Nursery to Year Six Highlights
Posted on: 27 Feb 2026
This week has been incredibly exciting for our girls in Prep — from visits from our parents who taught us all about their culture, to working out the science behind how a bulb works, and everything in between! It’s been a great start back for our girls, and we’re looking forward to seeing what excitement next week brings
Posted on: 27 Feb 2026
This week has been incredibly exciting for our girls in Prep — from visits from our parents who taught us all about their culture, to working out the science behind how a bulb works, and everything in between! It’s been a great start back for our girls, and we’re looking forward to seeing what excitement next week brings
Steering, Balancing, and Speed Control!
While spending time outdoors, the girls in Nursery have been developing their movement and physical skills by riding bikes and scooters. As their gross motor skills continue to strengthen, they have been learning to manoeuvre their vehicles in and around cones, carefully navigating the space and developing their spatial awareness. They are becoming increasingly confident in steering, balancing, and controlling their speed! The girls have also been enjoying taking safe risks as they travel down a small hill in the playground, supporting them in building resilience and courage.
Mrs Yu shares her Story!
Kindergarten pupils had so much fun celebrating Mother Language Day on Tuesday! They started the day by attending assembly in the Prep Hall where they enjoyed hearing the Senior School pupils speaking in their mother languages and admiring everyone’s outfits. Back in Westbourne they were treated to a fantastic presentation by Ms Yu, who is parent to one of the Kindergarten pupils. Ms Yu shared lots of interesting facts about Taiwan with the Kindergarten pupils and even taught them some Taiwanese Hokkien! The pupils found the presentation so engaging and joined in confidently when invited to repeat words and phrases. During the afternoon, the pupils firstly had the chance to show items they had brought into school and tell their classmates about them. They then learned about the Chinese zodiac and Lunar New Year. Every pupil had the opportunity to create a mask to celebrate the Year of the Horse and thoroughly enjoyed the activity.
Gardens and Growing!
Reception have started a new topic, Gardens and Growing! This week they have been learning all about sunflowers and how they grow. The girls looked at the artwork of Vincent van Gogh and explored his famous sunflower paintings. They talked about the bright colours and bold brushstrokes he used. Inspired by his work, each girl painted their own beautiful sunflower head. These were collected together to create a lovely class vase display. The children also planted their own sunflower seeds. They carefully filled their pots with soil, planted their seeds and watered them. Learning about what sunflowers need to grow. In their writing lessons, the girls wrote instructions to explain how to plant a sunflower. They worked hard to think about the steps and to use clear sentences. We are very proud of the girl's enthusiasm and creativity and are looking forward to watching our sunflowers grow!
Making Music in Year One!
Year One pupils have been busy preparing for their upcoming Bodies Assembly, where they will be performing for their parents in the coming weeks. As part of this exciting preparation, the children have been creating their own musical maracas to accompany their performance. The pupils carefully selected a small plastic bottle before choosing materials to place inside, such as rice and lentils, exploring how different contents create a variety of sounds. They then worked thoughtfully to cover their shakers using paper mâché, ready for the next stage of decorating. Soon, the children will paint their maracas using bright colours and carefully chosen patterns to make each instrument unique.
The pupils have thoroughly enjoyed this creative process and are looking forward to using their finished instruments during their assembly performance. We look forward to sharing their hard work and enthusiasm with families very soon.
Team Work Makes the Bulb Work!
This week Year Two have been investigating electricity and learning how electrical circuits work. The girls were given wires, a battery and a bulb and challenged to build a circuit that would light the bulb. Working in pairs, they explored the equipment and experimented with connecting the components in different ways. Through teamwork and perseverance, they successfully created complete circuits and all managed to light their bulbs. Then they looked at the symbols for these items and learned how to draw circuit diagrams, using the symbols. To extend their learning, they were then asked to add a second bulb to their circuits. This resulted in the exciting discovery that the bulbs glowed with varying levels of brightness, sparking thoughtful and engaging scientific discussions.
Well done, girls!
Animation and Illusion!
This term in Year Three, the girls have been exploring the exciting world of animation. They began by learning what animation is: a sequence of images, either drawn or photographed, that are shown rapidly to create the illusion of movement. To bring this concept to life, the girls created their own simple animations by drawing stick figures on Post-it notes and turning them into flipbooks. They then progressed to using the iMotion app on their iPads to produce stop-motion animations, drawing characters on their whiteboards and capturing each movement step by step. Along the way, they developed new technical skills, including using “onion skinning” to guide their movements and ensuring they captured enough frames to make their animations smooth and seamless. In recent weeks, the girls have planned, created, and edited their own iMotion Gladiator movies, incorporating backgrounds and characters to enhance their storytelling. In the coming weeks, they will continue to build on these skills by adding sound effects to bring their animations to life even further.
A Special visit from Rabeeyah’s Mummy!
Year Four enjoyed a vibrant and meaningful Language Day celebration, where children proudly represented their cultures and mother languages. Girls came dressed in beautiful heritage clothing or in the bright colours of their national flags, creating a wonderful display of diversity across the classroom. The highlight of the day was a special visit from Rabeeyah’s mummy, who delivered an engaging talk about Urdu and Pakistan. She explained where Urdu is spoken and shared fascinating insights about her family’s heritage and traditions. Her talk helped everyone appreciate the beauty of the language and the importance of celebrating our roots.
Year Four’s Language Day was a joyful celebration of culture, language and the wonderful diversity within our school community.
Amelia’s Mummy Shared a Story of Family Heritage
A Fantastic Celebration of Diversity on Language Day. Year Five came together this week to celebrate World Language Day in a joyful and colourful tribute to culture, heritage and mother languages from around the world. The girls proudly represented their backgrounds by dressing in traditional heritage clothing or in the vibrant colours of their national flags.
A highlight of the day was a fascinating talk from Amelia’s mummy, who introduced everyone to Mandarin and spoke warmly about her family’s heritage. She explained how important language is in keeping traditions alive and shared interesting insights into Chinese culture that captured the children’s attention from start to finish. Her enthusiasm and personal stories made the session both educational and inspiring. Adding to the excitement, pupils took part in a creative activity linked to the Chinese zodiac. They coloured masks of either a goat or a monkey, depending on their year of birth. Language Day was truly a fantastic celebration of the rich diversity within our school. It was a wonderful reminder that while we may speak different languages and come from different cultures, we are united in friendship, curiosity and respect for one another.
Mission Implausible!
Year Six have officially begun rehearsals for their production, Mission Implausible and the excitement is already building. Rehearsals are about far more than learning lines. Pupils are developing confidence and collaboration skills that will support them in secondary school and beyond. Every role matters. Whether delivering a leading speech, performing in a smaller cameo part or supporting the action from the side of the stage, each child contributes to the overall success of the show. The production is a true team effort built on resilience and mutual support.
We look forward to the performance at the start of the Summer Term.
