Pupils of the Glyn School in Ewell and their families could all be in for a learning experience as the school’s annual series of enrichment lectures resumes after the half-term break.
Aimed primarily at sixth formers, to give them an idea of what they might expect at university, this year the talks have been thrown open to all members of the school and some are also being held in the evening, open to family members, to give them an insight into what goes on academically at the school. Topics on the agenda over the coming weeks include such diverse themes as "Whatever happened to the British Empire?", leukaemia research, graphic design, the ebola outbreak and the writings of American novelist John Steinbeck. “The aim of the lectures is to encourage intellectual curiosity and a love of learning,” said sixth form tutor Jamie Bell, who organises the talks. “The classroom environment and the demands of the curriculum only allow us so much time to teach pupils, but particularly when it comes to those who are about to leave and go off to university, there’s so much more we would like to expose them to, to stimulate their minds – and the format of a series of talks is the perfect vehicle for doing that." Already, the 2014-15 lecture series has addressed topics such as natural disasters, physics, ethics and the importance of reading, and Mr Bell said he had high hopes for the success of the remainder of the talks. “The lectures we had in the 2013-14 academic year proved hugely popular, so that’s why we’ve expanded things this year,” he explained. “I only hope we can repeat it and look forward to even bigger and better things next year.”
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Children at Wheatfield Primary School in Winnersh could be forgiven for telling people they go to L’Ecole de Champ de Ble after a lunchtime French club was launched – and proved an instant success.
The school only opened last September, as a one-form entry school, but the new lunchtime addition to the curriculum has gone down very well with the children and their parents, as 13 of them have already signed up and plenty more are waiting for spaces to become available in the class run by La Jolie Ronde, an award-winning company with over 30 years of experience teaching languages in schools across Britain and Ireland. “We didn’t really know quite what sort of reaction to expect when we first offered it to the children, so we’ve been delighted at how enthusiastically they’ve embraced it,” said executive head teacher Bev Homer. “The teacher, Laurence Thonon, has really caught the children’s imagination – the fact that so many of them are willing to give up their lunchtime for an extra classroom activity is testament to that." Just in case anyone thinks it is a strange choice of activity to introduce at such an early age, Mrs Homer says the exact opposite is true. “Exposing children to other languages so early on is actually a really good thing to do, because they don’t have some of the mental barriers that people sometimes develop in later years. For them, French is just new knowledge to be absorbed, in the same way so many other things are at this age, so it’s less of an issue for them. And as the number of children doing it proves, it’s clearly something they’re enjoying, which makes it an even easier task.” Children of all ages love dressing up and playing at being superheroes, but Year One pupils at Lime Tree School in Reigate have taken the theme in a whole new direction in the classroom recently.
Instead of Spider Man and Wonderwoman, they have been learning about the every day superheroes around them, who make their lives safe, such as the emergency services, doctors, nurses, and even their own parents. Members of the police service, firefighters and paramedics have come into the school to explain their jobs and answer questions from the children about the role they play in society. “Visitors to the classroom always cause some excitement but the visitors we’ve had recently have really caused a stir“, said Early Years Leader and Reception teacher Margaret Fordyce. “The children are fascinated by the stories that they tell about what they do, and they really are like superheroes in their eyes. It really inspires them and I’m sure it’s nice for our visitors to get so much appreciation and to know that the job they do is appreciated and valued.” To make sure the lesson stays in their minds, later in the term children will get a chance to come in dressed up in the costume of the job they would like to do when they grow up. “Imaginative play is such a significant part of early years learning that dressing up fulfils an important role in education,” explained Mrs Fordyce. “Playing at being paramedics or firefighters can reinforce the messages we’re putting across, which is exactly what we’re aiming to do.” Pupils at Wheatfield Primary School in Winnersh found themselves in royal company when Princess Elsa from smash-hit film Frozen paid a visit to their classroom.
The unlikely royal visitor came as part of a project on the topic ‘Do Dragons Exist?’ in which pupils studied the legendary creatures, the history of knights and castles, and also some of the creatures’ real-life cousins, such as the Indonesian lizard the Komodo dragon. Although studies had been on-going for some time, the excitement was turned up a notch when one morning at assembly, the children were told that Dan the Dragon had kidnapped Princess Elsa – and it was time for them to put their studies into action to try and solve the mystery. “We left a series of clues for them to follow, and they had to write notes to Elsa to let them know what they were doing to try and rescue her,” said Assistant Head Teacher Tamara Brown. “They had to work together and use their knowledge to work out how they could find her, and they learnt about the knights’ code of honour – we even drew up our own code of conduct, which they all had to sign up to, before they were knighted at assembly, and then to round things off Princess Elsa appeared to thank the children for their hard work and to let them know she was safe.” Perhaps inevitably, the finale was a mass singing of Frozen’s hit song ‘Let It Go’, before the children went on their way with an exciting story to retell at home. “It’s a wonderful way to catch their imagination and draw them into a subject,” said Mrs Brown. “These kind of topics never seem to go out of fashion with children, and it’s a really effective way of helping them to learn. And should they ever encounter a real-life dragon, then they now know exactly what to do!” Year Six pupils at Warlingham Village Primary School have been encouraged to broaden their horizons with a major project on all things European this term.
Their studies have not just been limited to geography, but also the history, music, art and even food of the countries they have been studying, and the project has also spread into their ICT lessons as they have been using the latest computer technology to further their knowledge and research. Kingfishers class teacher Cherie Brown said they began their studies from the standpoint of ‘what do you know, and what do you want to know’. “We started out finding out what countries were in what continents, and once we focused in on Europe, we used well-known landmarks to work out where countries were,” she explained. “Each week the children decide what country they would like to focus on, then in their groups they have to come up with a presentation about that country – how they choose to present this, and what they choose to highlight, is up to them so we’re sure to see some interesting presentations!” The European project has also found its way into the English curriculum. “One of the things we’ve focused on is writing persuasive texts, so we’ve been producing leaflets to showcase our own village to visitors, and we’re going to move on to doing similar things for places in Europe,” she explained. “We’ve incorporated into science too, looking at issues like water supply and how it varies in different parts of Europe according to the climate.” With the children having a say in setting the topics they are studying, the project has proved popular with pupils, and Mrs Brown said it was also proving a winner with staff. “The topic is so all-encompassing that there are loads of different angles you can take, so from science to music, there’s something in it for almost every subject,” she said. “No wonder it’s going down so well.” Thirty-two families celebrated their bond during a free photo shoot by a professional photographer in the Vancouver Quarter on Saturday.
The pop up studio was situated next to Costa Coffee and opposite Wilkinson on New Conduit Street and ran from 11am to 4pm and saw 77 children have a picture with their family. The families booked their slots online to ensure their family was captured ahead of Mother’s Day and are now able to download them for free from the shopping centre’s website. Following the success of this and the Valentine’s photo shoot in February, centre manager Abbie Panks said she hoped to organise another free photo shoot for families later in the year. “We’ve been delighted at the success of both photo shoots – they were a brilliant way for people to have their photo taken for free and we were so pleased with the take up from the public,” she said. “The Mother’s Day photo shoot was particularly pleasing as it was fully booked a few days before, which shows there is huge demand for people wanting to have their picture taken by a professional. “There will be plenty of other free events in the Vancouver Quarter this year, including the return of our very popular Halloween event and Christmas Grotto. Next up will be free Easter activities on 4th April. Follow us on Twitter, like our page on Facebook and keep an eye on our website for details of events when they are confirmed.” Year Four pupils from Danetree Junior School in West Ewell went beyond the classroom in the name of education when they went on an overnight stay at the Bowles centre in Tunbridge Wells recently. Despite being out of uniform and their usual surroundings, education was still very much on the agenda as the group, led by Head of Year Lisa Lehane, took part in activities such as zip wire, teamwork, climbing and rafting. “These may not be conventional lessons but they’re definitely learning activities,” she explained. “Learning about things like teamwork, trust and resilience and developing practical skills have a huge role to play in the formation of the character of young people, and Year Four is a great age to do it. Some of the things they got to do here, they didn’t even know existed – and they come away having found out that not only do they exist, but also that they can do them. It’s wonderful.” It is the second time Danetree pupils have visited the venue on the Kent/Sussex border, and Miss Lehane said the success of last year’s visit had made the school want to return with the new Year Four class. “Of course it’s a bit of fun for them and we hope they’ll take away some great memories, but it’s also about being challenged and taken them out of their comfort zone. We want to put them in a position where they’re forced to set themselves goals and to find out more about encouraging and helping others do the same,” she explained. Miss Lehane said there were a couple of lessons that parents would be particularly glad to hear their children were being taught. “They had to make their own beds and clear everything up at mealtimes as well – we just hope they’ll keep that up at home too,” she said. Children at Hillcroft School in Caterham enjoyed a trip round the world without leaving the grounds of their own school recently when the school’s annual International Week event took place.
Normal subjects were put to one side as the pupils focused on slightly more exotic topics such as Chinese Lion Dancing, Asian Silk Printing and even Circus Skills. Every class in the school takes part, choosing a particular country to study for the course of the week, and with relevant workshops being staged every day of the week for the whole school to enjoy. Head of school John Williams said he was delighted with how the week had gone, and how much the children had gained from it. “It was a really inspiring event for all of them,” he explained. “They were all really motivated by such a fun range of activities, and it’s really left an impact, they’re still enthused by what they did”. The Chinese Lion Dancing was a particular favourite with the children, added assistant headteacher Louise Summers. “They had great fun doing the dancing and twirling the ribbons around, so naturally after they’d done it they were keen to find out more about the country – that made it a winner for both staff and pupils,” she added. Any complaints about tough school runs on cold winter mornings will receive short shrift at Cordwalles Junior School in Camberley after Year Six pupils took part in a telephone interview with legendary polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
Pupils from Willow and Maple classes had been doing a project on 'Antarctica: The Coldest Journey', during the course of which they learnt about the harsh climate and living conditions of the South Pole, and the historic expeditions of Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton. But their studies entered a whole new league when they had the opportunity to ask questions directly to Sir Ranulph, the man officially named by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s greatest living explorer, and the first to reach both poles and cross both the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans. “It was an amazing experience for the children to have such direct access to someone like that,” said teacher Sam Alley-Mohindra, who set up the call. “There can be few people on the planet who know as much about the poles, and certainly no-one who can rival Sir Ranulph in terms of first-hand experience of just how demanding it is to be there, and our pupils had the chance to quiz him about all of his experiences. “He was full of amazing stories about how close he had come to death, and how badly he had been affected by frost bite on his travels. Sir Ranulph couldn’t have been more helpful and entertaining in inspiring the children to take an interest in the subject of polar life. It’s clearly something that’s played a huge part in his life, and after this, I think the South Pole will always have a special significance for our children too.” |
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