Rebuild and History of Regent Farm
As you will have seen in the past couple of weeks, work has definitely now started on the rebuild and despite the rain the team are making progress. I would like to take this opportunity to answer a few questions we've had recently about the building work.
- Although some trees and shrubs are being removed to make space for the new school, over 120 new trees will be planted onto the school site. We will also be planting hedges along the front of the school and incorporating flowerbeds throughout the site.
- The building is designed to be environmentally friendly and we will have no gas on site. The heating will be through air source heat pumps and the roof will be covered in solar panels.
- The new school will have group rooms, libraries, practical rooms and three halls.
- A new playground and fenced sports area will be included in the landscaping.
- The builders are going to do some assemblies with the children about safety near building sites and will do some class workshops during our Gizmos and Gadgets topic after Easter.
We have also been working with Bowmer and Kirkland to explore different ways we can celebrate this important milestone for Regent Farm. As part of this, we are beginning to gather documents about the history of the school. We have already uncovered many old photographs and the original architectural plans, but we would really appreciate any stories, memories, or additional photographs from the school’s past since it opened in 1960. If any members of your family previously attended Regent Farm and have memories or pictures they are happy to share, we would love to include them in our display. Please email anything you would like to contribute to: admin@regentfarm.newcastle.sch.uk
Mental Health Week
When we return to school following our half term holiday (week beginning 23rd February) we will be holding our Rainbow Regulation Week and thinking about how we can look after our own mental health. Across school, we use the Zones of Regulation to help children understand their emotions and how we might feel or react to different situations. Each day this week we will focus on a different zone and we would love the children to wear different colours each day. Please do not go out and buy anything new, just a splash of some colour is perfect. * Monday - Blue * Tuesday - Green * Wednesday - Yellow * Thursday - Red * Friday - Multicolours This year we will welcome an author to school on Monday to launch our week who will be writing some poetry with the children. Each day the children will complete some activities linked to their wellbeing and we will finish the week with a special music concert from Rock Kidz on Tour who help raise the profile of wellbeing through music.
We will send out some resources during the week but also have lots on our school website, please follow the link below to access this or contact Mrs Doonan for more information.
Rock Steady
Please give a huge round of applause for our incredible new rock bands taking the stage this term! Our Rocksteady programme has exploded into action, and we’re thrilled to announce that we now have nine bands across the school, from Reception all the way up to Year 4. Each band have thought of a fabulous name, for example we have: The Nine Lines, The Rocksteady Breakdown and The Firing Phoenix. Each group has hit the ground running, learning crowd‑pleasers like George Ezra’s Shotgun, the iconic Seven Nation Army, and even Golden by K‑Pop Demon Hunters. Every band features a full line‑up of guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, and, of course, our superstar singers. Our amazing band leaders, Alan and Rhian, have been blown away by the children’s enthusiasm and progress already! Parents of the band are invited to join us for special gigs on Monday 30th or Tuesday 31st March. You will be able to find details of this on your child's portal. There are still a few spaces left to join a band. If you would like more information, please contact rocksteady. The website details are https://www.rocksteadymusicschool.com/ ROCK ON, Rocksteady crew!
Nursery Applications
The applications for September 2026 places to our Nursery are now open. Please call in to the school office for an application pack, or send an email to admin@regentfarm.newcastle.sch.uk. Please return the form directly to school, not to the Local Authority, by Friday 27th March.
We are very proud of our happy, busy and loving Nursery: we believe it helps to create the very best start to school life for your child and is the foundations for a successful education. We would be delighted to show prospective parents around nursery, please just contact the office to organise a convenient time. There is also lots more information about the on the Nursery page in the Year Groups section of the website.
Curriculum Information
Our whole school topic this half term is 'Time Travellers' and the classes have responded very well to their new lessons. The children have been learning about lots of aspects of the past from dinosaurs and the Stone Age through to space travel. Every class has been making the staff proud with their curiosity and questioning skills. We've also been developing the children's use of historical sources to find evidence and gather new information. The musician of the half term is Lin Manuel Miranda and the children have been enjoying some of the Disney songs he has written; We Don't Talk About Bruno is a favourite!
Early Years
Nursery have made such an amazing start to 2026, beginning their learning on the topic of Fire and Ice. They began by learning all about Winter and thought about what signs of winter they could see in our school environment and were delighted when we even had a little snow! They had lots of fun building snowmen, cracking ice and even sliding like penguins. They then embarked on a mission to find a Woolly Mammoth. The children learnt words such as enormous and gigantic, and even found their own giant creature. To consolidate their learning they looked at the book Elmer in the Snow and thought about ways to keep warm whilst having fun in the snow. They are now moving onto the world of Fire, with the new story Zog. They will also be going to dragon school where they will learn to fly, breath fire and roar like a dragon!
The Dinosaurs have landed in Reception! They began the term with an exploration into the different dinosaurs and the children created fantastic fact books containing knowledge about what the dinosaurs ate, how long they lived and another interesting fact: did you know that a Stegosaurs' brain is the same size as a ping pong ball? Their trip to the Great North Museum this week allowed the children to dive deeper into the dinosaur world. They explored prehistoric fossils, completed a workshop involving a t-rex skeleton and were paleontologists in discovering new fossils. Inspired by their trip to the Museum, the children have created and opened their own classroom museums, filled with facts and artefacts as well as a gift shop.
Key Stage 1
The children in Year 1 have been diving into the wonders of space travel through their topic, “Can we touch the moon?” They have explored the achievements of three famous astronauts — Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Tim Peake — and learned about the animals who travelled to space before humans. The story of Laika the dog especially captured their hearts. They have also been discovering the incredible work that happens behind the scenes at NASA, with a special focus on mathematician Katherine Johnson, whose calculations were vital to several missions, including Apollo 11. In science, the children have been learning the order of the planets and taking on the role of rocket engineers, investigating whether a big rocket or a small rocket might reach the moon first. Alongside this, they have begun their D.T. topic for the half term, developing new skills as they work towards building their very own wooden rockets.
In Year 2, they have travelled back in time to 1666 to learn all about The Great Fire of London. They have been showing curiosity skills in history, asking amazing questions about life in London 360 years ago. They have developed their historical enquiry skills using a variety of historical sources. The have learnt about what life was like in the 1600s and how different things were compared to today. They used some fabulous texts and videos about the Great Fire to develop their writing skills and also learnt how to make bread just like Thomas Farriner from Pudding Lane whose bakery was the starting point of the Fire. They have been using all their new found knowledge about the fire in 'dramatic' fashion, preparing for the Great Fire of London play to round off a blazing term.
Key Stage 2
This half term, Year 3 have travelled back in time to the exciting world of the Tudors! In English, the children loved reading The Queen's Token. They produced fantastic character profiles based on the main characters Hal and Henry VIII, showcasing both creativity and excellent descriptive writing skills. In History, the children were fascinated by the life and many wives of Henry VIII. Their trip to Newcastle Castle and Bessie Surtees House helped them imagine what life was like for Tudor families. They explored the castle prison and learned about Tudor punishments, as well as the many servants who worked for the King and Queen, including knights, jesters, cooks, bakers, blacksmiths, and even a Gong Farmer! The children also discovered the huge differences between food eaten by the rich and the poor. They prepared food for a royal feast, acted out a Tudor banquet, and were surprised to learn that the King even had a food taster to check for poison! In Computing, Year 3 have been coding superstars! Using the LEGO® coding app, they worked brilliantly in teams to follow instructions and build a range of carnival‑themed games.
Year 4 have had a fantastic start to 2026! Recently the children have attended 2 weeks of daily swimming lessons at the Gosforth pool. We were so proud of how they approached this with determination and enthusiasm. All the children made fantastic progress and lots of them overcame their worries about swimming. Well done Year 4! They have also been learning about the Egyptians in History. They have learnt about how Ancient Egypt developed, the Pyramids and the process of mummification - everyone agrees it sounded very gruesome! In Science the children have been learning about electricity and have shown curiosity and teamwork in building circuits and working with conductors and insulators; they even made a human circuit using an energy stick!
Dates for Half Term
- Week beginning 2nd February Outnumbered Maths Week All Children in school will take part in a variety of maths challenges, puzzles and investigations. We welcome a company called The Happy Puzzle Company who will be doing some fun challenges with the children. We also look forward to parents joining us for our maths sessions (see additional letter with timings for each year group.)
- Tuesday 10th February Year 1 Visit to Centre for Life
- Wednesday 11th February 9:00am Year 2 Great Fire of London Play for Parents This performance is for the children in Miss Bartram’s Class (two adults per child).
- Thursday 12th February 9:00am Year 2 Great Fire of London Play for Parents This performance is for the children in Mr Hudson’s Class (two adults per child).
- Thursday 12th February Mid-Year Progress Reports sent home for all children
- Friday 13th February Reception Alligator Ball Please bring in some party clothes in a named bag for our alligator ball in the afternoon!
Week commencing 16th February - Half Term
School Re-opens Monday 23rd February Week beginning 23rd February - Rainbow Regulation Week Monday – Wear Blue Tuesday – Wear Green Wednesday – Wear Yellow Thursday – Wear Red Friday – Wear Rainbow Colours