Year 6 went deep into the forest in Oxfordshire for their Bushcraft trip. What fun they had! From sleeping under shelters they had made themselves, making pizzas in a real wood-fired oven, to camouflaging themselves for a cut-throat game of Predator, the children took advantage of all the activities that were on offer to them.

We were incredibly lucky with the weather and only had to brave a couple of downpours and the occasional muddy track! The pupils were an absolute delight and we thank the instructors at Bushcraft and the teachers who braved the elements as well.

Our children swarmed excitedly through the doors in a fabulous array of costumes and immersed themselves in all things book related. We had the pleasure of welcoming the renowned author Ali Sparkes who ran excellent and inspiring sessions for the Junior House.  Our older pupils were also treated to highly engaging sessions in the marquee from Gareth P Jones, whose detective books are as famous as his musical antics on a huge number of stringed instruments! Meanwhile, our younger pupils enjoyed ‘The Enormous Crocodile’, ‘Pinocchio’ and ‘Tiddler’ being brought to life in workshops delivered by the West End in Schools and a visit from an excellent and most convincing Alien, otherwise known as Mrs Tabor; not to mention book scavenger hunts and paper sculpture opportunities! The costume parade was a sight to behold - an absolute riot of fun and colour prevailed; the children undoubtedly had a fabulous and truly memorable day.

A huge thank you to Mrs Spicer and Ms Latif for masterminding this wonderful day, to Mrs Tabor the amazing Alien, to Miss Schafer for her wonderful artwork and designs around the school and to the children and all the staff for engaging so enthusiastically to make the day such a success.  Individual classes have said the following:

Mobai KGB: “I liked seeing everyone’s costumes. They were all fantastic”!

Aryeta KGG: “I loved being a fish in the Tiddler dance.”

Anna Yr 2: “I liked waiting in the stalls for the music to start and then we snuck onto the stage!”

Mia Yr 2: “I’m going to read ‘Dragon Detective’ by the author Gareth P. Jones because we met him today in the playground.”

Amaan Yr 3: “I liked the idiom competition. It was fun trying to guess who the teachers were, and their costumes were funny.”

Rose Yr 3: “My favourite part was when Mrs Austin gave us ‘money’. She must be ‘made of money’.”

Remembering the sacrifices made by so many for the future of others is very important to our school community. Today, Year 6 held their very own virtual Remembrance Service which we shared with the whole school community. They recited war poetry which they wrote after studying John McCrae’s well-known poem ‘In Flander’s Fields’. The children noted the human tragedy, and most importantly, the burning desire not to forget. Even more poignant this year was their own recording of their speeches in front of war memorials and silent places across London. They sang heart wrenching hymns including Jerusalem, Make me a Channel of your Peace and Abide with Me; the emotion with which they sang and narrated, brought a tear to many an eye. Every class in the school made wreaths which the children laid in our Upton courtyard garden and which were subsequently displayed at the front of school for all to see. We are so impressed with our Year 6 pupils who put their hearts and souls into this service; they should feel very proud. A two minute silence was observed by all in school at 11am.