Term 2 

We have had a fantastic term in Year 6! The pupils have worked incredibly hard and continue to set an excellent example for the rest of the school. Their enthusiasm, determination, and teamwork have been evident in everything they have done, making this a very successful term.

In our English lessons, we explored the question, “Should children have been evacuated during World War 2?” and used this to form our own balanced arguments about an up-to-date issue (social media for Under 16s!). The pupils carried out detailed research into the reasons for and against and presented their findings clearly and thoughtfully. They worked on writing strong introductions, structured arguments, and well-rounded conclusions. Additionally, they focused on linking their ideas within and across paragraphs by using cohesive devices, helping their writing to flow smoothly and effectively. After this, we wrote a beautiful flashback narrative based off on a short clip called ‘The Piano’ about a veteran soldier, reflecting over key moments of his life whilst playing a piece on a grand piano. We created further flashbacks and described each in vivid detail whilst maintaining the correct tense between past and present.

In maths, we concentrated on fractions and decimals this term. The pupils worked hard to simplify, compare, and order fractions, as well as to add and subtract them, including mixed numbers, by finding common denominators. They also learned how to multiply and divide fractions. Using these skills, they tackled word problems and reasoning tasks, applying their knowledge to real-life situations and showing great problem-solving abilities.

Our Topic lessons have focused on Britain at War, linking the end of World War 1 to the start of World War 2. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed a trip to Kent Detling showground where they practically explored life in the wars including: medicines, trench warfare, the Homefront and much more. They worked in groups to research key events from the early stages of the war, such as the invasion of Poland and the evacuation at Dunkirk. Together, they created staircases that fold into their books, colourful trench diagrams with key information about trench life and an entire non-chronological report. 

In Science, we continued our work on light theory. The pupils conducted hands-on experiments to explore how shadows are formed, making predictions and testing their ideas. They recorded data, created graphs, and analysed their results to find patterns, such as how shadow size changes with distance. We have since started learning about Evolution and Inheritance, where the pupils have explored the five kingdoms of living organisms and discussed how traits are passed down through generations.

In D&T, we studied the Make Do and Mend campaign from World War 2. The pupils learned how people repurposed materials during wartime and practised sewing techniques such as running stitch, blanket stitch, and whip stitch. They showed great creativity and perseverance in completing their projects.

In music, the pupils have enjoyed learning the ukulele with Mr. Singer from Kent Music. They practised several chords and worked on festive songs like Jingle Bells to prepare for the holiday season. It has been fantastic to see their confidence and skills in music grow throughout the term.

In PE, we concentrated on developing basketball skills after an excellent visit from Paul Sturgess at the start of term. These skills included: attacking and defending techniques, passing, finding space and teamwork. The pupils also took part in Gymnastics where they works in pairs or small groups to build up a routine, using various equipment, levels, transitions and balances – some even chose to perform theirs to music!

It has been a wonderful and productive term in Year 6. We are so proud of all that the pupils have achieved, and we thank you for your continued support. We look forward to another exciting term ahead!

Term 1 , 2025-26 

It’s been a fantastic start to the year in Australian Kangaroos! The class have settled brilliantly into the responsibility of being the oldest pupils in the school and have shown great teamwork, focus and positivity in all areas of learning. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to this term!

English

In English, we began by writing evacuee diary entries inspired by Goodnight Mr Tom, imagining what life might have been like for children during World War II. This helped us understand the emotional experiences of evacuation and develop an informal writing style using contractions and descriptive detail.
Later in the term, we were inspired by an evacuation model text for a balanced argument and went on to write our own pieces debating whether social media should be banned for under 16s. The children produced thoughtful, well-structured arguments showing clear reasoning and a range of persuasive techniques.

Maths

In Maths, we explored place value up to 10 million, working on partitioning and rounding large numbers confidently. We developed our problem-solving skills through multi-step addition and subtraction challenges and strengthened our understanding of factors, multiples, and prime numbers.
A real highlight was learning to solve long division using the HLS (How many, Ladder number, Subtract) bringdown method, which helped everyone understand each step clearly and build accuracy and confidence in this tricky skill.

Science

Our Science topic this term was Light. We learned that light travels in straight lines and reflects off surfaces, helping us to see the world around us. Using this knowledge, we designed and built our own periscopes, applying our understanding of angles to position the mirrors correctly. The best part was testing them out to see over tables and around corners!
We then linked this learning to our History topic by exploring how periscopes were used in trench warfare during World War I. We’re now looking forward to visiting a real trench in Term 2 to see first-hand what we’ve been studying.

Topic

Our topic, Britain at War, has helped us uncover the key events and causes of World War I, using the acronym MAIN (Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism) to understand why the war began. We’ve also looked at how life changed during World War II, including the Blitz, and created striking Blitz scene artworks using white chalk on black card — some of which are shown in the attached pictures.

PE

PE has been full of energy and teamwork this term! We’ve improved our tactics, decision-making and skills in dodgeball, playing creative versions such as Doctor and President, as well as tournaments that tested our teamwork and reactions.
We also took part in tag rugby-similar to the original game- and have really enjoyed joining some of Year 5 for joint sessions. Together, we’ve worked towards a mini-game league with divisions and a premier round, building teamwork, strategy and sporting spirit.

Art

In Art, we explored distortion and abstraction, focusing on how line, colour, and shape can be used to create abstract pieces. Here are some examples of the artwork we created.

Term 6, 2024-25 

We have enjoyed our last term in Year 5, which included visiting the Houses of Parliament, the National Gallery, the Theatre (to watch Back to the Future) and Pizza Hut.

Achievements

As a class we have made very good progress across all areas of learning. We also achieved the most Attendance Certificates (12), the most 100% Reading Percentages, the most Punctuality Certificates (17) and the most Walk to School Awards (3). We are very proud of all these achievements.

Well done Indian Tigers!

Maths

Applying our previous experiences of place value and equivalent fractions was very helpful and beneficial to our own Mathematical development. We completed our learning of fractions, percentages and decimals this term. We were able to identify and record numbers in decimal forms as well as working out their equivalent fraction and percentages.

English

In English this term, we’ve finished off our Greek myths and moved on to writing some balanced arguments.  To stay within our Greek topic, we explored the question of whether the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece or be allowed to remain in the British Museum. We researched the subject online and then compiled the findings in a way that clearly explained both side of the argument.  However, it was clear from the children’s conclusion that the majority of the class thought that the British Museum should return the marbles to their rightful home- Greece.

Science

Our Science topic this term was Properties and Changes of Materials as well as looking at mixtures.  We explored the different properties of materials, the use of the thermometer as well as heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures and worked out how the two types differ from each other.

We also conducted experiments to separate mixtures. 

Science Week

As a school, we celebrated Science Week with the theme- Change and Adapt. Indian Tigers researched the Scientists whose contribution to Science in earlier times of life, still have relevance to modern Science. We looked at Kathryn Johnson, Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking. Some of the children read their biography to the class.

Library

We went to the Library every Wednesday to renew our books, read to the class and read quietly.

We looked forward to going into the Library.

P.E

This term we did athletics and Tennis. We had lots of fun.

Awards Assembly

The following children received awards for Impeccable Behaviour (Joash and Yessvita) and Best Progress (Jake and Bailey) with Yessvita and Jake winning the trophy.