In our PSHE lessons, Reception have been thinking about how everyone is different and special in their own way. This week, we compared houses and thought about how people live differently to us. In small groups, we drew our own homes and used our listening skills to great effect to discuss how they differed from other people’s.

Natasha Jacklin, Reception Class Teacher

Year 1 this week continued to develop their phonic knowledge, which will support both their reading and writing skills. The children carefully listened to sounds before speaking words which included these sounds, aimed high when reading books in pairs, and were kind and supported each other throughout their task as they built up their confidence with phonic sounds.

Rebecca Lane, Year 1 Class Teacher

Year 2 linguists were excited to investigate Christmas in Spanish-speaking countries. Using their speaking and listening skills, the children explored some mouth-watering festive fayre and looked at the different ways the festive season is celebrated around the world at this special time of year. They then got creative, decorating letters to spell out the words Feliz Navidad – Merry Christmas in Spanish!

Leana Staring, Year 2 Spanish Teacher

The erudite Year 3s were aiming high in maths when developing the use of strategies to check their answers. The children looked at estimations and considered how they can be a useful method for checking accuracy of calculations. As a result, they were able to add reasoning to their thinking while also considering what approximations could be used for other calculations. Applying this to real-life scenarios highlighted the preference of over-estimation, particularly in the context of how many packets of biscuits are needed for a school trip!

Henrietta Platt, Year 3 Class Teacher

As part of their current art project studying Islamic clay tiles, Year 5 this week learned how to produce a tile based on a design from their sketchbook. They really enjoyed doing this and I was impressed with how they cut the square shape and used the tools. The children aimed high and duly produced some wonderful clay tiles which featured geometric shapes and symmetry.

Tamsin Pearson, Year 5 Art Teacher

Year 6 have been working through their electricity module, learning about the relevance and importance of series and parallel circuits. The children recapped work on conductors and insulators and applied their knowledge of simple circuits to help identify which materials acted as conductors and which didn’t. They worked in small groups to test each material and record their observations, utilising key skills of teamwork, problem-solving and leadership.

Oliver Hamilton, Head of Science

In Latin, Year 7 continue to learn language alongside aspects of the ancient world, and this week the topic was in what ways the Greeks as subjects of the Roman empire influenced their overlords. By translating sentences revolving around “you’re all x because you…. whereas we’re y because we….” the pupils not only practised the first and second-person plural of the verb “to be” but also learned how the Romans admired Greek invention and vision.

Alex Walker, Head of Classics

In digital literacy, Year 8 were challenged to define peer pressure and give examples of how it can happen online. The children were asked to consider how a good friend should behave and assess whether they were indeed a good friend online as well as face to face. The essential skill of speaking was employed as Year 8 considered how they could call out cyber bullying and stick up for any friends feeling the effects of peer pressure.

Richard Dunn, Head of ICT