Year 5 pupils have been developing their application letter writing skills while working collaboratively to create a letter applying for the role of a veterinarian. Through discussion and shared ideas, the children explored the responsibilities of the role, the key skills and qualities required, and how these should be presented effectively.

 

The class looked at a video of a real vet talk about their day as a vet!

 

The pupils also revisited and applied the key features of a formal letter, including layout, persuasive language, and appropriate tone, building on prior learning to produce a well-structured and purposeful piece of writing.

This week in Year One, we are excited to share that our latest story focus is Zog! The children have thoroughly enjoyed diving into this much-loved story.

Today, we worked together to sequence the key events in the story, helping the children build their understanding of how the story unfolds. We also discussed the main characters, explored where the story is set, and talked about what the story is all about. There were lots of great ideas and thoughtful contributions during our discussions.

Over the next few weeks, we will continue to explore Zog through a range of engaging activities. The children will be practicing important skills such as retelling the story, creating speech for the characters, and describing the main characters in more detail.

We’re looking forward to seeing the children’s confidence and creativity grow as we continue working with this wonderful story!

In our Reading into Writing lesson, linked to our GPS focus and non‑chronological report genre, we explored the purpose and use of sub‑headings. Pupils took part in a carousel of activities designed to deepen their understanding. They arranged a non‑chronological report using the correct sub‑headings, added appropriate sub‑headings to an existing report, and matched sentences to the correct sub‑headings. Two further table activities focused on creating effective sub‑headings for given topics, using examples based on Our School and Space. This supported pupils in recognising how sub‑headings help organise information and guide the reader.

This week in Year 4, pupils took part in a focused oracy lesson, using strategies from the Voice 21 framework to help them become more confident and effective speakers. The lesson emphasised the importance of listening carefully, speaking clearly, and building on the ideas of others.

Pupils practised key oracy skills such as turn‑taking, speaking in full sentences, and using sentence stems to structure their responses. They worked collaboratively in pairs and small groups, learning how to respectfully agree or disagree and how to explain their thinking in a clear and thoughtful way. A strong focus was placed on body language, eye contact, and vocal clarity to help pupils communicate with confidence.

The children showed great enthusiasm and resilience, especially when presenting their ideas aloud to the class. These oracy strategies support learning across the curriculum and help pupils develop essential life skills, including confidence, respect, and teamwork.

Year 4 are becoming increasingly confident communicators, and it was wonderful to see them using their voices thoughtfully and positively during the lesson.

As part of our Reading into Writing journey, we focused on the Immersion in Reading phase using the genre of non‑chronological reports. We previously explored a WAGOLL to identify and discuss the key features of this text type. Today, we examined a different non‑chronological report and used Post‑it notes to identify its features. We discussed how many features can be recognised without reading the text in full, such as the title, subheadings, images with captions or labelled diagrams, paragraphs and fact boxes. We then skimmed and scanned the text to identify technical vocabulary related to the specific subject of the report. Finally, we cut out the features and organised them onto a sheet to deepen our understanding of how non‑chronological reports are structured.

Year 5 have finished their hot write of a cinquain poem, choosing to write about either cats or Boundary Primary School. Pupils applied the features of a cinquain poem carefully, selecting precise vocabulary and focusing on structure and word choice. The completed pieces showcase their creativity and improving confidence as independent writers.

This half term in Year One, we have begun reading How to Catch a Star. The children have already shown great enjoyment and enthusiasm for the story.

So far, we have been retelling the story in our storytelling corner, using props and role play to help bring it to life. We have also been sequencing the story by matching sentences to the correct parts, helping the children to develop their understanding of beginning, middle and end. The children have enjoyed retelling the story in their own words, sharing their ideas and interpretations with confidence.

We are looking forward to continuing our learning and exploring the story further over the coming weeks.

As part of their work on cinquain poetry, Year 5 brought maths to life today! Working in teams, the children planned poems about mathematics, with some exploring maths as a whole and others diving into topics like BIDMAS. It was wonderful to see such creativity, collaboration, and confident use of mathematical language.

This week, Year 1 have been busy becoming instruction experts—and what better way to practise than by creating our very own disgusting sandwiches!

We began by learning all about imperative (bossy) verbs, such as put, squash, mix and spread. These helped us give clear, direct commands in our writing. We also used time conjunctions like first, next, after that and finally to help us order each step carefully.

Once we were confident, the real fun began! The children planned and wrote instructions for some truly horrible creations—think soggy lettuce, mouldy cheese, slimy banana skins and a sprinkling of green slime for good measure. They worked hard to structure their writing accurately and make each step easy to follow.

🌟 Spelling Bee Success! 🐝📚

Today, our school was buzzing with excitement as children from Year 2 to Year 6 took part in our annual Spelling Bee! 🏆✨

Over the past few weeks, pupils have been working incredibly hard to learn their spellings. From tricky letter blends to confident articulation, they have shown real dedication. 💪🧠

When the moment arrived, each participant demonstrated remarkable resilience and courage. Taking the stage in front of the whole school is no small task, yet our spellers stood tall, spoke clearly, and gave it their very best. 🎤👏

We are incredibly proud of every child who took part. Their effort, determination, and enthusiasm made today a wonderful celebration of learning. 🎉📖

A huge well done to all our super spellers! 🌈⭐

This morning, a wonderful selection of our Year 3 children took part in an exciting Spelling Bee, and what a fantastic event it turned out to be! Each participant was challenged to learn a set of spellings in preparation for the competition, representing their house teams with enthusiasm and determination.

From the very first round, the children showed impressive recall, confidence, and teamwork. Their hard work at home and in school really shone through, and they demonstrated brilliant focus under pressure. It was clear to everyone watching just how committed they were to doing their very best.

This week in Year 4, we have been continuing our work on blog writing—and this time, we teamed up! Pupils paired up for a shared write, helping each other plan, draft, and edit their ideas. Working collaboratively allowed them to discuss vocabulary choices, check each other’s punctuation, and think carefully about how to make their writing engaging for an online audience.

Throughout this half term, the children have been learning what makes an effective blog, from using a clear structure and interesting details to writing in a friendly, informative style. Last week, they applied these skills by writing about our exciting Science Day, capturing their favourite experiments, activities, and discoveries.

This week’s shared write gave pupils the chance to revisit that event and refine their blogs even further. They supported each other brilliantly and produced some fantastic pieces of writing.

Over the last few weeks, Year 5 have been drafting, editing, and polishing their own fables. The children have worked incredibly hard to develop engaging stories that are both descriptive and meaningful. They have focused on using rich vocabulary, clear structure, and well‑chosen dialogue to bring their characters to life. Most importantly, each fable has been crafted to teach the reader an important message or moral, just like traditional tales. 

Over the next two weeks, Year 1 will be focusing on the wonderfully funny—and delightfully yucky—story The Disgusting Sandwich by Gareth Edwards and Hannah Shaw. The children will explore the adventures of the hungry badger and the sandwich that will become progressively more and more… disgusting!

Throughout our learning journey, the children will sequence the key events of the story, using pictures and simple sentences to help them understand how the sandwich will change along the way. They will also practise retelling the story in their own words, building their confidence in speaking, listening, and expressive language.

After that, Year 1 will step into the role of real instruction writers. They will learn all about imperative verbs—those bossy words that tell us what to do—and then use them to create their very own set of instructions on how to make a truly disgusting sandwich. From “squash it,” to “drop it,” to “mix in the mud,” we can’t wait to see the imaginative creations they will come up with.

It will be a fantastic learning journey, and we know the children’s enthusiasm will shine through. Stay tuned to discover what will make their sandwiches so deliciously dreadful!

🎬 To begin, we watched a short silent film that introduced us to the three main characters—Rock, Paper, and Scissors. Without dialogue, we had to pay close attention to their actions, expressions, and interactions to understand the emotions and relationships portrayed in the video.

🧠 As a class, we discussed what we thought the characters were feeling, why certain events happened, and how their personalities could be shown through descriptive writing. We also explored how music, movement, and timing in the video helped build tension and atmosphere.

✍️ Using the film as our inspiration, we planned and wrote our own narrative version of the story. We focused on developing:

• 🌟 Strong character descriptions
• 🌈 Detailed settings
• ⚡ Powerful verbs and figurative language
• 📖 Clear story structure with a beginning, build-up, conflict, and resolution

🖊️ Each pupil then drafted their story, edited it carefully, and created a polished final version. We are extremely proud of the creativity, imagination, and effort shown in every piece.

🌟 Have a read through some of our fantastic stories and see how we brought the characters of Rock, Paper, and Scissors to life!