Nursery to Year Six Highlights

‘What the Ladybird Heard’

One of the stories we’ve been focusing on in Nursery is ‘What the Ladybird Heard’. The girls have been developing their mark-making skills, practicing how to use closed shapes and continuous lines to represent their ideas, and beginning to add more detail to their drawings with increasing confidence. We explored the features of ladybirds by looking closely at pictures and non-fiction books, which introduced some new vocabulary. The girls enjoyed discussing what they noticed and making links between what they saw and their own artwork, helping to build both their language and observational skills.

Kindergarten Gymnastics Display!

Kindergarten pupils benefit from opportunities to be taught by specialist staff at Edgbaston High School for Girls.  Every Thursday, Mrs Hewison from the Physical Education department leads a dance or gymnastics session.  As the Kindergarten pupils were making such pleasing progress with their gymnastics, we invited their families to attend a display.  The audience was treated to a presentation of rolls, jumps and balances.  Every move was professionally presented by the pupils and they demonstrated impressive body control.  Each pupil confidently showed their bunny hops, balance on a beam, pencil rolls (which the pupils have affectionately named ‘sausage rolls’) and forward rolls.  We are so proud of the pupils and look forward to future displays!

Pollution in the Ocean

This week, Reception have been learning all about pollution in the ocean and why it is important to keep our seas clean. The girls discovered what happens when plastic gets into the water and how it can harm sea animals and their habitats. They showed great understanding and care when discussing ways in which we can all help protect our planet. As part of their learning, the girls carried out a fun experiment to find out how to clean dirty water. They explored different ways of filtering and were excited to see how they could make the water clearer. Our tuff tray activity was very popular, the girls sorted different types of rubbish to help “clean the planet.” They worked brilliantly together, showing teamwork and enthusiasm while learning about recycling and looking after the environment.

Terrific Toys!

This week in Year One the girls have been learning about how different toys move during their Science lessons. They explored whether toys use springs, elastic, batteries, or are powered by wind or air, as well as those that simply require hand movement. The girls thoroughly enjoyed investigating and playing with the various toys during this process. They also used their photography skills on their iPads to record their findings.

Beebots

Year Two have thoroughly enjoyed their Computing lessons this term, where they have been developing their coding skills using Blubots. They have learned how to program the Blubots to move forwards and backwards, as well as how to make them turn. Using a variety of maps, the children were then challenged to direct their Blubots from one location to another. They worked collaboratively in their groups, showing great teamwork and problem-solving skills as they successfully navigated their Blubots around the maps.

Exploring the Polar Regions!

As part of their Geography learning on the Polar Regions, Year Three have been exploring how explorers prepare for expeditions to Antarctica. They were fascinated to learn that explorers must wear many layers of clothing to stay warm in the extreme conditions. The girls also discovered the range of activities carried out during these expeditions, including camping on the ice, skiing across vast landscapes and studying lichen. They were especially intrigued by how much food explorers need to eat each day to maintain their energy and keep warm in such a harsh environment. It has been wonderful to see their curiosity and enthusiasm as they learn more about life in one of the most extreme places on Earth.

Year Four Rugby Festival

Pupils from several primary schools came together this week for an exciting Year Four Rugby Festival, celebrating teamwork, sportsmanship, and a love of the game. Held on a bright spring day, the festival saw children aged 8–9 take part in a series of friendly T1 matches and skill-building activities. The focus of the event was not just competition, but participation—giving every child the chance to develop confidence, learn new skills, and enjoy being active.

We were very impressed with our girls having only played for a short time. They showed   moments of excellent passing, determined defending and great communication on the pitch. Event organisers emphasized that the festival was about more than winning. “It’s fantastic to see the children encouraging each other and playing with such enthusiasm,” one coach said. “Days like this help build a lifelong enjoyment of sport.”

Geographers Practise Field Sketching Ahead of Cranedale Visit!

Year Five pupils stepped outside this week to put their geography skills into practice by creating field sketches of the school grounds. Using compass points and directions, the young geographers carefully observed their surroundings and recorded key features in their drawings. The activity helped pupils understand how geographers use north, south, east and west to describe locations and directions. The exercise was designed to prepare the pupils for their upcoming residential trip to Cranedale next week. During the visit, they will use the same fieldwork skills to explore and record the local landscape.

The outdoor lesson was both educational and enjoyable, giving the class a chance to develop their mapping skills while learning how geographers study the world around them. The girls are now looking forward to applying their new skills during their Cranedale adventure.

Independent Learning Projects

Over the Spring Term, Year Six pupils have been working on their Independent Learning Projects, exploring a question of their own choosing. The range of topics was impressive, from scientific enquiries such as ‘Why does fruit rot?’ and ‘How does the heart pump blood?’ to more reflective questions like ‘How do people contribute to their community?’ and ‘How does the mind process memories?’. Pupils took full ownership of their learning, researching independently, selecting relevant information and organising their ideas into clear presentations. They were also challenged to draw conclusions based on their findings, encouraging deeper thinking and reflection.

Pupils demonstrated growing confidence in research, note-taking and summarising throughout the process. Many also showed resilience when tackling complex topics and independence in managing their time. The projects highlighted not only pupils’ curiosity and creativity, but also their readiness for the next stage of their learning journey.