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.
 

 Year 5 have been working incredibly hard in their dance lessons this half term, learning and performing a routine to the song “Believer”. Throughout the unit, the children focused on developing their timing, rhythm and performance skills, building the routine step by step until they could perform it confidently as a whole piece.

The children practised moving in sync with one another, carefully following the beats and counts of the music. They worked hard on transitions, formations and unison, making sure movements were sharp, controlled and well-timed. A big focus was also on performing with attitude and expression, really matching the energy and mood of the music.

The children featured in the video were the ones brave enough to step forward and show off their amazing dance moves – well done to them for performing with such confidence and enthusiasm! 

To celebrate NSPCC Number Day, Year 5 spent the day developing their financial literacy, exploring how money works in real life and why managing it carefully is so important.

We began by looking at the different ways we can pay for things, developing our understanding of debit and credit cards and the key differences between them. The children also learned about loans, how banks and credit companies charge interest, and why it is vital to think carefully about repayments before deciding whether taking out a loan is a wise choice.

The main focus of the day was jobs and earnings. We started by exploring a range of different careers and learning what an annual salary is. The children then chose a job and were very excited when they divided the annual salary by 12 to calculate how much they would earn each month — or so they thought!

Next, the children were introduced to tax and National Insurance and calculated how much these deductions would reduce their monthly income. Many were still confident they would be fairly well off… until we moved on to monthly outgoings.

The class explored the cost of rent or mortgages, council tax, utility bills, grocery shopping, phone contracts, and other essential expenses. Once these were deducted, the children were shocked to see how little money was left at the end of the month. One child, who had been very excited about renting a penthouse apartment, quickly realised that after all their outgoings they were over £1,000 overdrawn!

At the end of the day, the children were asked to reflect on what they had learned. Some of their thoughtful comments included:

“I know that money is hard to earn and you have to pay tax after earning it. I was surprised by how much the government take. I didn’t know how much tax people had to pay. I now know why I don’t always get things when I ask.”

“I could not believe you have to pay council tax! It is really expensive.”

“I learned that the money left after you have paid your bills can be really low and I learned how expensive bills really are.”

“I learned how much parents have to spend to get a house and pay the bills – we don’t realise that it is so much. Money is hard to earn so you should not spend too much money on things that you don’t need.”

“I have learned how hard it can be on parents because of all of the expenses each month. I am very shocked about it.”
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It was wonderful to see such thoughtful reflections and a growing appreciation for the realities of adult life and family responsibilities. NSPCC Number Day provided a powerful and memorable learning experience for Year 5.

​This half term, Year 5’s art focus is the work of L. S. Lowry, whose distinctive industrial scenes and iconic figures are instantly recognisable. As part of our unit, the children will be using his work as inspiration to create a similar scene for their own final masterpiece.
Before starting the unit, the children spent time practising with paint. They experimented with how Lowry created a sense of depth and perspective in his scenes and had great fun developing their own versions of his famous “matchstick people.” This helped them become more confident with both paint control and observational detail.

​We also spent time acting as art critics, which is a really important part of understanding art. The children discussed what they liked, what they didn’t like, and what they thought Lowry was trying to achieve through his work. These thoughtful conversations helped them to look more carefully at artwork and develop their own opinions.

​Currently, the children are working on sketching their own scenes, inspired by Lowry’s style and subject matter. From these initial sketches, one will be selected and further developed to form the basis of their final masterpiece later in the unit.

​We are excited to see how the children’s ideas continue to grow as they bring together technique, creativity, and artistic understanding.

As part of our Writing lessons, the children have been writing dialogue between characters from our class novel, The Explorer.
Our focus has been on showing fear rather than just telling it. The children worked hard to choose powerful synonyms for “said”, carefully selected adverbs and added actions to bring their characters to life. This has helped their dialogue feel more dramatic, realistic and engaging for the reader.
The effort and creativity on display has been great to see; we just not need to make sure we keep applying our fantastic skills to our independent writing.

Last half term, we finished reading Kensuke’s Kingdom in our guided reading lessons. The children loved following Michael’s incredible journey and exploring the challenges he faced on the deserted island. Now, we have moved on to studying The Explorer and the children are already making thoughtful links between the two stories—spotting similar themes of adventure, survival and discovery.

We have been particularly impressed with how well the children are using the vocabulary they have already learnt in our South America topic lessons to make connections with The Explorer. Words and phrases linked to the rainforest, wildlife and geographical features are being confidently used to discuss the story, showing a great understanding.

In writing lessons, we have been focusing on creating dialogue between two characters. The children have been following key rules for writing dialogue:

• Always start a new line for a different speaker.
• Use inverted commas (speech marks) around the words that the character says.
• Begin the spoken sentence with a capital letter.
• Use punctuation correctly inside the speech marks.
• Include a reporting clause (e.g., he said, she asked) to show who is speaking.
• Use actions or adverbs to show how something is said, if it adds to the meaning.

Our dialogue unit has been based around Kensuke’s Kingdom, where we have been exploring the personalities of Kensuke and Michael. The children have used what they understand about each character’s traits to create engaging dialogue that reflects how the characters might actually speak and respond to each other.

This week, we are taking our learning further with an independent writing task. The children will be writing dialogue between any two characters they have already explored—not just from Year 5 books, but also from Year 4 texts—giving them the chance to showcase their understanding of character and dialogue skills.
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We are really proud of the progress the children are making in both guided reading and writing. They are thinking deeply about characters, making links across texts and applying their vocabulary and writing skills with confidence. We can’t wait to see the final masterpieces on Friday!

This week, our Year 5 playground looked a little different – not with footballs and skipping ropes, but with cameras, storyboards and plenty of creative buzz. The children officially launched the early stages of their film production careers by transforming the outdoor space into a working film set.
As part of their learning, the children explored how filmmakers use different camera techniques to tell a story. They investigated the pros and cons of close-ups, long shots and zooms, discussing how each shot can change the way an audience feels or understands a scene. Armed with this knowledge, the children worked from a pre-prepared storyboard, carefully planning what each shot should show before filming one another in action.
The playground was alive with purposeful teamwork as directors, camera operators and actors collaborated to bring their short sequences to life. There was lots of discussion about framing, movement and making sure the intended shot matched the storyboard – just like real filmmakers!
Once filming was complete, the children stepped into the role of film critics. They evaluated their work using WWW (What Went Well) and WWT (What Was Tricky), thoughtfully reflecting on what they had achieved and where improvements could be made. This analysis is a crucial step and will directly feed into the next phase of learning.
Over the coming weeks, the children will use everything they’ve learned to design their own storyboards and create their very own independent films!

Today, we had a very special (and very mischievous!) visitor — the Grinch came to school to host his very own game show!
The teachers bravely took part in a series of silly challenges, but there was a twist… every game ended with something horrible being tipped, splatted, or thrown on them! From sticky syrup and eggs to cream pies and slimy slime, not a single teacher escaped the Grinch’s mischief.
To finish off the day, all children had the chance to have their photo taken with the Grinch.
Take a look at our photos of the Grinch.