Year 5: Blog items
Date: 5th Mar 2026 @ 1:50pm
Year 5 celebrated World Book Day in style with a fantastic day full of books, creativity and fun. The children came to school dressed as their favourite book characters, showing off a wonderful range of imaginative costumes inspired by stories they love.
They took part in an exciting assembly where everyone celebrated the joy of reading together. The pupils also tested their book knowledge by taking part in a fun and challenging book quiz.
One of the highlights of the day was a live session with Cressida Cowell, the author of the How to Train Your Dragon series. During the session, the children learned more about the book, discovered how the story and characters were created, and even had the opportunity to learn how to draw some of the characters.
Year 5 - Characterising speech in Reading into Writing
Date: 4th Mar 2026 @ 11:41am
Today in Year 5, we explored how to characterise speech. The children imagined what a bear might say in different situations and then enriched their dialogue by adding emotion, actions and thoughts to bring the character to life.
They carefully considered how the bear was feeling and showed this through expressive word choices, detailed action beats and insightful inner thoughts. It was wonderful to see how confidently they applied skills from previous lessons, including the use of fronted adverbials to add variety and detail to their sentences. They also demonstrated a secure understanding of how to punctuate direct speech accurately.
The children will then apply this to their fable planning later in the unit.
Year 5 - Fanatical about Friction
Date: 3rd Mar 2026 @ 1:25pm
Date: 3rd Mar 2026 @ 1:22pm
Date: 26th Feb 2026 @ 10:09am
As part of our new Reading into Writing Journey, we are looking at fables. Some children in Year 5 have taken their WAGOLL immersion to the next level and, taking the features which they have identified, have improved a WAGOLL which had missing features. This lesson also involoved some more complicated Computing skills as they had to edit an existing document, spell check and correct the formatting as well as improve the text itself! Well done Year 5!
Date: 25th Feb 2026 @ 5:23pm
This week, Year 5 have been developing their understanding of thousandths, exploring how they can be represented as both decimals and fractions.
The children practised reading and writing numbers such as 0.001, 0.245 and 3.678. They also linked these decimals to their equivalent fractions with a denominator of 1,000, deepening their understanding of place value.
Date: 25th Feb 2026 @ 5:21pm
Today in Year 5, we explored the concept of databases and discussed what they are used for. We learned that a database is an organised collection of information that can be sorted and searched in different ways.
To help us understand this, the children worked collaboratively in small groups to create their own paper databases. Each group chose a range of animals and recorded key features, such as habitat, diet, number of legs, and whether the animal was a mammal, reptile, bird, or amphibian.
Once their information was collected, the children practised organising their databases in different ways. For example, they arranged the animals in alphabetical order and then reordered them by specific features.
Date: 24th Feb 2026 @ 6:19pm
Date: 24th Feb 2026 @ 6:15pm
Today in music, we revisited our listening skills using the Listening Mats. We recapped how toidentify musical elements and used them to appraise the song “Free.” The class focused ondescribing what they could hear, including instruments, dynamics, tempo, and mood.
We then continued learning to sing “All Over Again.” After practising the melody and developingconfidence in performance, we revisited the meanings of improvisation and composition. Thechildren discussed how improvisation involves creating music spontaneously, while composition isabout planning and writing musical ideas.
Finally, we performed the song 'All Over Again" - discussing its themes of the resilience anddetermination to overcome a bad day or feelings of frustrations, accepting that tomorrow is a newchance for a fresh start and to start... ALL OVER AGAIN!
Date: 12th Feb 2026 @ 9:29am
This week, Year 5 continued to construct their bug hotels using a frame structure.
Date: 12th Feb 2026 @ 9:25am
This week, Year have been looking at match reports. They read about a real match that took place earlier last week (Manchester City V Newcastle).
Year 5 - Safer Internet Day 2026
Date: 10th Feb 2026 @ 2:44pm
Date: 10th Feb 2026 @ 9:10am
KS2 Learns About Hinduism in a Special Assembly
This week, KS2 enjoyed a wonderful assembly led by a British Hindu visitor who came in to share her experiences and teach us all about Hinduism. She explained that Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest religions and that many Hindus believe in one supreme spirit, Brahman, understood through different deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, and Lakshmi.
We learned about puja, a type of worship that can take place at home or in a temple, and how many Hindu families keep a small shrine where they offer flowers, food, or light a lamp. She also told us about colourful festivals like Holi, which celebrates spring and new beginnings, and Diwali, the festival of lights.
The assembly was engaging, informative, and a brilliant way for KS2 to deepen their understanding of Hindu beliefs and traditions.
Date: 9th Feb 2026 @ 9:19am
They worked brilliantly together, using their loud, clear voices and putting real enthusiasm into every line. The recording session gave them a fantastic preview of what it will feel like to perform on the big stage, and their energy was wonderful to see. We can’t wait to hear the final performance—well done, everyone!
Date: 3rd Feb 2026 @ 4:23pm
Year 5 have moved on to exploring persuasive advertisements. They have applied their prior learning from persuasive arguments to the context of advertising. As a class, we have identified the similarities and differences between persuasive writing and advertisements, and have analysed the key features of a persuasive leaflet designed to encourage people to visit York. Pupils have examined how the features are used to influence the reader. Next, we will explore a range of other persuasive adverts to compare techniques and deepen understanding.
Date: 3rd Feb 2026 @ 4:18pm
Year 5 have been studying the song lyrics from Moana – You’re Welcome. They have explored the meaning of the song and discussed how the lyrics reflect character and mood. Pupils have practised reading the text aloud, both independently and chorally. We have annotated the lyrics to indicate pauses and have focused on using appropriate intonation and expression. Children are increasingly confident, demonstrating improved fluency, clarity and engagement when reading aloud.
Date: 3rd Feb 2026 @ 12:02pm
Year 5 - National Story Telling Week - R.A.P
Date: 3rd Feb 2026 @ 11:55am
Year 5 Celebrate National Storytelling Week with Alim Kamara
As part of National Storytelling Week 2026, our Year 5 pupils enjoyed an inspiring online workshop led by storyteller and rapper Alim Kamara. The session, delivered live via Zoom, was a vibrant celebration of music, rhythm and the power of storytelling.
The workshop formed part of the National Literacy Trust’s nationwide events for Key Stage 2, designed to help children explore how stories can be told through sound, lyrics and performance. During the interactive session, pupils learned how storytelling and rap can come together to create powerful narratives. They were guided through the process of shaping their own lyrics and experimenting with rhythm—discovering firsthand how words can come alive through music.
Throughout the 45‑minute session, Alim Kamara captivated the children with his energy, enthusiasm and creative approach. Year 5 particularly enjoyed collaborating on a class rap, using ideas shared during the workshop to craft imaginative verses that told a story with both meaning and momentum.
The event formed part of this year’s national theme, “Soundtrack Your Story”, celebrating how music can enhance storytelling and ignite children’s love for reading and writing. Supported by the National Literacy Trust and the National Year of Reading 2026, the workshop provided a rich opportunity for pupils to develop their confidence, creativity and enjoyment of literacy.
Year 5 thoroughly embraced the experience, and we are excited to continue building on their enthusiasm in our upcoming storytelling and creative writing projects.
Date: 29th Jan 2026 @ 8:55am
Date: 27th Jan 2026 @ 11:35am
Today, Year 5 revisited the concept of a unit fraction and what it represents as an equal part of a whole. We recapped that multiplication can be understood as repeated addition. Building on this, the children explored how to multiply an integer by a unit fraction. They first modelled this using repeated addition to support their understanding, before moving on to a more efficient method. Throughout the lesson, we discussed the steps involved and focused on explaining why the method works, helping to deepen conceptual understanding.
Date: 23rd Jan 2026 @ 12:26pm
In Year 5, the children began practicing a variety of yoga poses, focusing on developing balance, flexibility, and control. They explored how different poses connect and learned to transition smoothly between them. Building on this, the children started to create their own short yoga flows, sequencing poses in a way that felt logical and enjoyable. This activity encouraged creativity, concentration, and self-expression, while also promoting mindfulness and an awareness of their bodies.
Date: 23rd Jan 2026 @ 12:24pm
This week in Year 5, we have been focusing on writing formal emails of complaint. The children have learned how to express dissatisfaction appropriately, using the correct tone and language for a formal setting. They have explored the key features of a complaint, such as being clear, polite, and persuasive, and have discussed how to structure their emails effectively. To reinforce their learning, the students read extracts of the complaints aloud, paying careful attention to maintaining a formal and serious tone. Following this, they completed comprehension questions to deepen their understanding of the text.
Date: 21st Jan 2026 @ 2:40pm
As part of our Hindu topic in RE, this week we have been focusing our learning on Holi. Holi is a Hindu festival that celebrates spring, love and new life.
Holi (also known as the 'festival of colours') is a colourful, fun festival where there is singing, dancing and throwing of powder paint and coloured water. In this festival Hindu's celebrate their god Krishna and the legend of Holika and Prahlad.
Year 5 - Design Technology so far this half-term...
Date: 20th Jan 2026 @ 3:54pm
Date: 16th Jan 2026 @ 11:47am
Key Stage 2 pupils recently took part in their second Times Table Bee, an exciting and competitive event. Four children from each year group proudly represented their house and competed by answering a range of tricky times table questions. Pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 were particularly challenged, as they tackled more demanding questions that relied heavily on their secure knowledge of multiplication tables. The event was enjoyed by all and showcased the children’s confidence, speed, and enthusiasm for maths.
Well done to all that took part!
