Year Group News
Monday 30th January 2023
Year Six set off for our first trip of 2023 to the famous Westminster Abbey in London. We arrived at Purley Station to start our journey to London Victoria. As soon as we had arrived, the children set off for the Abbey. What a wonderful sight! Most of the class had never seen the ancient church before. Our visit started in the Education Department of the Abbey. There we were introduced to our guides for the day. To begin with, we all looked at photographs of the Abbey and discussed its importance within English history. The pupils were extremely good at answering questions and were commended for it. Our trip this year was linked to our learning on British Values and the role of the current monarch. We saw the Abbey where the late Queen Elizabeth II was coronated on 2nd June 1953. This year on the 6th May, HM King Charles 111 will be crowned King at the Abbey.
The children are now fully prepared with ‘sticky’ knowledge all about British Values and the role of the current monarchy.
Friday 9th December 2022
Year Five visit the Science Museum in London.
The main values of the museum are to ‘Ignite Curiosity’ and ‘Reveal Wonder’ in Science. The idea is that children should come away feeling inspired and with questions that they would like to explore further. It’s about making science fun, relevant and enjoyable for people.
By visiting this museum, we want to make visitors come away feeling that Science is for them, it is relevant to their lives and there are many more discoveries that haven’t been found so they could be the next Scientist – the motto is ‘we are all scientists’ and science is relevant to us in our everyday lives.
When we arrived we explored the section, ‘Exploring Space’ and completed the activity trail and chatterbox challenge. The children discovered how spacecrafts have been sent to other planets, who and when did astronauts walk on the moon and peered into the heart of our galaxy and beyond. Some highlights from the Space Gallery were: Beagle 2 which was sent to Mars, Black Arrow – a British rocket which was designed to take satellites into space, Tim Peake’s Soyuz capsule, a telescope, Helen Sharman’s spacesuit and we even found a space nappy!
After this we had a Great Object Hunt to see who can get the most things before the timer goes off. This was followed by lunch in the Basement of the museum. Final activity for the afternoon was called, ‘Who am I?’ The class were able to explore how their brain works, the human body and understanding how we express ourselves with feelings and emotions.
Tuesday 6th December
As part of their topic on the meaning of Christmas, Year 4 visited St Barnabas Church to discuss this with the Vicar.
They looked at the Christmas Story and discussed its meaning prior to the visit and then created questions that would help them with their understanding of the messages contained within it. The children asked The Vicar these questions in order to clarify and consolidate their learning.
As a supplementary activity the class asked questions about the role of a vicar both in Church and in the community.
Friday 18th November
Thank you to EVERYBODY who made the cake sale for Children in Need such a success. FOBS and Mrs Donohue were so thankful for all of the generous donations to this worthy cause. All proceeds will be going to Children in Need. Please take a look below at some of the yummy cakes that were for sale.
Wednesday 16th November 2022
Churchill War Rooms
Year Six set off for our annual visit to the famous ‘Churchill War Rooms’ to explore the life and role of Sir Winston Churchill. The sun was shining which was in stark contrast to when we set off first thing! We arrived at Reedham Station to start our journey to London Victoria via Purley Station. As soon as we had arrived, the children set off for Westminster Abbey. What a wonderful sight! Most of the class had never seen the Abbey before. We were able to quietly walk around the Remembrance Garden and read lots of the different messages on the many thousands of poppies.
Later on, we strolled around Parliament Square taking in all the sights. Soon after we walked towards the Cenotaph where the children were able to see all of the many wreaths that were laid there on Remembrance Sunday. There were no crowds outside 10 Downing Street so it was an ideal opportunity to see from a distance where the Prime Minister resides.
As we entered the Cabinet War Rooms, all the children and adults were shown a short clip and were then handed our audio guides. Then we began exploring the bunker. We visited the Map Room, the Education Department, the bedrooms, the Plant Room and Churchill’s Museum which explored his life and legacy.
The children are now fully prepared with ‘sticky’ knowledge all about the life of Sir Winston Churchill and ready to start planning their biographies. After leaving the museum, we walked past Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews. We will be visiting the Royal Mews in the New Year.
Tuesday 8th November 2022
Four Y5 girls travelled to Old Palace for their annual Maths Circus Competition with Mr Hatton. We entered one team and we competed amongst 14 other primary schools. Beaumont girls came second overall and just missed the top spot by two marks. A fantastic afternoon of maths problems and puzzles. Thanks go to their parents for taking and collecting the girls.