Reception have been learning about different artists this term. Having been inspired sufficiently by the colourful styles of the likes of Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol to imitate their work, the children were asked this week to consider what it would be like to paint a picture without using their hands. Fascinated by the prospect, the children decided to give it a go, clutching paintbrushes between their toes and taking great care to produce some amazing abstract work. It wasn’t easy controlling the paintbrushes – or avoiding getting paint all over the floor – but the children showed great determination and were left delighted by their artistic efforts.

Natasha Jacklin, Reception Class Teacher

This week, Year 1 embarked on a storytelling project in literacy. After spending the term learning to use similes and alliteration within their writing, the children began putting their new-found knowledge into practise. They began their project by reading the story ‘Our Tower’ by Joseph Coelho while clutching homemade ‘magic sticks’, similar to how the characters in the story use special objects to unlock hidden worlds. The children took great care to weave coloured wool around sticks found in the playground before discussing as a group where in their classroom they might find a magic portal.

Hannah Feery, Year 1 Class Teacher

Fire has been the major focus of Year 2’s forest school activities this term. The children first learnt how to be safe around fire, before looking at different ways to build and light fires. They practised a tipi-style fire lay and maintained a flame using the correct size wood, as well as making char cloth to use in subsequent lessons to light the fire. The final lesson in the learning unit saw Year 2 work together to build one large fire in order to cook drop scones; taking care when helping the teachers ladle mixture into hot skillets for cooking over the fire before getting the chance to sit down with friends and savour the lovely warm scones. While waiting for the scones to cook, the children made full use of their outdoor learning space to whittle sticks, build dens and make bug hotels.

Tying in perfectly with their spring term topic on the life and times of the Mayans, Year 3 linguists have this week been researching Spanish-speaking countries in Central America. Working in small groups, the children were tasked with finding out as much as they could about countries that evolved with the arrival of the Spanish. The children used classroom resources such as reference books and their Chromebooks to discover the capital cities, populations, places of interest and the typical fare of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua; diligently putting together a presentation which they shared with their peers. Everyone was captivated by the impressive findings, which ranged from sandboarding down active volcanoes (Nicaragua) to the second largest coral reef system in the world (Honduras).

Leana Staring, Year 3 Spanish Teacher

In digital literacy, Year 5 have been grappling with statistics in Excel. The children have been paying particular attention this week to icons on the toolbar, renaming worksheets, copying and pasting data between worksheets, using the AutoSum button, and putting borders around cells. The ability to work carefully through the instructions was key as the children delved into new areas of an application that they will find extremely useful going forward. As a result, Year 5 gained a deeper understanding of the spreadsheet programme which is designed to organise, format and calculate data using a grid-like structure, allowing users to input, manipulate and analyse information through various functions.

Richard Dunn, Head of Digital Literacy

In drama, Year 6 continued rehearsing for their forthcoming production of Pride Rocks, focusing on the rhythm, concentration and energy they need to bring the performance to life. The children played a clapping and name game to work on these key skills, which were then transferred to their choreography as they ran through the ‘stampede’ scene. The ability to listen carefully to the flow of the music and work together on their timing was paramount as the lions and lionesses prowled through Pride Land, combining movement with song as the children gave a stirring rendition of They Live in You. Year 6 successfully staged another two scenes, but with only four weeks to go until their performance the pressure is now on to learn their lines and make full use of their rehearsal time.

Sarah Baird, Head of Drama

In art, Year 7 have this week been learning about one-point perspective drawings in an urban setting. The children showed great resilience when trying to master the technique and produced some excellent work as a result. Some children decided to challenge themselves further by attempting two-point perspectives as they created their urban scenes. Year 7 really enjoyed adding their favourite shops and restaurants to their cityscapes while also considering environmental issues, with panels, charging points, vertical gardens and roof-top gardens with bee hives among the popular additions.

In DT this week, Year 8 have been gaining a practical understanding of three key tools as part of their anglepoise desk lamp project. Using marking gauges, mallets and chisels, the children discovered that patience and precision were essential when measuring to ensure an accurate mark. As well as gaining excellent experience using marking gauges, Year 7 also gained more of an insight into the cross-lap join and how important precise alignment is.

Jamie Dew, Head of DT