Year 1 and 2 pupils have been diving into the exciting world of simple mechanisms in Design and Technology, discovering how everyday objects can move in wonderfully clever ways.

To begin, the children explored sliders and levers, experimenting with how these mechanisms can make pictures move up and down, side to side, or even pivot. They had great fun trying out different designs and discussing the type of movement each mechanism created.

Building on this hands-on investigation, the children then set about designing their own moving picture cards. They carefully planned what they wanted their card to show, selected the mechanism that would work best, and began thinking about how to make their creations bright, colourful, and truly eye-catching.

We have been so impressed by the children’s creativity, enthusiasm, and problem-solving skills. Their finished moving cards promise to be fantastic, and we can’t wait to share them with you soon!

This half term, Year 5 and 6 have been diving deep into the writing process as they planned, drafted, and edited their own short stories. The focus has been on crafting effective dialogue — not just what characters say, but how they say it.

Pupils explored how emotion, body language, and action can be woven around speech to shape a scene and influence how the reader feels. From tense whispers to excited exclamations, they learned how carefully chosen details can bring characters to life and add impact to their writing.

After producing and refining their drafts, pupils then took their work a step further by using technology and AI tools to enhance their stories. These digital tools supported them in improving grammar, punctuation, and spelling, while also helping them reflect on how to strengthen their narrative voice.

The result? Thoughtful, imaginative stories that showcase not only their technical skills but also their creativity and growing confidence as writers.

This week, the Nursery children have been experimenting with colour mixing in the most hands-on way possible! Each child painted one hand in one colour and the other hand in a different colour before pressing and rubbing them together to see what new shade they could create.

There was a wonderful sense of curiosity and excitement as pupils made predictions, tested their ideas, and watched the colours transform right before their eyes. What began as a simple activity quickly became an opportunity for exploration, discovery, and plenty of joyful mess.

The classroom was filled with laughter, vibrant artwork, and enthusiastic chatter as the children experienced the magic of colour mixing for themselves — a truly creative and memorable learning moment!

Year 10 have been deepening their understanding of the reactivity series of metals as part of their current Chemistry unit. Through a series of practical investigations, pupils explored how different metals behave and why some are more reactive than others.

To begin, they observed the dramatic reactions of Group 1 metals with water, noting the differences in speed, energy release, and the distinctive characteristics shown by each metal. These real-time observations helped pupils link theory to practice, reinforcing concepts such as trends within the periodic table and the formation of alkaline solutions.

They then carried out a combustion reaction between magnesium and oxygen, witnessing the bright white flame and learning how this forms magnesium oxide. This provided an excellent opportunity to discuss oxidation, energy changes, and the role of oxygen in chemical reactions.

The combination of demonstration and hands-on investigation gave pupils a clear and memorable insight into why metals behave the way they do — and how these reactions shape our understanding of chemistry in the real world.

In Geography this week, Year 5 and 6 have been building their understanding of scale and ratio through practical map work. To introduce the concept, pupils began with a hands-on activity using blocks to represent ratios in a clear and visual way. This helped them see how real distances can be scaled down accurately on a map.

With this foundation in place, the children moved on to applying their new knowledge to a variety of maps. They practised calculating distances between different locations, using map scales to convert measured lengths into real-world distances. This gave pupils a brilliant opportunity to connect mathematical skills directly to geographical thinking.

One of the highlights of the lesson was exploring Mr Barnett’s old hiking maps, filled with routes, contours and handwritten notes. The children enjoyed working out how far he walked each day, sparking lots of discussion about landscapes, stamina, and real navigation challenges.

The topic has been a fantastic blend of maths, geography and practical problem-solving — and Year 5 and 6 have tackled it with impressive curiosity and enthusiasm.