In their Spanish lesson, Reception have this week been busy reinforcing their understanding of key vocabulary, including numbers, colours, parts of the body and different types of vehicles. Through interactive activities such as songs, colouring in and games, the children were able to recall previously learned words in an engaging way. The games strengthened vehicle recognition through visuals and sound while the colouring enabled the children to revisit numbers, colours and different vehicles creatively at their own pace.

Sergio Heredia Rodriguez, Reception Class Spanish Teacher

In topic, Year 1 have been continuing to examine ‘why bees are so brilliant’, and this week the children learned that bees are important because they are essential pollinators. Year 1 were  challenged to work together to make some delicious apple and honey cookies, carefully following the recipe every step of the way and considering which ingredients, if any, bees were responsible for. Having sampled the delicious cookies straight from the oven, the children were unanimous in their decision that bees played a big part in their culinary endeavours by producing one key ingredient – the honey!

Kathleen Salusbury, Year 1 Class Teacher

In English, Year 2 were tasked with learning and applying a new weekly spelling rule. The children worked in pairs to create words that featured the ‘or’ sound but contained the letters ‘al’ or ‘all’, for example ‘ball’, ‘walk’, ‘always’ and ‘altogether’. Their creativity really came to the fore as they made up short sentences and poems using as many of these words as they could manage. Using a range of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic strategies, Year 2 actively engaged and enjoyed learning their spellings and applying them in a creative manner.

Shirley Jervis, Year 2 Class Teacher

Year 3 became Mayan traders when they learned about the differing landscapes of Central America in order to understand what made the ancient civilisation thrive. Developing their geographical skills, the children discovered how the regions were sources of different goods and what items the Maya traded. For each group or ‘region’ to flourish, the importance of teamwork was necessary so that they exchanged their goods for a wide variety of items. By the end of the lesson, there were a number of trades being made which showed great initiative and resourcefulness.

Henrietta Platt, Year 3 Class Teacher

Terry Gilmour, a former professional rugby player for the Queensland Reds in Australia and now Head of Rugby at Marlborough College, passed on his vast experience and expertise to the Year 5 boys this week. Mr Gilmour focused on training drills and match-play situations during his visit, and the game of ‘Boom Touch’ was a particular favourite with the boys as it taught them to hold their width on the pitch and exploit space as well as developing a positive, one-on-one tackling technique. Mr Gilmour was instrumental in the coaching of Cadan Murley, who got his first cap for England against Ireland last weekend, and he inspired the boys as he shared a few of the ups and downs that Cadan faced on his journey to becoming an international rugby player.

Dan Bather, Director of Rugby

Year 6 have this term been looking at different separation techniques in science. This week, the children used their understanding and prior knowledge from previous lessons to help them create a series of experiments to separate salt from rock salt, including crushing, dissolution, filtration and evaporation. Year 6 worked in small groups during the experiments, with natural leaders coming to the fore as they discussed the particular techniques to be used before logging their findings.

Oliver Hamilton, Head of Science

In music, Year 7 are learning about notation and graphic score this term. The children have learnt that notation is a system used to represent music through written symbols, indicating pitch, rhythm, dynamics and other musical elements while a graphic score is a visual representation of music that uses non-traditional symbols, shapes and images that allows composers to convey more abstract, experimental or unconventional musical ideas. Armed with this knowledge, Year 7 will use the Line Rider programme to create a sledge run to which classical music will be added.

John Mühlemann, Director of Music

In Latin, revision was in the air this week as Year 8 were busy preparing for their mock exams. This meant reviewing the all-important grammar and helping each other go over vocabulary. Latin continues to demand attention to detail and the accurate placement of all the information in the right order, so for next week’s exam candidates there has been the opportunity to have a practise run and reflect on where gaps might be and to fill them. Through building confidence and independence, Year 8 have given themselves every chance of success in the exam room.

Alex Walker, Head of Classics