Elmgrove Primary & Nursery

Year Group Updates - Years 2 & 5

Published 30/01/26

Year 2 Update

Year 2 have been busy little performers over the last few months as they prepare for their exciting production, Eddie and the Penguins Save the World! We recently held our first dress rehearsal, performing to the rest of the school — and we’re delighted to say the audience loved it. The children were brilliant and are now buzzing with excitement to perform for you next week. They can’t wait to spot friendly faces in the audience!

Alongside rehearsals, singing, and learning lines, Year 2 have continued to work extremely hard in their learning. In Maths, we have been exploring money, including how to make amounts and give change. This can be tricky, but the children particularly enjoyed putting their skills into practice by playing shops in the classroom.

In English, we have been retelling and innovating the story Poles Apart, linking beautifully with our production and its important message about climate change. The children have shown great creativity and thought when exploring how animals are affected by changes to their habitats.

This theme has continued in Geography, where we have been learning about hot and cold climates around the world. The children explored different countries and discovered that places near the Equator are hotter, while those further away are much colder. They were fascinated to see how climate affects where people and animals live.

It’s been a busy, exciting, and meaningful term for Year 2 — and we are so proud of their hard work, enthusiasm, and growing confidence. We look forward to welcoming you to our performance very soon!

Year 5 Update

we have been revising solids, liquids and gases by observing raisins in lemonade

Year 5 Art work with wax

English

We have finished our persuasive leaflets based on our work in Geography on the Caribbean. We wrote to persuade the reader to visit the Caribbean island of St Lucia. We wrote about the beautiful beaches, the adventures and traveller could have and the delicious food they could try. We published them as leaflets and we look forward to sharing them with you at parents evening.

Art

We have been researching Batik and creating designs based on the Caribbean. We have use tjantings to place molten wax onto fabric and will paint the rest of the fabric next week. We then will heat the wax to remove it and our design will be revealed. They should be coming home before the end of term so we hope that you enjoy looking at them as much as we enjoyed creating them.

Science

Finally, in Science, we have been revising solids, liquids and gases by observing raisins in lemonade. They appear to “dance“ when dropped in the liquid! We have also sorted materials based on their properties and will be observing dissolving next week.

Year Group Updates - Years 1, 3 & 6

Published 23/01/26

Year 1 Update

Year 1 have been learning about different types of animals. Last week we learnt about mammals and Mrs Gardner kindly brought Cerys (the school dog) to come in to class to visit the children. Mrs Gardner explained to the children about how Cerys has grown and how she looks after Cerys every day. She also got the chance to answer lots of questions from the children.

Mrs Gardner and Cerys in Year 1

Mrs Gardner talking about Cerys to Year 1 children

In computing, Year 1 have been learning about different robots. They explored how we can give directions and instructions to robots for them to follow. We practiced with K1 an advanced Japanese robot which could follow instructions through voice commands. Children also got the opportunity to use the beebots in class which children directed around their tables.

Year 1 children programming a robot

In PSHE we have been talking about our dreams and goals. We had a class goal to make a jam sandwich. We came up with steps to achieve this and as a class, made a jam sandwich successfully. We will continue to discuss different goals and steps to achieve them throughout the half term.

Jam sandwich making

Year 3 Update

English

We have been immersing ourselves in the rich and exciting story Cinderella of the Nile by Beverley Naidoo. Inspired by the text, we have been writing our own narratives of the story, carefully retelling the events while using fronted adverbials, expanded noun phrases, similes and powerful adjectives to make our writing more engaging. We have also enjoyed incorporating direct speech, with a strong focus on accurate punctuation and expression!

Maths

In Maths, we have been strengthening our multiplication and division skills. We have explored related calculations, practised multiplying two-digit numbers and worked hard on arithmetic to build speed, accuracy and confidence.

Reading

We have continued our journey through Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, which we are thoroughly enjoying. We have been using our VIPERS reading skills to answer thoughtful questions and explore the narrative of the book, developing a deeper understanding of the characters and events as we read further.

History

Our learning on Ancient Egypt has continued to capture our interest. We have learned about gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt and created colourful and informative fact files to showcase our historical knowledge.

Science

In Science, we have been learning all about balanced and healthy diets. Using our knowledge of food groups, we have explored the nutrients that animals, including humans, need to stay healthy. We have also been analysing food labels to help us make informed choices.

Year 6 Update

Maths

This week Year 6 children have been developing their understanding of ratio in Maths. They have been learning how to describe and simplify ratios, solve problems involving proportional reasoning and apply these skills to real-life contexts. We have also solved problems involving similar shapes where the scale factor is known or can be found. Can you try solve these questions at home?

Staying Active

Year 6 have been doing a fantastic job staying active this week despite the miserable weather. When outdoor time has been limited, pupils have kept moving by taking part in GoNoodle activities and fun dance sessions in the classroom, keeping both bodies and minds refreshed. Pupils also enjoyed completing the Daily Mile, showing great resilience and commitment to their health and wellbeing. Well done, Year 6, for such a positive and active attitude!

Year 6 dancing

Year 6 running in the playground

English

In English this week, year 6 have been busy writing a balanced argument about deforestation. Over the past three weeks, they have worked incredibly hard researching the topic, learning key facts, and exploring the features of this type of writing. The children have also been practising how to use more formal language and took part in a lively debate, which helped them confidently share and explain their own opinions. They really enjoyed the learning process and were fascinated by what they discovered, gaining a deeper understanding of an important issue that affects our world.

Year 6 handwriting

Science

This week in science, we have been learning about how living things are classified into groups. The children explored the main classification groups, including vertebrates, invertebrates, plants and microorganisms. They learned how vertebrates can be grouped according to features such as having a backbone, and how invertebrates are animals without a backbone. We also discussed what microorganisms are and how they differ from plants and animals. Through sorting activities and discussion, pupils developed their understanding of how scientists group living things based on shared characteristics.

Year 6 work on classifying plants