ST PAUL'S YEAR 6Welcome to year 6

Our first exciting Humanities topic for September is “Could you survive?” In it we will be looking at extremes in nature, including desert climate regions, as well as floods, earthquakes and volcanoes. The topic is a mix of geographical knowledge and skills, sprinkled with some major historical events. To tie things together, we will be reading a novel called “Floodland” by Marcus Sedgwick. In the second half of this term we switch to History and learn about our system of government in out topic entitled “Can you have a balance of power?” Our English reading text compliments the Humanities topic with a cracking book by Anthony Horowitz called “The Switch.” Our Science this term is part 2 of the “Living Things and Their Habitats” topic, which looks at classifying plants and animals and the work of the scientist Carl Linnaeus. We will then move on to learn about Electricity and how we can vary its effects in circuits. During the Autumn term, we will be continuing with a broad curriculum by covering PHSE, French, Art, DT, Music, RE, PE and Computing, either within our topic or as stand-alone lessons. 

We begin the New Year by considering the challenges facing the planet in our humanities’ topic entitled “Is the earth fractured or flourishing?” We will focus on the geography skills of locating places on the globe and looking at the human activity, which is problematic to our threatened world. In the second half of the term we will make a start on our humanities’ topic, learning about the ancient civilisation of the Maya. In science we will be learning about how living things adapt and change over time in our Evolution and Inheritance unit. We will learn about the famous scientist Charles Darwin along with other leading figures who developed the theory of evolution. Throughout the Spring term, we will be continuing with a broad curriculum by covering PHSE, French, Art, DT, Music, RE, PE and Computing, either within our topic or as stand-alone lessons. 

Yes, we will have to negotiate those dreaded SATs, but we hope the children will come to see them as a challenge to rise to. Both of us have had many successful years of experience in guiding children through what can be a daunting time, however the key is to remain positive and determined …and, most importantly to keep a smile your face! The best way of taking away any worries about the tests is practice. We will have regular practices, so that by the time the children reach May, there will be no mysteries and they will be well used to all the procedures and the style and content of the papers. This, we have found, is the best way to help your child feel relaxed and confident, and to enable them to perform at their best. 

We are really looking forward to a wonderful and successful Year 6 and hope you and your children are feeling just as excited as we are to get cracking. 

Once the Statutory Tests have been completed, we will continue with our Maya history and geography topic. In science we will learn about light and how we see things. Also, we will covering animal reproduction (including humans) and investigating ways to keep ourselves healthy and discuss diet, smoking, alcohol and other drugs. Our broad curriculum covering PHSE (Relationships and Sex Education), French, Art, DT, Music, RE, PE and Computing will continue. The children will spend several session looking specifically at their transition to Secondary School. They will have the chance to ask questions and think about the new challenges they will be facing – making new friends; negotiating changing classes; timetables and different teachers; any worries they make have. We will also enjoy a sports day towards the end of the term and complete the year with a celebration event. 

As a Year 6 team, we want your child to have a successful, fun and memorable final year at St Paul’s.