Friars Weekly Newsletter friday 23rd January 2026

Coming up in this edition of the newsletter...

• Bikeability
• Sports Action...
• A reminder about the SECAT admissions consultation
• A reminder about the Year 6 cake sale - Thursday next week!

Some weeks can be a little quieter than others… some weeks are rather full-on! Lots has been happening at Friars this week including Bikeability for Years 4 and 6, Sportshall Athletics for selected children from Years 5 and 6, as well as another Year 3 and 4 football tournament! Each academic year, we arrange for the Bikeability team to come into school to work with our children. We believe this is really important in supporting our young people in being safe out on the roads. From Monday to Thursday, the Year 6 children had the opportunity to develop their bike confidence and improve their understanding of riding their bike safely. The children did extremely well and the facilitators were impressed. Today it was Year 4’s turn and each class had a session on the playground. Hopefully lots has been learnt that can be put into good real-life practice. Sportshall Athletics was fantastic on Wednesday afternoon. It is always such a great event with lots of energy and excitement. I was able to support the team alongside Mr. Leggett and a full write-up will follow in next week’s PE and Sport section of the newsletter. On Friday last week, a group of Y3/4 footballers did especially well at Len Forge and finished runners-up in that competition. This meant that they were invited back for today’s competition. I heard that the team made a positive start but the tournament was still in full flow at the time of me writing this. The full story will also be told in next week’s newsletter. Have a lovely weekend. Mr. Chris McClay, Principal

SECAT Consultation

Please don't forget the SECAT admissions consultation remains open until Thursday next week. If you feel strongly about SECAT's admissions proposals please do submit a response to them. Please see previous emails from Mr. McClay about the consultation for more information.

Year 6 will be holding a cake sale on Thursday 29th January

We would appreciate any donations from Wednesday 28th January. Cakes are to be brought up to Year 6 middle base. If you’re sending in homemade cakes in tins or containers please label them clearly so that they can be returned. Please be aware we are a nut free school. It will be helpful, if your children wish to purchase cakes, for them to have change. Cakes will be available throughout the day. Prices will be 20p-50p per cake.    

Uniform - September 2026

From September 2026, we will be asking the children to only wear purple short-sleeved polo shirts and not white. The vast majority of children in the school do wear purple already. It continues to be fine to wear white across the spring and summer terms this academic year. Thank you.

Nursery

In Nursery this week we continue to settle our new children and help them learn our rules and routines within our busy and fun learning environment. It has been a very wet week, but it hasn’t stopped our learning outdoors. We set up a fantastic vets practice this week where children have discussed and role played caring for different animal along with taking on roles within a surgery. We had appointment making over the phone, writing prescriptions and receipts and the role of the vet themselves. It was great!

Reception

It has been a super week, full of fun and learning! In maths, there have been opportunities to compare the weight of different items, using the words heavier and lighter. As well as exploring capacity using a range of different sized containers. In our garden, we created large balance beams so that the children could stand on them and weigh items using conkers and stones. We investigated how changing the pivot point affected the outcome. During our phonics sessions, the children were introduced to the digraphs ur, ow, oi and ear. Our new tricky words this week were my, by and all. Throughout the week, the children also enjoyed creating collages of Antarctica. They carefully observed the trees in our garden and used these observations to create effective and detailed pictures.

Year 1

It was lovely to be able to get out into the fresh air this week to take part in our PE games lesson. The children have been working hard on their throwing and catching skills and enjoyed practising with their friends.  In science, we have been learning about the seasons. We found out that in the autumn some animals get ready to hibernate for the winter. We have crafted little hibernation nests using paper plates and practised our scissor skills by cutting out leaves. They look fantastic.  In maths, we have been comparing and ordering numbers, sometimes from greatest to smallest and others from smallest to greatest.  In English, we have been working hard to write complete sentences using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. We encouraged the children to read their work after to check it made sense. We have written about a jungle scene and our Claude story this week. Great work Year 1!

REMINDER: From next week, we will be collecting in the children’s reading folders every TUESDAY and returning them, with their new book, on a Wednesday. Please can you check your child’s water bottle and clothing has their name on it.

Letters sent home this week

• Year 1 - Books for Breakfast - 20.01.2026

Year 2

Wow! There have been some fabulous pieces of descriptive writing in Year 2 English lessons this week. The children have described travelling through a tunnel, imagining the sights, sounds and feelings of a character within our story text –'The Tunnel' by Anthony Browne. They also described their own imaginative settings which they thought they might find at the end of a magical tunnel.  Maths lessons have challenged the children to find totals and change using various shopping activities using money. The children used addition and subtraction strategies to solve problems.  In history, the children were awe struck when watching the film of the first every flight by the Wright brothers in 1903. Working with a partner, they researched facts about these great inventors and recorded their findings clearly.   REMINDER: Using TT Rockstars, the children are working hard to learn the 10x, 2x and 5x tables. Some of our little stars are ready to move onto their 3x table as they have ‘turned green’ on their heat map. Your child will be able to show you the facts they need to learn next. 

Year 3

In English, the children have started writing non-chronological reports about volcanoes. They have been learning how to organise information using headings, facts, and technical vocabulary. The children are very enthusiastic and have already shown great curiosity about how volcanoes form and erupt. In maths, we have begun a new topic on length and perimeter. The children have been measuring objects using standard units and are starting to calculate perimeter by adding the lengths of sides. They have shown good focus and enthusiasm when tackling practical measuring activities. We have also enjoyed time learning outside the classroom. 3SM had a fantastic time during outdoor learning, exploring and working together in the fresh air. 3SP are very excited and looking forward to their outdoor learning session next week!

REMINDER: 3SP is outdoor learning in the week commencing 26.01.26

Year 4

What a busy and exciting week Year 4 have had! The children have approached their learning with enthusiasm and demonstrated a fantastic attitude throughout the week. In English, the children planned and wrote diary entries about our visit to the Imperial War Museum and continued reading our new layered reading text, Kensuke’s Kingdom. In maths, we further developed our division skills and explored correspondence problems, with the children showing great confidence and resilience. In science, the children investigated habitats within the school grounds, making careful observations and recording their findings. During PSHE lessons, we discussed advertising and the media, considering what might influence us to purchase items online. In history, the children learned about how the Second World War began and sequenced early events on a timeline. In RE, we explored how rites of passage are marked in different religions. PE lessons focused on dodgeball, with an emphasis on effective dodging techniques, while in music the children began learning to play a supporting melody in a song using glockenspiels. In French, the children continued learning about festivals and dates. The children also thoroughly enjoyed taking part in Bikeability on Friday. Well done to all of Year 4 for their hard work and enthusiasm this week!

Year 5

This week, we started off by sharing the script we will be using for the Year 5 class assembly on Friday 13th February. We are practising some really catchy tunes to sing!   In maths, we have just finished out topic of multiplication and division and will be moving onto our second lot fractions next week.   During English, we have spent time looking at casual conjunctions and how they can be used to make our writing more interesting. This will move into learning of explanation texts on Climate Change next week.   We are really loving our ukulele lessons with Miss Kent on Tuesday and are starting to get to grips with playing various cords along to music.   Science we observed changes and discussed whether they would be reversible and irreversible changes. Alongside observing the changes, we recorded results.

REMINDER: The songs we are using can be found on Youtube: Climate change Makaton   Walk Like an Egyptian - ukulele play along

Year 6

The children in Year 6 have had the opportunity to participate in Bikeability this week. The majority of children took part and were successful in achieving the Level 2 cycling proficiency award. For the rest of the week, all children have worked in pairs or small groups to design, construct and play their own electronic board games. This has been the culmination of their DT project and they have combined previously learnt knowledge about electrical circuits to make their games work. The children were very creative, lights and buzzers were added into the circuits. 

Computing

This week in computing, students commenced each lesson by conducting their pupil voice survey before progressing to their respective computing topics. Years 4, 5, and 6 engaged in activities within the computing suite. Year 4 initiated the week by exploring FMS Logo, where they developed a set of algorithms—defined as a sequence of instructions in the correct order—to inscribe the initials of their names. Subsequently, they employed these algorithms to issue logo commands for drawing the letters, diligently debugging their code to rectify any errors encountered. Year 6 participated in Bikeability this week, resulting in a considerably abbreviated computing lesson. However, there is no cause for concern, as we will resume our computing learning next week, continuing with Scratch to design a functional game incorporating variables. On Wednesday, the year groups further investigated the Crumble controllers, beginning with the construction of a working circuit featuring an LED light. Following this, they were tasked with integrating a motor into the Crumble controller, designing sequences of actions that utilised repetition through count-controlled loops in their programming. Notably, some groups advanced their projects by incorporating an additional Sparkle into their circuits, programming them to operate in various innovative ways. Computing club was extremely busy on Thursday, children really enjoy heading into the computer suite to spend time working their computing skills. Some individuals continue to develop their understanding of current topics, some work on topics covered previously and others come to have the chance to work on TTRockstars or explore some of the other computing programs available. Lots of fun was had across Key Stage 2. 

Sports & PE

Well done to the Year 3 and 4 boys football team for their performance last week at Len Forge. The players were incredible and really worked together as a team. The results spoke for themselves with 8 wins, 5 draws and only 2 defeats. We joked that Mr. McClay didn't help though. He arrived at the end to collect the team in the minibus. Just in time for the final game... and that was one of the games the boys lost! The collective results meant that the team came second overall and this earned them an invite to the today's competition. A report about today's tournament will feature next week.   Another well done to our Year 5 and 6 Sportshall Athletics team. They represented us at Garon Park this week and displayed some fantastic performances. It was a great afternoon and was enjoyed by all the children. More information next week too.

Online Safety

Roblox is hugely popular with children, offering millions of user-created games and social experiences. This #WakeUpWednesday guide explains how the platform differs from traditional video games, and why its scale, self-rating system and automated moderation can expose young users to inappropriate content or unsafe interactions. Aimed at parents and educators, the guide explores concerns including online communication, in-game spending and compulsive play. It also shares practical advice on parental controls, limiting chat and encouraging open conversations, helping adults support children to enjoy Roblox more safely and responsibly.