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 2025-26.

• RLT Language Day

  Tue 11 Oct 2022 M Davis

  Four children from year 5/6 went to join others from across the Rutland Learning Trust on Tuesday in developing their language skills. 

   

  The children had a fantastic day exploring lots of different languages and looking at connections between them.

   

  Activities during the day included:

   

  • Introducing themselves in French, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish and Swahili!
  • Decoding French sentences to find out facts about each other, by playing “Find someone who…”
  • Exploring numbers in 8 different languages and trying to match up all the different ways of saying a given number, categorising them into languages that stem from Latin, those that stem from Saxon and those that are totally different (Greek and Mandarin!)
  • Meeting Minimus the Latin Mouse and finding out about the Roman Invasion of Britain and Vindolanda.
  • Singing a traditional Zulu song. 
  • Learning about writing in Roman Britain and making their own “wax tablets” (from plasticine) to write on with styluses.
  • Cracking some codes using the Greek alphabet (and writing our answers or our names on our tablets!)
  • Learning an Italian song about animals, and using bilingual dictionaries to find the meaning of the different movements that the animals made.

   

  The children each left with a pack of all the activities they had done, as well as some extras to try at home if they wish. 

   

  A huge thank you to Mrs Honorez for organising the day.

• Year 5/6 Visit to Warning Zone

  Thu 06 Oct 2022 M Davis

  Yesterday our year 5/6 children joined with Uppingham CE Primary school to visit Warning Zone. Warning Zone is a Leicester based charity dedicated to teaching life-skills and safeguarding children.

   

  They aim to educate young people on understanding risks, peer pressure, anti-social behaviour and consequences. With the Internet and online presence being so widely accessed from young age, their new E-Safety zone also educates children on cyber-bullying, grooming, scammers and much more.

   

  The children had a great day exploring taking risks and the consequences of their decisions. Mrs Larratt was particularly impressed with how well the children asked questions and thought about each scenario.

   

  Hopefully the visit has equipped the children with the skills they need as they move towards secondary school and become more independent.

• RLT Spelling Bee

  Wed 05 Oct 2022 M Davis

  Over the past few weeks the children have all been working hard to learn their words for the RLT Spelling Bee and after some in-school participation, we had a semi-finalist to put forward for each year group from year 1-6. 

   

  Well done to Violet, Abigail, Lyla, Seth, Fenton and Mia for representing the school - we know the competition was hard and that many year groups ended up with a 'sudden death' round in order to chose those who went to the live final. A particular well done to Abigail for representing the school at Uppingham for the final for her year group - what a super-star!

   

  Most importantly, well done to all those who gave the spelling bee a go - we know that not everyone finds spelling easy, so it was lovely to see everyone trying their best to improve on their own scores. What a great team!

• Harvest Festival

  Fri 30 Sep 2022 M Davis

  On Friday afternoon we welcomed parents and relatives into the school to share in our Harvest festival. This is often the first time in the academic year when we are able to share what we have been learning with the wider community, and this year's Harvest festival did not disappoint!

   

  Our Harvest always takes the form of a 'song sandwich', where we share a number of songs and intersperse these with presentations from each class. 

   

  Our youngest children shared what they had learnt about what harvest is, before sharing a rhyme and a song with some enthusiastic actions! Teal Class followed with their self-penned adaptation of 'football's coming home' - where they had rewritten the words to fit harvest.... 'Harvest's coming home!' Cobalt Class shared a thoughtful presentation looking at words that can be spelt using the letters of the word 'harvest' and what these can mean at harvest time. Navy class rounded off the collective worship with some information about the Rutland Foodbank and some prayers. Singing as ever was lusty and enthusiastic - we still love to sing!

   

  Thank you to all the parents and family members who were able to come and join with us for this celebration, and to all those who have contributed to the Rutland Food Bank. We know that all the contributions will be much appreciated by those in need.

• Year 2/3 Walkwise

  Wed 21 Sep 2022 M Davis

  We were very pleased to have support from RCC over the past two days in helping our year 2/3 children develop their road safety awareness through Walkwise. 

   

  On the first morning, the children had a session talking in the classroom about road safety and how to keep themselves safe. For the second morning, the children went out into the village in small groups to put what they had learnt into practice when crossing roads and walking on our narrow pavements.

   

  A huge thank you to RCC for supporting us with this initiative and well done to all involved for some super road safety!

• In Memory of Queen Elizabeth II

  Wed 14 Sep 2022 M Davis

  During this time of national mourning, the children have been thinking about the Queen and all that she has done in service to the country over her long reign. Each class put together some thoughts and pictures, which were kindly taken to London by two pupils over the weekend and left amongst the flowers.

   

  Imagine our surprise on Monday when we received a lovely message from a member of the public who had seen some of the children's messages, and looked up the school email address in order to send us the following message:

   

  "Dear Mrs Davis, 

   

  I'm writing to you to say Thankyou to your beautiful Year 4 and 5 children who created the most lovely tribute book for Queen Elizabeth II. 

   

  I spotted the book among the many flowers at Buckingham Palace and my family enjoyed looking at it. The words and drawings inside were so special. I'm sure the Royal Family will enjoy looking at it when they get the chance. 

   

  Please pass on our thanks and appreciation to all the children who participated. It really is special."

   

  We were all very touched that this lady and her family had not only taken the time to read some of the children's messages, but had also taken the time to find our email address and send a message. 

   

  The children have spent recent days reflecting on all that Queen Elizabeth II has done throughout her reign, through her life of service. May She rest in peace.

   

  

• Ofsted tells us our school is good, the children told Ofsted this school is amazing!

  Fri 02 Sep 2022 M Davis

  Our school was visited by an Ofsted inspection team in June and they have now published the final outcomes.  I am delighted to be able to finally share with you our new OFSTED report which tells us our school is a 'good' school. 

   

  I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all staff, children, governors, and parents - who were the real ambassadors for the school when Ofsted visited. This is a marvellous result, and everyone deserves to take enormous credit for their skills, dedication and hard work to make the school what it is today - a school and team which we all feel extremely privileged to be part of.

   

  There are so many wonderful accolades from the inspector feedback and in the report, and we feel the most important one is how the pupils themselves feel:
   

  'Pupils state their school is ‘amazing’ and they would ‘highly’ recommend it!'
   

  • Exton and Greetham CofE Primary School is a warm and friendly school.
  • The school motto ‘we are kind, we are honest and we forgive’ is evident in all aspects of school life.
  • Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. This school is inclusive. Pupils, including those with SEND receive the support they need to flourish and achieve well.
  • Pupils enjoy coming to school, feel safe and are rightly proud of themselves and their school.
  • Pupils know that everyone is welcome at this school.
  • Pupils are highly respectful of each other and of all adults.
  • Pupils are taught well – teachers explain new ideas and concepts clearly due to strong subject knowledge and nurturing relationships.
  • Pupils said that their teachers are supportive and encouraging and that they make lessons enjoyable.
  • Behaviour is good – no bullying!
  • The children are delightful!
  • Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

   

  The ‘good’ judgement re-affirms the resolute commitment from our children, staff, families and governors to ensuring that Exton and Greetham Church of England Primary School is true to its Christian foundation and vision. 

   

  As you can imagine we are not resting on our laurels and are already addressing the key improvement areas that were highlighted. We have planned how we will continue to monitor the effectiveness of our new curriculum with rigour and tenacity and have updated our approaches to provision mapping and target setting.

   

  Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. It is very much appreciated!

   

  What a team!

• Sports Day 2022

  Wed 13 Jul 2022 M Davis

  Today saw the opportunity for us to return to our first 'traditional Exton & Greetham Sports Day' since COVID. We were able to return to our 'round robin' event in teams, followed by running races. 

   

  With the hot weather, we had returned to our traditional morning Sports Day which allows us to enjoy our sports before it gets too hot.

   

  The children were split into 6 teams, with children from each class in each team. The first part of Sports Day was our 'round robin' with children taking part in: hockey dribbling, an obstacle course, skipping, sprinting, football shooting and hoopla. Each activity brought with it a range of points to be won, including ten points at each station for good sportsmanship.

   

  While the scores for the round robin were calculated, we held our year group running races. These were followed by a toddler race, and a parents/ relatives race.

   

  We finished with the presentation of the Sports Day cup to the winning team - well done team 1!

   

  A huge thank you to all the staff for their help with setting up and running the event so smoothly; and thank you to FOEGS for providing the refreshments. Thank you also to all the parents, governors and family members who came to support. It was lovely for us finally to be able to come together as a whole school community after over two years of disruption. 

   

  

• RLT KS2 Athletics Festival

  Mon 11 Jul 2022 M Davis

  Thursday 30th June saw a return to the annual RLT Athletics Festival at the athletics stadium in Corby. 

   

  The children had the opportunity to take part in a variety of events, including howler throw, long jump, sprints and longer runs, as well as an obstacle race and relay races.

   

  Mrs Roberts and Mrs Ranson reported that the children were brilliantly behaved, and a credit to the school, cheering on not only those from our school, but also those from other schools who were finding it tricky. Great sportsmanship, Exton!

   

  We found a future heptathlete in Year 4, as Monika placed in each event she did - we look forward to seeing you at the olympics in a few years time, Monika!

   

  Well done to all who took part and gave it a go - hopefully we have all learnt some new talents and sporting skills, or at least discovered the joy in watching others!

   

  A huge thank you to the staff who accompanied the children on what was a long day in the sun!

• Fort Henry Walk

  Fri 24 Jun 2022 M Davis

  We had super walking weather for our first annual Fort Henry walk since COVID!

   

  It was great to return to this annual tradition, where the aim is to walk in fellowship as a community and enjoy the countryside in which we live.

   

  We made great time on the way there, and arrived in under an hour. We were ready for our picnic just before 12pm. After lunch, and a few running games in the field, we walked down to get a good view across the lake to Fort Henry. Then it was time to turn back to school.

   

  It always takes us a little longer on the way back! Every child did their best walking, and we made it back to school for just after 2pm, tired but happy! It was lovely to watch children helping each other and encouraging each other to keep going when people got tired. The children were great company, as always. 

   

  Fingers crossed for similar weather next year - not too hot, and not too cold, just right right for walking!