis hall and back to visit the Explorer Dome, we need some parent helpers. If you are able to assist, please contact your child’s class teacher. The timings are as follows:

Session 1 – 9.10- 10.05   6K – helpers would need to arrive at 8.55 

Session 2 – 10.15- 11.10   6FH – helpers would need to arrive at 10.00 

Session 3 – 11.20-12.15  6M – helpers would need to arrive at 11.05

Session 4 – 1.45-2.45  6BH – helpers would need to arrive at 1.30

Unfortunately, a scooter went missing from the Upton bike shed recently. This happened during the school day so there is a chance that it was taken by mistake. If this is the case, please can you contact a member of staff as soon as possible.

Bristol City Council introduced the School Streets scheme at Ashton Gate Primary, Upton Road site, on 21^st October 2024. This involved creating a walking and cycling-only zone on a section of Upton Road. 

Vehicles are not permitted to enter the zone for 45 minutes in the morning between 8.15am and 9.00am and 45 minutes in the afternoon between 2.45pm and 3.30pm. Emergency vehicles, Blue Badge holders and residents in the affected section of Upton Road are exempt from these restrictions. 

We are now inviting local residents, parents, teachers and local businesses to share their views by taking part in a short survey.  We would like to understand what you think of the scheme, your perceptions on compliance and safety and the impact it has had on your daily life. 

Your feedback is important to us and, alongside other monitoring data, will help to determine the future of the scheme.  

The survey can be accessed online via the following link from Monday 16^th February:

The survey will close on Monday 23^rd March.  

Introducing: Parent Led PTA Events!  

We love putting on PTA events, and the smaller ones like 6 nations have been a great success and raise good cash for the school. There’s only so much the PTA can do though. So, if you’ve got an idea for an event, we could make it happen together!

Perhaps you’d like to run a Scottish ceilidh, a Chinese New Year celebration, a sports screening, or anything else you think the school community would enjoy! Music, dance, you name it, we’ll consider it.

Parents would come up with the event idea. Write a short description for the newsletter/website. Spread the word and secure attendance. Gather a team of volunteers to set up, run the event, and (most importantly) clean up afterwards.

The PTA would set up ticket sales on the PTA website. Arrange and pay for the event licence. Open and close the school site. Run the bar. Help coordinate pizza orders (if suitable).

Most mini events run on a weekend, early afternoon to early evening. The site comfortably holds around 50 adults and 50 children.

Let’s create brilliant experiences for our children, raise funds for the school, and have a great time doing it.

We will be celebrating World Down Syndrome Day on Monday 23rd March. The children are welcome to come to school rocking their funky socks!

Download PDF

WDSD-Socks-A4-Poster.pdf (1 MB) • 1 pages

Comic Relief is Friday 20th March. Your child is welcome to come to school dressed up in something silly.

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.

Get ready for new adventures this spring with Your Holiday Hub
Children and young people in Bristol who receive benefits-related free school meals, can book lots of fun activity sessions taking place during the school holidays from 6 to 17 April. Your Holiday Hub sessions are fully funded and include a healthy meal as part of the day. There’s lots to choose from with activities ranging from sports to crafts, and drama to baking plus so much more. Join in and stay active with fun new things to see and do. 

Download PDF

Holiday-Hub-A4-Poster.pdf (2 MB) • 1 pages

If you are interested in signing up, please complete the form using the button below.