From the Deputy Head Academic

Lent 2022 has been a remarkable term for so many different reasons and the Head has picked out some of our fantastic academic highlights in his introduction to this newsletter. It has been an impressive term on this front and many congratulations to all your children who have achieved so well in entrance and scholarship exams to their next schools.

What has stood out to me has been the enormous team effort to maintain our excellent academic provision through the whole school, even when Covid absences tried their hardest to put as many spanners into the works. As part of our ongoing monitoring of the academics and engagement with professional dialogue, staff undertake learning walks. The following is small taste of the feedback from this and gives an insight into the wonderful world of learning here at Beechwood this term:

• A fantastic lesson, in which the children were fully engaged and transfixed by their science investigation.

• Great to see children making mathematical links between what they already knew and the task they had just completed. Even better was then seeing children confidently explain their new understanding to each other and how they made these links.

• Such an inspiring lesson on river meanders! I loved the use of technology and props to engage the pupils.

• Pupils were practising speeches for the Shakespeare competition. Highly motivated and fully engaged.

• Lots of discussion around the topic of probability - linked to their literacy and understanding. Lovely mutual respect evident.

• Very buzzy and great progress made through the lesson … All pupils showed increased understanding and were fully engaged.

• This was a lovely lesson, pupils were obviously very keen to contribute and read their work aloud to their peers. There was great use of subject specific language and pupils were working hard to understand new concepts such as similes. It was clear by the end of the lesson they were beginning to really understand these new concepts and be able to embed them into their writing. They gave excellent feedback to their peers and acted immediately upon verbal feedback they were given by their teacher. This ad verbatim feedback gives a glimpse of what has taken place each week through the term. Learning walks are a real highlight for me since the lessons I see are genuinely inspiring and I take my hat off to the teaching staff and your children who have done so well this term. Wishing everyone a thoroughly deserved rest this Easter holiday!

Mr Bullock Deputy Head - Academic