Trotts Hill Primary School and Nursery
Welcome to Year 6 and the final year at Trotts Hill Primary School! Mrs Cook and Mrs Shergill are the class teachers and Mrs Cornish is the teaching assistant.
Year 6 is an extremely important, yet exciting year, when your children will sit their SATs in May. To ensure the children are ready for these tests and are feeling confident, all the support and interest you take in your child’s education is extremely valuable. We ask parents to read and sign their child’s reading record each week and help their child with home learning tasks that are set.
We cover the core subjects of English, Maths, Science and Computing as well as a full range of topics where we encourage children to take an active approach towards their learning including:
Year 6 is a very important year and we have organised a range of activities which ensure children receive a broad curriculum which challenges them. Children participate in a ‘Robotics Day’ where they design and programme a robot. Children’s Design and Technology skills are developed through a K’Nex workshop where the children build a model based on strict design specifications. Finally the children’s fitness is tested through a residential at the end of year where they have the opportunity to conquer fears and achieve goals!
The expectations in Year 6 are very high, but year on year, children always rise to the challenge through well developed home-school partnerships and a determination to succeed.
As part of our DT topic this term, the children have been learning about kites. Today the children built a prototype of their kite to test out different materials and kite shapes to see which would fly the best. The children had great fun building and testing their prototypes.
Year 6 applied their learning of how to find the area, perimeter and volume of different shapes to a variety of problems. Year 6 recalled and applied their knowledge well.
Year 6 engaged in a number of World Book Day activities, including dressing up as a favourite characters from a book, writing a song promoting the love of reading (inspired by MC Grammar) and reading with parents.
Year 6 verbally retold the story of All Summer in a Day in preparation for rewriting the story next week.
Inspired by Rudyard Kipling's Just So tales, Year 6 created their own traditional tales, fictitiously explaining why animals have their unique characteristics. Year 6 wrote and published their stories, then researched the science behind the myth!
The children in Year 6 were given a wonderful opportunity to visit Sartorius Stedim in Royston, as part of a project called, ‘Challenging Children in Industry.’ The children participated in a range of activities such as exploring and using a Computer Aided Design (CAD), building and testing robots and the children then ran experiments to check their results and to see that the robots worked correctly. Through these activities, the children were exposed to different roles available within science and maths and many were inspired to pursue a role in their future careers.
Week commencing Monday 27th January 2025 LI: To discuss the Christian belief in eternal life and forgiveness
Today we had a Gemma from Bridge Builders Christian Trust come in and speak to the children about her belief in heaven and forgiveness and the impact it has on her daily life.
Year 6 used counter balance and counter tension to create a sequence in gymnastics.
Year 6 learn about Darwin's voyage to the Galapagos Islands where he discovered 15 species of finch. We then tested which tools (beaks) would collect the most food. We found a class average to evaluate our findings effectively.
Year 6 created poems inspired by the poem 'Silver', carefully selecting figurative language to suit purpose and audience. Year 6 also presented their poems confidently to their peers.
Week commencing Monday 16th December 2024 LI: To make a 3D decoration
Year 6 have been designing and making 3D decorations in DT. Pupils used a variety of techniques including appliqué, attaching sequins and using decorative stitches to decorate their decorations. They also joined fabrics using backstitch, running stitch, whip stitch and blanket stitch. Some of the students even crotched a hook, which they attached to their 3D winter decoration.
Week commencing Monday 9th December 2024 LI: To learn how to cope with different real life situations
Neil Dowler from Stevenage Neighbourhood team has worked with Year 6 for the past seven weeks, covering various subjects such as: bullying, road safety, anti-social behaviour, drugs and how to make positive decisions. The last session involved the children giving a presentation on what they have learned to the rest of the class.
Week commencing Monday 2nd December 2024 LI: To ask geographical questions about our local area
This term, Year 6 have been learning about their local area and came up with the question: ‘Does The Oval Shopping Centre need regenerating?’ On Wednesday, we visited the Oval and looked at the land-use and amenities on offer. The children then composed a survey to ask the views of people who live in the local area and collated the evidence to come to a conclusion.
Week commencing Monday 25th November 2024 LI: To research what a Christian might find most significant in Christmas celebrations
Year 6 welcomed Gemma from Bridge Builders Christian Trust to help answer their questions on the significance of Christmas to Christians.
Year 6 have been consolidating their understanding of co-ordinates, including how to translate shapes accurately.
Anti-bullying week: Year 6 have learnt to choose respect and have presented this learning in a number of ways eg. through presentations, role play and posters.
The children discussed the difference between religious and non-religious celebrations. They also shared celebrations that are special to their families or as part of their faith.
Inspired by a video called 'Broken' based on the characters of Rock, Paper and Scissors, Year 6 wrote a creative story, challenging themselves to use ambitious vocabulary and a variety of sentence lengths to engage the audience.
Week commencing Monday 14th October 2024 LI: To create a watercolour landscape
Year 6 concluded their art module on watercolours by creating our own landscapes based on the style of JMW Turner. They implemented the skills they had been practising in this unit of work to create their own masterpiece.
Year 6 explored two contrasting areas of the school grounds, identifying plants. Year 6 collected and represented this data in a bar chart then analysed this information to draw conclusions.
Year 6 debated the benefits and the drawbacks of using social media and then summarised their personal opinions. We highlighted strategies we could use to manage online risks in order to enjoy the benefits of online activity. We concluded by reflecting on the important qualities in a healthy relationship, online or offline.
Year 6 had a visit from Kate, who works at Stevenage Museum. She brought a variety of WWII artefacts for us to look at. We used our detective skills to work out what the items were, who they belonged to and what their purpose was. It was an interesting and informative morning.
Year 6 have been participating in outdoor, adventurous activities, which have enabled them to rehearse their communication, teamwork and problem solving skills.
Year 6 have been engaging with the text 'There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom', by Louis Sachar. We have been using the story to inspire different genres of writing. Our character descriptions were particularly effective.
Inspirational maths: Year 6 were inspired by the video 'Brains Grow and Change' and applied the idea that we can all do maths to our lesson. Teams of 3 worked together to create 2D and 3D shapes using a loop of string. It was great to hear mindsets shift from 'That's impossible' to 'I've got an idea we can try!'