Newsletter 01.04.2026 – St Nicholas Catholic High School

A prayer to share

Loving God

Watch over our students, staff, and families
during the holiday ahead.
Keep us safe, renew our spirits,
and fill us with Your peace.

May we return refreshed and ready
to grow in faith, hope, and love.

Amen.

A Message from our Chaplain, Mairie

As we come to the close of a busy Lent term, our school community has much to celebrate. We have been delighted to continue to mark 60 years of faith, learning, and service — six decades of forming young people grounded in Gospel values and committed to making a difference in the world. Our recent Afternoon Tea for Alumni and Staff caused us to realise what an influence St Nicholas has had on so many people.

Our students have been continuing that mission in their enthusiastic support for CAFOD and Caritas throughout this term. Through creative fundraising, generous giving, and a spirit of compassion, they have helped bring hope to communities both locally and globally. We are proud of their commitment to Catholic social teaching and their desire to put faith into action. There is still a parent pay item for anyone wishing to add to the contributions for this year.

We were also delighted to welcome Year 4 pupils from our partner primary schools, who joined us for activities and taster sessions. Their curiosity and confidence were a joy to see, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen our partnerships through curriculum and pastoral visits.

Confirmation Preparation – St Mary’s Middlewich and St Joseph’s, Winsford

Confirmation preparation will be beginning soon for young people in Year 8 or above who are in the parishes of St Mary’s, Middlewich or St Joseph’s, Winsford. If your child has made their First Holy Communion and would like to be Confirmed later this year – please speak to your parish priest or deacon.

Mid -Cheshire Foodbank Support

The Foodbank provides support for individuals and families in immediate need and also signposts to other supporting organisations. Contact them via the following numbers –

Cheshire West Help Scheme – 0808 175 3599
Citizens Advice Mid Cheshire – 0808 278 7806
Weaver Vale Housing Trust – 0300 303 9848

As we move into the holiday break, we wish all our students, families, and staff a safe, restful, and blessed Easter season.

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday — and we look forward to welcoming you back for the summer term!

St Nicholas celebrates 60th Anniversary

60th Anniversary Celebration

Last week St Nicholas celebrated 60 years of education with a warm and joyful community event. It was wonderful to see so many former students and staff return to reconnect over afternoon tea and share memories.

Headteacher Craig Burns welcomed everyone, reflecting on the strong sense of community and the many people who have shaped the school over the years, including founding Headteacher Mr O’Connor.

As well as looking back, the event celebrated the school today, with students highlighting its supportive, resilient community and the values that continue to help young people grow and succeed.

Thank you to everyone who came to share in this special day.

Poetry by Heart

The Poetry by Heart Competitors

This amazing group of students and some brave English teachers (Miss Else, Mrs Davenport and Mrs Windsor) took part in the Poetry by Heart contest. We memorised and performed a poem to a fabulous audience.

Library and Literacy

National Senior Reading Champions

Huge congratulations to our Senior Reading Champions quiz team who beat other teams from the Merseyside and Greater Manchester area to tie for first place in regionals. The team conquered an intense three hours of quick-fire questions, 80 in total, often scoring a perfect 10 in each round. They were one of the only teams in the whole of the UK to correctly answer the question dubbed the “most difficult” by the quiz master himself (Who wrote the dystopian thriller Happy Head? Josh Silver – we’ve met him twice at the Cheshire Schools’ Book Awards. We’re basically best friends).

Unfortunately, another school had the same score as us so it all came down to a tie breaker question… “How many words are there in Dr Seuss’s A Cat in a Hat “( 1,626 if you’re interested)? We sent in our answer and waited with baited breath for the other school to do the same (we would never accuse anyone of Googling the answer or anything but let’s just say it took them a while). Sadly, we were just pipped at the post. The number they gave was closer than ours and the trip to London for the final slipped out of our grasp. Congratulations to all the winners of the regional heats and we wish them all the best for the final.

However, our consolation prize wasn’t too shabby – £80 worth of book tokens? Yes please! And our team can be proud in the knowledge that they finished in the top percent of senior quiz teams in the whole of the UK with enthusiasm and integrity and are legit book geniuses.

Sporting Success

U13 Cheshire Cup Final

Our Year 8 girls fought their way to the final of the Cheshire Cup where they put in a good performance. Sadly, Neston were the stronger team on the day, so St Nicholas came away with a silver medal.

A huge thank you to Buccaneer in Northwich for sponsoring our new kit!

Boccia Success

Well done to the St Nicholas Boccia team. Last week they attended a tournament and won all of their nine matches!

They all conducted themselves brilliantly, cheering on not only each other but also other teams attending. It was a brilliant day out and a performance to be proud of!

Netball Success

Our amazing Year 8 Netball Team played in a tournament on Thursday 19th March. They played extremely well against a very strong group and came 4^th overall.

A big shout out to two of the students who have done the treble that week – representing school in Football on Tuesday and Wednesday and Netball Thursday.

PTFA

Dear parents & carers,

What a wonderful evening we had on Thursday at school celebrating its 60^th Anniversary. The staff and pupils did a fantastic job. Thank you to everyone who bought raffle tickets.

Our next meeting will be in school on 11th May at 5.15pm. If you or anyone you know in our community would like to join our PTFA please contact school or come along to our meeting as we really need new members in order to keep raising funds for school. Thank you so much.

We wish you all a wonderful Easter holiday & blessings.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Your PTFA

Your School Lottery

Thank you to everyone who has signed up to help the school.

Our latest jackpot winning numbers are:
159063, 585646, 966745 & 421089

Our supporters have won: £18.50 & £11.00 in the draw!

Please consider joining our school lottery if you’ve not already done so as it helps raise funds for school.

Thank you for your support as always.

www.your.schoollottery.co.uk

Careers

Computer Science and Tech Degrees at University
Virtual Hack-a-thon Event

Tuesday 14th April, 5pm – 7:00pm Apply here

University maths workshop

Law and Insurance Career Pathways

Introduce students to specialist legal and insurance positions in Liverpool with DWF Law LLP. They gain insight into insurance law while building confidence, analysis and teamwork skills.

Careers in Sports Media

Inspire future broadcasters here with Futures For All. Students explore sports journalism, digital content and marketing while building teamwork and communication skills.

Gaming Industry Design Challenge

Inspire future game creators with Futures For All. Students explore design, storytelling and the business of gaming while building teamwork and creative skills.

PR & Social Media Storytelling

Inspire creative communicators with Carnsight Communications. Students learn how brands tell stories online while building digital content and communication skills.

Community Notices

FREE Easter Holiday Activities and Food clubs across Cheshire West

For detail of Easter holiday activity clubs click here.

Course for aspiring football coaches

How to deliver an engaging session 12-16 year olds, delivered by Cheshire FA
Click here

Girls Cricket

Easter STEM skills club

Grange School Sports Centre, CW8 1LU: 7th – 10th April 2026

More information : www.skillclubs.co.uk.

Easter holiday activities in Hartford

Looking for entertainment for children and teens over the Easter school holidays?
There are lots of free or low-cost activities, in and around Hartford.

Take a look at our summary of what is on offer: https://hartfordparishcouncil.org.uk/holiday-fun

Spring holiday activities

At Sandiway Library

Attendance

Everyone matters – so attendance matters

Upcoming dates

Monday 20th April SCHOOL REOPENS
Tuesday 21st April MFL Orals commence
Friday 24th April D of E Silver & Gold Qualifying Expedition
Monday 27th April Final Art Exams commence
Wednesday 29th April Year 11 Leavers Mass 5.30pm

May 2026

Monday 4th May BANK HOLIDAY
Tuesday 5th May Year 7 Exams commence
Thursday 7th May GCSE Exams commence/ Junior Maths Challenge Year 7&8
Monday 11th May PTFA meeting
Friday 15th May Year 13 Celebration Mass
Friday 22nd May Year 9 Reports to Parents / SCHOOL CLOSES
Monday 1st June SCHOOL REOPENS
Friday 19th June INSET Day
Wednesday 22nd July SCHOOL CLOSES

Click here for future dates

Click here to download 2026-27 Holiday Dates