Today, our Year 4 and Year 5 children had an absolutely fantastic time taking part in an exciting hockey event at Darton Academy. From the moment we arrived, there was a real buzz of energy and enthusiasm and the children were eager to get started.
The afternoon was organised into five different stations, with children split into groups to rotate around each activity. This gave everyone the opportunity to practise and develop a wide range of important hockey skills in a fun and engaging way.
At the passing station, children focused on accuracy and control, working with partners to send the ball smoothly and precisely. They quickly improved their confidence, learning how to judge the strength and direction of their passes.
The dribbling station challenged our Year 4's and 5's to keep close control of the ball while moving at speed. They weaved in and out of cones, practising their coordination and balance while maintaining control of the hockey stick and ball.
Shooting was a firm favourite, where children had the chance to aim for goal and put their skills into action. There were some fantastic shots, with children showing great determination and excitement as they tried to score.
At the changing direction station, children worked on agility and quick movements. They learned how to react quickly, adjust their body position and move the ball efficiently to outmanoeuvre opponents.
Finally, the defending station helped children understand how to protect their goal and challenge attackers. They practised positioning, timing and teamwork, developing their understanding of how to play effectively as part of a team.
Despite the windy conditions, our Year 4 and Year 5 pupils showed brilliant resilience and enthusiasm throughout the afternoon. The weather certainly didn’t stop them from giving their best and enjoying every moment!
We would like to say a huge thank you to the Darton Academy students for organising such a fun and well-structured event. Their support, encouragement and excellent planning made it a truly memorable experience for all involved.
Well done to everyone who took part – it was a fantastic afternoon of sport, teamwork and fun!

Today was Enterprise Day and we were given the exciting challenge of creating and designing a sensory room based on the four seasons.

Our first task was to come up with a team logo and a team mascot that would represent our group. After that, we each took on different job roles for the enterprise challenge, including team leader, creative designer, finance manager and presentation leader. Everyone had an important responsibility, which helped our teams stay organised and focused.

We were given a budget of 100 Ambicoins to spend on our “Zen Den,” which was our seasonal sensory room. From the shop we could choose from a variety of items such as fidget toys, a water effect projector, soft building blocks, black fibre optic carpet, an infinity tunnel, a snow panel, tactile boards and many more. We had to think carefully about how to spend our Ambicoins so that our space would feel calm, creative and full of sensory magic. Our Zen Den also had to represent and excite all four seasons.

Before dinner, we split into classrooms to draw our designs and start putting our ideas into action. Within each team, we each took responsibility for one of the seasons —spring, summer, autumn, or winter — and designed parts of the sensory room based on that season.

Most of the children worked really well as a team and supported each other throughout the challenge. However, for some of us it also tested our ability to compromise, as we had to listen to different ideas and agree on the best choices together.
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Finally, we presented our Zen Dens to three judges, Marie, Andrew and Miss Kane who decided which teams would go through to the finals. They had such a  difficult decision to make as everyone had tried so hard! We now have three groups that are through to the finals and are really excited to see if our school could be chosen to have one of these ideas built in our very own school.

We had a great day and developed our teamwork, creativity and problem-solving skills, making it a fun and memorable experience for everyone involved. Well done Year 5 and Year 6!

Today, Year 5 were extremely lucky to take part in a live Zoom event with author Phil Earle, who joined us to share his brand-new book, Finn's Epic Fails.
Phil began by telling us about his own experiences at school and how he actually found reading very difficult when he was younger. He explained that some of his teachers — who he jokingly described as “dinosaurs” — believed that reading only counted if it was a very long book, with no pictures, written before the 1900s. Because of this, he said that books often looked like “walls of words”, which made them feel quite intimidating.
However, everything changed when Phil discovered comics, especially Roy of the Rovers. Comics and graphic novels helped him find a love of reading because, as he described it, reading allowed him to be “living a life that wasn’t his own.”
Phil then shared the story of how he began his journey into writing. In his twenties, he worked in a bookshop in London, where he was eventually moved to the children’s department. His manager told him that if he wanted to recommend books to young readers, he would need to read them himself first.
One book in particular completely changed how he felt about reading: Holes — a firm favourite here at school too! Phil explained that Holes had drama, comedy, western adventure, love and crime all in one story, and he described it as the book that “lit a fire” in him and made him want to read more.
For the next two years, Phil read as much as he possibly could. Eventually he began to wonder whether he could write a story himself. He talked about how writers find inspiration and reminded us that we are surrounded by stories everywhere. Phil encouraged the children to think of writing as playtime, where you can be anyone, go anywhere and imagine anything — which makes the process far more enjoyable.
We were then very lucky to hear Phil read an extract from Finn’s Epic Fails, and we are very much looking forward to the book arriving in school so that we can all enjoy reading it together.
The children also loved hearing some very funny stories about Phil’s extremely naughty dog, Lenny!
It was a fantastic, informative and thoroughly enjoyable session, and we feel very honoured to have met — albeit virtually — a real author.
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Year 5 Film Project: From Storyboards to the Big Screen
​Earlier this term, Year 5 began their journey into film-making by learning about camera techniques and planning their own films using detailed storyboards. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans for us and for several weeks it prevented us from filming our scenes outdoors.
However, over the last few weeks we have finally had the chance to bring our storyboards to life. The playground once again became our film set as directors, actors and camera operators worked together to capture the scenes they had carefully planned.
Today’s lesson focused on reviewing and evaluating the footage we had filmed. As we watched our first attempts back in the classroom, we quickly noticed that there were some issues we needed to improve. Some shots had unsteady cameras, in other scenes it was difficult to hear the actors because of background noise and in some cases we realised that we had not used the full range of camera shots we had originally planned.

Back in the classroom, the children then began the exciting process of editing, putting together their individual clips to create their own short films.
​Over the coming weeks, we hope to be able to share some of these finished films on our class blog, so that families can see the creativity and teamwork that has gone into this project. Our final lesson will involve evaluating the completed films to see how effectively we have met the original brief and how successfully we have used the film techniques we have been learning.
We are very excited to see the finished productions — we may have some future filmmakers in Year 5! ​

Year 5 Authors Share Their Dragon Stories with Year 1
​Following our fantastic World Book Day, where Year 5 designed and wrote their own dragon stories inspired by Zog, the children had a wonderful opportunity a few days later to share their finished books with a real audience.
Year 5 visited Year 1 to read the dragon stories they had written. The younger children were a brilliant audience — listening carefully, enjoying the stories and showing great enthusiasm for the imaginative dragons our Year 5 authors had created.
After listening to the stories, the Year 1 pupils even became book reviewers! They shared thoughtful comments about the stories, discussing which dragons they thought were the funniest, the cutest and which Year 5 pupils were particularly engaging storytellers.
It was wonderful to see our older and younger pupils interacting so positively. The session was a fantastic example of how writers create work for an audience, and how that work becomes even more meaningful when it is shared with readers.
The experience also helped the Year 5 children see the real impact of their writing. Watching the Year 1 children laugh, listen carefully and respond to the stories showed them that their creativity and effort had truly brought their dragon adventures to life.
It was a lovely moment of collaboration across the school and a brilliant reminder of the joy that reading and storytelling can bring.

​Today, Year 5 had a fantastic time celebrating World Book Day in style!
We were amazed by the wonderful effort that went into this year’s costumes. We had everything from Little Red Riding Hood and Dorothy to a Ninja and cosy PJs! We even had Con and Laila from The Explorer — the book we have recently read together in class. It was brilliant to see such creativity and enthusiasm for reading shining through.
This year, our whole-school theme was inspired by Julia Donaldson and our writing focus was the story Zog. This linked perfectly with our half-term focus in both reading and writing, where we have been and will continue to explore dragons.
We began the day by reading Zog together and identifying the key features of the story. As a class, we created a writing checklist and discussed what makes the book suitable for younger children. We noticed:

• Short sentences
• Repetition
• A clear problem
• A happy ending
• Simple vocabulary
• Strong, engaging illustrations

The children showed fantastic understanding when analysing how these features help make the story enjoyable and accessible for younger readers.
Next, it was time to get creative! We designed our very own dragons, thinking carefully about:

• Special powers
• Appearance
• Personality
• Weaknesses

The ideas were imaginative and wonderfully detailed — we definitely have some unique dragons in Year 5!
After designing our dragons, we planned our own stories using a clear structure:

• Opening
• Build-up
• Problem
• Resolution
• Ending

Finally, it was time to write! The classroom was filled with focused, enthusiastic authors bringing their dragon adventures to life.
To end our lovely day, we visited Year 1 and read books that the younger children had chosen. This was such a special experience. Our Year 5 pupils showed maturity, kindness and confidence as they shared stories and brought characters to life for their younger peers. It was wonderful to see the children modelling a love of reading and building those important connections across year groups.
Take a look at the photos below to see us in action from all the amazing activities we have taken part in.