Year 3- English- Speaking and Listening: The Iron Man
In English today, the class read Chapter 3 of The Iron Man together, focusing on the moment the Iron Man is lured into the scrap metal pit. Instead of writing in their books, the children spent the session developing their oral skills by describing the Iron Man's massive feast. They practised retrieving specific details from the text to build descriptive sentences out loud. It was a great opportunity for them to use talk tactics, such as building on each other's ideas and instigating new points of view, to bring the scene to life through high-quality discussion.
Year 4 - Class Worship: Joy
In our class worship we looked at the Picture News story for the week about Pokémon turning 30 years old. The subject of the worship was: Finding Joy in the Journey. After discussing the story, the children worked in pairs to discuss their experiences of having fun. They used the social and emotional skill of oracy to really listen to their partner’s response, ready to share it with the rest of the class. They then listened to the Bible passage taken from Ecclesiastes explaining that God wants us all to experience and seek out joy, with the following caveats: don’t sacrifice your kindness and respect towards others in the pursuit of joy, and enjoy the journey rather than solely focussing on the destination.
Year 3- Science- Weathering: How Rocks Break!
This week, the Year 3 scientists recapped on the previous lesson learning all about rocks. They started by talking with their peers about different rock groups: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The main part of the lesson was about weathering, which is how rocks get broken or worn away over time. They looked at physical weathering (like freezing water), chemical weathering (like acid rain), and biological weathering (like tree roots growing through cracks). There was lots of "talk time" for the children to use their oracy skills, especially when discussing which rocks make the strongest walls. By the end, they could explain how weathering changes rocks and pick the best ones for different jobs.
English - Using Inverted Commas in Year 4
Using our class novel, Year 4 wrote a piece of dialogue between two characters for their innovated piece of writing. They also remembered that ‘said’ is dead and had to use a variety of synonyms to improve their final pieces.
Year 3- Class Meeting-If one feeling could follow you around all day like a little helper, which would you choose?
This week, the Year 3 class meeting was led by Archie, with Molly acting as our note-taker. We discussed the question: If one feeling could follow you around like a little helper, which would you choose? The discussion showcased incredible maturity and oracy skills, as students debated the complexities of kindness. Many felt that being kind all the time can leave you vulnerable to bullying. Drawing on our school values and the teachings of Jesus, we spoke about the balance of being a "better person", combining gentleness with the strength to stand up for ourselves. Ultimately, many groups voted for confidence, eager to embrace the bravery needed to tackle new challenges and navigate social situations with a strong, clear voice.
Year 6 - Is Macbeth a good person?
Today in Year 6, we rounded off our unit on Macbeth with an oracy-focused lesson centred on a concept cartoon exploring the question: Is Macbeth a good person? The cartoon presented a range of viewpoints about Macbeth’s actions and motivations, encouraging the children to evaluate different perspectives and justify their opinions using evidence from the text. The children used their talk tokens to support balanced participation and to encourage purposeful discussion. This helped ensure that everyone contributed thoughtfully to their group conversations. During the discussions, some children took on the role of silent summarisers, carefully listening to the dialogue, gathering key points and identifying evidence from the play. They later shared these summaries with the class, helping to draw together the different ideas that had emerged. The lesson placed a strong emphasis on developing spoken language skills, including building on others’ ideas, respectfully challenging viewpoints, and supporting opinions with textual evidence. By the end of the session, the children demonstrated a deeper understanding of Macbeth’s character, recognising the complexity of his choices and debating whether his ambition, guilt and manipulation by others affect how we judge him as a person.
Year 2 - Oracy - Planning a Story in English
Year 2 shared ideas and began planning a story for what the aliens got up to while Bob was busy.
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Smart School Council in Year 4
This week we looked at whether technology can be a help or a hindrance when learning. The children used their talk tokens to discuss this issue and did so in a very mature way. It was lovely to hear all of points and great to see turn taking and listening intently even whilst challenging their peers.
What’s Your Question? Year 3 Celebrates British Science Week 2026
Year 3 officially launched British Science Week with an "out-of-this-world" experience! Our budding scientists dived into a 'Horrible Histories; Science Live Lesson, joined by Grace Webb, 'The Rapping Science Teacher' Matt Green, and legendary astronaut Tim Peake. Together, we investigated the mysteries of light energy and our solar system, separating "science fact" from "science fiction. Inspired by this year’s theme, ‘Curiosity: What’s your question?’, the classrooms became hubs of oracy and debate. Pupils took centre stage to practice speaking and listening. The children then had questions of their own. How does the Moon stay in the sky? What does space actually smell like? What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning for just one second? We also turned our curiosity inward, creating Time Capsules in a Jar to capture who we are now and who we hope to become by the end of the year. It’s been a fantastic start to a week of big questions and even bigger ideas! What’s your question?
World Book Week Showcase
Year 4 have had a wonderful World Book Week and to celebrate we have decided to showcase our best parts in a display outside Year 4. We have included pic collages that highlight our webinar with the author James Fox, The Pinocchio Workshop, learning a piece of text by heart and our fantastic World Book Day Celebrations. We have also included our bag packs which we could take with us into the Amazon in order to survive. This was linked to our favourite class novel - The Explorer by Katherine Rundell. We were so shocked to see Katherine also appear on our World Book Day interactive worship yesterday and it was a lovely surprise! What a week we have had!
World Book Day Oracy Worship
What a fantastic morning we had celebrating World Book Day! Children from Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 came together for a special Oracy Talk Assembly, where the hall was filled with the sound of meaningful discussion. Working in trios, the children were challenged to dive deep into their love of literature by sharing their favourite books and characters, providing thoughtful "whys" for their choices. The energy peaked during a fascinating debate on whether reading gives you a "superhero power." After some deep exploration, the children concluded that reading truly is a superpower; they decided it makes you incredibly clever and has the unique ability to expand your imagination beyond the classroom. Mrs. Wilkinson was immensely impressed by the level of maturity and respect on display. It was a "super" oracy worship, with children across the three year groups demonstrating excellent communication skills by taking turns and listening intently to one another. It was wonderful to see our youngest learners not only celebrating stories but also developing the confidence to articulate their ideas with such clarity and enthusiasm.
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World Book Day Worship with Key Stage 2
World Book Day Worship with Key Stage 2. Todays session started with a WBD quiz from Primary League Primary Stars in association with WBD. We completed the quiz in our classrooms and it had a football focus. An example question was - Which Premier League club does the current Wales men’s national team captain, Harry Wilson, play for? A mix of authors and footballers asked the questions with Katherine Randell who wrote Year 4’s class novel ~ The Explorer asking question six. The children absolutely loved the interactive quiz and worked to support each other in answering the football heavy questions. What a super way to kick off our World book Day Celebrations and celebrate The National Year of Reading. We finished with Ben and Alex who told us about the ‘Go All In’ challenge which we look forward to taking part in.