Image of Year 2 - Geography
5 Dec

Year 2 - Geography

In Geography, we had a closer look at the continent of Asia. I was extremely impressed with the countries we could remember such as Japan, The Philippines and Saudi Arabia! We found lots more out about Asia today such as that Asia is made up of 48 countries. I’m sure the children will remember these facts just as well.

Image of Year 5 - Mountain Life
26 Nov

Year 5 - Mountain Life

During geography, Year 5 have started learning about life in the mountains. They began by exploring Lyfta, where they met Simon Mtuy, who lives on Mount Kilimanjaro. Through this platform, the children experienced his way of life, the local culture and how people adapt to living near the mountains. They explored his surroundings and gained insight into his daily life. Afterwards, the children engaged in thoughtful reflection, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of living near a mountain. They considered aspects such as access to natural resources, tourism opportunities and breathtaking scenery. As well as challenges like isolation, harsh weather conditions and limited infrastructure. This reflective discussion encouraged them to think critically about how environment shapes lifestyle.

Image of Year 3- Geography- Locating different climate zones
21 Nov

Year 3- Geography- Locating different climate zones

This afternoon, Year 3 geographers started their climate zones unit. They learned the difference between weather and climate, identified key lines of latitude like the Equator, and explored the diverse climate zones across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Image of Whole School Worship - World Toilet Day
20 Nov

Whole School Worship - World Toilet Day

In worship yesterday, we looked through our spirituality windows and out into the world on toilets. We were shocked and saddened to find out that around 700 children under 5 die every year due to poor sanitation. We heard about Jeremiah in Kenya who doesn’t have access to a toilet. In his community, people would mostly use a hole in the ground or a plastic bag, which some people would tie up and throw on other people’s roofs. We talked about how this affects people’s health and shared ideas of what we could do to help. The children then learned about our Toilet Twinning project for which we raised money a few years go to sponsor the building and maintenance of toilets in Nepal, Uganda, Tanzania, and Afghanistan. We reflected on how we should never take our toilets for granted and thought of ways we could save loo paper and water.

Image of Year 4 - Class Worship: How Do We Know Who We Are?
20 Nov

Year 4 - Class Worship: How Do We Know Who We Are?

We had an extremely thought-provoking class worship today. We found out about Amur, a Muslim boy in Denmark, using Lyfta. He shared a small snapshot of his daily life and explored the question “Who am I?” The discussion which followed was the perfect opportunity for us to practise our talk tactics and listening skills as we shared our opinions on who Amir is as a person, whether or not we thought he was a good person, and how we could tell. There was a lot of agreement among the children with some building on others’ ideas, and a couple of respectful disagreements.

Image of Reception: Exploring the Snow
19 Nov

Reception: Exploring the Snow

Our Reception children enjoyed exploring the snow today. They worked together in small groups to build snowmen! They collected resources for the arms and they all had carrots for their noses. The children also found some icicles so we looked closely at them and how they had formed. It was also wonderful to look around at the winter sight and really feel the snow too. Our world is beautiful in all types of weather and what a treat we all had this morning.

Image of Year 5 - Fun in the snow
19 Nov

Year 5 - Fun in the snow

Year 5 had an amazing time in the snow today, building creative snowmen and making wonderful memories together. It was heartwarming to see the children laughing, playing, and truly enjoying the wintry weather. They also took a moment to reflect on the beauty of our snow-covered surroundings, sharing thoughts about how lucky we are to have such fantastic outdoor spaces to explore and appreciate as a school community.

Image of Year 3 - English- Discovering Bear Island
14 Nov

Year 3 - English- Discovering Bear Island

Today, Year 3 worked in pairs to explore the book "The Last Bear." They made predictions and inferences about the story based on the front cover of the book. Next, they looked at the double-page illustration (map) of Bear Island. The children debated whether it was a real place and explored the map, identifying locations like Tromso and Svalbard. We used Google to research the island and discovered that it is a small, uninhabited island in the Arctic Ocean. The children were fascinated to learn that there is a Bear Island in Norway, not far from the UK.

Image of Year 3- Interfaith Week- Prag's trip to India- Hinduism
11 Nov

Year 3- Interfaith Week- Prag's trip to India- Hinduism

Year 3 celebrated Interfaith Week by learning about Hinduism. Prags, who was born in East Africa, shared her experiences of visiting India. She showed pictures of both traditional and modern parts of the country, highlighting its diversity. Prags also discussed the importance of recycling and her love for visiting sacred sites like the River Ganges and the Golden Temple. The girls then wore colourful, sequined skirts while the boys wore jackets and they all learned a dance routine together. The children asked insightful questions about the language and clothing and enjoyed trying the vegetable samosas that Prags brought in. It was great to learn about the traditions and religious beliefs of Hinduism.

Image of Reception: Developing our Gross Motor Skills
4 Nov

Reception: Developing our Gross Motor Skills

Today our Reception children challenged themselves to climb trees. They used their muscles in their tummies, arms and legs to help them to safely climb the trees. Some of the children swang on the branches and balanced too. Well done for being so brave!

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
4 Nov

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today for Reception’s Muddy Monday session, the children walked to Jacks Key. To celebrate bonfire night, the children collected twigs, sticks and leaves to create their own bonfires. The children had to work together as a team and did a brilliant job.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
28 Oct

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today, our Reception children went for a walk into our local environment. We went on a mile walk to Jack Keys reservoir. The children enjoyed looking at the reservoir, the fallen leaves and loved listening to the birds singing. The children really concentrated on what they could see and hear, exploring spirituality. It was a rainy walk and the children persevered and enjoyed splashing in the puddles too.

Image of Year 1 Art-Cold Landscapes
16 Oct

Year 1 Art-Cold Landscapes

As part of their Art unit this half-term, Year 1 have been building up the art skills to create a cold landscape. They have learnt about warm and cool colours, the composition of a landscape, how to use watercolours to create a background and how to use different materials to create different textures. This week, they have completed their final piece of artwork incorporating all of these skills and I’m sure you’ll agree that the end results look amazing. Well done Year 1! 

Image of Reception: Surprise Frog Visit
14 Oct

Reception: Surprise Frog Visit

Reception had a very exciting afternoon. Some of the children found a frog in our outdoor area. We put the frog in some water and let it out safely in its natural habitat.

Image of Year 4 Geography - What do I Know About The Amazon Basin
10 Oct

Year 4 Geography - What do I Know About The Amazon Basin

Today we compiled a fact file about what we know about the Amazon Basin. We had subheadings to add information based on what we have learnt over the past few weeks. We included; The Amazon Rainforest, The Amazon River, Life in Manaus and Deforestation. We then went on to label a map of South America and all of its countries.

Image of Year 3- R.E- Comparing harvest festivals around the world
7 Oct

Year 3- R.E- Comparing harvest festivals around the world

In RE today, Year 3 learned about how harvest is celebrated around the world. We watched a short clip and explored images and text from different countries like India, Italy, America, and China. It was fascinating to see how people celebrate this important time in different ways. India celebrates it with fireworks, lights and sweets, while America often has a roast dinner with family and friends, In China they eat mooncakes, a traditional pastry and in Italy they have parades.

Image of Creating Optical Illusions - Year 4 Art
3 Oct

Creating Optical Illusions - Year 4 Art

This week we have started to create optical illusions using a tropical rainforest theme. First the children selected two images such as toucans, macaws, tropical fish and tribes people. Working within a small group they then cut each of the pictures into 2cm strips. Following this they placed the strips down one side of a vertical fan and the same with the other picture. It is extremely difficult to place the strips in the correct place so that the image isn’t distorted, so we numbered the strips to help us. We are using a carousel of art activities so that each group can focus on their own optical illusion and ask for support where needed. We can’t wait to see everyone’s final piece which will go on to be displayed in the school hall.

Image of Year 4 - English : Information Texts
2 Oct

Year 4 - English : Information Texts

We have started our first non-fiction unit in English this week. We will be making good use of the rich geography knowledge we have gained about the Amazon Rainforest in order to create information texts over the next couple of weeks. We began by researching the Amazon using a range of secondary sources such as fact files and websites. We then looked at a number of examples of information texts and spent time identifying key features, such as subheadings and text boxes.

Image of Year 4 Geography - What is it like in a rainforest city?
26 Sep

Year 4 Geography - What is it like in a rainforest city?

In our geography lesson we are studying the Amazon Rainforest. Today we compared and contrasted Darwen with Manaus which is a city located with the Amazon. We highlighted physical and human features and then moved onto looking at climates within each continent across the world.

Image of Year 4 - Writing Metaphors in Poetry
25 Sep

Year 4 - Writing Metaphors in Poetry

We are currently studying similes and metaphors in free-form poetry and, today, we started writing our own poems. We used images, word banks and oral rehearsal to create metaphors about the Amazon rainforest. Our finished poems will be entered into a poetry competition with a chance of them being published.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
23 Sep

Reception: Muddy Monday

Reception class had their first Muddy Monday session and they walked up to our school field. The children stayed close to each other whilst walking and they all managed to get to the field safely. The children enjoyed rolling down the hill, racing and finding bugs in the grass. It was pouring down but the rain did not stop the,. They are looking forward to next week's Muddy Monday.

Image of Year 5 - Mayan Challenges
23 Sep

Year 5 - Mayan Challenges

This afternoon, Year 5 continued to explore the challenges the Mayans faced while living in the rainforest. The children learned about the difficulties the Mayans encountered, such as the dense forest environment, lack of resources, and the need for sustainable farming. Before discovering the historical solutions used by the Mayans, the children engaged in critical thinking, offering their own creative solutions to these problems. Afterward, they compared their ideas to the actual strategies the Mayans employed, deepening their understanding of how this ancient civilisation adapted to their challenging environment.

Image of Year 4 Art - Soap Sculptures
19 Sep

Year 4 Art - Soap Sculptures

Our art session this week focused on Soap sculptures. We looked at the work of Barbara Hepworth and how things can be sculpted from a variety of materials. We used bars of soap for our sculptures and decided to stick with our rainforest animal theme. We decided between a butterfly, fish or turtle and then selected various tools to create our design. The children soon realised the need for a calm and steady hand in order to make intricate designs especially with the fish scales. As you can see we had some wonderful examples by the end of the lesson.

Image of Year 1 Geography- Identifying Hot and Cold Places on a World Map
19 Sep

Year 1 Geography- Identifying Hot and Cold Places on a World Map

In Geography, Year 1 have been learning to name and locate the 7 continents of the world. They have done amazingly well at this and have used their observations to help them identify which one is which. For example, they used clues such as Asia being the biggest, Africa being on the equator, Australia being the smallest and Antarctica being the South Pole. They have also explored a map and identified where the warm places are such as Africa and the top of South America which are on or near to the equator and cold places such as the Arctic (North Pole) and Antarctica (South Pole) because they are furthest away from the equator. Well done Year 1.

Image of Year 4 English - Planning a narrative based on The Explorer
13 Sep

Year 4 English - Planning a narrative based on The Explorer

As part of our English lessons, we are reading The Explorer by Jaqueline Wilson which is set in the South American rainforest. Today we have started to write our own narrative linked to a specific success criteria which included using fronted adverbials for time and place. We can’t wait to carry this on over the next few weeks to produce a final piece.

Image of Year 4 Geography - Where is the Amazon Rainforest?
5 Sep

Year 4 Geography - Where is the Amazon Rainforest?

In our first geography lesson of the year we looked at where the Amazon rainforest is in terms of continent and where it sits with reference to the equator and both tropics. The children worked hard to establish which countries the Amazon covered and then they moved on to labelling all seven continents, equator and tropics on a world map. The children used the atlases confidently and worked well in pairs to label accurately.

Image of Class Worship- How can communities help each other in times of difficulty?
4 Sep

Class Worship- How can communities help each other in times of difficulty?

During our class worship, Year 3 looked at a story about the summer when riots occurred in England and Northern Ireland, causing damage to cars and buildings. We defined the term 'communities' and discussed the importance of everyone feeling welcome and safe within their community. The children reflected on their differences and similarities, recognising that our school community is special because it is made up of so many different individuals with unique interests. We discussed our British value of mutual respect and tolerance, considering how our words and actions can impact others. We then sang ' When I needed a neighbour' and ended the worship by thanking God for our school community.

Image of Reception: Our First Day Group 1
3 Sep

Reception: Our First Day Group 1

This morning we welcomed our first group to Reception. They were superstars and settled in really well. They enjoyed exploring our indoor classroom today. We are so glad they have joined our St Barnabas family.

Image of Reception: Our First Day Group 2
3 Sep

Reception: Our First Day Group 2

This afternoon we welcomed our second group to Reception. They were superstars and settled in really well. They enjoyed exploring our indoor classroom today. We are so glad they have joined our St Barnabas family.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
15 Jul

Reception: Muddy Monday

Wow! What a year we have had in Reception. The children have made so much progress during our forest schools sessions. They have improved in their stamina, risk taking, problem solving and imagination skills. We have loved seeing all of the children blossom and made the most of our last Muddy Monday session together!

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
8 Jul

Reception: Muddy Monday

Reception enjoyed our Muddy Monday session at Whitehall Park. After our growth mindset assembly today, we made sure we used our growth mindset instead of our fixed mindset to challenge ourselves and take risks. The children really engaged with this and it was wonderful to see how far they have come since they started with us. Well done!

Image of Reception: Our New Classroom
3 Jul

Reception: Our New Classroom

The children in Reception have loved our new outdoor canopy that was built last week. This has extended our classroom to provide an outdoor area that the children can access in all weathers. Our indoor classroom has also had a refresh and the children have loved exploring all of the areas!

Image of English- Year 3- Refugees from Sudan and Libya
20 Jun

English- Year 3- Refugees from Sudan and Libya

Today in Year 3, we welcomed two refugees. Zinab from Libya and Samah from Sudan. They both had to leave their families because it was not safe in their countries. Zinab and Samah told us about their struggles and worries about fitting in here in the UK. They were very grateful to the UK for providing them with housing and support. They also reminded us to be thankful that we don't have wars, and that we have safe places to stay and food to eat. The question and answer session helped the children understand the challenges refugees face, which they could then portray in their writing.

Image of WOW Badge Winners for May
14 Jun

WOW Badge Winners for May

Huge congratulations to all of the children who have managed to ‘Walk Once a Week’ or ‘Park and Stride’ once a week during the month of May. We saw so many children receiving their badges but we can only have one overall class winner and that went to Year 5 ….again! Well done to all involved and keep up the hard work.

Image of Year 4 English - The Mousehole Cat
13 Jun

Year 4 English - The Mousehole Cat

In our English session this morning we have been focusing on our new class novel ‘The Mousehole Cat’ by Antonia Barber. After sharing more of the story, our objective was to sequence and discuss events using a story map. The children first discussed their ideas, working in pairs to sequence pictures. Then then created a whole class word bank that included key vocabulary from the story. Finally they wrote a paragraph for each picture. The children produced some lovely writing during the session with lots of complex sentence, uplevelling their work as they went along.

Image of Year 1 Geography- A Local Area Messy Map
13 Jun

Year 1 Geography- A Local Area Messy Map

To finish their most recent geography unit on their immediate local area, Year 1 worked together to create a messy map. Over the last half-term Year 1 have explored the features of our local area through both mapwork and fieldwork and this led them onto being able to create the wonderful messy map that they did. On their messy map, the roads were represented as were many other features such as our local park, chemist, shops, church, post-office, laundrette, detached houses, semi-detached houses, terraced houses and cemeteries.

Image of Year 5 - Geography
11 Jun

Year 5 - Geography

Year 5 have been exploring and investigating the world’s most famous earthquakes around the world. The children located them on a map and created a report detailing how severe they were, location and damage.

Image of Reception: Active Explorers
21 May

Reception: Active Explorers

It has been wonderful to see how our Ducklings are developing in problem solving and how they are all actively exploring all areas. They are constantly wanting to improve their work and are able to complete tricky tasks independently. This week, our Ducklings are learning all about dinosaurs and have created some fabulous Diplodocuses, labelled dinosaurs, created a dinosaur habitat and painted some marvellous dinosaurs whilst telling the class some wonderful facts about the knowledge they have learnt so far. Keep it up!

Image of Year 1 Geography- Ordnance Survey Map Symbols
15 May

Year 1 Geography- Ordnance Survey Map Symbols

In their geography lesson, Year 1 have been looking at what the Ordnance Survey Map symbols mean. They had to look for clues within the symbols to make accurate judgements. They found the toilet, post office, school, telephone box, place of worship and carpark easier to guess from the symbol than the road, train station, foot path and footbridge. Year 1 then looked at an ordnance survey map of our immediate local area (Whitehall) and circled the symbols that they could see.

Image of Year 3- Geography- Exploring US States
7 May

Year 3- Geography- Exploring US States

In Geography, this afternoon, Year 3 worked in small groups to explore various U.S. states and assess their suitability as places to live. They investigated what it's like to live in different states, considering their similarities and differences, and examined how climate and landscapes could affect the quality of life in a particular location. They then shared their findings with the class.

Image of Year 3 - Persuasive Text- Why should you visit North America?
26 Apr

Year 3 - Persuasive Text- Why should you visit North America?

Year 3 have been learning how to write persuasively in the past week and a half. They've been using words like "could," "should," and "must" to convince people to visit North America. In geography, they've been learning a lot about North America, which helped them with their research. They've also been incorporating subordinate clauses in their writing using phrases like "Because North America has diverse landscapes." Now they're ready to show their persuasive writing to a wider audience and convince them to travel to North America.

Image of Year 3- Collective Worship- Earth Day
25 Apr

Year 3- Collective Worship- Earth Day

During our class worship this morning, Year 3 enjoyed exploring the wonders of our planet and learning what we can do to keep it safe. The children thanked God for creating a wonderful world and how blessed we are to be surrounded by nature on our doorstep. The children made promises on how they will save the Earth. Some of the promises were, to not waste water, to recycle more and switch off lights when they leave the room.

Image of Year 5 - Earth Day
25 Apr

Year 5 - Earth Day

As part of Earth Day 2024, year 5 have been exploring the variety of ways that we can protect our planet. The theme this year is about plastic pollution and how we can reuse and recycle more to protect our planet. The children created door handles and wrote on them the many ways that we can protect and save our planet.

Image of Year 2 - Class Worship
25 Apr

Year 2 - Class Worship

Today we had our class worship! As it has been World Earth Day this week, we used resources from Sir David Attenborough and Children in need. This has linked nicely with our Geography topic of Hot and Cold Places. At the end of the day we watched highlights of Planet Earth III. The episode we chose was narrated by children as anyone can have a voice for nature.

Image of Year 1- Local Geography Fieldwork
24 Apr

Year 1- Local Geography Fieldwork

Year 1 are studying their local area as part of their most recent geography unit. Yesterday, they were busy exploring their local area with the help of a map. There were various symbols on the map and they had to investigate what human features the symbols were representing e.g. Whitehall Park, Bolton Rd Laundrette, St Barnabas Church and the cemetery. As part of their fieldwork, they also identified and created a tally of the types of houses that they could see on route e.g. terraced, detached, semi-detached and bungalows. When we got back to school, we discussed what types of houses were most popular in the area of Whitehall and we came to the conclusion that it was terraced houses. We thought that this might be because we can fit more terraced houses into a small area which means that more people can live there. We also linked this back to our previous learning on the Victoria era when Darwen was a very popular cotton town. We thought that maybe Darwen would have needed to provide somewhere for all the factory workers to live in those times hence why there are so many terraced houses.

Image of Earth Day- EYFS and Key Stage 1 Lunchtime
22 Apr

Earth Day- EYFS and Key Stage 1 Lunchtime

The children enjoyed celebrating Earth day this lunchtime as a reminder to look after our planet by making their own Earth creation using collage materials.

Image of Year 3 - Geography- Identifying and locating countries and states in North America on a map.
18 Apr

Year 3 - Geography- Identifying and locating countries and states in North America on a map.

This afternoon, Year 3 Geographers delved deeper into their studies of North America. We explored the diverse landscapes of Canada, the tropical beauty of Costa Rica, the bustling streets of New York City, and the vibrant culture of Mexico. Afterwards, the children located these countries on a map and carefully labelled them for better understanding.

Image of Reception: Forest Schools
16 Apr

Reception: Forest Schools

Our Ducklings love our forest school sessions at Whitehall Park! Letting their imaginations run wild is so important for their development. They enjoyed developing their gross motor skills too whilst exploring the outdoors.

Image of Year 4 Go on Residential to The Anderton Centre
12 Apr

Year 4 Go on Residential to The Anderton Centre

Well that’s a wrap! What an amazing adventure we have had at The Anderton Centre. The children have loved tree climbing, archery, fairy den building, night line guide line, bushcraft, marshmallow toasting, team building, XL stand up paddle boarding, midnight feasts, sleepovers (with not much sleep) and AI food. The children have really challenged themselves, attempting things that have really pushed them out of their comfort zones. Team Gardner, Team Araujo andTeam Lyon’s were a pleasure to take and conducted themselves in true St Barnabas style, showing our four Bs along the way at all times. A huge thanks to the parents and carers for allowing us to share such a magical experience with them, labelling every item under the sun and all with the packing skills of a scout leader! We now have very tired children but they have made memories that will last a lifetime! For all of the photos, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-4-anderton-centre-residential

Image of Reception - Bird feeders
11 Apr

Reception - Bird feeders

Alongside our ‘Spring’ week, reception have been learning about ‘migration’ when the birds leave in Winter to find warmer countries. Now that it’s Spring, the birds will be returning from their migration back to the UK in search of food again so we spent the afternoon making bird feeders using pipe cleaners and cereal hoops to welcome the birds back. We will hang some of them on the tree in our Reception yard in the hope we may have some visitors.

Image of Year 4 - PE: Final Orienteering Session
27 Mar

Year 4 - PE: Final Orienteering Session

Our final orienteering session was all about testing map-reading skills. The children were put in mixed pairs and challenged to create a route to find 10 points on the school map. The team who completed their 10 points quickest were the winners. The children had to then challenge their partners to find the chocolate bars they hid and marked on the map. Needless to say, they keenly worked out where their bars were located and enjoyed their reward afterwards. Year 4 has thoroughly enjoyed this PE unit!

Image of Year 5 - Fairtrade Letters
26 Mar

Year 5 - Fairtrade Letters

This week Year 5 received a special letter on behalf of the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street in recognition of their persuasive writing to purchase more Fairtrade products. The children wrote a letter detailing the worldwide benefits of Fairtrade and they have been writing to persuade the Prime Minister to promote the purchasing of Fairtrade. Our letter states that our letters have been forwarded to the Department for Business and Trade to make them aware of our views and options. Well done Year 5 for making a stand and trying to make a difference!

Image of Year 5 - Trout Release
26 Mar

Year 5 - Trout Release

This week, Year 5 RotaKids said goodbye to the trout that they have been looking after. The class has raised them since they were eggs and carefully helped them starting their life journey. We released the trout in our local river stream and learned all about the life cycle and what benefits we have brought to the life cycle. The children also explored a variety of wildlife; classifying many different insects. The children also had a lesson in water safety to ensure that when dealing with water, they understand and know how to remain safe.

Image of Well-being Club
21 Mar

Well-being Club

For our final session, we walked to Jack Keys and enjoyed a nature walk! It was lots of fun and it was lovely to enjoy the outdoors with everyone.

Image of Year 6- Thames River Cruise
21 Mar

Year 6- Thames River Cruise

Our Year 6 children enjoyed seeing some of the famous sights of London from the River Thames. They also learnt about the history of the buildings from our tour guide. Can you spot any you know? For all of the photos, click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/thames-river-sightseeing-cruise

Image of Year 6- London Sightseeing
21 Mar

Year 6- London Sightseeing

Year 6 saw lots of London's famous sights such as Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament , the Tower of London and we watched the changing of the guard. For all of the photos, click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/london-sightseeing

Image of Year 5 - Orienteering
19 Mar

Year 5 - Orienteering

Today, Year 5 continued progressing with their orienteering unit and explored a scatter lesson. The children used their map skills and orienteering skills to locate the given targets and worked within their teams to find the quickest routes.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
18 Mar

Reception: Muddy Monday

Our reception children really enjoyed our Muddy Monday session today at Whitehall park. They climbed up trees, created a cafe, travelled on a ‘steam engine’ and created a bug hotel. Super imaginations!

Image of Year 3-Food and Nutrition- Making a Seasonal Tart
18 Mar

Year 3-Food and Nutrition- Making a Seasonal Tart

This term in D.T. Year 3 have been exploring food worldwide, recognising that food grows in different climates and identifying locally grown foods in the UK. At the start of the unit, the children made Japanese skewers, additionally, we were lucky to have a professional baker join us to create a delicious fruit crumble.  For our final lesson, the future bakers/chefs had a hands-on experience creating a seasonal tart using some of our key ingredients: mushrooms, rocket, kale, cheese, and tomatoes. Next week,  the children will evaluate their dishes, provide feedback and identify strengths. 

Image of Reception British Science Week - Weather Charts
14 Mar

Reception British Science Week - Weather Charts

For British Science Week, we have been looking at the weather locally! We looked at the weather forecast for Darwen for the week and discussed the different types of weather we often get. Then we made our own weather charts in the creative area that we can use at home to show when the weather changes.

Image of WOW Ambassador Training
14 Mar

WOW Ambassador Training

In our very first WOW Ambassador meeting today, we met to discuss the children’s role and how they will promote this walk to school initiative throughout school. We also completed training on how to access the travel tracker and monitor each class on a weekly basis. The children can’t wait for the launch of this exciting new walking to school initiative next week!

Image of Year 4 - PE: Orienteering
13 Mar

Year 4 - PE: Orienteering

It was all about symbols this week in orienteering. We began by matching the map symbols to the meanings and then identifying some of these on our maps of the school grounds. We used this information to place cones around the outside of school for their friends to find. The hard part was deciphering whereabouts on the map they were located so that their points could be plotted. The class did really well at this and they’re really starting to grasp map reading.

Image of Year 5 - Orienteering
12 Mar

Year 5 - Orienteering

During our orienteering session, the children worked really hard to remember symbols on a map. The children then used the symbols to locate objects around the school grounds. The children worked as teams to locate the items and find the best possible routes to find them efficiently.

Image of The Big Plastic Count
8 Mar

The Big Plastic Count

THE BIG PLASTIC COUNT We're excited that our school is joining the Big Plastic Count initiative from March 11th to 17th. The issue of plastic waste affects us all, and our young ones must have a say in finding solutions. Click on the link below for more information. https://youtu.be/x0nQHO7Mw-k?si=76vpk8Hf9wXOKqn1 During this initiative, your children will play a vital role in gathering evidence about what happens to our plastic waste. This information will be used to advocate for change at national and global levels, urging UK ministers, supermarkets, and major brands to take action towards phasing out plastic production. In the coming days, your child will receive a ‘Let’s count tally sheet’. Count as you throw from Monday 11th March morning until Sunday 17th March! Simply mark every piece of plastic package as you throw it away on the tally sheet. We encourage you to support them in this activity, and they can then input their findings at home using the unique class link provided on their class page between 18-31 March. Once all the results are in, we'll create our class footprint and share it with the children. We appreciate your continuous support in involving our pupils in these significant initiatives. Thank you, Smart School Council and Miss Kachwalla

Image of Year 4 - PE: Orienteering
5 Mar

Year 4 - PE: Orienteering

It was an extremely physical orienteering session for the Year 4s this week. The children were using a map of the school grounds to locate specific posts around the outside of the school. In pairs, they were given a letter to locate. They had to firstly ensure they had their maps facing north, and then they had to figure out where their given letter was. When they found their letter they had to remember the two-digit number on the post and return to the leader with the answer. They were then sent off to find another letter. All of the children had great fun exploring the school grounds with their maps, and showed some fantastic map-reading skills.

Image of Year 5 - Orienteering
5 Mar

Year 5 - Orienteering

This week, Year 5 continued with practising their orienteering skills. The children worked well in teams to read maps and locate items based around the school. The children understood the concept of orientation and navigated their maps well in order to complete their tasks in the most efficient way.

Image of Year 3- Big Lent Walk
4 Mar

Year 3- Big Lent Walk

This afternoon, Year 3 went on the 'Big Lent Walk', covering a distance of 2.8 km. A small donation has been made to CAFOD to help fight poverty worldwide. We also had fun being Geologists exploring different kind of rocks.

Image of Year 5 - Trout
28 Feb

Year 5 - Trout

As part of Year 5 RotaKids, the children in year 5 have been learning about and looking after trout. This initiative is support by the River Ribble Trust who have been supporting our class throughout our journey. The children have been looking after the trout from the first day when the eggs were planted in the class tank. Throughout their life cycle the trout are now at the fry stage in which the children feed them on a regular basis. Once at a suitable size, the trout will be released into our local river to support and aid the life cycle process.

Image of Reception: Imagine That Educational Visit
28 Feb

Reception: Imagine That Educational Visit

Wow, what a fantastic day our Ducklings had today. We visited Imagine That in Liverpool and had lots of fun! The children did lots of experiments with dry ice, made magical snow and made slime too. They used their imaginations in the roleplay area, painted a car, explored the creative area and made their own magnets. They were well behaved and represented the school beautifully!

Image of Year 5 - Orienteering
27 Feb

Year 5 - Orienteering

Today, Year 5’s orienteering session consisted of creating and reading maps to locate items. The children created a map of the class and created a key that matched items in the class. The children used these maps to locate items and understand points of view.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
26 Feb

Reception: Muddy Monday

Our Ducklings enjoyed our Muddy Monday session today at Whitehall park. They were super explorers! They found pine cones, natural resources for their dens and also different minibeasts.

Image of Year 5 - Geography
22 Feb

Year 5 - Geography

Today, Year 5 looked at the Himalayas in depth during geography. The children looked at the location of the Himalayas and what life is like around that part of the world. The children look closely at tourism but mainly what challenges they face from climate change to danger risks.

Image of Year 4 - PE: Orienteering
21 Feb

Year 4 - PE: Orienteering

In Year 4 this half term, one of our PE sessions each week is orienteering. Our first lesson with our orienteering leader Jack went brilliantly, with the children working well in their pairs. They worked cooperatively to locate the markers and remember the details on each one. Back in the classroom, we learned how to create a birds’ eye view diagram of the classroom, paying attention to furniture and the location of fixed points such as doors and windows. We are looking forward to next week’s session.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
19 Feb

Reception: Muddy Monday

Our Reception class really enjoyed our Muddy Monday session at Whitehall park. We looked at some habitats for different minibeasts that we found and also enjoyed creating dens and continued to take risks climbing trees. They walked 3.84km and enjoyed contributing to the Big Lent Walk!

Image of Year 3- Food Technology- Making Japanese Skewers
19 Feb

Year 3- Food Technology- Making Japanese Skewers

This afternoon, we kicked off our Food and Technology unit, exploring the diverse climates where fruits and vegetables grow. We then followed a recipe to create delicious Japanese skewers. We had some very eager children who enjoyed them right away while others took them home.

Image of Reception Chinese Food tasting
9 Feb

Reception Chinese Food tasting

As part of our learning about Chinese New Year, Reception have been tasting traditional vegetable spring rolls and prawn crackers. The spring rolls were very popular and the children said the prawn crackers were delicious!

Image of Year 5 -  Information text
8 Feb

Year 5 - Information text

Year 5 completed their information text about the four main peaks in the United Kingdom. The children researched all the four peaks and wrote some amazing facts about them with a report style.

Image of Reception - Chinese New Year
7 Feb

Reception - Chinese New Year

Reception have been learning about the celebration of Chinese New Year. We listened to the story of the great race and found out how the animals have a year named after them. We also learned about how people across the world prepare for Chinese new year by cleaning their houses, decorating and spending time with family and friends. We also learned to say ‘Kung Hei Fat Choy’ which means Happy New Year.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
5 Feb

Reception: Muddy Monday

Our Ducklings enjoyed exploring the forest schools area in Whitehall park. Their imaginations were really flowing. We found dinosaur shaped claw leaves, eggs, some of our children created a roleplay restaurant and we had squirrels climbing up the trees!

Image of Year 4 - English: Debate
31 Jan

Year 4 - English: Debate

In Year 4, we have made a great start on our debate topic. We looked at statements linked to deforestation and decided whether each one was an argument for or against. We find far more arguments against deforestation than for it.

Image of Reception: Forest Schools
30 Jan

Reception: Forest Schools

Today, our Ducklings explored Jacks Key. They worked in small groups to collect resources to create elf and fairy houses. They had to explore the environment to find the best twigs and leaves to use. They also had to work as a team and communicate with each other. Well done!

Image of Year 2 -History
25 Jan

Year 2 -History

Over the past 3 weeks, we have been looking at famous explorers. In particular, explorers who helped us learn how to fly. From the Wright Brothers flight in 1903 which lasted 12 seconds, to Amelia Earhart’s brave mission across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. We have found this very interesting and are looking forward to exploring the next step in aviation.

Image of Year 6 Geography
18 Jan

Year 6 Geography

The focus of our geography lesson today was the UK’s physical features, paying close attention to mountains. We discovered that Slieve Donard (Northern Ireland), Scafell Pike (England), Ben Nevis (Scotland) and Snowdon (Wales) were the highest peaks in their respective countries. The largest of the four, Ben Nevis, can be found in Scotland in the Grampian mountains.

Image of Reception: Snow much fun!
16 Jan

Reception: Snow much fun!

Our Ducklings loved exploring the snow today! They learnt how to make snowballs and we discussed the shape of them and how they look like balls we throw! We problem solved to build a snowman and enjoyed creating snow angels. The children loved throwing snowballs at Mrs Wilkinson and Mrs Thompson! We had lots of fun!

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
15 Jan

Reception: Muddy Monday

Our Ducklings enjoyed exploring a different forest schools area of Whitehall park. They created dens, roleplayed in a restaurant, searched for hedgehogs and loved climbing trees.

Image of Year 6 Geography- Population
11 Jan

Year 6 Geography- Population

Today, year 6 investigated where people live in the UK. They looked in more detail at where they live and identified that the most populated region in England was the South East. We discovered that this was more than likely because of it being so close to London and the access to well-paid jobs and famous landmarks.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
8 Jan

Reception: Muddy Monday

Our Ducklings visited the forest schools area of Whitehall Park today for the first time. They enjoyed exploring and also had a go at making camp fires and bug houses.

Image of Reception: Christmas Artwork visit to the Rose Garden
19 Dec

Reception: Christmas Artwork visit to the Rose Garden

Our Ducklings really enjoyed looking at all of the artwork at the rose garden in Whitehall Park. They looked in detail at the children’s drawings and have all said they’d love to show their families over the Christmas holidays. We also enjoyed singing some Christmas songs.

Image of Reception: End of term treat
19 Dec

Reception: End of term treat

We are so proud of our Ducklings . They have completed their first term and it has been lovely watching them all blossom. As a treat, after viewing the art in the rose garden, we all had a play on the playground equipment. We had so much fun together.

Image of Year 3- Class Worship-  Who is responsible for Antarctica?
30 Nov

Year 3- Class Worship- Who is responsible for Antarctica?

WOW! Year 3 were amazed as they learned about drastic changes in Antarctica's weather because of melting snow and ice. Penguins are struggling to find a place to live, because plants and flowers are being replaced by ice and snow. A polar explorer named Robert Swan is extremely worried about these changes, he wants schools to encourage children to recycle more. Year 3 have volunteered to become champions of Antarctica, and they have promised to recycle more. They hope their actions will have a ripple effect on the environment and the world. We ended the class worship by thanking God for giving us the wonderful world.

Image of Year 3- Class worship- Peace
23 Nov

Year 3- Class worship- Peace

During our class worship, the Year 3 class created a peace chain. They are hoping their peace chain travels the world and their messages of peace makes a difference.

Image of Year 3- English- Story prediction activity- 'The Last Bear'
21 Nov

Year 3- English- Story prediction activity- 'The Last Bear'

In English today, the children made predictions based on the cover and title of 'The Last Bear' book. They made predictions about who the characters might be, what themes the story could have, where it takes place, and what genre it falls into. Following this, Year 3 explored the map of Bear Island. Initially sceptical about its existence, we researched on Google, and the children were fascinated to discover that Bear Island is situated within the confines of the Norwegian and Barents Seas.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
13 Nov

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today our Ducklings visited the war memorial at Whitehall park. We had a look at the photographs and pictures of soldiers, their uniform and their armour. We noticed that there were only boy names so we discussed why. A few of our children found their forenames too! We then walked back to school through Jack Keys so we could get a little muddy!

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
30 Oct

Reception: Muddy Monday

We had a very busy Muddy Monday session today! We started the session with Mrs Ham. We discussed signs of Autumn and enjoyed singing Autumnal songs. We then went to a woodland area with Mrs Wilkinson and collected sticks to make some bonfire pictures this week. We enjoyed playing in the mud and the stream and even had a go at climbing trees!

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
16 Oct

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today our Ducklings explored our local environment. We learnt all about road safety. The children learnt to stop, look and listen every time they got to a road. We then went to Jack Keys and had a look at the reservoir. Super walking and exploring!

Image of Year 4 Information Texts - All About the Amazon
12 Oct

Year 4 Information Texts - All About the Amazon

Over the past few weeks in our English lessons, we have been looking at information texts. We have looked at the features, vocabulary and how to build sentences using quantifiers and openers. We have learnt so many new things about tribes, animals, plants and deforestation. Our final pieces of writing include all of the above and they are all beautifully presented.

Image of Art - Year 4 - Lenticular Prints
5 Oct

Art - Year 4 - Lenticular Prints

In our art lesson this week we have been studying the artist Luz Perez Ojeda. This has involved cutting up two images with an Amazon theme into strips and alternating them side by side in sequential order to create an optical illusion piece of art.

Image of Year 4 Art - Willow plate painting
28 Sep

Year 4 Art - Willow plate painting

Our art focus for this week has been on willow plate painting which originates from China. We adapted the design to go with our topic of the Amazon and our class novel The Explorer. The children used different shades and added pictures of planes, trees, characters and animals. The end result was a collection of wonderful examples.

Image of Year 4 Art - Soap Sculptures
21 Sep

Year 4 Art - Soap Sculptures

In our art session this week we have been making soap sculptures. First we watched a video on how to complete this step by step starting by drawing our animal designs on to paper. We then transferred this onto our bars of soap and began sculpting. We used lots of different tools to sculpt our animals and it was very tricky! As you can see from our designs, we created animals that we could find in the rainforest including butterflies and fish.

Image of Year 1- Completing our Challenges
21 Sep

Year 1- Completing our Challenges

This week, Year 1 have been busy completing challenges in the areas. They have used their knowledge of the different animal groups to classify animals in the investigation area, completed number sequences in the maths area, used warm and cool colours to colour in pictures in the creative area, consolidated the sounds ‘ng’ and ‘th’ in the phonics and writing area, completed a jigsaw containing the 7 continents in the construction area and used their observations of the shapes and sizes of the continents to make them on the peg boards e.g. making Asia very big and Australia much smaller.

Image of Year 4 Geography- How can we protect the Amazon?
21 Sep

Year 4 Geography- How can we protect the Amazon?

In our geography session today, we have been looking at how we can protect the Amazon rainforest and the impact that deforestation has on it. We looked at reasons both for and against then moved onto how some of the issues may be solved.

Image of Reception: Fun in the rain
12 Sep

Reception: Fun in the rain

Our Ducklings love to go out in all weathers. Today the children enjoyed exploring in our sandpit. Some of the children were making soup in our mud kitchen and some children enjoyed making a volcano!

Image of Y4 Geography - The Amazon
7 Sep

Y4 Geography - The Amazon

Today we have started our new geography unit on The Amazon. We looked at which continent the Amazon is, country and area coverage. Using atlases we added various information to a world map including tropics, equator and other continents.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
17 Jul

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today the children showed lots of courage and perseverance as they enjoyed a very wet Muddy Monday adventure walk. They splashed their way through puddles and really enjoyed walking in the rain. It was our last session and the children said it was one that they will never forget!

Image of Forest Schools in Reception
11 Jul

Forest Schools in Reception

We saw lots of teamwork during our forest schools session today. The children enjoyed collecting resources to build bug houses and log fires. They also enjoyed creating dens and climbing trees!

Image of Year 2 - Explanation Texts
11 Jul

Year 2 - Explanation Texts

As part of our English unit the children wrote amazing explanation texts on hot and cold places around the world (linking with our geography unit) The children chose to compare the climate and tourist attractions of both Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Reykjavík in Iceland. The children loved comparing these locations and wrote explanation texts comparing the climates.

Image of Year 6 geography
6 Jul

Year 6 geography

In year 6, we have been looking in more detail at the north west region and if it appeals to our needs. The children started out by thinking of 6 things that they believe are needed to live a happy and healthy life. They then researched if these needs were being met in the north west and then we looked more specifically at Darwen and whether, as a town, it meets the needs of its people.

Image of Reception - Understanding Of The World - Erosion
29 Jun

Reception - Understanding Of The World - Erosion

This week, Reception class have learned all about erosion. We looked at videos of the waves crashing against the cliffs and discussed what has happened over time. We looked at houses that had moved closer the cliff edge and decided we wouldn’t like to live there! We then conducted an investigation by crashing the water against the rocks in a tray and watched them erode away. The children also enjoyed investigating this in their choosing time.

Image of Year 1 History Walk in Darwen High Street
29 Jun

Year 1 History Walk in Darwen High Street

Year 1 have really enjoyed walking around Darwen High Street identifying different types of shops and finding out which type of shops used to be around many years ago. With the help of an expert from the Darwen Heritage Centre, they were shown different places that used to be bakers, butchers, grocery stores, pharmacies, shoe shops or different types of clothes shops (such as hat shops). They also walked through Darwen Market Place and found some placards explaining which shops used to exist in the 1800s.

Image of Year 1 Local History Lesson in Darwen Heritage Centre
29 Jun

Year 1 Local History Lesson in Darwen Heritage Centre

Year 1 had a super history lesson learning about the changes that have happened within Darwen Town Centre in the past couple of centuries. Our expert (Albert) from the Darwen Heritage centre showed the children a range of different historical images and photographs of the town centre many years ago and was able to explain what is in place of them geographically today. The children couldn’t believe that a few live bears and their keepers roamed the streets of Darwen for entertainment purposes years ago, or that the butchers hung their meat outside their shops! They got to handle and see artefacts including olden day money and a wooden cash register too.

Image of Year 5- English- A visit from Salma (Sudanese refugee)
29 Jun

Year 5- English- A visit from Salma (Sudanese refugee)

Today, Year 5 had a special guest, a Sudanese refugee visitor who shared her remarkable journey and life experiences with us. She spoke about the journey she undertook with her four young children when they were forced to flee their home country due to injustice and an oppressive regime. She spoke about the challenges she and her family have faced while adapting to life in the UK. The weather, the food, and the language barrier have posed significant adjustments for them. However, it was inspiring to witness the resilience and determination with which they have approached these challenges. The children were incredibly engaged and displayed remarkable curiosity. They asked numerous insightful questions, delving into the details of her experiences and seeking to understand the impact of her journey on her life and her children's lives. We want to say a big thank you to our visitor for sharing her story with us. It was an important lesson for all of us about how strong people can be, even when things are tough. We also want to thank John East for helping to arrange this visit.

Image of Year 2 - Exploring South America
27 Jun

Year 2 - Exploring South America

As part of our geography unit hot and cold places. Year 2 have been exploring the continent of South America and looking at the climate in Rio de Janeiro. The children learned many facts, figures and reasons for why the climate is as it is. The children used their knowledge to write a section of their explanation text in English.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
26 Jun

Reception: Muddy Monday

We continued our learning by comparing two local environments, Knowsley Road and Jack Keys reservoir. Seb said there are lots of animal habitats at Jack Keys. Albie said there are lots of trees at Jack Keys. Fletcher said it is much quieter at Jack Keys. Piper-Jo said there are more children at Knowsley Road. Heidi said there are more cars at Knowsley Road. Super comparison. We finished exploring by enjoying a short forest schools session.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
19 Jun

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today the children went on a Muddy Monday adventure. The children walked 2.5km and walked up steep hills, along the reservoir, around the woods and back to school. We started to explore the differences between Jack Keys and the main road.

Image of Reception: Blackpool Zoo
13 Jun

Reception: Blackpool Zoo

Reception class had a brilliant time at Blackpool Zoo. They saw Orangutans, gorillas, penguins, sea lions, elephants, lions, flamingoes, aardvarks, camels, tortoises, giraffes and we also went on a dinosaur safari! The children’s behaviour was exemplary and it was lovely to put our learning into context.

Image of Year 6 geography
26 May

Year 6 geography

In geography, year 6 investigated the north west region by operating online mapping tools. They set up buffers at a 10, 20, 30 and 50 mile radius from St Barnabas to see what sort of landmarks or cities they would come across as they venture out of Darwen.

Image of Year 1 Geography and Science Walk
26 May

Year 1 Geography and Science Walk

Year 1 have been learning about their local area and have been making key observations about where they live ready to create a map of the local area after the half term. We have been learning about different types of plants in science and spotting different deciduous and evergreen trees as well as wild flowers. There has also been lots of opportunities to discuss the changes from Winter to Spring and to think about the changes that will be happening soon as we move from Spring to Summer.

Image of Reception: Outdoor Learning
23 May

Reception: Outdoor Learning

Reception love outdoor learning. The children enjoy playing sports on the MUGA, making musical instruments out of natural materials, role playing, climbing and balancing.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
22 May

Reception: Muddy Monday

Reception enjoyed their forest schools session today. We created a den and the children enjoyed role playing inside it. The children also found a variety of minibeasts and enjoyed climbing trees too.

Image of Year 6 Geography
19 May

Year 6 Geography

In Geography, year 6 have started to focus on their local area of Darwen and how it fits into the wider world. They discovered that there were more local and regional links and less national and international links. We then thought about how our diagrams would compare to a big city and concluded that they would have many other national and international links. For example, they may have an airport that provides international travel.

Image of Reception - Farms
19 May

Reception - Farms

On Thursday afternoon, Reception class went for a walk to Jacks Key to see if we could spot different animals in the farmer’s fields. We saw horses and cows and the children did some observational drawings. The children loved looking at the farmer's tractors too!

Image of Mad Science Club
19 May

Mad Science Club

Today was the last session of Mad Science Club and the children all really enjoyed learning about the density of different liquids today. They carried out group experiments and watched our science expert carry out an experiment too, whilst learning about how different liquids in our seas and rivers can affect the environment. They experienced first-hand, how difficult it is to get oil out of water and got to take home a little souvenir from the lesson at the end of it too.

Image of Year 3 Geography
18 May

Year 3 Geography

Year 3 have been exploring our local area, thinking about how Darwen compares to New York. We discovered lots of similarities and differences. The class were so well behaved and respectful while out and about and came up with a variety of ideas, considering not only what they could see, but hear and smell too. Well done year 3!!

Image of Reception - All about farms
18 May

Reception - All about farms

This week we have been learning all about farm animals and farmers. We looked at which animals we could find on a farm and the role of the farmer. We know that some farms grow crops and some look after animals. We’ve enjoyed playing in the farm small world area this week, making tractors using 2d shapes and making our own farms using the tap it boards.

Image of Year 1 Human and Physical Features in our Local Area
18 May

Year 1 Human and Physical Features in our Local Area

Year 1 have been exploring our local area and finding different human and physical features in their house colour teams. Their team leaders have recorded this information as we have walked around our local area. We also got the opportunity to talk about the seasonal changes happening from Spring to Summer and identified different wild flowers that we have been learning about within our plants science topic.

Image of Reception: Den building
16 May

Reception: Den building

The children enjoyed creating a den on our school grounds today. They all worked together and had a brilliant time. They then roleplayed camping and enjoyed making a camp fire.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
15 May

Reception: Muddy Monday

The children in Reception visited Whitehall park for their Muddy Monday session. They climbed trees, built bug houses, found creatures and discussed their habitats and created their own games. The children enjoyed looking under logs to discover minibeasts. They have all been super explorers.

Image of Reception - Migration
10 May

Reception - Migration

This week in our Amazing Animals topic we learned all about migration. We looked at why birds migrate to warmer climates and made our own bird feeders. We have put a bird feeder outside of our window too so that we can watch the birds!

Image of Monday Worship: Looking after God’s World
24 Apr

Monday Worship: Looking after God’s World

Mrs Ham showed the children the big frieze and focussed on the creation. This morning we thought about Earth Day and God’s creation and had a think about all of the things that are damaging God’s creation. We threw globes around the room to think about how we are damaging our Earth. We watched a video of Greta Thunberg who is helping our world. Greta challenged world leaders to take action on climate change. Greta shared some advice to help look after the world and the children shared their ideas of how we can make a positive difference. Finn said “we can stand up for what is right”, Hamza said “use both sides of paper”, James said “stop throwing litter on the floor”, Darcy said “turn the tap off to save water” and Annabel said “switch off the lights”. The children looked through a bin and had a think about what they could do with the items instead of just throwing items into a bin. Eliza chose a bottle. Some of the children said they could use it for junk modelling, you could reuse it or you could use it as a bath toy. Harriet chose a Maltesers box. The children suggested you could use if to make a fairy house or a puppet. Harry chose a plastic bag. Ella said that you could use it as a bin bag and Scarlett said you could reuse it when you go shopping. Rosie chose some paper and the children discussed how it could be used to make a paper aeroplane and then put into the recycling bin. This week, Mrs Ham asked us all to think about how we can help to protect God’s creations and how we can protect our world. We finished our worship by singing ‘God’s world’.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
24 Apr

Reception: Muddy Monday

Reception went to Whitehall park today to find lots of different minibeasts. They lifted up logs to see what they could find. They used magnifying glasses to investigate. We then went and continued our forest schools session climbing trees, making dens, building bug houses and making camp fires!

Image of Reception - Earth Day
20 Apr

Reception - Earth Day

In Reception we have been celebrating ‘Earth Day’ by thinking about how we can take better care of our planet and local area. We discussed recycling at home, conserving water and energy and litter picking. They had some brilliant ideas about how we can look after our planet.

Image of Year 5- Earth Day
20 Apr

Year 5- Earth Day

To celebrate 'Earth Day' we have made promises to look after our planet. The children have promised to use less water, recycle more, walk to school and plant a seed. They will make these simple changes to help protect our planet.

Image of Year 3- Earth Day
19 Apr

Year 3- Earth Day

In Year 3 we have been celebrating ‘Earth Day’ by thinking about how we can take better care of our planet and local area. They each made a promise which they will try to stick to, to help our environment.

Image of Reception: Forest Schools
18 Apr

Reception: Forest Schools

Wow, what a super session Reception had today. We found squirrels, looked for mole tunnels and saw lots of different mini beasts. The children built fires, bug huts and dens too. They climbed trees and explored the forest schools area in Whitehall park.

Image of Reception- Continuous Provision- The Royal Family
29 Mar

Reception- Continuous Provision- The Royal Family

This week the children have been learning all about the royal family. During continuous provision the children haven carrying out different activities in our areas which are all linked to the royal family. We have been painting King Charles in the painting area, we’ve had Buckingham palace and a London scene set up in the small world area, we have been building Buckingham palace in the construction area and we have been making cakes for a royal afternoon tea in the malleable area. We have been really interested in asking and answering lots of questions about the royal family.

Image of Year 1- Garden Centre Visit
22 Mar

Year 1- Garden Centre Visit

On Tuesday morning we walked down to ‘Four Seasons Garden Centre’ in preparation for our next science topic about plants. We found out lots of information about plants and the seasons they grow in. At the end of our tour around the garden centre we purchased some seeds to bring back to school to watch them grow.

Image of Year 1: Garden Centre Visit Thank you!
22 Mar

Year 1: Garden Centre Visit Thank you!

We would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone at “Four Seasons Garden Centre” for making us all feel welcome. Sonia said she was really pleased with how we respected the garden centre and how well they represented our school. Sonia gave us some free gifts to bring back to school (Planters, soil and flowers) we can’t wait to plant these.

Image of Year 5- Explanation text about Volcanoes and Earthquakes
22 Mar

Year 5- Explanation text about Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Over the course of two weeks, Year 5 has learnt the features of an explanation text and written their text all about earthquakes and volcanoes. They have used their learning from their Geography lessons. They have explained the cause of earthquakes, identified famous volcanoes and explained the short and long-term effects of natural disasters.

Image of Year 6 P.E.- Orienteering
9 Mar

Year 6 P.E.- Orienteering

Year 6 have been working hard to orientate their map whilst moving around the school’s orienteering course.

Image of Year 5 - Young Geographers-What lies beneath the surface of the Earth?
9 Mar

Year 5 - Young Geographers-What lies beneath the surface of the Earth?

This afternoon in our Geography lesson, the Year 5 geographers watched a short clip on how Earthquakes occur. We then used a boiled egg to grasp a deeper understanding of how tectonic plates move. The plates come in different sizes and shapes and move when there is too much pressure. The children moved on and worked in pairs to identify the Earth's surface on a map and explore why they think earthquakes happen. They noticed that the plates were either moving in the opposite direction, away from each other and towards each other which created a fault. They also labelled the core, crust, and mantle parts of the Earth in their books.

Image of Year 5 - Orienteering- Identifying Maps
28 Feb

Year 5 - Orienteering- Identifying Maps

During our orienteering lesson this morning, we first identified key information located on our school map by exploring the areas around our school. We then drew a map of our classroom and our school yard. This will help us plan our route for our next P.E lesson.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
27 Feb

Reception: Muddy Monday

As part of our learning all about caring for our environment, we went on a litter pick around our local area. We used our fine motor skills to collect the litter using the litter pickers. We collected lots of litter and all received a certificate and sticker for being great litter picking superheroes. Thank you to Blackburn with Darwen Council for providing all of the resources we needed for our litter pick.

Image of Year 3 Geography: Where is North America and what is it like?
23 Feb

Year 3 Geography: Where is North America and what is it like?

This afternoon in Geography, we started our new unit on North America. We began by recapping our knowledge and understanding of the 7 continents and 5 oceans around the world, before discussing what we already know about North America. The class then carried out their own research, to find out about North America’s Top 8.

Image of Year 6 P.E.
23 Feb

Year 6 P.E.

Year 6 completed their first orienteering session this week. They were working on keeping their maps set whilst moving.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
20 Feb

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today the children explored the changes of weather and different areas of Whitehall park. The children commented on how the weather can be sunny, cloudy, rainy, foggy and windy. The children explored the waterfall and other forest schools sections. They showed the Christian value of courage as we had to walk up a steep hill and walked a long way around the park.

Image of Year 5- Collective Worship
9 Feb

Year 5- Collective Worship

During our class worship this morning, we looked at this week's news on equality and the earthquake which has caused major damage to the families of Turkey and Syria. We discussed equality in detail and mainly focussing on men and women's football team. The children shared their opinions and thoughts on the topic and concluded that humans are equal and Jesus wants everyone to treat each other equally. He also teaches us to challenge individuals and social structures, that do not treat all humans equally. We watched a short clip of the damage that has been caused by the 7.8 magnitude Turkey-Syria earthquake and looked at the support that is already out there. We learnt about how earthquakes are measured and the damage it can cause. We then thought of ways that we could help by sending them a prayer and that we are thinking of them all.

Image of Year 1- Human and physical features in Darwen
31 Jan

Year 1- Human and physical features in Darwen

Yesterday we went on a walk to find some human and physical features in Darwen. This afternoon we’ve discussed what we found and wrote about the differences between human and physical features.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
30 Jan

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today, the children have focussed on maps and why we have them. We discussed where we had seen maps. Roman said you can find a map on your phone, Marley said you can find a map at Jack Keys and Elijah said you can buy one from a shop. Eddie told the children that maps tell you where to go and Seb said that you can use a map if you ever get lost. We then went to Whitehall park and found a map. We followed it to find the duck pond. We then went to the forest school area and looked at the hedgehog house and bug house. We also made fires, our own bug hotels and climbed trees. Super exploring!

Image of Reception Forest Schools- Muddy Tuesday
26 Jan

Reception Forest Schools- Muddy Tuesday

On Tuesday we had a forest school session in our school grounds. The children were split into five groups with six children in each. Each team were given a pet log to build a shelter for. The children worked amazingly well together and showed great teamwork and co-operation. Each team successfully built a natural shelter for their pet.

Image of Year 4 Geography- What is the Congo Rainforest like?
26 Jan

Year 4 Geography- What is the Congo Rainforest like?

Our focus in todays lesson was to study what life is like in the Congo Rainforest. We looked at the plants and trees we would find there, various animal species and tribes such as Babongo and Aka. We found amazing facts such as how the UK could fit into the rainforest 16 times over!

Image of Year 4 - Researching ecosystems in the Amazon rainforest
25 Jan

Year 4 - Researching ecosystems in the Amazon rainforest

In science, we have been conducting research on ecosystems in the rainforest. We were surprised to find out that there was typically only one season all year round - 'humid' season.

Image of Reception - Chinese New Year
20 Jan

Reception - Chinese New Year

This week, we have been learning all about Chinese New Year. We have practised writing Chinese numbers, tasted different Chinese foods, learned all about the famous dragon parades and even made our own dragon! We have really enjoyed learning all about the traditions of Chinese New Year and comparing them to our own experiences and celebrations.

Image of Reception - Chinese New Year
20 Jan

Reception - Chinese New Year

This week, we have been learning all about Chinese New Year. We have practised writing Chinese numbers, tasted different Chinese foods, learned all about the famous dragon parades and even made our own dragon! We have really enjoyed learning all about the traditions of Chinese New Year and comparing them to our own experiences and celebrations.

Image of Year 1- Human and Physical features
17 Jan

Year 1- Human and Physical features

This afternoon in geography we have been looking at human and physical features in the UK. We decided to have a wander up to Jack Keys to see if we could spot some human and physical features in Darwen.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
16 Jan

Reception: Muddy Monday

This week the children in Reception built up their walking stamina by walking to Whitehall Park. They walked up a hill and were really sensible. It was freezing cold so the children saw some ice. We revisited previous learning and identified evergreen and deciduous trees. The children also explored the rose garden.

Image of Year 5 - Geography- UK'S Highest Mountains
12 Jan

Year 5 - Geography- UK'S Highest Mountains

This afternoon, Year 5 have been using the atlas to explore mountain ranges in the United Kingdom and the highest peaks in each UK country.

Image of Year 6 Geography
12 Jan

Year 6 Geography

This week, in geography, year 6 have been focusing on the most important industries to the UK. The manufacturing of cars and aeroplanes, and tourism were just some of the most important industries to the UK. We also delved a little bit deeper into tourism and located the UK’s 15 national parks and thought about the jobs that people may have if they lived within one of them.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
9 Jan

Reception: Muddy Monday

We have been developing our characteristics of effective learning by taking risks today. The children enjoyed their adventure at Jack Keys. They had to climb under and over branches, walk through a stream and travel in the mud. We were very muddy at the end and had a brilliant time!

Image of Geography - Rainforests
5 Jan

Geography - Rainforests

We started our new geography topic - Rainforests today. We identified what a rainforest is, key features and found examples of rainforests from across the world. We then plotted the rainforests on a map of the world, highlighting country and continent.

Image of Year 2 - Exploring human and physical features of different continents
5 Jan

Year 2 - Exploring human and physical features of different continents

This week year 2 have been exploring many different continents; finding out facts and exploring the many human and physical features. They have been using their learnt knowledge to write similarities and differences between two contrasting continents.

Image of Reception: Outdoors
1 Dec

Reception: Outdoors

The children have enjoyed being really creative outside. They explored the leaves and described them. They also created fires and dens. Well done!

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
14 Nov

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today, the children in Reception enjoyed looking for signs of Autumn at Jack Keys Reservoir. We enjoyed looking at the views to discuss the signs of Autumn. The children learnt the meaning of deciduous and evergreen trees and they were able to identify them.

Image of Year 3 English: The Last Bear
8 Nov

Year 3 English: The Last Bear

This term, Year 3 will be writing their own adventure/mystery stories, based on the novel 'The Last Bear' By Hannah Gold. On Monday, we explored the text title and front cover and thought about what the main themes in the text might be. We then explored the setting of the story 'Bear Island'. We discussed whereabouts Bear Island may be located and explored the island, using google maps.

Image of Year 2 - Exploring Continents and Oceans
8 Nov

Year 2 - Exploring Continents and Oceans

Year 2 used an atlas and explored the continents and oceans of the world. We discussed the variety of climates the world has to offer and used our knowledge of direction to answer location questions.

Image of Geography- Year 5
7 Nov

Geography- Year 5

In our Geography lesson this afternoon, the children used an atlas to locate the world's Seven Summits for each continent.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
31 Oct

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today, the children in Reception learnt how to cross the road. With their partner they stopped, looked and listened and shouted “Clear!” to Mrs Wilkinson when it was safe to cross. They all remained very alert and looked all around them. We then went to the park to collect some sticks in preparation for our bonfire pictures.

Image of Year 1- Autumn walk
17 Oct

Year 1- Autumn walk

This afternoon year 1 have been on a walk around Jack Keys looking for signs of Autumn

Image of Year 4 English - Information Texts
11 Oct

Year 4 English - Information Texts

Today in English we have been identifying the key features within an information text. The children selected examples of these key features from two texts about the Amazon - one about the Awa tribe and one about deforestation which links directly to our Geography study on The Amazon.

Image of Geography Year 4 - How does the Amazon Basin compare to where we live?
11 Oct

Geography Year 4 - How does the Amazon Basin compare to where we live?

We have been looking at how the Amazon Basin compares to where we live. We researched temperature, climate, hemispheres, proximity to the equator and much more. The standard of work produced in todays session was amazing!

Image of Reception: Muddy Tuesday
11 Oct

Reception: Muddy Tuesday

Due to hello yellow day, Reception’s muddy Monday became a Muddy Tuesday. This week they explored the school field. They made nests, big houses, rolled down the field, explored the Autumnal leaves and discussed the reasons why they had changed colour and they also had a look at the shape of the clouds. It was a fantastic afternoon which they all enjoyed!

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
3 Oct

Reception: Muddy Monday

What a fabulous Muddy Monday the children in Reception have had. Today, the children continued to explore their local environment and we went to Jack Keys Reservoir. We explored the differences between Knowsley road and the reservoir. The children said it was a lot quieter, there were a lot more trees and water. We then built some birds nests after reading Owl Babies. The children also enjoyed getting very muddy in an area of the woods. They described the mud and what it felt and sounded like.

Image of Year 4 Geography-Why does the Amazon matter?
29 Sep

Year 4 Geography-Why does the Amazon matter?

As part of our geography topic, we have been looking at how the Amazon is under threat.We have researched the key ideas on deforestation, animal, plants and tribes. As part our our work today we also designed posters to highlight how these threats can impact on our environment and across the world.

Image of Reception: our local environment
26 Sep

Reception: our local environment

Today, the children learnt how to put their wellies and puddle suits on and we went to explore our environment around our school. The children learnt what the term environment meant. We then found a pharmacy, trees, our school field, houses and lots of different vehicles. Well done! The children found out what road our school was on and learnt the name of our town.

Image of Year 5- R.E- Faith Walk
21 Sep

Year 5- R.E- Faith Walk

Year 5 have been on a faith walk around Darwen with John East as part of our RE curriculum, to visit churches from different denominations of Christianity. We visited St Joseph's, the United Reform Church on Duckworth Street and Spring Vale Methodist. The children had lots of opportunities to ask thought provoking questions which they had prepared earlier. They also had the chance to look around the church, explore the symbols displayed, do a quiz, look at artefacts and experiment a pretend wedding by two of our class pupils. During the walk, we stopped and looked at some of the historic buildings and ruins that are still standing to this date.

Image of Year 4 Geography - The Amazon
15 Sep

Year 4 Geography - The Amazon

We have started our new geography topic today in Year 4. We will focus on the Amazon, looking at the Amazon Basin and surrounding rainforest. In today’s lesson we identified South America using atlases and globes. We then moved into identifying the countries within South America and where the Amazon river runs.

Image of Reception: Exploring outdoors
13 Sep

Reception: Exploring outdoors

Reception have really enjoyed exploring their outdoor area. They have built houses using ‘cement’ in the sand, created potions in the water area, been busy roleplaying in the shop, painting, made mud pies, travelled around Darwen on the bikes and scooters and also enjoyed balancing on the equipment. They have been busy bees!

Image of Celebrating 50 Years of St Barnabas- Year 5
6 Sep

Celebrating 50 Years of St Barnabas- Year 5

Celebrating 50 years of St Barnabas. During worship this morning, Mrs Ham showed us old pictures about what our school looked like 50 years ago. We compared prices of food, fuel, cars and houses from then and now too. In the afternoon in our classes we looked at old newspaper articles, log books and registers. One of the books had a lock which children were very inquisitive about. We also went for a local walk to look at buildings that used to be St Barnabas. The children were super excited to find out about the nursery they had attended used to be St Barnabas.

Image of Reception- Map skills
12 Jul

Reception- Map skills

Today we looked at a map from our visit to Blackpool zoo. We discussed the features and what we found. We then gathered our own resources to make a messy map. The children shared this with Mrs Ham and Miss Ashworth and explained how to follow it. Super work!

Image of Year 2 Blackpool Trip!
7 Jul

Year 2 Blackpool Trip!

Year 2 had a fantastic day at Blackpool on Tuesday! Our class topic this term is ‘Beside the Seaside’ so the aim of the trip was for the children to experience a day at the seaside and think about the activities that we do now at the seaside and comparing this to the Victorian’s. We played on the beach, listened to a talk about beach safety, went to the the top of Blackpool Tower and walked along The North Pier! The children showed so much respect to the general public and represented St Barnabas brilliantly! Well done Year 2!

Image of Reception Treasure Map Making
30 Jun

Reception Treasure Map Making

As a part of Understanding the World in reception, the children have made a treasure map of our outdoor yard using natural recourses and loose parts. They were amazing at telling us where each area was located in the yard and finding the right materials to represent each part.

Image of Year 6 London Thames River Cruise
23 Jun

Year 6 London Thames River Cruise

Our Year 6 children enjoyed seeing some of the famous sights of London from the River Thames. They also learnt about the history of the buildings from our tour guide. Can you spot any you know?

Image of Buckingham Palace & St Jame’s Park
23 Jun

Buckingham Palace & St Jame’s Park

We’ve just had a singalong of the National Anthem in front of Buckingham Palace! We’ve learnt so much from our guide Liz.

Image of London Sightseeing Tour
23 Jun

London Sightseeing Tour

We have seen lots of sights around London and have been learning all about the History of London from our tour guide Liz.

Image of Reception: Environment explorers
20 Jun

Reception: Environment explorers

Following on from last week, we have continued to explore our local environment and focussed on the roads around our school. We looked at how it is different to Jack Keys reservoir. Archie said that there aren’t any cones at Jack Keys, Ella-Grace discussed how you don’t see any chimneys at Jack Keys, Isaac said there are no houses, Scarlett said that there are lots of cars and vans that pass us compared to at Jack Keys and Chay said that you can smell coffee on the main road! Super observations!

Image of Reception Environment Explorers!
16 Jun

Reception Environment Explorers!

This afternoon, Reception went on a walk to Jacks Key to be environment explorers! The children were looking for different plants, buildings and animals that make up our local environment. They loved looking at all the different types of flowers and animals we share our environment with and we talked about how important certain things like trees and bees are to our environment.

Image of Year 2 Geography
16 Jun

Year 2 Geography

Our topic in Geography is all about Weather and Pollution and this week, Year 2 have been identifying the hottest and coldest countries around the World. We used globes and atlas to help us research and identify the countries with the hottest and coldest climates.

Image of Year 4 Geography- Rivers
16 Jun

Year 4 Geography- Rivers

In geography today, we started our new topic all about rivers. We looked at the water cycle, what a river is and researched the ten longest rivers in the world, locating them on a world map with the help of an atlas and chrome books. We look forward to our class visitor next week who will help us to broaden our knowledge even further.

Image of Year 1 Geography- Creating a Messy Map
27 May

Year 1 Geography- Creating a Messy Map

Year 1 have been looking at the immediate local area in their geography lessons. They have collaboratively worked together to create a messy map to represent this. They have included our school, Everest Pharmacy, The Tramway Cafe, The bowling green, Whitehall Park, The Park Pub, St Barnabas Church, the local shop, the post office, the graveyard, the hairdressers, bungalows, terraced houses, detached houses, semi-detached houses and Jack’s Key Clough with its reservoir and footbridge.

Image of Year 2 Geography: Weather and Pollution
19 May

Year 2 Geography: Weather and Pollution

This week in Geography, Year 2 explored the different types of weather that we get in the U.K. We watched some videos of a selection of different weather types and the class described the different types of weather that they could see.

Image of Year 1-Local Area Walk
17 May

Year 1-Local Area Walk

Year 1 went on a local area walk this afternoon as part of their geography unit. They explored the area and recorded the types of houses (semi-detached, terraced, detached, bungalow, caravan and flats) that they saw on their journey. They also had to follow a map to find some of the human and physical features that are local to our school such as the post office, the shop, the chemist, Jack’s Key Reservoir, Whitehall Park and the hairdressers. As we were walking past our local shop (Bargain Booze on Bolton Road), a very kind lady who worked in the shop gave each of us a galaxy chocolate bar. We were very thankful for her kindness and enjoyed our chocolate bar sat down at Whitehall Park.

Image of Reception: Forest Schools
17 May

Reception: Forest Schools

Reception enjoyed their forest schools session today. The children walked to Whitehall park where they explored and found different minibeasts in their natural habitats.

Image of Reception- minibeasts!
16 May

Reception- minibeasts!

Reception have enjoyed learning the names of different minibeasts. We then went outside to see if we could find any. We found spiders, woodlouse, beetles, worms and slugs to name a few! Tomorrow, we will be learning more about their habitats their forest school session.

Image of Year 2 follow the River Darwen
2 May

Year 2 follow the River Darwen

As part of their local geography fieldwork, Year 2 followed the River Darwen and learnt lots of things along the way. They also identified human and physical features and created their own maps.

Image of Year 1 Geography
26 Apr

Year 1 Geography

This afternoon, Year 1 took part in some fieldwork as part of their geography unit. They used to a map to locate and identify some of the human and physical features of our school ground. Then they completed an activity where they had to describe the location of some of the human and physical features that we had seen and other areas of school from our classroom e.g. the rainbow room, the staff room and the office. They had to identify those that were near such as the MUGA and the staff room, some that were further away such as the junior playground and the woodland and some that were the furthest away such as our field.

Image of Earth Day- Year 5
22 Apr

Earth Day- Year 5

Happy Earth Day! The children decorated the Earth template with things they love about the Earth and wrote a poem to celebrate.

Image of Year 3 PSHE - Earth Day
22 Apr

Year 3 PSHE - Earth Day

Year 3 have been exploring different ways that they can look after our planet Earth. They began by decorating a picture of the Earth with the things they love about it. Then they thought about what actions they could take to look after and protect the Earth.

Image of Year 3 Class Worship - Earth Day
21 Apr

Year 3 Class Worship - Earth Day

Year 3 have been thinking about God’s wonderful creation and how we can help look after it. They wrote prayers and ended their worship by singing “Shine”.

Image of Reception - Migration and Bird feeders
21 Apr

Reception - Migration and Bird feeders

This afternoon, we have been learning about Migration, where in the Winter, flocks of birds fly to warmer countries like Africa to find sources of food and new homes. Then when Spring arrives in the UK, the birds fly back here. We wanted to welcome the birds back to the UK by making bird feeders and hanging them in the trees in the school grounds. The children are very excited to see which birds will arrive to nibble on their treats.

Image of Year 2 Local Area Walk
21 Apr

Year 2 Local Area Walk

Year 2 have had a busy day exploring their local area. We visited a variety of different landmarks and followed The River Darwen to the town centre. Throughout the day, the children recorded some of the different human and physical features that they could see and next week, we will be creating our own maps of Darwen and locating some of the places that we have visited today on our own maps!

Image of Year 2 Earth Day: Litter Picking
21 Apr

Year 2 Earth Day: Litter Picking

Year 2 have been helping out the local community and the environment, by collecting litter during their local area walk!

Image of Spring Walk: Reception
19 Apr

Spring Walk: Reception

Today, the children in Reception went on a walk to find signs of Spring. They enjoyed finding items and ticking it off their checklists. The children found blossom, daffodils, birds, a bird nest, leaves on trees and birds tweeting. They are now ready to write some super sentences all about Spring. Super hunting!

Image of Reception Muddy Monday
4 Apr

Reception Muddy Monday

The rain didn’t stop our Muddy Monday! This week the children went to Whitehall Park to visit the rose garden. The rose garden has a selection of Easter art work that our whole school have created. The children really enjoyed looking at the different pieces.

Image of Year 6 Geography
1 Apr

Year 6 Geography

Today Year 6 have been looking at ‘population pyramids’. Identifying patterns and thinking about reasons why populations are affected. Considering genders, resources and ages.

Image of Year 2 Geography: How can a map show what a place is like?
31 Mar

Year 2 Geography: How can a map show what a place is like?

This week in Geography, Year 2 have been looking at how map's can show what a place is like. We looked at a variety of ordnance survey maps and completed an activity, where the children had to match the map symbols to the correct picture and words.

Image of Reception Muddy Monday
28 Mar

Reception Muddy Monday

This week the children walked 5500 steps around Jack Keys reservoir. They persevered and challenged themselves to walk through mud and climb very steep hills. We were so impressed with their determination! Well done Reception!

Image of Year 2 Geography: Human and Physical features
24 Mar

Year 2 Geography: Human and Physical features

Last week in Geography, Year 2 explored the school grounds, looking at different human and physical features.

Image of Commonwealth Baton Relay Handover to St Pauls
24 Mar

Commonwealth Baton Relay Handover to St Pauls

Following the collection of the baton from St Peter’s yesterday, our Year 6 Heads and Deputies took charge with the handover to St. Paul’s today. Year 5, Year 4, Year 2 and Reception made flags and banners to cheer them on their journey. We can’t wait for the games to start now and have loved the experience! Thanks @LancSchoolGames #Lancsbatonrelay22

Image of Receiving The Commonwealth Games Baton
23 Mar

Receiving The Commonwealth Games Baton

Today we had the privilege in taking part in the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay as part of the lead up to the Commonwealth Games which will take place in Birmingham this year. We received the baton from St Peters this afternoon, with our Year 6 Sports Leaders in charge of the safe hand over. Year 6, Year 3 and Year 1 classes were there to provide a warm welcome and wave their flags. Tomorrow, Year 5, Year 4, Year 2 and Reception class will be there to wave the baton onto its next journey to St Pauls Hoddlesden. What an experience! Thanks @LancSchoolGames #Lancsbatonrelay22

Image of Year 2 Geography
17 Mar

Year 2 Geography

Year 2 have been exploring the school grounds to find human and physical features.

Image of Reception Muddy Monday
15 Mar

Reception Muddy Monday

This week, Reception stayed around their school grounds. We climbed trees, made bug houses and used binoculars and magnifying glasses to find creatures and explore the ground.

Image of Year 3 Geography - locating Italy on a map
11 Mar

Year 3 Geography - locating Italy on a map

Year 3 Geography - Year 3 have been using atlases to locate Italy on a map of Europe. They have also identified the four countries that border Italy.

Image of English - Persuasive Leaflets about Darwen
11 Mar

English - Persuasive Leaflets about Darwen

We have been working extremely hard over the past few weeks to develop our understanding of persuasive texts. Today we added the final touches to our Darwen leaflets, checking that we have used persuasive devices and created interesting content, which is appealing to the audience. Thank you to Mrs Ham and our Head and Deputy Girls for deciding on two overall winners. Well done to Oscar and Wilson. Every single child produced a quality piece of writing which they should be very proud of. They included many of the landmarks or places of interest in Darwen after researching them.

Image of Year 6 Geography
10 Mar

Year 6 Geography

Investigating how changes can influence birth and death rates.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
7 Mar

Reception: Muddy Monday

The children really enjoyed visiting Whitehall park for their Muddy Monday session. We looked at all of the evergreen and deciduous trees. We also climbed trees and made bug hotels. The children were very excited when they found worms and insects for their hotels!

Image of Y6 Geography- Focusing on population
4 Mar

Y6 Geography- Focusing on population

Year 6 have been learning about population, density and it’s effects in Geography this week.

Image of Year 3 Class Worship - Fairtrade
24 Feb

Year 3 Class Worship - Fairtrade

Year 3 wrote some prayers during Our Class Worship remembering all the poor farmers in developing countries who don’t always get a fair price for the fruit and vegetables that they grow.

Image of Year 2 Geography: Exploring rural and urban areas
24 Feb

Year 2 Geography: Exploring rural and urban areas

This term, Year 2 are going to be exploring the local area in Geography. This afternoon, we explored the differences between rural and urban areas and thought about whether Darwen is mostly a rural or urban area.

Image of Year 1 Geography-Human and Physical Features
3 Feb

Year 1 Geography-Human and Physical Features

In Year 1, we have been exploring the United Kingdom. Today, we learnt what a human and physical feature is. We then went on to sort the human and physical features of our hometown, Darwen. We looked at features such as Darwen Tower, India Mill, Darwen Market, DACA, The River Darwen, Darwen Moors, Everest Pharmacy and Whitehall Park as well as lots of others. Next week, we will explore some of the physical and human features of our capital cities in the UK.

Image of Year 4- Identifying cities and football stadiums
3 Feb

Year 4- Identifying cities and football stadiums

Today in Geography, we looked at the features of a city, major cities in England and what football teams have their stadiums in a city. We used Google earth, Google maps and atlases to add cities to a blank map. Our extension task was to identify which teams from the Premier League have their stadiums in a city. Our chilly challenge was then to identify what county they were also in. We found that London had the most premier league side stadiums.

Image of Year 1 Geography-Human and Physical Features
3 Feb

Year 1 Geography-Human and Physical Features

In Year 1, we have been exploring the United Kingdom. Today, we learnt what a human and physical feature is. We then went on to sort the human and physical features of our hometown, Darwen. We looked at features such as Darwen Tower, India Mill, Darwen Market, DACA, The River Darwen, Darwen Moors, Everest Pharmacy and Whitehall Park as well as lots of others. Next week, we will explore some of the physical and human features of our capital cities in the UK.

Image of Year 3 - History - locating Roman roads
1 Feb

Year 3 - History - locating Roman roads

Year 3 have been using atlases in order to locate roads built by the Romans in England.

Image of Geography - Counties in England
20 Jan

Geography - Counties in England

In our geography lesson today, we have been looking at identifying counties in England. We used compass points to solve problems such as which counties border other counties and which are the largest/smallest counties in our country.

Image of Exploring time zones- Year 5
18 Jan

Exploring time zones- Year 5

The afternoon in our Geography lesson , Year 5 have been looking at different countries and comparing them to each other using the GMT lines on a map. We have used Digimaps for schools to help us with our investigation. We then moved onto looking at flight paths. We tracked live flight paths, noting time zone changes.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
17 Jan

Reception: Muddy Monday

Reception really enjoyed their walk today around Jack Keys. The children showed the Christian value of courage whilst climbing over a stile independently. The children enjoyed investigating the marsh land and looked for moles and rabbits!

Image of Year 6: Den Building
10 Jan

Year 6: Den Building

Some of the children in Year 6 went to Whitehall park. The children enjoyed working as a team and used their problem solving skills to create their own dens. They found resources themselves. Mrs Wilkinson was very impressed with their efforts.

Image of Reception Muddy Monday
10 Jan

Reception Muddy Monday

Reception really enjoyed their first muddy Monday of 2022. They enjoyed creating animal houses at Whitehall park. They showed brilliant teamwork as they found different resources to build their houses.

Image of Reception launches their under the sea topic
5 Jan

Reception launches their under the sea topic

Reception are really enjoying the start of their brand new topic! They are starting to learn all about different animals that live in the sea and ocean.

Image of Outdoor exploration in Reception
14 Dec

Outdoor exploration in Reception

Reception love to use the outdoors in all weathers. We have been building houses, making potions, building bug houses and performing on our stage.

Image of Reception: Forest schools
8 Nov

Reception: Forest schools

During Reception’s ‘Muddy Monday’ walk, the children have enjoyed creating fairy and bug houses. The collected different resources such as twigs, leaves and stones. They also learnt how to use shears safely. What a super way to start the week!

Image of What is the Equator?
4 Nov

What is the Equator?

This afternoon in Year 2, the class have been learning about The Equator. The children looked at different countries and continents in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere and labelled The Equator on their own maps of The World.

Image of Creative Minds
21 Oct

Creative Minds

This model of Darwen Tower was built in our peace garden, using wooden planks.

Image of Reception: Exploring Autumn
14 Oct

Reception: Exploring Autumn

This week, Reception have been finding out all about Autumn. They have learnt all about what happens in Autumn and have learnt some new vocabulary too: deciduous and evergreen. Super learning!

Image of Human Geography
14 Oct

Human Geography

This afternoon in Year 4 we have been looking at what the Human Geography is. We have identified that human geography explores the people, communities and cultures of the world. We have used the chrome books to complete research on the human geography of South America.

Image of Year 5- Geography
12 Oct

Year 5- Geography

This term in Geography, Year 5 have been learning about Greece in context to its position with Europe, identifying regions within a country and Greece’s climate zone. This afternoon, we used digi maps to check what human and physical features are on a map of Greece.

Image of Reception: Muddy Monday
11 Oct

Reception: Muddy Monday

Today, the children went to Whitehall park. They enjoyed looking for signs of Autumn. Everybody found a conker and we explored the different colours of Autumnal leaves. The children enjoyed throwing leaves in the air and also climbed under and over a fallen tree.

Image of Why is London the way it is?
7 Oct

Why is London the way it is?

In geography, we have been looking at the reasons why London is the way it is today. We have been looking at the physical and human features of geography within London and what we can expect London to be like in the future.

Image of Deforestation debates
7 Oct

Deforestation debates

We have been working hard on our ‘Deforestation Debate’ in Year 4 today. So far, we have looked at key language, points for and against and how a piece is structured. We have very different opinions and this has been highlighted in our discussions throughout the week.

Image of Year 1 Geography- Hot and Cold Places of the World.
5 Oct

Year 1 Geography- Hot and Cold Places of the World.

Year 1 have been looking at a map of the world and learning about where the hot and cold places are.

Image of A very ‘Muddy Monday’ in Reception
4 Oct

A very ‘Muddy Monday’ in Reception

Today, our Ducklings went on their first ‘Muddy Monday’ adventure in the local area. We explored Jack Keys reservoir. The children walked all of the way around the reservoir which took just over an hour. We were extremely impressed with how they showed our Christian values. They took risks, showed resilience and courage throughout the adventure. The children got stuck in the mud, splashed in muddy puddles and enjoyed climbing and balancing along the way! What a super start to the week!

Image of Great Geography in Year 4
9 Sep

Great Geography in Year 4

Year 4 had a brilliant afternoon being Geographers by learning all about South America.