Year 5 - A Victorian Assembly

All of the children dressed in Victorian clothes for our assembly - they really looked the part (and kind of cute!).  The lines were delivered as though they were seasonsed thespians, with Harry taking the centre stage as Robert Muschet with a superb accent.

The children wrote the separate scenes themselves, with a little help and direction from ourselves. They managed to cover: Literacy, maths, history, science, DT and art!  They were brilliant, learning their lines, working in groups and listening to each other.  Each group made sure that everyone had a part.

A pleasure to have worked with such lovely, considerate pupils.

The BIG Pit

Y5's super day out at the Pit.  Never thought we could say that!  

We went down the pit in a cage and had a great guide who had been a miner so was able to impart first hand knowledge. The mine experience was quite extraordinary. Having to bend over (and that is in a relatively modern mine) was back breaking. The need for hard hats became very evident for the adults!


We walked around the blacksmiths area, viewed the galleries experiencing what it was like down a mine a 100 years ago and explored the bath house and exhibition area.  The children were fantastic, reading all of the information on the displays and engaging with interactive hands on actvities. 

Lastly the shop, great excitement.  The children were very considerate in their gift buying and I know that some parents will be receiving interesting Christmas presents.

Year 3 - Dean Heritage Centre

As part of our Forest Capers topic, Year 3 visited The Dean Heritage Centre to help us understand how life in the Forest of Dean has changed over the years.


We visited Ma Meek in the Victorian cottage and had a go at  washing clothes the hard way using a wash board and dolly which was a big difference from the automatic washing machines we use today!

We also learnt all about how they use to make charcoal by building a stack and we had a go at making our own.

The galleries were very interesting and we looked at different artifacts from long ago. The mining artefacts were very interesting and we even had a go at pulling one of the carts that children years ago had to pull full of coal in the mines.

Friday Fun at Liddington

The children have had fun 'laying eggs', made the longest lines using clothes and organised their evening 'snacks' in their rooms - all the important stuff! But seriously, they have settled in well and enjoyed a lovely evening meal.  Keep an eye on the blog, we will try to update again tomorrow.

Cross Country

A stunning performance by Coalway children at Lakers in this afternoon's Cross Country race.  5 out of 6 boys came in the top 10 with the girls swiftly following their example by having 4 out of the 6 in the top 10!  Superb performances by everyone - WELL DONE!

Global Hand Washing Day

WOWWWW!  What a great start to the week!  The Y5 children took part in a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest simultaneous science lesson in the UK.  Over 400 schools took part.  The lesson had to start promptly at 10am and last for at least 30 mins.  Following the strict lesson plan meant that it was a 40 minute lesson.

The children had to predict how far an unrestricted sneeze could travel - this caused a few surprises.  They then investigated the effect of using just your hand to 'catch' the sneeze and how this could still cause problems transferring germs.  Lastly they had to use a piece of kitchen towel to replicate a handkerchief and discovered that all the 'germs' were contained within it (green food colouring added to water for some authenticity!)

'Catch it, bin it, kill it' or 'coughs and sneezes spread diseases' being extremely appropriate slogans.

The day ended with some workshops being available for parents to investigate for themselves the effects of not using a handkerchief, not washing hands properly and how simple soap and water is a good combatant in the fight against spreading illness and infections.

Many thanks to the Forest of Dean council for the use of their equipment, providing the witnesses, stewards and timekeepers to enable us to take part in this challenge and involve parents in the after school event.

Year 3 - Exploring the Forest

As part of our Forest Capers topic, Year 3 had great fun this morning exploring the local woodland. They spotted animal tracks, squirrels( which scarpered very quickly!) and lots of interesting plants and trees growing in the forest. This has helped them to understand more about their local environment.
They also went on a blackberry hunt, an important ingredient for the cakes that they will be making for their parents to eat when they visit tomorrow. We hope they enjoy them!
A big thank you to all our parent volunteers who joined us on the trip. We hope you enjoyed it too.