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.

• The Great Fire of London

  Wed 30 Nov 2016 M Davis

  Following their topic on the Great Fire of London, Class 2 were very excited to welcome Stef Douglas, one of our parents, governors and a member of the local Fire Service to school to help them recreate the Great Fire of London.

   

  The children had spent the week before creating houses in the style of those found in London in 1666. These were carefully put out on the school field to recreate a London street. Stef carefully supervised the next step, putting all his fire fighting expertise in practice.

   

  The Great Fire of London started in a bakery on Pudding Lane, and a house at one end of our 'street' was chosen to take this role. Stef carefully set this house on fire, and then we watched see what happened. It was astounding how quickly the fire spread along the street and how quickly the houses were reduced to ash.

   

  There was much discussion about how lucky we are to now have a fire service, as this was not available to the people of London in 1666, and buckets of water from the Thames were not much use.

   

  A huge thank you to Stef for coming and supervising this activity and for sharing his knowledge of fire fighting with us.

  
   

  

• Friday Afternoons

  Fri 18 Nov 2016 M Davis

  On Friday morning, Class 3 joined with children from other schools in the county to take part in a national event based on the music of Benjamin Britten.

   

  Benjamin Britten was an English composer who composed many pieces of famous music, including a piece for children called 'Friday Afternoons'. Composers have been writing music to compliment these pieces that have been available for children to sing this term and Rutland Music Hub organised an event to bring together children from Rutland Schools to sing some of these songs together.

   

  On Friday morning Class 3 went to Oakham School Chapel to work with the Director of Music at Oakham School, Mr Davis, to practise these songs and create a recording.

   

  Miss Bevins and Mr Chalkley, our Chair of Governors, accompanied the children and were very impressed with how well they sang, and how well behaved the children were for a concentrated morning of singing.

   

  Mrs Davis has been enjoying listening to the recording this weekend, and is looking forward to sharing the finished product with the whole school next week.

• Children in Need

  Fri 18 Nov 2016 M Davis

  On Friday we celebrated Children in Need by coming into school in 'something spotty'. We have supported Children in Need for a number of years and it is an event that our children and families always support well.

   

  The children were asked to donate a pound for coming in something spotty - but many families donated more, and we are looking at a total of nearly £70 at current counting. Well done to all who donated.

• Remembrance Day

  Fri 11 Nov 2016 M Davis

   

  On Remembrance Day, Acts of Remembrance were carried out both within the school community and in the village.

   

  Our younger children had time to reflect on what Remembrance Day is about, before taking part in a short Act of Remembrance in their classrooms.

   

  Class 3 had spent the week writing poems about Remembrance, which have been gathered together into a book. They then walked down to the village War Memorial, where we joined with the community to take part in the village Act of Remembrance.

   

  After the two minute silence, the names were read of people from the village, the estate and the surrounding area who had given their lives during wars. Our year 6 children then read their poems to share their thoughts with the community.

   

  Daniel proudly wore his father's medals on our visit to the War Memorial. Many of our children have parents who are currently serving, or who have served in the Armed Forces, and it is right that we are able to share this day with them as well as the local community.

• SIAMS Inspection

  Fri 14 Oct 2016 M Davis

  A few weeks ago we had a visit from a SIAMS inspector. This was to carry out our Statutory Inspection as a church school. This inspection focuses on three main areas: how the school, through its distinctive Christian Character is good at meeting the needs of all learners; the impact of collective worship on the school community; and the effectiveness of leadership and management.

   

  I am very pleased to announce that our report has been published and we have again been rated as ‘good’ in all areas.

   

  The school has been particularly praised for its 'family feel' which 'thrives on its Christian approach to learning' where 'everyone in the community feels nurtured and treasured.' We  are always proud of our children and their self-awareness of themselves both in and out of the school community. Indeed the report states: 'Pupils positively enjoy their learning and value their friendships and teachers within this accepting Christian community where every child matters to God and the school community. As a result, they become confident, honest and non-judgemental individuals.'

   

  We will be working over the next few years on our action points which include developing the children's opportunities by developing our 'programme of visits and visitors to enable pupils to meet people of faiths other than Christianity more frequently to enhance their learning and support their spiritual and cultural development.' Watch this space!

   

  Thank you to all those who took the time to talk to the inspector about what makes our school special. During the day the inspector spoke to staff, governors, members of the local churches, children and parents.

   

  The sentence from the report that shines for me is that 'Parents embrace the inclusivity of this small rural school and welcome the fact that 'all walks of life have such a good grounding here.''

   

  The full report can be found on our 'Useful Documents' page.

• Silver School Games Mark

  Wed 12 Oct 2016 M Davis

  We are very pleased to announce that we have been awarded the Silver School Games Mark for our commitment, engagement and delivery of competitive school sport in 2015/16.

   

  A particular thanks needs to go to Mrs Ranson for all her hard work in ensuring the children have as many sporting opportunities as possible, both in and out of school, and for compiling all the evidence for the assessors.

   

  For 2014/15 we were a Bronze School Games Mark Award, so this shows how our sporting provision has improved.

   

   

  

• A Lakeside Adventure!

  Sun 09 Oct 2016 M Davis

  Class 3 have been learning in the Lake District this week!

   

  As part of their literacy, Class 3 have been looking at the writing of Beatrix Potter and using this as inspiration for their own writing. To help with this, Miss Bevins spent the weekend transforming the classroom into the Lake District, with its own farm house, fields, trees and water so that the children could walk their characters through their stories.

   

  On Monday the children arrived to find themselves with no tables, but plenty of inspiration for their learning and writing. By the end of the week, some tables had returned, although some children preferred to continue working in the field/ farmyard where they had based their story.

   

  Class 1 are looking forward to receiving their stories next week, and I know Miss Bevins is very pleased with the quality of writing this week has produced.

• Cross Country

  Fri 07 Oct 2016 M Davis

  What a fantastic group of KS2 children we have! Not many schools attending the RSSP Cross Country competition had 59% of their KS2 children taking part. What is more, 100% of both year 3 and year 5 took part - well done to all involved!

   

  It was not the easiest of courses, quite hilly and uneven underfoot, with the last half a kilometre a slow uphill run. Every child tried their best, and we were proud of all of our children, who all made it across the finishing line.

   

  A huge thank you to Miss Bevins, Mrs Ranson and Mrs Wardle who accompanied the children; and a special thanks to Miss Bevins for running the last part with the children who were finding the last 100 metres hard.  Thank you also to those parents who came to support and transport their children.

• Book Buddies

  Tue 27 Sep 2016 M Davis

  Class 1 and Class 3 have been joining together as 'Book Buddies' to share books and read together. This activity allows our youngest and oldest children to work together to enjoy books and to develop reading skills. KS2 develop their skills in making sure that their reading is interesting and keeps the younger children's attention - some even practice their 'voices' for different characters! Class 1 are able to get to know the older children a little better and to enjoy sharing and talking about different stories.

   

  Pictures to follow....

• Harvest Festival

  Fri 23 Sep 2016 M Davis

  A huge thank you to all the children, parents and family members who came to our Harvest Festival and who contributed donations towards the Rutland Foodbank.

   

  I am constantly amazed by the generosity of our school community and this year's Harvest Collection has not disappointed. At least 147 (at the last count) items have been donated to the Rutland Foodbank. This has been weighed on delivery and we have contributed an enormous 70kg of goods to the Foodbank. Thank you.

   

  The Harvest Festival itself was a fantastic first shared assembly with visitors. It is never easy for the youngest and newest members of the school community to stand up for the first time in front of an audience, but we were very proud of Class 1 as they shared what they had been learning in RE about Harvest. Their singing was great too! Class 2 shared some beautiful paintings of Harvest as well as some of the acrostic poems they had written about Harvest, whilst Class 3 shared what they had learned about Harvest in different countries and how it is celebrated.

   

  It was a marvellous way for us to celebrate Harvest, say thank you to God and to the farmers and to share our learning.