Friday 26th November 2021


It would appear that the lovely season of Autumn is now complete and winter is on its way. We are all really excited that the work on our school campus is now nearly complete and our long-awaited all-weather pitch will soon be available to us once again. We are also hopeful that some of our parking issues may also be resolved. May we thank all students, parents/carers and staff once again for your patience whilst we have sought to improve the facilities we offer.

Although some may yet be in a state of denial, the festive period is now nearly upon us. We cannot necessarily assist with your shopping needs however, we may be able to help with festive decorations. On the one hand, a number of our Welsh Baccalaureate Year 10 students are producing a variety of products to decorate households and celebrate Christmas and these are on sale in school at present and over the coming weeks. Also, on the other hand, we would like to give a special mention to our CAFA committee and their idea to help raise funds this year by selling Christmas trees. Despite many challenges CAFA members have negotiated some great rates with a local Christmas Tree retailer, and are also offering a selection of handmade festive wreaths. Please email cafa@castellalun.flintshire.sch.uk with your order form and remember that all orders must be submitted by Friday 3rd December in order that you can pick your tree up on Saturday 11th December. We would also like to say a huge thank you to Geoff at Ty Draw Farm who has donated a Christmas Tree for our reception area. We will post pictures next week!

We remain mindful as a school community of those people who have fallen upon troubled times and our students have again come up with some ideas for assisting local homeless people. The Castell Alun Sixth Form Charity Committee and Year 11 Enterprise Group are facilitating a collection of items to help those without accommodation in the area, in partnership with the charity Share (https://shareaid.co.uk/). Please be so good as to watch this short video for further details https://drive.google.com/file/d/1akEdhoe-qxJAbhsn9XG-KAApgUHpvZ8R/view?usp=sharing

We would all be extremely grateful if families were able to donate items. However, as general Covid restrictions still apply, we would ask that you please give these items to your son/daughter to bring to school and pass them on to their Group Tutor. Unfortunately, we are unable to receive items via the school reception for this charity work and our final collection date will be the 13th December. The following would be most gratefully received – toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, water bottles, shower gel, soap, socks, moisturiser, hats and gloves. Thank you for your kindness.

After a severely disrupted previous year in school, our current Year 8 English classes have been busy, devising and rehearsing drama pieces for their oracy assessments. Having studied Bram Stoker’s ‘Frankenstein,’ students have created their own scripts for the creation scene in which Dr. Victor Frankenstein strives to achieve his biggest goal: bringing his monster to life. Our students had great fun engaging in this task, developing their group work, scriptwriting and oracy skills. Here is just one example of one of the many fantastic drama pieces created by Year 8. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rkusWpte3sl9DBBof5F5f_KqZh4kUqGO

Really well done to Izzy (Year 12) who recently competed in the STARS equestrian competition at Aintree and won the Rising Star Award for the Working Hunter Class. There is many a young person who has dreamt of jumping at Aintree and Izzy took it all in her stride.

Yesterday evening we held a really successful virtual Year 12 Parents’ Evening and we would like to thank everybody who made the event possible. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week parents/carers of Year 7 students have been provided with the opportunity for a virtual meeting with relevant group tutors. This is just one way in which we develop our partnership with families in order to get the best for and from each of our students.

Students in Year 7 are really looking forward to the panto visit on Thursday 2nd December. This is one of the highlights of the year for so many. Also on the morning of the Thursday, Year 7 students will attend ‘Crucial Crew’ sessions in school which have been designed to help all students to know how to keep safe when danger rears its head.

As part of our Welsh Baccalaureate provision for Year 10, we will invite a number of local ‘Dragons’ into school to meet groups of students as they develop their entrepreneurial skills in an essential part of this national qualification. Thank you so much to the local business partners who have kindly agreed to support us in this venture.

So, as advent begins, don’t forget to have those calendars ready! Have a lovely weekend.