Reception have leapt back into gymnastics with huge enthusiasm this term. During their lessons, the children learn and consolidate the hugely valuable fundamental movement skills that underpin the sport that they will play for the rest of their lives. Gymnastics offers the children the chance to explore independently their own bodies, gain awareness of space and force, build confidence in exploring their own movement boundaries, and build on their understanding of physical literacy. This week, Reception have worked on improving shoulder and core strength; key components that children need to develop the fine motor skills that will also help them in the classroom.

Jess Oecken, Head of Brookham Sport

For their first Spanish lesson of the spring term, Year 1 began a new topic looking at ‘las partes del cuerpo’ – or parts of the body. The children displayed a real desire to learn as they immersed themselves in the Spanish language by listening carefully to new words before repeating key vocabulary. And they ended the lesson by beginning to learn the words to the Spanish equivalent of the catchy song ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’. Supporting language development in a playful environment that includes songs and rhymes advances and promotes strong language skills.

Leana Staring, Year 1 Spanish Teacher

In science, inquisitive Year 2 have been learning all about different materials, such as wood, plastic, glass and rubber. The children were tasked with discovering what specific materials were made of and observing their characteristics, for example its colour, texture or smell, as well as deciding if the material was durable, flexible, waterproof or transparent. This gave the children an excellent understanding about everyday materials that they might find at home and at school. Working in pairs, the children were then challenged to find a selection of different objects around the classroom in order to identify the types of material they were made from. They then carefully drew a table in their exercise books and charted their findings.

Shirley Jervis, Year 2 Class Teacher

Inspired by Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Jasper Eaglesfield’s Fanfare for a New King, Year 3 set about working on their own majestic entrance music this week. Using only three pitches and working collaboratively to achieve a shared rhythm, they all performed with a clear sense of occasion. Showing a solid grasp of pitches and using xylophones and drums, Year 3 worked out their rhythms and their timing effectively in small groups to produce some dramatic and inspirational work.

Jess Harman, Year 3 Music Teacher

In art this week, Year 5 took inspiration from intricate Islamic clay tile designs. The children were tasked with finding creative ways to build a design using 2D shapes to form an Islamic-style pattern, which strongly features symmetry, repetition and mirroring of circles and polygons to create a sense of harmony. The design process linked to maths, through use of geometric principles and patterns, and PRE as Year 5 learned about Islamic faith and how geometric and floral designs represent Allah. Such cross-curricular links really help to embed knowledge as it gives more meaning and relevance to the subjects and skills the children are learning.

Olga Houghton, Head of Art

The Year 6 boys enjoyed an epic afternoon of rugby against Westbourne House this week. Three teams racked up 23 tries between them in a series of competitive games in which teamwork and camaraderie really shone through. The young players showed incredible determination and resilience as they continued on an upward curve thanks to effective coaching and training since the rugby season began. To underline the point, the U11B team demonstrated their strength and power in attacking plays and rucks throughout and were rewarded with a try in the final minute. Togetherness and fighting spirit across all three teams truly shone through and the boys are already looking forward to their next set of fixtures.

Simon Gunn, Year 6 Rugby Coach

Determined Year 7 were this week given the opportunity to ‘excel’ in their mastery of a well-known software application. Using data provided, the children had to work out the best way to present this data and interpretate it. This involved creating a chart, deciding on the layout and style, and adding titles and data labels. Some found this easier than others, but it was incredibly heartening that there was always someone willing to help out a classmate when required. In an effort to get our pupils ‘real world’ ready – 66% of office workers use Excel at least once per hour and 38% of office workers’ time is spent using Excel – we want our pupils to be part of the 48% of people who have, to date, received at least some formal Excel training.

Richard Dunn, Head of Digital Literacy

With this summer’s big production in mind, Year 8 this week learned of the importance of trust and co-operation. These two elements are crucial in any drama production to help it flow and the children were tasked with demonstrating trust and sensitivity, carrying out tasks with enthusiasm and a high level of proficiency, and working effectively as part of a team. By taking part in different activities designed to encourage camaraderie, such as communication chair circles, sensing the walk and the Eldridge chair game, the children displayed excellent levels of togetherness and understanding. By the end of the lesson, the children were comfortable using eye contact, were communicating effectively in their groups and overcoming obstacles by calmly discussing the options available.

Sarah Baird, Head of Drama