Year 3

What a fantastic start to the new school year! The children settled in brilliantly and threw themselves into some really exciting learning.

In English, they enjoyed diving into stories like The Wilderness and Leon and the Place Between, getting creative with their writing and really bringing the characters and settings to life. They enjoyed immersing themselves into the characters of the books and exploring their senses to create some fantastic vocabulary to use in their writing.

In Maths, after strengthening their understanding of place value, they moved confidently into addition and subtraction with numbers up to 1000. They practiced different methods and tackled real-life problems, building strong number skills to carry them forward.

Science lessons all about rocks were a hit — the children explored different types of rocks, how they’re formed, and even did some hands-on investigations examining soil and what it is made from. It was a great way to spark curiosity and get them thinking like little scientists.

History took the class back to Prehistoric Britain, learning about how people lived thousands of years ago, their tools, and homes. The highlight was the trip to Celtic Harmony, where the children experienced firsthand what life was like in those ancient times. They loved trying out crafts and exploring the recreated village, which really brought their learning to life.

All in all, it’s been a brilliant term full of discovery, creativity, and new friendships — a positive and exciting start to Year 3!

Year 3 have had a busy and productive half term and have worked extremely hard across all subjects.

In Maths, the children have focused on learning their 3-, 4- and 8-times tables, along with the related division facts. They have shown growing confidence in recalling these facts and applying them to problem-solving activities. The children can continue to practice these at home playing TTRS.

In English, the children have explored two engaging texts called The Barnabus Projects and The Seed of Doubt. These books have inspired a range of reading, writing and discussion activities, helping the children to develop their comprehension, vocabulary and creative writing skills.

In Geography, the children have explored the human and physical features of the UK including mountains, rivers, seas and famous landmarks. They developed their research skills using the internet to find information and used atlases to locate and identify physical features across the UK.

In DT, the children have been investigating pneumatic systems. They applied their learning by designing and creating a moving monster, using air to make parts move. The children showed great enthusiasm and creativity during this project.

In Music, the children took part in weekly recorder sessions. They learned how to play the notes, B, A and G and began developing their understanding of reading music, including recognising notes and rhythms.

Overall, Year 3 have shown excellent effort and enthusiasm this half term and should be very proud of their achievements.

This half term has been full of fantastic learning across the curriculum.

In Science, the children have been exploring magnets and forces. They learned about contact forces, focusing on pushes and pulls, and carried out practical experiments to observe how forces can make objects move. Through hands-on investigations, they developed their understanding of how forces act in everyday situations. The children were also introduced to a magnetic force and discovered that, unlike contact forces, magnets can move certain objects without touching them. They were fascinated to see how a magnetic force works at a distance.

In English, the children studied two texts: The Cloud Tea Monkeys and Small in the City where they produced their own impressive final pieces of writing. It has been wonderful to see their confidence, creativity and use of descriptive language grow throughout the unit.

In Maths, the children explored multiplication and division where they strengthened their understanding of multiplication and division facts, explored related calculations, and developed their reasoning skills. They practiced multiplying a two-digit number with a one-digit number flexibly as well as solving division problems which included remainders. The children have also learned how to measure and calculate the perimeter of a range of 2D shapes. 

In Art, the children studied Aboriginal art, learning about its history, symbolism, and distinctive dot painting techniques. Inspired by the Aboriginal myth of the turtle, they created their own beautiful artworks, carefully incorporating traditional patterns and thoughtful designs.

In History, the children studied Ancient Egypt. They learned about the importance of religion in Ancient Egyptian life and explored the fascinating process of mummification – which they particularly enjoyed learning about! The children were also introduced to hieroglyphics and even had the opportunity to write their own sentences using this ancient writing system. 

In English, we explored two captivating texts, The Arctic Jellyfish and Nen and the Lonely Fisherman. These stories inspired a wide range of writing outcomes, including descriptive narratives, character viewpoints, poetry, and non-fiction pieces. The children developed their vocabulary, sentence structure, and creativity, producing thoughtful and imaginative work.

In Maths, we focused on fractions as well as mass and capacity. The children built a strong understanding of fractions by recognising, comparing, and working with different values. In our mass and capacity unit, learning was brought to life through practical activities, where they measured, compared, and solved real-life problems using a variety of equipment. This hands-on approach helped deepen their understanding and confidence.

In RE, we explored why Christians observe Lent. The children learned about the significance of this period, including reflection, sacrifice, and preparation leading up to Easter. We had some thoughtful discussions about what people might choose to give up for 40 days and why, encouraging them to reflect on values such as self-discipline and empathy.

Our Geography learning centred on weather and climate. The children learned about the water cycle and explored how climate change is affecting our world. We also discussed how we can make a positive difference through our everyday actions. The children considered how daily and seasonal weather impacts our lives, including the activities we plan and the food we eat, linking this to farming and food production.

in DT, the children designed and made their own pencil cases. They began by exploring and evaluating existing pencil cases before creating their own designs. They then used their sewing skills and chosen materials to make their final products, before evaluating how successful their pencil cases were and suggesting improvements.

It has been a fantastic term of curiosity, discussion, and hands-on learning, with the children showing great enthusiasm and engagement across all subjects.

This half term, Year 3 have continued to work incredibly hard across the curriculum and should be very proud of all they have achieved.

In English, the children have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the whole-school Literacy Tree unit based on The Flower Block by Tanisha Butterfield. Through the text, they explored important themes such as community, hope, belonging and adventure whilst developing their reading, writing and speaking skills. A particular highlight of the half term was a very special assembly led by the author herself, Tanisha Butterfield, which inspired the children and brought the story to life in a memorable and exciting way.

In Maths, Year 3 have spent much of this half term developing their understanding of money through a range of practical and engaging activities. The children worked hard to recognise and compare different amounts, add and subtract money and solve real-life problems involving pounds and pence. They particularly enjoyed working practically using coins and notes to explore different ways to make amounts and calculate change. More recently, the children have begun their learning on time, focusing on reading both analogue and digital clocks. They have been learning to tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes and understand durations of time in minutes. The children have shown fantastic perseverance and resilience when tackling this challenging area of maths and continue to grow in confidence through hands-on activities, discussion and problem-solving tasks.

In Science, the children have been learning about light and dark and have enjoyed exploring the topic through a range of practical investigations. Working scientifically, the children made observations, asked questions and carried out investigations to help deepen their understanding. They explored how we need light in order to see, investigated how light reflects from mirrors and learned how light travels to the eye. The children particularly enjoyed working collaboratively to test ideas, explain their thinking and make conclusions from their investigations.

This half term, the children have also attended swimming sessions at Goffs Churchgate. They have represented the school beautifully during the walks to and from the venue and have shown excellent resilience, determination and perseverance during their lessons in the pool. I am extremely proud of the mature behaviour and positive attitudes they have demonstrated throughout.

In History, Year 3 have been learning about Victorian Britain and have thoroughly enjoyed becoming “history detectives” throughout the unit. The children explored a range of historical sources, including photographs, illustrations and written accounts, to investigate what life was like for Victorian children. They worked carefully to ask questions, make observations and come to thoughtful conclusions using evidence from the past. As part of their learning, the children also discussed the reliability of evidence and considered whether some sources may have been staged or only showed part of the truth about Victorian life. They explored the lives of poor Victorian children and compared them to their own lives today, particularly focusing on schooling, work and leisure activities. The children were fascinated to learn about the important work of Lord Shaftesbury and Dr Barnardo and how they helped improve the lives of vulnerable children during the Victorian era.