Learning Update – 30th January 2026
As usual, we’ve had a busy few weeks in Year 6, but an especially lovely week this week – thank you Year 6.
We had a very intense Science lesson last week when we investigated the impact of exercise on our body function – specifically how the circulatory system needs to adapt during exercise. The children worked in groups of 4 or 5 and completed different exercises e.g. yoga, walking, running, star jumps or rest. We discussed in class why it’s important to include somebody resting and one child very clearly explained how we need somebody resting so we would know what would happen at a ‘base’ level. We then learnt that, in science, we’d call this the control. Not only did we collect the data for our team, we then created ‘super data’ where we had data from every group in one table. The children explained how this was useful because then they can see if each team get similar results and developed their understanding of how this makes the experiment more reliable. We talked about anomalies and why these might have happened and then we created multi-lined line graphs to show our data in a more manageable way.
In Humanities, we used a variety of world maps highlighting key human geographical features to help us compare South Nigeria (where The Ancient Kingdom of Benin was) to the UK. We looked at population variations, equality of wealth and life expectancy. The children were very interested to see which cities in the UK had the highest populations and were surprised that a lot of South Nigeria had a similar density of population.
In English, we have begun our persuasive writing unit. At the end of this unit, the children will have written a persuasive speech either to persuade museums to return the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria (where they were first created) or to persuade Nigeria to let us keep them here. To help the children solidify their opinion – we held a class debate. The children spoke very articulately, including key vocabulary from our geography lessons and what we have learnt already about the Benin Kingdom. In the end, the team arguing for the Bronzes to be returned won the debate, based on the judge’s opinion. Mrs Stevenson felt those arguing against returning them had some very compelling arguments and used a lot more facts and statistics to support their ideas. We have since analysed a persuasive speech given by Greta Thunberg, trying to persuade governments to take climate change more seriously. We are very excited to see what persuasive speeches we create.
Finally, in Art, we practised drawing from a one-point perspective. By the end of our Art unit, we will have created a piece of street art and one of the skills we will try and use in this, is considering perspective. The children had a ‘Fist Attempt In Learning’, where they had a go at drawing to a one-point perspective, they then gave each other feedback on what worked well and what they could improve. They then had a ‘Second Attempt In Learning’ and found that what they created was much better than their first attempt.
Learning Update – 16th January 2026
What a great start to the new year we have had in Year 6 and we have hit the ground running getting into all of our new topics.
This term, in Humanities, we are studying the Ancient Kingdom of Benin which would now be a part of Nigeria. The children have been locating where this Kingdom would have been using Google Earth and comparing this to the UK. We have considered where on the earth these different places are and considered how the physical geography would be different. A lot of children predicted that Nigeria would be hotter due to how much closer it is to the equator. However, they were surprised to learn that places on the equator are not necessarily the hottest in the world.
In Science, we have started developing our knowledge of Animals, including humans. Last week we looked at the circulatory systems and how this works to transport blood around the body so it can deliver oxygen to the muscles. Every child in the class took on a specific role and we represented oxygenated and deoxygenated blood using red and blue pencils. By the end of this reenactment, the children were able to say exactly what their role was and where the blood would go next in the system. This week, we dug deeper into what makes up blood and learnt that the blood is made of 4 key components: platelets, plasma, red blood cells and white blood cells. We learnt the purpose of each part and created scientific diagrams and a pie chart to show how these work together in the blood system.
The children have really gotten into our new class novel – Children of the Kingdom of Benin. They have been very excited by all the action and are enjoying the twists and turns that seem to be happening in every paragraph. We have been using this book as inspiration for writing our own action sequences and we are now able to use dashes for dramatic effect in our narrative writing. I look forward to seeing their final pieces of writing next week.
Learning Update – 12th December 2025
It was another jam-packed few weeks for year 6.
Last week, the class spent most of their mornings completing practice SATs assessments. The children worked incredibly hard and did Mrs Foster and I very proud.
In English, we are just finishing our non-chronological reports about the Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses. The children have been really challenging themselves by trying to include a variety of cohesive devices, such as subordinate clauses, fronted adverbials and parenthesis. To make sure they have used all
of these devices and their punctuation and spelling is accurate, we had an editing cafe. Biscuits were had between each editing round, helping to motivate the children to edit their work accurately.
In DT, we managed to complete our playgrounds. The children used a range of skills to build their structures and really used their imaginations. This week they enhanced their playground structures by adding detail to their surroundings.
Finally, at the end of last week, our Year 6 worship team led a fantastic Christingle as St Mary’s church. Giving up their own time after school, the children led a mixture of readings and prayers for the congregation. It was such a special occasion and enjoyed greatly by everybody who was there.
Learning Update – 28th November 2025
What a busy few weeks it has been!
In English, the children finished some beautiful character descriptions based on Medusa and the story of Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief. They learnt how to use speech effectively to show character or move the story on and they continued using impactful figurative language when describing. We are now working on a non-chronological report all about Greek Gods and Goddesses, using a variety of techniques to keep our writing formal.
In Maths, we finished our fractions unit. The children were pleasantly surprised how easy it is to multiply and divide fractions. The trick now is to remember how we do it! To consolidate our skills, we carried out a whole class problem – working in small groups to solve it. Two of our class members successfully solved the problem and showed their methods of solving it. They both used different methods, but both worked well. We are now moving onto working with decimals and understanding the place value of decimals.
Last week, we started our building our playgrounds for DT. The children were using glue guns and saws sensibly and have started creating some incredibly fun playground equipment. We will hopefully finish this next week as a break from assessment week.
To support our physical development and following on from Steele’s visit – Tamsin King came in to work with KS2 by running circuit drills. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience even if they were aching the next day.
Finally, in Science, the children have devised their own science experiments based on electricity. The only rules were to keep is safe and manageable within the school setting. I was so impressed with how many different investigations they came up with. One group is testing which battery is the best – comparing Duracell, Energizer, Amazon and Tesco batteries. Other groups are looking at whether the amount of components effects how well they work in a circuit. To up-level their results, they learnt how to use data loggers to help them more accurately measure the volume or buzzers and the brightness of bulbs
Learning Update – 14th November 2025
What a great start to the term it has been! The children have come back to school ready to learn and it’s great to see their confidence growing.
In English, we have been working on character descriptions within a narrative. Inspired by Percy Jackson’s encounter with Medusa, the children have learnt to use colons to make their descriptions more impactful and can now use speech to show character. The children enjoyed a partner task this week where they used different coloured card to help them clearly differentiate between speech and narrative and learning that the narrative can be placed at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of speech.
In Music, the children have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all about folk music and start preparing some pieces for our performance at the Folk Festival in Summer. This week, the children were learning the difference between notes and chords as well as playing a wider variety of instruments like the Ukulele and Harp.
In Science, we have started to develop our knowledge of electricity and this week we carried out an investigation to see the impact of voltage on electrical component function (if we have more batteries, will a light bulb work better?). The children worked with light bulbs, buzzers and motors to see if the increase in voltage impacted all three components. The children finished their investigation by mapping out a line graph to clearly show the impact of increasing the voltage.
Finally, in History, we explored how the Ancient Greeks have influenced the way we live our lives today by learning about democracy and how it has changed since Ancient Greek times. The children learnt many interesting facts about democracy in Ancient Greece: pebbles were used to show your vote, only male citizens over the age of 18 were able to vote and thousands of people would gather to discuss societal changes. Most children preferred our modern day democracy as it is fairer to a wider community, however, they liked the idea of being able to have a say on every decision.
Learning Update – 22nd October 2025
What a jam-packed two weeks it has been in Year 6. We are very excited to update you on all we have been up to!
In English, we have finished writing up our discussion texts and we celebrated by having a class debate to finally determine whether it was right that Alexander the Great was deemed a military genius. The children argued articulately and listening politely to each other as they gave opposing opinions. We have now ended the week with some poetry – exploring how we can use similes, metaphors and personification to create free verse poems.
In History, we have been building our knowledge of Ancient Greeks in different ways. Last week, we used drama to help present how Spartan and Athenian schools were very different. The children fully immersed themselves in this experience and I think we have a lot of children now wanting to participate in a more Spartan style of schooling. I’m not sure I’m a fan! This week, we learnt about different philosophers and then focused our research into Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. To show what they had learnt, the children had to create presentations which they later presented to the class – informing them of key beliefs these philosophers had along with famous quotes and how they have influenced modern thinking.
In Science, we have been experimenting with reflection and how we can use reflection to see around barrier.
Finally, in Art, we have been building our understanding of self-portraits and how, even though they are all of the self, the are all incredibly different. We explored how self-portraits can be used to portray deeper messages and that it doesn’t necessarily need to look like the artist who created it. We used this to inspire our own self-portraits ‘with a difference’ and used printed photographs and mixed media to create a range of self-portraits. We haven’t quite finished these yet – so we will add pictures to the next newsletter.
Have an amazing half-term year 6, you have earnt it!
Learning Update – 10th October 2025
Written by Ted
Over the last few weeks, the Year 6’s have been doing tag rugby in PE and we wanted you to hear all about it.
Lesson 1
In tag rugby, we have been starting with a few stretches and then tag. Then we moved onto to passes in a straight line. After that we got into a circle and started to pass left and right.
Lesson 2
After completing our stretches and practising what we had learnt the previous week, we moved onto a pitch that was split into four. We started to do passes to score a try.
Lesson 3
Following our weekly stretches and passing practice, we split into groups and had one tagger and one non-tagger who passed the ball around without getting tagged.
Lesson 4
We had a day to consolidate and we did the same as lesson 3.
Lesson 5
On this lesson we had a game of bulldog to warm up which was fun. We then went into a mini tournament and it got quite competitive!
Written by Mrs Stevenson
In addition to their success in tag rugby, the Year 6’s have been working hard across all subjects – especially English – where we are currently drafting a discussion text about whether Alexander the Great was a military genius. We look forward to sharing these with you in our next newsletter.
On Tuesday, our Year 6 worship team did us proud when they presented the Harvest Festival. Reading with clarity and expression, they engaged the audience and led us through the service seamlessly.
Finally, today was World Mental Health Day and to recognise this – year 6 had regular meditation breaks throughout the day and ended the day with a drama session to explore the difference between Athenian and Spartan city-states in an exciting way!
Learning Update – 22nd September 2025
Today was Year 6’s first day of Bikeability and they did the school proud! They started the afternoon by doing all the safety checks and preparing their bikes. They listened so well and showed a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe.
After that, they began to show off their cycling skills – including emergency stops and hand signals.
Towards the end, Mrs Stevenson couldn’t keep up with what was happening as the children were weaving in and out all over the place – but they stayed safe and kept listening to each other and instructors.
Keep up the great work – Year 6!
Learning Update – 12th September 2025
What a busy first few weeks it has been for Year 6! All children got thoroughly involved with our Vision and Values week where we explored our new vision ‘Building Bridge to a Bright Future’ through different subjects. The children developed their STEM skills by learning all about different types of bridges and then using their construction skills to try and recreate their own using lollipop sticks and string – it was definitely a challenge to test their resilience. For History and Geography, they independently explored famous bridges in the UK: when they were built and where we can find them. We then ended our week by going on a walk around the local area to spot the many bridges we have around Cropredy.
This week, the children have been most excited to meet their buddies and they did everybody proud. Every single Year 6 made their young Cygnet feel at ease and supported them in the way that they needed. Also this week, in Science, children have proven that light travels in straight lines using very carefully placed pieces of cardboard. They worked well in teams and learnt how to create scientific drawings to demonstrate their understanding.
