Whole School Worship - V.E. Day & The Lord’s Prayer
Our worship began with an introduction to V.E. Day. Mrs Ham gave a short explanation about the Second World War and the celebrations that took place after Europe’s victory in 1945. There will be a number of worships and activities taking place across the week to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II, including our Red, White and Blue day on Friday. Mrs Ham and Mrs Araujo then launched this week’s Year of Prayer activities. Our focus was then directed to The Lord’s Prayer. Mrs Ham spent some time explaining the first few lines to make sure everyone in our school family understands what they are praying about when they recite The Lord’s Prayer. We focused particularly on the word “hallowed” and that this means holy. We shared our ideas of how we can carry out God’s wishes and that we can all try to be like saints. The children had some extremely thoughtful ideas about welcoming people and why it is important to make others feel welcome. We finished by reciting The Lord’s Prayer once more and then singing one of our favourite worship songs, My Lighthouse.
Year 3- Geography- Living Life to the Full-Comparing Darwen and New York
As part of our Geography topic on the United States of America, Year 3 have been investigating their local area, taking note of the physical and human features in their surroundings. During our walk, we stopped to talk with Mrs Singleton’s brother-in-law, who shared some fascinating facts about Darwen’s famous India Mill and its history. As we continued, we spotted an old tramline, a reminder of the past when trams used to travel between Blackburn and Darwen. We also noticed a boat in someone's garden, which sparked lots of excitement and curiosity! The children made some brilliant observations, noting that the streets in Darwen look much narrower compared to the wide, bustling avenues of New York. They also commented that the houses here are much smaller, and overall, Darwen feels a lot quieter and less busy than the lively streets of New York. Year 3 were living life to its fullest on this walk, embracing every opportunity to explore, learn, and wonder about the world around them. These real-world experiences will help the children when discussing the similarities and differences between Darwen and New York in class. Well done, Year 3, fantastic geographers in the making!
Year 4- Why did the Vikings come to Britain?
Today we started our new history unit - Vikings in Britain. We looked at reasons as to why the vikings invaded Britain, sequenced key events and then created a timeline. We worked in groups to mark the beginning and end of the Viking period from 793AD to 1066AD and then we worked and sorted through all of the events to ensure that they were in chronological order. Towards the end of the lesson, the children presented what they had found and shared key information about where the Vikings had come from, how they got to Britain and how things changed for the Anglo Saxons when they arrived.
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Year 4 History - Was King Alfred really ‘ Great’?
In our history lesson this week we have been studying Alfred the Great. We were learning about the threat that the Vikings posed to the Anglo- Saxons, exploring sources for bias and deciding whether or not Alfred was a ‘great’ king. The children watched several clips in order to gather information about King Alfred and recorded their notes on whiteboards. Next they discussed key questions as to why he became king, which parts of England he ruled and who were his enemies. We found out lots of key facts and then added these to our sheets. We now know that King Alfred only became king as his two other brothers died and he was next in line, he ruled Wessex as it was the only kingdom left and Guthrum the Viking Leader was his arch enemy.
Year 1 History- Toys Past and Present
In history, Year 1 have been exploring toys from the past. Today, we got the opportunity to explore how toys have changed over the last 100 years. We discovered that all toys used to be made from wood, fabric and metal such as trains, dolls and board games before brightly coloured plastic toys became popular such as frisbees and Lego. We then learnt that plastic toys continued to be played with, electronics were made and became popular such as gameboys and battery controlled cars as well as toys that featured on our televisions such as Care Bears and My Little Pony. We know that this was around the time that our mummies and daddies were children. We then looked at the toys that we play with today such as figures and understood that they have become popular through being on our televisions and in storybooks. We also noticed how electronics have become more advanced as we now have app-based games. Super learning Year 1!
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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? All of the Year 6 London trip photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-6-london-trip-2025
Year 6- Imperial War Museum
In History this term, Year 6 have been learning all about the Second World War and the part that Darwen played in it. It has been wonderful to visit the Imperial War Museum to learn more about the Second World War and the part that London played in it and contrast this to Darwen’s involvement. All of the Year 6 London trip photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-6-london-trip-2025
Year 6- Houses of Parliament
Our Year 6 class were so fortunate to be able to visit the Houses of Parliament to learn all about our British Values and in particular, democracy and the rule of law. We had a tour and watched a live debate in the House of Commons. The Foreign Secretary David Lammy also gave an announcement. We visited Westminster Hall, which we recognised from seeing on the news when the Queen was lying in State after her sad death. We then took part in a workshop about how laws are created and we learnt all about Parliament and the houses of Commons and Lords through a fun activities. We also got to explore democracy through voting and debating. Finally we were visited by our local Member of Parliament, Andy McNae and had a great question and answer session. We are so proud of the thoughtful questions the children asked him. We are sure that we have a few future MPs amongst our Year 6 class!
Year 4 History- Making Inferences about who was buried at Sutton Hoo
This week in history we have been trying to make inferences about who was buried at Sutton Hoo and what evidence it gives us about Anglo Saxon life. We researched artefacts such as a helmet, having bowl, shoulder clasps, belt buckles and sceptres. We each selected an artefact to look at in more detail and answered questions directly related to it. We described it, added what we thought it was made from, what it may have been used for, who its owner may have been and what it tells us about Anglo-Saxon England.
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Year 6- Mrs Doubtfire, Covent Garden & Trafalgar Square
Our Year 6 children enjoyed seeing the sights of Trafalgar Square and the street entertainers in Covent Garden. They then watched Mrs Doubtfire the Musical in the West End which they found really funny and entertaining. All of the Year 6 London trip photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-6-london-trip-2025
Year 6- Natural History Museum
Our Year 6 class had a wonderful time exploring the Natural History Museum in London. They saw dinosaur and animal bones and fossils and lots of stuffed animals. They also went into the earthquake simulator shop and also enjoyed visiting the gift shop. For all of the Year 6 London trip photos, please click here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-6-london-trip-2025
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 saw some of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. All of the Year 6 London trip photos can be found here: https://www.stbarnabasdarwen.co.uk/photo-galleries/year-6-london-trip-2025