Read below to find out more about some of the different activities we have been getting up to; from sporting and musical activities, to visitors and 'wow' days. We are looking forward to helping our children 'explore and grow' further in 2024-25.

• Year 4 Residential

  Thu 24 Apr 2025 M Davis

  Our year 4 returned from their residential at Hilltop tired, but proud of all they had achieved! The theme of the week for our children was 'teamwork' and 'challenging yourself'.

   

  During the three days, the children had the opportunity to take part in zip wires, high ropes, mountain biking, archery and a treetop challenge amongst other things. Mrs Larratt reported that she was very impressed with how brave the children were, giving everything a go, and challenging themselves to go 'just a bit further' when they were nervous. The final activities gave them a chance to practice their teamwork, as there was no way to 'win' without working as a team. After a few false starts, they soon worked out that 'teamwork makes the dream work' and achieved their goal.

   

  A huge thank you to Mrs Larratt for giving up her time to go with the children, and well done to all the children for being brilliant!

  

• Easter in a Day!

  Fri 04 Apr 2025 M Davis

  We love to pull together all of our Easter activities to have an exciting 'Easter Day' at the end of term 4.

   

  This year we travelled to Greetham Church to share our Easter service. Cobalt class took us through the Easter story, whilst the rest of the school joined in, singing lustily, with our Easter songs and hymns. A huge thank you to Greetham church for the refreshments at the end.

   

  On arriving back at school, there was just time to decorate our eggs before our Easter lunch.

   

  After lunch was the traditional Exton & Greetham egg rolling competition in the hall. Each child competed with their year group to see whose egg could roll the furthest. There were some 'super rollers' this year, with the majority of eggs making it at least halfway down the school hall! There was much fun, and lots of nifty moves to get out of the way of the rolling eggs. Eggs do not go in straight lines!

   

  The weather was beautiful, so we were able to go outside and take part in egg and spoon races, before an Easter egg hunt on the field, searching for Creme eggs. 

   

  What a super way to end the term!

• Silver Artsmark Award!

  Fri 04 Apr 2025 M Davis

  We are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Silver Artsmark Award!

   

  Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It transforms teaching through creativity, empowering teachers with the skills they need to embed arts, culture and creativity across the whole curriculum, and is proven to support pupil outcomes and wellbeing.

   

  To achieve our Artsmark Award, we have developed our arts and cultural provision to embed a broad and ambitious curriculum. This was achieved by creating an overall plan that was committed to and delivered across the whole school.

  We’re extremely proud of achieving our Artsmark Silver Award. We are committed to delivering a high-quality arts and cultural education.

   

  Dr Darren Henley OBE, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, said: “I would like to congratulate Exton & Greetham CE Primary School on their Artsmark Award. Creative activities and cultural experiences enrich our lives, open our minds to new possibilities and help us make sense of the world around us. As an awarded Artsmark school, you’re demonstrating that by offering a broad, ambitious and creative curriculum, your young people will develop character and resilience, increasing their knowledge, curiosity and skills that will remain with them through to adult life.”

• Roald Dahl's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

  Tue 01 Apr 2025 M Davis

  Teal class gave two amazing performances of Roald Dahl's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves as their term 4 production. 

   

  This twist on the traditional tale involved Snow White ending up with seven ex-jockeys, and using the mirror to help them. The children did a fantastic job, and we could see they had really thought about their characters and how they should act. 

   

  The singing was outstanding, and we especially enjoyed the race song and the galloping horses. There were some lovely clear solo singing as well - perhaps some future singing stars?

   

  Well done to all involved, from the children who performed, Miss Barker who produced the play and to staff who made horses heads and props. A particular thank you to those who stood in at the last minute to cover parts where people had been ill. Amazing teamwork!

• Pied Piper

  Mon 31 Mar 2025 M Davis

  Cobalt class had a fantastic time in Leicester at De Montfort Hall, joining with hundreds of other school children from Rutland in a massed concert - Rutland Sings!

   

  The music hub had put together a concert that included some of our favourite songs (Power in me, Can you hear my voice?, Build it High), and a massed performance of a piece written for Rutland schools - Pied Piper. 

   

  After weeks of practice, it was lovely to be able to hear our voices amongst so many others. We all looked very smart in our orange t-shirts, and everyone sang their hearts out. 

   

  Well done Cobalt!

• Working Hard!

  Sun 30 Mar 2025 M Davis

  As we come to the end of another busy term, it is lovely to see children across the school working hard to do their best. This term we have been really focusing on being ready, responsible and safe in our learning - making sure that we are making good choices, trying our best, and have everything we need.

   

  It has been lovely to have so many 'Stars of the Week' and 'Headteacher's Awards' this term for children improving their work and their learning. We celebrate every small step at Exton & Greetham, whether that is making good choices about what to use to help us concentrate, working on our handwriting and presentation, or keeping going when a new concept is a bit tricky. It is lovely to see each child moving forward on their individual learning journey.

  

• Survival!

  Fri 28 Mar 2025 M Davis

  As part of their English unit, Cobalt Class enjoyed a 'survival day' on Friday. By immersing themselves in different survival techniques and activities, linked to their texts, they were able to explore a range of activities to help them consider how they may survive in the wild.

   

  For some children, this was the first attempt at pitching a tent, following instructions, with no adult support! There was also the opportunity to practise different knots that could be useful, as well as practise their first aid skills. Den building was included, for when there is no access to a tent, and Mrs Larratt supervised children in trying to start a camp fire. Lastly there were opportunities to hone their map reading skills, and to decide what they would pack in a survival kit. 

   

  The children all had an amazing day - thank you Mrs Larratt for organising it. We look forward to some spectacular written work as a result!

  

• Easter Gardens

  Thu 27 Mar 2025 M Davis

  As part of their Religion and Worldviews learning, Aqua class have been creating their own Easter gardens. We talked about all the things we could include to make sure we could tell the story. Can you see our crosses and the tomb with the stone rolled away?

  

• 'Pop-up' Pied Piper Performance

  Mon 24 Mar 2025 M Davis

  We were very pleased and excited to be invited to take part in the 'Pop-up' Pied Piper Performance in Oakham on Monday 24th March. Whilst the 'Rutland Big Sing' takes place in De Montfort Hall in Leicester next week, a few schools were invited to take part in a smaller scale performance in Oakham Parish Church this week, so that those unable to travel to Leicester were able to hear and see a performance of this work written for Rutland Schools.

   

  Cobalt class did an amazing job, as we were the only school present singing the second part, and audience members reported that it was 'amazing'. 

   

  Well done to all involved - and we look forward to our 'Big Sing' in a week's time!

  

• Red Nose Day 2025

  Fri 21 Mar 2025 M Davis

  Our School council led activities for our fundraising for Red Nose Day.

   

  The children were invited to come in something red, or something silly. There was a sea of red, and some quite amazing outfits, including a clown and an old granny!

   

  There was a cake raffle with a beautiful cake.

   

  The children also submitted jokes for a joke competition. The winning jokes for each class were as follows:

   

  Aqua Class:

  Why do you put bulbs in the ground?
  So the worms can see where they're going!
  
  Teal Class:

  What is the difference between a cat and a comma?
  One has claws at the end of its paws. The other is a pause at the end of aclause!
  
  Cobalt Class:

  How many tickles does it take to make a squid laugh?
  Ten-tickles!