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Memorable Experiences
In the ‘Engage’ stage of our Curriculum our children get an exciting introduction to their new project. They gain memorable first-hand experiences, such as going on a visit or inviting a special visitor into school.
Oxford castle and prison - Spring 2024
To launch our Magnificent Monarchs project, Oak Class visited Oxford Castle and Prison.
We took a tour of the castle and climbed 101 steps to the top of the tower! It was very hard work because the steps were 'tripping steps' that helped slow down attackers.
We explored the crypt and learnt about the history of the building. We saw prisons cells that prisoners of the past would have stayed in and talked about different punishments prisoners would recieve. Did you know that prisoners had to take part in hard labour every day?
After lunch, we took part in the 'King of the Castle' workshop. We handled different artefacts using our touch and smelling senses to help us identify them. The castle smells were very smelly!
Finally, we climbed the mound. We learnt there used to be a tower on top to help people defend from armies that might attack them. At the top we waved to all the people at the bottom, it was very high up and windy!
Pupil voice
'I liked the prison cells. We got to dance in the tower and see our shadows!'
'I liked the twirly-whirly stairs. They were to help stop knights from attacking people. I was a bit scared because their were alot of stairs and my feet were hurting. I loved getting to the top, it was really high!'
'The smells were really stinky but some of them smelled good. We smelt the dirty laundry and the stables.'
'I loved climbing the mound, it was very high! We got to wave to everyone from high up.'
Misty Mountain, Winding Rivers Carousel - Spring 2024
To kick off our new topic Cedar travelled over to our sister school, Queen Emma's, to take part in a carousel of activities based on their learning for the term.
The children enjoyed four different activities each lead by a different member of staff. Our Year 6 loved the idea as moving around to the different classrooms is very much like what they will be doing when they move on to their secondary school.
The activities included:
A bridge building challenge with Miss. Southey, in which the children had to build bridges (with limited equipment) and test them with weights.
Rivers of the world with Mr. Charlton. The children loved exploring and sharing facts about some of the worlds more reknowned rivers.
Boat building with Mr. Crouch. The children had to design boats that could handle rough waters. Much tougher than it seemed!
And lastly, the water cycle with myself. The children revisted the concepts of states of matter while exploring, evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and collection. We also completed a live water cycle demonstration.
Pupil Voice
'The bridge challenge was amazing! Our group did REALLY well!'
'It was great moving to different activities - just like secondary school!'
'I enjoyed finding out about the rivers of the world.'
Cogges Farm
Cherry Class had the most wonderful day at Cogges Farm to launch their project 'Sunshine and Sunflowers'. The children explored the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, milked a model cow, hunted for eggs, baked, and looked at seeds and plants. What an amazing adventure!
King's Coronation
Countryside Day at Cornbury Estate
The whole school visited The Cornbury Park Estate for a ‘Countryside Day’ during the summer term. The children learnt about the important role estates such as Cornbury Park has to play within its environment and providing a livelihood for many locals. The children explored the grounds, learnt about livestock, game keeping, forest maintenance, farming and more.
Pupil Voice;
"My favourite part was meeting the working dog, Barney. He was very cute when we met him and he was only one year old but he was a big dog! We got to walk him and feed him treats."
"My favourite part was meeting the pigs and the piglets. They are my favourite animal at Cornbury park. I liked how cute the piglets were and how massive the Mummy was."
"I really enjoyed catching the butterflies. We caught a horse butterfly; it was really hard to catch them"
