In Reception, the children have been appreciating the epic journey that the swallows undertake each year. Now that most of the swallows have arrived in the UK, the children have been given the challenge of trying to spot these impressive birds before they leave again in September. Starting in the classroom, the children studied the globe, discussing the length of the daunting journey facing the birds. Using the size of the UK as a guide, the Reception children grasped the concept of the enormity of the distance that the birds must cover on their journey to South Africa. The journey of the swallows link to some of our key learning powers – namely teamwork, resilience and perseverance. When looking at their route in greater detail, Reception discussed the range of weathers and temperatures that the swallows would experience on their journey to South Africa, including crossing France, Spain, the Saharan desert and the UK. To experience the great migration, the children got creative and made their own swallows from clay, sticks and card. This provided an opportunity to refine cutting skills and fine motor skills while shaping and then attaching the clay to the card. Once all the swallows were ready the children set off on their migration. En route around the school grounds as a flight (group), the children stopped off to ‘sleep’ overnight, caught flying insects, swooped down to drink water while still in flight and circled back to make sure they stayed together as one. Some children chose to extend their swallow appreciation by drawing the swallows, in flight, on telegraph wires or with their young, and by making a swallow information poster. These impressive birds have proven to be a source of real inspiration for the children.

Rebecca Lane, Reception Class Teacher

Year 1 have been busy reading ‘The Very Greedy Bee’ and so were incredibly excited at the prospect of a visit from ‘The Bee Lady’ this week. It was a great opportunity for the children to flex their relating and reflective learning muscles and they were captivated from the start. With a desire to learn all they could about bees, the children used their relating muscles as they listened intently. The class was told that honey bees are the only bees that don’t hibernate and learnt how honey bees work together to collect an enormous amount of nectar to feed the queen bee and her babies. The children were quick to comment on how hardworking and busy bees must be and reflected that this might be where the term ‘busy bee’ comes from. The children also considered that maybe this was why ‘The Very Greedy Bee’ behaved as he did. ‘He was only doing his job’ one child commented. Keen to extend their learning, the children took it in turns and asked lots of interesting questions and learnt lots of new and interesting things about bees. And Phoebe summed it up perfectly when she marvelled: “They really are amazing!” Once everyone had the opportunity to put on the beekeeper’s protective suit and were shown how to use the smoker, the ‘Bee Lady’ had one more treat in store. Using beeswax, the children carefully rolled their own candles; a wonderful memento of a very special morning in Year 1.

Kathleen Salusbury, Year 1 Class Teacher

It’s been a week of patience, precision and perseverance in Year 2.  Patience doesn’t always come easily to a child when waiting; for a Roman clay pot to dry, for a hydroponic bean seed to germinate, or for a cress head to grow its hair.  However, showing that they will most certainly be ready for Year 3 in September, the children have demonstrated their maturity by waiting and observing the daily changes that are occurring in their projects. When it comes to precision, how many of us have ever managed to draw a perfect circle? Working with a partner at Forest School, the children used some string and two sticks to first draw a circle and then divide it into segments, as an introduction to fractions. Again, their communication and collaboration shone through as they achieved this challenging objective. When asked to talk about an occasion this week where they have shown true perseverance, the examples the children gave ranged across the curriculum: solving worded multiplication and division problems; sprinting that bit faster to achieve a personal best; selecting the perfect word to describe a setting (and looking up how to spell it in the dictionary); carefully coiling clay to create a perfect pot; mastering a cartwheel in the playground.  Without exception, each child was able to explain how perseverance had made a difference to their achievement. It’s clear that they are making the most of every moment they have left in Year 2 and are surging from strength to strength.

Sophie Delacombe, Year 2 Class Teacher

Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week has come at a strategic time for Year 3 as they returned from their residential trip to Mill on the Brue in Somerset totally exhausted after an exhilarating experience. Consequently, some quiet relaxation, reflection and creative activities were most welcome on Monday morning. One such activity was the wonderful visit of Clare Milford Haven, who is an established author and former social editor of Tatler magazine and who received a warm Brookham welcome from Year 3 pupils as she kindly popped in to share her recently published children’s book, The Magic Sandcastle. After their active break time, the children found it calming to listen to the author narrate the story based on her own experiences. Year 3 really appreciated the glorious illustrations while allowing their imaginations to drift toward the North Atlantic coastline. Beautifully illustrated by David William Press, the delightful story is set on the idyllic American island of Nantucket in Massachusetts where the five young Fairchild children spend long, lingering, lazy summer days at their granny’s summer house. In common with Brookham pupils, the children in the story are resourceful and successfully collaborate to build an impressive sandcastle, complete with turrets, a moat and soldiers, in an effort to win a competition. And when things go wrong, they dig deep and flex their resilience learning muscles to overcome unexpected obstacles. Inspired by the story, Year 3 thoroughly enjoyed designing their own unique sandcastle creations, by using natural beach materials.

Shirley Jervis, Year 3 Class Teacher

The pupils in 5SB have been learning all about the claimants to the English throne at the beginning of 1066, when Edward the Confessor passed away with no heir. The children were split into four groups and each child/group had prepared persuasive speeches packed with factual knowledge from their previous learning on the respective candidates. In a hustings-style staging, each group then presented their speech to the Witan (Mr Dunn) on why they should lay claim to the English throne. They shared their speeches eloquently and with zeal – not to mention slandering aplenty of the other contenders to the throne. After due consideration the Witan declared, based on the delivery and content of the speech, that Harold Godwinson should be the next King of England.

Richard Dunn, Year 5 History Teacher

With the official celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee just around the corner, Year 6 have been creating their own tribute in Music. Their composition is inspired by Charles Ives’ ‘Country Band March’ (1903), an extraordinary work which brings together fragments of band music, Ragtime, folk songs and spirituals to recreate the impression of an outdoor parade. The children heard how polyrhythms and polytonality is applied and enjoyed the layering of melodies, including God Save the Queen and I Vow to Thee My Country, into an exuberant performance. Charles Ives was encouraged by his father to experiment and find his own voice and his pieces challenge us to listen and think about composition in a different way.  Despite being composed nearly 120 years ago, it remains as fresh and imaginative today.

Mary Hall, Year 6 Music Teacher

The whole of Year 7 made an epic journey to Bignor Roman Villa in West Sussex. Set in a beautiful valley north of the South Downs, the villa has been reconstructed on private land on which the foundations of a large Roman country farm were found 200 years ago. Pupils were taken on a guided tour of the rooms of the villa’s north wing, which house a series of extraordinary mosaic floors. In addition they visited the remains of the farm’s bathhouse and saw the elaborate under-floor heating system called a hypocaust, an ingenious way for the Roman owners to mitigate the unfamiliar cold that Britannia had to offer. Finally, Year 7 had a chance to get their hands on some of the finds that have been unearthed, including some fascinating, real life Roman artefacts. Proceedings wrapped up with a chance to buy souvenirs of the trip, so expect to see some coins, medallions and necklaces, all authentic ancient creations, of course. Thanks to the staff who accompanied the trip and to the pupils who embraced the opportunity with interest and good humour.

Alex Walker, Head of Classics

The Summer Term always races along at a rate of knots –  and this year is no exception for Year 8. There is a clear desire to finish their time at Highfield with a lot of positive memories and experiences while grinding hard in preparation for Common Entrance exams and the opportunity to show their very best. This week has also included a number of exams, notably mental Maths as well as listening and oral in modern foreign languages subjects. While nerves have naturally been evident, the year group have been brilliant at supporting one another through the week and have worked tirelessly to prepare for their tests. Meanwhile, the rampant pace of this term continues, with athletics, cricket and tennis on the agenda, as well as preparation for myriad concerts and this year’s Year 8 leavers’ production, not to mention their academic studies.  But what has really impressed the teachers is how so many children have found yet another gear and are pushing themselves both in and out of the classroom, taking advantage of the opportunities they have, with both teachers and peers, to flourish in June’s exams.  There is a real sense of togetherness and appreciation for what is to come but also an excitement for their future. We are all hugely proud of how they are tackling the term, safe in the knowledge that there is plenty more to experience with us before they take the next step.

James Figgis, Head of Year 8