A ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ Summer Term!

What a ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ Summer Term Upper School has had! The summer sunshine has smiled down on us as we embarked on all the exciting adventures that only the final term at Copthill can bring.

As the final days of this academic year draw to a close, we reflect on all of the incredible learning that has taken place throughout the year; consider just how much every single child has grown as a Copthill learner and, of course, celebrate our wonderful Year 6s and all they have achieved here and look forward to their exciting journeys ahead.

Year 5 have been travelling through multiple historical eras this term, starting with life in Ancient Egypt, learning about the key uses of the Nile, all about the great pyramids of Giza and having a go at the mummification process themselves (luckily on apples rather than taking out any human brains with those nose hooks!).

They then experienced a fantastic Tudor day out at Burghley house, exploring the amazing stately home with guided tours, learning about Tudor cooking and feasting and understanding how the grounds of Burghley were enjoyed by the many VIP guests who have attended throughout the centuries.

Finally, they journeyed through the Victorian era, experiencing life in a Victorian classroom (including the dunce’s hat and strict school rules!) learning about the Great Exhibition and discovering more about the industrial revolution and expansion of the railways.

In English, they have been taking on their own ‘Alex Rider’ style spy personas, writing their own spy missions and designing clever gadgets of their own. They have also applied their STEM skills in both science and computing, creating their own stop motion movie shorts using lego, play-doh and plasticine and learning about electrical circuits in science.

Learning languages is always at its best when the children are immersed in real-life situations in practical ways. This year, all of the upper school classes have been learning French and Spanish with lots of practical conversational opportunities, including role play cafes and even performing their own French plays ‘Les Quatre Amis’.

In Spanish, Year 6 have been describing their own daily routines and Year 5 also translated their own Spanish recipes to make their own Salsa and then had the chance to taste and eat it with tortilla chips. ¡Me gusta mucho!

Year 6 have had an incredibly busy, but wonderful, final term at Copthill. On top of their transition days and experiences in their new schools, they also started the term with their French residential, which was truly a triumph! Never have so many people commented on just how impeccably mannered our Y6 children were and how well they represented Copthill. We are very proud of them.

They immersed themselves in French culture at the markets and cafes and reflected poignantly on their WW1 learning on their Somme tours and cemetery visits. The chateau and its grounds supplied a wonderful place for the children to relax and enjoy their summer, French evenings together making life-long memories.

On their return to school, they had their trench experience, working in the field hospital, cooking in the frontline kitchen and working to extend and fortify the Copthill trenches before experiencing ‘going over the top’. A really memorable experience and incredible learning opportunity.

This term, the year group has been studying their conservation topic, giving some exceptionally mature and reflective comments about climate change, plastics pollution and general ecological issues. They really are responsible citizens of the future. In English, they were split into groups to create their own ‘eco-bottle’ design in an apprentice-style team challenge. Mr Willson, Mrs Cross and I were blown away by the imagination, creativity and detail in the pitches and ideas that the teams presented. There can be no doubt that there are some future marketing careers and inventors in the making!

Of course, a huge part of their term has been focussed on their incredible ‘Mary Poppins’ production. The entire year group has worked outstandingly hard for weeks, learning lines and songs, auditioning, creating props, sets and rehearsing to create the most magical performances. We could not be prouder; it really was practically perfect in every single way!

We will never forget YOU, Year 6. Be like those kites and fly high.

“Go and chase your dreams; you won’t forget it. Anything can happen if you let it.”

We cannot wait to hear about all your new adventures and look forward to welcoming Year 5 into Year 6 in September. We know they will take on the responsibility of leading the new Year 5s well.

Thank you for all of your support throughout the year and we hope that you all have a wonderful summer with lots of relaxation, special family moments, sunshine and smiles.

Mrs I Hesford

UPPER SCHOOL LEAD