This Week’s Headline Story…

All The World’s A Stage For Pupils After Globe Visit
10th May 2024
Children at Highfield and Brookham have used their trip to the iconic Globe Theatre as inspiration for creative writing in English. Last week’s trip to the historic London landmark, which nestles un…
Curious Nursery Children Make Their Mark





The Nursery children explored their motor skills as the sun shone this week, engaging in a colourful world of paint and movement. As they experimented with various tools such as rakes in a sandpit and squirting paint from a bottle, their curiosity helped them discover how different movements created unique marks. Working and learning with peers, they shared ideas and techniques, fostering a real sense of togetherness and accomplishment. Through this playful process, the children not only developed their motor skills but also gained an understanding of cause and effect, learning first hand the outcomes of their mark-making adventures.
Penny Hodnett, Nursery Class Teacher
Reception Don’t Freeze When Faced With Penguin Ice Rescue





Reception have really been enjoying reading their story Lost and Found, which tells the endearing tale of a boy and the journey he makes to return a lost penguin to its home at the South Pole. Included among the pages of the book was a letter written by the boy in our story, who wanted help rescuing penguins who had been trapped in ice blocks. So, faced with many little blocks of ice, the children eagerly discussed ways in which they could melt the ice in order to free the penguins. Brilliant suggestions resulted from the group discussion, including using salt, keeping the blocks out in the sun, and putting the ice into water. Having successfully rescued all of the penguins, the children talked about what happens to ice when it melts and how ice forms in the first place.
Natasha Jacklin, Reception Class Teacher
Year 1 Bark Up The Right Tree In Quest For Knowledge





Eager learners in Year 1 took to the great outdoors to learn all about trees, for example understanding what a tree is made up of and distinguishing between different types of trees such as evergreen and deciduous. The project enabled the children to be really hands on with nature, rubbing bark to get a clear picture of differing patterns and drawing and recording the shapes of different varieties of leaf. The young naturalists of tomorrow also worked in small groups to determine the size of tree trunks, using wool to measure their circumference. It was wonderful to see the children work with such energy and enthusiasm while boosting their mental health in the sunshine and fresh air.
Rebecca Lane, Year 1 Class Teacher
Year 2 Mathematicians Keen To Get The Whole Story





Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed this week’s maths challenge, which aimed to develop further their ability to work together effectively in small groups while counting in fractions up to a whole. The children impressed everyone with their enthusiasm for the investigation and their application of specific maths vocabulary (numerators, denominators, unit fractions, non-unit fractions, wholes, parts and equivalent) within the correct contexts to explain their findings. The children surpassed expected ‘guidelines’ as they identified and counted accurately in halves, quarters, thirds, fifths, eights and tenths up to and beyond a whole, then converted fractions into lengths on the metre ruler, in both centimetres and metres.
Shirley Jervis, Year 2 Class Teacher
Year 3 Have Oceans Of Information At Their Fingertips





Year 3 have been creating factfiles on Word during digital literacy this week, answering questions in conjunction with their current topic looking at the world’s oceans. The children had to research facts on the various oceans and collate information, such as where they are in the world and what different layers make up the oceans. The children had to generate ideas in order to be creative with their finished piece of work, adding a page colour and page border as well as altering the font type size and colour to make the page more appealing for their audience. And they gained a real sense of achievement as their navigation between the software applications got quicker as they went through the process, enabling them to find information on various web pages much more efficiently.
Richard Dunn, Head of ICT
Year 4 Linguists Play The Name Game





Year 4 have been learning country names in their French lessons as they align this term’s work with topics around their ‘Going for Gold’ theme. They put their communication skills to the test as they imagined living in different places around the world, asking and telling each other which exotic countries these were. They also had to be mindful of the fact that the French have more than one way of saying ‘in’. As a result, the children had to find out if their country was masculine, feminine or plural before giving their answer. But they rose to the challenge and enhanced their knowledge of how gender impacts the French language.
Jo Longshaw, Head of Modern Foreign Languages
Year 5 Cricketers Shine In The May Sun





Highfield’s U10A boys had a great tussle against Amesbury, ultimately falling to a 21-run defeat. Bowling first, Highfield kept plugging away with the ball and encouraging each other in the field as Amesbury ended their 20 overs on 226-6. Facing a daunting total, Highfield’s batsmen gave their all and showed real composure throughout their innings before falling just short on 205-5. Despite being on the wrong end of the result, the attitude and determination of the boys was exemplary as they showed great heart and kept their heads held high throughout.
Jordan Knapp, U10A Boys’ Cricket Coach
The U10Bs were involved in an exciting game of Twenty20, with the match going right down to the wire. Highfield bowled well, with Monty M impressing with a double wicket maiden, and the fielders backed their bowlers as they restricted their visitors to an 86-run total. Despite a valiant effort with the bat, Amesbury ran out eventual winners, claiming the last wicket in the very last over. It was a thoroughly enjoyable game played in excellent spirits, made even better by the welcome sunshine.
Danny Parkinson, U10B Boys’ Cricket Coach
In an exhilarating pairs match against Amesbury, Highfield U10C secured a decisive 26-run win after a commanding performance. In this 15-over game, Ben B captained the side with poise and impeccable communication, guiding the team strategically throughout the game, while Louis M was on fire as a batsman, amassing the most runs for Highfield and showcasing superb form and control. Alessi GD was the pick of the Highfield bowlers when Amesbury replied, picking up four wickets, while James P was rock-solid behind the stumps as the visitors were restricted to a 262-run total. The entire team demonstrated steady improvement, consistently bowling well and gaining confidence with every match. A thrilling win for Highfield U10C that promises more success in the future.
Lewis Campbell, U10C Boys’ Cricket Coach
Year 6 Have Designs On Attention-Grabbing Logos





Year 6 have been exploring the art of graphic design in their DT lessons this term, and this week they discovered how shapes can influence a logo’s appearance and transmit subtle messages. They were challenged to illustrate a selection of logos for ten different themes, using their shape blocks as a starting point. They then used this technique to draw up a logo using computer-aided design.
Jamie Dew, Head of DT
Year 7 Strike A Chord With Their Ukuleles





Year 7 are learning the four basic ‘primary’ chords on the ukulele with the aim of being able to play and sing the song Riptide. The children realise the importance of everyone making a contribution in order to master the challenge of playing as an ensemble while being able to finesse the transition between the tricky chord sequences.
John Mühlemann, Director of Music
Artful Year 8 Research Life And Work Of Figure Artist





Year 8 have been learning about the life and work of contemporary figure artist Lynette Yaidom-Boakye in art. The children researched the artist independently and began to create information pages. Many pupils produced work that was decorative and exciting to look at, as well as including key points about the artist.
Tamsin Pearson, Year 8 Art Teacher