Swimming

Year 5 have made a fantastic splash during their daily swimming lessons, focusing on building water confidence and mastering essential life skills. The children have been working hard to develop their stroke techniques in front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke, while also practising vital water safety manoeuvres. From beginners gaining confidence without buoyancy aids to advanced swimmers refining their stamina and breathing, every child has shown great perseverance. These sessions not only promote physical fitness but also ensure that our pupils are safe and capable in the water, meeting the national curriculum goal of swimming competently over a distance of at least 25 metres.

English

The children in year 5 are learning about biographies currently focusing on Pelé.  They have been exploring a wide range of writing skills while delving into the life of the football legend. They begin by identifying key features of a biography, such as the use of the third person, past tense and time connectives to ensure chronological order. Using a variety of sources, including informational texts and online resources, the children gather factual information about his life, from his birth in Três Corações, Brazil, to his numerous World Cup victories. They are learning to structure their writing with an engaging introduction and a concluding statement about his legacy, using subheadings like "Early Life" and "Achievements" to organise the information logically. This process helps them move beyond simple fact-finding to creating a cohesive, informative and inspiring account of how Pelé became a global icon and a "national treasure".

Guided Reading

Year 5 children have enjoyed exploring our South America topic so far through engaging guided reading sessions this term. To deepen their understanding, we have delved into a variety of texts, beginning with a non-fiction piece that provided fascinating insights into Brazil's diverse geography and culture, from its status as the sixth-largest economy to the green of its flag symbolising the great Amazon rainforest. We then shifted our focus to an inspiring poem about the legendary Brazilian footballer, Pele, analysing how the text portrays his life and achievements. Finally, a dedicated non-fiction text on the Amazon rainforest helped the children understand its critical role and the importance of its immense biodiversity. These sessions have not only enhanced their reading comprehension skills but also enriched their knowledge of South America.

Geography

The children have been immersing themselves in the vibrant geography of South America, exploring both its physical and human features. From the towering heights of the Andes mountain range to the bustling human settlements on the coasts, pupils have compared these diverse landscapes with those in the UK as well as Scandinavia. A key focus has been the Amazon rainforest, where students identified its four distinct layers—the forest floor, understory, canopy and emergent layer and discovered how each plays a vital role in supporting the world's highest levels of biodiversity. By studying South America's varied biomes and tropical climates, children have learnt how temperature and rainfall patterns sustain such unique ecosystems. To conclude their studies, they investigated the region's economy, looking at major exports such as mineral extraction, soybeans and logging, while considering the global importance of trade and the impact of human activities on these natural resources.

Art

Within Art, the children have been refining their technical skills by exploring the interplay between light and dark through pencil sketching and shading. Pupils practised creating depth and form, experimenting with gradients to transform flat shapes into three-dimensional observations. Building on these foundations, the children drew inspiration from the famous French Post-Impressionist, Henri Rousseau, known for his lush, imaginative jungle scenes. They studied his unique style and vibrant colours.  They used this inspiration to plan their own tropical compositions. Using oil pastels, students applied their knowledge of tone and layering to create vivid rainforest pictures, blending rich pigments to capture the dense foliage and exotic atmosphere of the South American wilderness.