Every day at Thornbury Primary School is full of new experiences and learning opportunities, from learning about lemons through to exploring how music is used to communicate.
Thornbury primary school year starts with a two week dive into a bigger topic, such as diversity. During those two weeks, children were involved in an activity with lemons revealing that all lemons look alike, but actually are slightly different.
Headteacher Claire Hardisty said:
“We are very proud of our rich curriculum which engages children in their learning, and builds on their knowledge and skills. At the same time, promoting mental health and wellbeing is also really important to pupils, staff and families, as is an understanding of the world the children live in.”
They were also involved in reading texts such as It’s OK To Be Different, discussing how to respect people’s differences, and how people can belong to many diverse groups and communities. This linked to art, with experimentation using different media and studying the work of Matisse and Picasso.
Thornbury primary school’s considered and deep approach led to it winning a national award for Pupil Mental Health and Wellbeing earlier this year.
This term children have been listening to classical music works by Pachelbel and the Norwegian composer, Grieg. Many of Thornbury’s children take music lessons in piano, keyboard, and guitar and love exploring the wider world of composers.
Meanwhile lots of children enjoy sport in and outside Thornbury primary school, from cheerleading to golf helping the school to achieve a Platinum Award for commitment to PE. The children also enjoy competing against other schools in festivals, including those run by the Connect Academy Trust, such as cross country or archery.
The whole school celebrated European Languages Day recently starting with a Language Assembly, and then a whole day of activities learning about different languages and European cultures and beyond, including looking at the rich diversity of languages among Thornbury primary school’s families and children.
Many of Year Five and Six pupils have taken part in a life-enriching residential in Brixham, stretching themselves with the high ropes course, or surfing and other water based activities.
Children at Thornbury primary school also get the opportunity to develop their leadership skills across the school. Older children are play leaders or buddies for playtimes, sports leaders, helping with sports activities and organising games at lunchtime, and Reading Buddies. Through learning the school’s innovative Ocean Curriculum, the children also are encouraged to develop a sense of the environment, and their role in the looking after the oceans for everyone’s future.
Claire Hardisty added:
“We are developing the citizens of the future, and we are very proud that our curriculum and grounds, our lessons, relationships, and every aspect of school life, enables our children to develop into confident, resilient and responsible young people.”
