Warlingham children expand horizons with European project

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.”