Report by Lt. Poole

The Cadets’ “First Knight” trip to Yardley Chase on Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th April was an unforgettable adventure filled with teamwork, challenge, and plenty of excitement.

We arrived early in the morning and immediately got to work building our bashas in a stunning bluebell woodland. This activity was brilliantly led by our Year 13 Cadet Corporal Major Ioana Marcu, whose confidence and leadership set the tone for the whole trip. Once settled, we moved on to learning the essentials of camouflage and concealment, putting our skills to the test in a thrilling stalk exercise that had everyone fully engaged.

As evening approached, our Year 10 and Year 11 senior cadets took charge of organising the night-time activities. Their efforts paid off, with everyone thoroughly enjoying the challenges and teamwork involved. We also learned how to cook in the field, which made for a well-earned and delicious evening meal.

The night itself was cold but beautifully clear, giving us the perfect opportunity to try spotting meteors as we settled down after a busy day. It was a memorable moment that many of us will not forget.

The following morning began with a warming breakfast before we launched into another action-packed day. Navigation exercises tested our skills and teamwork, while paintball and field stalking activities brought plenty of energy, laughter, and a bit of mud!

Throughout the trip, the cadets were outstanding. They showed resilience, enthusiasm, and excellent teamwork, and it was fantastic to see how well they bonded with the Kingsthorpe students.

A huge thank you goes to Sgt Major Webber, Lt. Poole, Lt. Charlton, Capt. Rayner, and Mrs Boyle for their dedication and hard work in making the trip such a success. “First Knight” was truly an incredible experience that will stay with everyone involved for a long time.

We are pleased to share our brand-new visual – The CCS Classroom – which will soon be displayed around school.  Demonstrating what a positive and effective classroom looks like from a student’s perspective. It shows what teachers do before, during, and across lessons to help students feel included, understand their learning, stay engaged, and make progress.

Monday 23^rd February 2026

Dear parents and carers,

Welcome back to a brand-new term! We hope you had a lovely rest over the break.

Despite being our shortest term, there is plenty packed into Term 4. We wanted to share with you the key dates for the term, to help you prepare for weeks ahead.

Our website school calendar continues to be a useful resource to keep up to date with the goings-on of our school, which you can visit via the link below:

https://www.ccs.northants.sch.uk/news-and-events/school-calendar

We look forward to another great term ahead!

Kind regards,

CCS Marketing Team

Please find enclosed our winter edition of the CCS Chronicle, a newsletter that highlights the exciting learning and achievements across our subjects and curriculum. https://heyzine.com/flip-book/ChronicleWinter2026

We are incredibly proud of all the hard work and enthusiasm our students have shown this term.

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are excited to let you know that on Thursday 5th March we will be celebrating World Book Day as a whole-school event. It’s a wonderful chance to celebrate reading and enjoy a fun, creative day together.

To help make the day a success, we are encouraging students (and staff!) to dress up. By involving the whole school, we hope the day feels special and enjoyable for everyone, and that students who choose to dress up feel confident and supported. 

This year’s theme is “Words.” Students are invited to choose a single word and base their outfit on it. The word can be abstract, descriptive, creative or linked to something they enjoy. This keeps the day simple, affordable and inclusive. Some ideas might include:

• An adjective – e.g. sparkly, fuzzy
• A colour – e.g. neon, monochrome 
• A profession – e.g. Footballer, Doctor, Author 
• Clothing that represents a hobby, interest or part of their culture 
• A character from a book – e.g. Harry Potter, Matilda

To make the day even more enjoyable, we will also be running a friendly competition, with small prizes awarded for creativity, effort, and how well students have represented their chosen word. We hope this will encourage all students to get involved and have fun with the theme, regardless of age.
 

We want the day to be fun, but also safe and appropriate for all ages. For this reason, we ask that costumes do not include:

• Anything revealing, provocative or adult-themed
• References to violence or weapons
• Gory or horror-based elements, including fake blood or wounds
• References to drugs, alcohol, smoking or illegal behaviour
• Pyjamas, as we want to keep the focus on the theme

Outfits should be school-appropriate, and students should be able to explain the word they have chosen.

We understand that even small changes to the school day can be challenging for some children. If this is your child, we would ask that you please discuss this event with them beforehand and remind them on the morning of World Book Day. Please don’t feel your child needs to come into school wearing mufti; if wearing their school uniform would help them feel more comfortable, they are encouraged to do so. Should you have any questions, you can contact your child's teacher/form tutor or the SEN team (senadmin@ccs.northants.sch.uk) if that is relevant to your child. 

Tutors and class teachers will be talking about the event with students in the lead-up to World Book Day and encouraging everyone to take part. We hope this flexible theme will make it easy for all students to join in.

We are very much looking forward to celebrating World Book Day with our whole school community and seeing all the brilliant ideas students come up with. 

Thank you for your support.

On behalf of Caroline Chisholm School