Another exciting week of exploring and learning saw Year 6 enjoying a fascinating trip to Down House, discovering more about the life and work of Charles Darwin. Back on site, the Astro has been buzzing with energy, skill and teamwork as our pupils took part in some excellent hockey fixtures. We can't wait for next Tuesday's swimming gala at home! It is always so rewarding to see our pupils learning both in and beyond the classroom, embracing every opportunity with enthusiasm.
Assembly
Charlotte and Sasha inspired everyone this morning in an Assembly, showcasing their talent and passion for dance. In the summer they travelled to France with their dance troupe, Footsteps, to perform in Disneyland Paris. They were also lucky enough to take part in the Parade whilst there, dancing in front of a crowd of thousands. What an experience! Thank you for sharing it with us, girls. We are very proud of you.
Forest Fun Day 2025
A big thank you to all our families who joined us for Forest Fun on Saturday – it was such a joy to see both current and new families come together to enjoy and explore our beautiful forest. It really was a wonderful way to start the term. Mrs Hall
What happened in School this week?
Early Years Bear Hunt Friday 17th October
We’re going on a Bear Hunt on the last day of term and we are inviting all our Early Years and Reception families to join in the search! Mrs Cole
Starting at 9:30am the children will explore the school grounds on a bear-spotting adventure. Registration is 8:30am as usual and children who don’t usually attend on Fridays are welcome to join in search of the big search of the KC Bear!
Forest Explorers - Caterpillars
This week we set off on an autumn walk around our school grounds, spotting the magic of the season all around us. The trees were bursting with colour – bright reds, golden yellows, glowing oranges and leafy greens. Back inside, we turned apples into paint stamps and had so much fun printing our very own autumn patterns. What a colourful way to celebrate the season!
Forest Explorers - Butterflies
We’ve been making the most of the glorious autumn sunshine this week and spending plenty of time down in the forest. The children collected conkers and acorns, which we used in class to support our counting and number work. Back outdoors, their creativity shone through as they carefully threaded their finds into beautiful autumn necklaces – a perfect mix of learning and fun!
Reception
In Reception this week the children have enjoyed the story Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. After reading the story we discussed our bodies and the different things that are under our skin. We also learnt a song about the different parts of our body such as our lungs which we need to breathe, our hearts which pump blood and our brain which help us to think. When we talked about our bones, the children thought it was very funny that we would be very floppy without them! The children have begun to draw and paint their self-portraits, looking carefully at the different features on their face.
Year 1
This week, Year 1 have had lots of fun with our friends in Year 6, learning how to log on to the computers (this is a bit tricky to begin with). We have been exploring technology around us and have discovered we all use lots of different things at home and at school. In maths we have continued our work on place value and have used lots of concrete materials to support our learning of one more, one less and counting backwards. This has included cubes, elephants and number lines.
Year 2
This week has been full of fun and learning in Year 2! In Topic we learnt about the Wright Brothers and the first ever flight of the aeroplane. We made paper aeroplanes and tested them out, thinking about what helps the plane to fly, then learnt more about the Wright Brothers. The children acted out the day of their first flight and performed to their classmates with some brilliant performances! The children also created wonderful artwork inspired by African animals, where they painted the coat pattern of their chosen animal then added the animal silhouette on top. We even managed to do some more habitat investigation in Science, this week exploring microhabitats and the different creatures that live there.
Year 3
In maths Year 3 are learning all about hundreds, tens and units. We had fun working with our friends using all different types of equipment to help us understand place value. We used place value flip books to create a three digit number and then we used base 10 and place value counters to show the numbers and how to partition them.
Year 4
4S have had a fantastic and productive week! In English, they’ve been mastering the art of sentence construction by using conjunctions to extend their ideas and experimenting with subordinating conjunctions to begin their sentences. They applied these skills brilliantly in a thoughtful letter of advice to Hogarth from The Iron Man. In Maths, the class continued their place value journey, confidently working with numbers up to 10,000. History lessons turned them into detectives as they investigated the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. Meanwhile, in Science, they explored the surprising amount of gas in fizzy drinks—discovering that the volume of gas can exceed the liquid itself! After such a busy and exciting week, it’s time for a well-earned weekend rest before diving into more learning on Monday
Year 5
The evenings 'drawing in' became a huge part of our science discussions this week as we studied the science behind day and night. The class went on to plot data on sunrise and sunset times to consolidate their understanding of the daylight hours changing throughout the year. In English, Year 5 discussed genres and decided our current text is science fiction. You can see them arranging the possible properties of this genre in a 'diamond ranking' diagram. They also revisited punctuating dialogue in preparation for using dialogue to convey information about a character. Fortunately, the sun shone when, after much safety training, the children cut 'green' wood and used potato peelers to make a useful resource for woodland activities.
Year 6
What a week! Year 6 have enjoyed working with numbers up to 10,000,000, outdoor learning, self portraits, swimming, hockey matches and so much more. However, the highlight of our week was our trip to Down House, the home of Charles Darwin. There we found out about his life, experiments, evolution and even saw the slide that he had made for his children - it looked lots of fun! We enjoyed some experiments of our own, a tour of the house and grounds and we want to say a big 'THANK YOU' to Christine and Mike for hosting our day there.
Sport News
Equestrian Success
Congratulations to Sienna-Rose, who made her debut representing Kent College last weekend in the NSEA Grass Roots Qualifier. She rode beautifully, producing a lovely clear round to secure a well-deserved top 10 finish. A fantastic achievement for her first outing — we are very proud of you, Sienna!
Gymnastics News
Margot, Harriet and Mabel kickstarted the new term with an impressive performance at the Regional Championships in Guildford, Mabel representing Weald Gymnastics and Harriet and Margot representing Kent College. They competed against strong opposition with over 90 individuals and 20 teams taking part. Margot and Harriet finished joint 5th on vault, with Harriet also securing 4th place on floor. Overall, Margot placed 14th and Harriet 20th – fantastic results at such a highly competitive level. Mabel finished an impressive 4th place overall, as well as 3rd place on Beam. Well done - your hard work and commitment to your sport certainly pays off.
Young Voices 2026
I am thrilled to announce that all pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 will have the exciting opportunity to perform at the Young Voices concert at the O2 Arena on Wednesday 21st January 2026." Ms Rivett
This unforgettable event brings together thousands of children from across the UK in one incredible evening of music. Pupils will begin learning the songs during KS2 Choir at 8.15am on Wednesday mornings – and new members are warmly invited to join. Full details on travel and arrangements will follow once your child’s place is confirmed. Look out for the EVOLVE consent form.
Sponsored Walk – Friday 17th October
This 10km community event brings together students, staff, families, and even family dogs (with a suggested £10 donation to PDSA) for a day of fun, spirit, and fundraising. This year, funds will once again support our three chosen charities – Little Princess Trust, All We Can, and Hospice in the Weald, with a special focus on the vital work of Hospice in the Weald this term. Donations will count towards House totals, with points awarded to the House that raises the most. We will have a staggered start from 9:00am onwards after the children have been registered in their classrooms.
Have a wonderful weekend!
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