Headteacher's Letters

Dear Parents & Carers,

We have had a very busy few days! Thank you to all parents and carers who attended the Year Group Information Evenings over the past two weeks. It is always wonderful to meet our families and share our focus on both the academic and pastoral development of our students.

Attendance

Thank you to all parents and carers who support their child in attending school every day. Unfortunately, since the beginning of term, we have seen a significant dip in attendance on Fridays. Individual families will be contacted if trends in attendance on Fridays continue to cause concern. Missing school on a Friday has a serious impact on students academically. Students who do not attend:

• Miss 5 lessons of learning a day
• Struggle to fully understand the curriculum
• Develop gaps in their learning, which affects performance in tests and assessments
• Experience increased anxiety and difficulty in completing homework
• Achieve lower grades compared to their peers

We encourage you to help build your child’s resilience by ensuring they attend school every Friday. If you need support to help your child attend school consistently, please contact us. Persistent absence is defined as attendance below 90%. We have had 18 school days so far this term; missing just two days already brings attendance below 90%. Our school target for all students is 97%.

Catholic Life and Mission

Materialism & Fairtrade

During our most recent assemblies we have reflected on the message in Luke’s Gospel: You cannot serve God and money’ and the impact of materialism in our daily lives and on the environment. We have also marked the start of Fairtrade Fortnight educating students about ethical consumption and the global inequalities in trade, showing how small choices—like buying Fairtrade chocolate, coffee, or clothing—can make a real difference to people’s lives in developing countries. We will be holding a Fairtrade Bake Sale on Friday 3^rd Oct 2025.

Year 7 Welcome Mass

I would like to thank the Year 7 families who attended our Mass of Welcome last Friday. It was lovely to welcome all our Year 7s to a community experience celebrating our Faith. 

Calling all students in Years 10 & Year 11 – Archdiocese Pilgrimage to Lourdes

We are excited to announce that the Archdiocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, will take place from 22nd – 31st July 2026 for students aged 15+. Students in Years 10 & 11 are eligible to take part. The Archdiocese is celebrating 50 years of pilgrimage to Lourdes!

Early Bird Discount:
Students who apply before 20th October 2025 will benefit from a £50 discount. The full cost of the pilgrimage is £670, and the school will support students with fundraising activities to help reduce the overall price. All Travel to and from Lourdes, hotel accommodation in Lourdes, breakfast, lunch and dinner in Lourdes, pilgrimage T Shirts and travel insurance.

Why this pilgrimage is an exciting opportunity:

• Faith: Many young people return from Lourdes feeling renewed and joyful in their faith. For those struggling with faith, Lourdes offers a meaningful reminder of its importance.
• Friendships: Meet and build friendships with young people from different schools and towns.
• Experiences: Enjoy new and different experiences every day. Students often return changed by their week away.
• Resilience: Navigating new places, meeting new people, and taking part in unfamiliar duties helps build resilience.
• Independence: Being away from home encourages self-care and essential life skills.
• Responsibility: Pilgrims are responsible for themselves and are involved in assisting others, fostering a sense of responsibility.
• Confidence: Taking on new tasks and helping others builds confidence in abilities and character.
• Future Opportunities: Participating in the pilgrimage and acting in service of others is a standout experience for CVs, job interviews, and college or university applications.

This is a unique and life-changing opportunity for students to grow in faith, independence, and personal development. Students who are interested in taking part should see Mr Baron, our school chaplain by Friday 3^rd Oct 2025.

Teaching & Learning

Lesson visits and student work samples have shown that many students have made a strong start to the new term. It has been wonderful to see them engaged in mini whiteboard activities and partner work during Think/Pair/Share sessions. Students are being encouraged to give longer verbal responses and to write more extensively in independent learning tasks.

You can support your child by encouraging independent reading at home and good homework routines. Our library has a wide range of books to suit all interests and ages, so there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Open Evening

A huge thank you to all our students who so generously gave up their time to help at the school’s Open Evening last Thursday. They were outstanding tour guides, exceptionally helpful in subject areas, and warmly welcomed prospective Year 6 pupils and their parents. Their enthusiasm, confidence, and pride in our school were truly impressive and made the evening a great success.

Year 11 Drama Trip

Last week, our Year 11 Drama students had an exciting trip to Chester Storyhouse Theatre to watch The Woman in Black. As part of their GCSE course, they are learning to critically evaluate live theatre, and this performance offered a fantastic opportunity to do so. Despite its simple set, the production created a truly haunting atmosphere, clever illusions, and unforgettable suspense. It was wonderful to see our students engaged and inspired by the experience.

Sports Updates

A few updates from Mr Evans in the PE Department:

Last Week:

District cross country - 1st place from OLQP - Mero W.  Overall 6th place.

Y9 Boys' Lancs Cup vs Upholland 5-5 (lost on pens).  POTM - Simon H

Y11 Sports Studies Anderton Centre trip

Opening Evening - Well done to all the leaders for helping team PE

Dates for your diary

PARENTS’ EVENINGS (Thursdays 4-6.30pm)

6^th November 2025                          Year 8

20^th November 2025                        Year 11

22^nd January 2026                             Year 7

5^th February 2026                             Year 9

26^th February 2026                           Year 10

INSET DAYS (School is closed)

INSET 3 - Monday 3rd November 2025
INSET 4 - Friday 28th November 2025
INSET 5 - Monday 20th July 2026

Holiday Dates

Full term dates for this academic year 2025/26 and next academic year are available on our website Term Dates | Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Engineering College

Thank you for your ongoing support at the start of this term.

Kind regards

Mrs M. Henshaw

Headteacher