Middle School

Year 3

From the start of the year, it was clear that this was a class of very happy and enthusiastic learners - a theme that has continued throughout the year. Whatever the weather, and whatever challenges came their way, this Year 3 cohort have smiled their way through each day. We have loved getting to know them and see them grow.

The Autumn Term began with a fantastic day of team-building fun and activities in the outdoor classroom. We travelled to the Senior School on a glorious late summer morning, to have our whole school photo taken to celebrate 300 years of Churcher’s and our year has had a celebratory theme running through it ever since. This first term was filled with so many highlights, including a tour at Butser Ancient Farm to learn about the Romans, our history topic for this term, and learning about forces and magnets in science, developing real strength in all our investigations. The children loved learning to swim at the Senior School, and couldn’t have been more excited to return in the new year for their gala. Term concluded with two brilliant assemblies: the theme for 3P was advent, and on the final day, there was a Christmas bonanza by 3G, with parents watching and the school joining in the merriment from their classrooms, carols reverberating down the corridors!

In Spring, a trip to see a full orchestra at G Live in Guildford saw much awe and wonder on the children’s faces, as many experienced live music for the first time. The children showed huge interest in our Stone Age topic in history, fully embracing the era during our Camp Fire Day. Mr. Forbes helped us start the fire, we weaved and modelled clay pots, and role-played hunting for food typical of these hunter gatherers. With restrictions lifting, we were finally able to enjoy meeting schools on the rugby and hockey pitches in team matches. Earth Song came to visit for an amazing Chinese New Year workshop - the lion dance was so impressive, and the drums were very loud! Assemblies completed another active term, along with International Women and Mother’s Day for 3P, and poetry for 3G.

At the start of the Summer Term, we began learning about mountains, culminating in a fantastic project to create some impressive models and collages. We enjoyed experiments and demonstrations to see how mountains were formed, and were completely focused when creating our own mountains out of kindly donated recycling. Every child was so proud of their models.

Artful flowers, fruits, and seeds in science, brought creations of beautiful watercolour studies of flowers, as we all learnt about the production of fruits and seeds. This moved neatly to understanding our own changes as part of our PSHE unit on ‘Changing Me.’ The children also loved learning about light and shadow in science this term, even working in the dark at times to investigate some theories.

A trip to the Sustainability Centre enhanced the children’s understanding of the natural world around them, and how to help sustain it, as well as making sensory art pieces. Adventure day at Barfield pushed the children out of their comfort zones, as they scaled new heights and tried new challenges. And finally, our special assembly, ‘UNITY’, well, what can we say! Whilst watching the children sing and dance and perform, it became very apparent to any member of staff who has had the pleasure of being around them, that they had come a long way since September 2021. What a confident and dazzling performance by every single Year 3 child, showing us they are very ready for Year 4!

Year 4

September seems a long time ago, and gosh, how Year 4 have grown up and matured since then! There were certainly a few nervous smiles coming into school in those early autumn mornings, as we were very pleased to welcome back existing pupils and say hello to a few new faces in Year 4. We all love the grown-up classrooms upstairs, and were extremely pleased to see our pupils back in class with no restrictions or covid rules - freedom at last! Nerves didn’t last long and soon it felt as if we hadn’t been away, the summer holiday but a distant memory. Our first trip was linked to our Geography topic on the rainforest, and this was really brought alive for us at the Living Rainforest experience, near Reading. The chance to experience rare and exotic animals was not to be missed and the children especially enjoyed seeing toucans, turtles, and the Madagascan hissing cockroach, which was quite a sight to behold!

We also focused on getting to know each other again after holidays and lockdowns. The children used their PSHE lessons to think about kindness, as well as their hopes and dreams for the future. Christmas comes around so quickly and is always a chance to have as much fun as possible. Year 4 loved their Christmas jumpers and enjoyed wearing them for our final day of term!

Spring Term brought its own delights, and the cold weather and dreary lunchtimes never stopped Year 4 getting out in the fresh air! A highlight was the bonfire afternoon run by Mr Forbes - a chance to learn about fire safety, play campfire games, and do some outdoor art. In Geography, we learnt about volcanoes and made our own explosions on the last day of term, using vinegar, bicarbonate, and washing up liquid. What fun!

Summer Term at last provided a chance to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. The first half was dominated with rehearsals for our fabulous show: 1722 The Musical Junior - a spectacular celebration of 300 years of Churcher’s College; singing, dancing, acting, and a very important message – Work Hard and Be Kind. This was followed by the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, where the children enjoyed a fabulous afternoon with their families and ate their own body weight in cake!

The highlight of the year was undoubtedly our Bushcraft trip to Meon Springs. As well as fabulous food and great activities, we had the joy of a sleepless night under the stars. Year 4 decided they had had enough sleep by the 4.15am sunrise, and got up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to start a new day, much to the teaching staff’s delight!

What a fabulous Year 4 this year has been. Working together and working hard has been their mantra, and it has paid off with great progress and a superb cohort of young people. Well done to everybody involved.