Class 1 - Spring 2026 - The Great Fire of London
Year 1 & Year 5 Learn Together: Exploring Islam
This week, Year 1 and Year 5 joined forces for a special learning session all about Islam. Both year groups have been exploring different aspects of the religion, and it was a wonderful opportunity for the children to share their learning with each other.
Year 5 have been studying the Hajj pilgrimage as part of their RE work, and they visited Year 1 to talk about what they had discovered. They explained the journey Muslims make to Makkah, the special clothing worn, and the important rituals that take place during Hajj.
Year 1 listened beautifully and showed fantastic curiosity by asking thoughtful ‘Carlos Cat’ questions to deepen their understanding. They were eager to find out why certain rituals happen and what they mean for Muslims around the world.
The conversation didn’t stop there! Year 1 were proud to share what they’ve been learning about life in a Muslim home, including prayer, celebration, and the importance of family. It was wonderful to see the younger children speaking with such confidence and the older pupils responding with respect and enthusiasm.
Moments like these remind us how powerful peer learning can be—full of teamwork, curiosity and mutual respect. Well done, Year 1 and Year 5!
Year 1 Explore Capacity and Volume!
This week in Year 1, we have been busy becoming real-life mathematicians as we learned all about capacity and volume.
To help us understand these ideas, we looked at lots of different containers—big, small, tall, short, wide and narrow! The children worked brilliantly in small groups to order the containers based on how much they thought each one could hold.
After lots of excellent discussion, the children used water to test their predictions. There was plenty of careful pouring, teamwork and problem‑solving as they discovered that:
- A tall container doesn’t always hold the most
- Wide containers can sometimes hold more than they look
- You need to look at shape, not just height!
The children were so enthusiastic, and it was wonderful to hear them using mathematical vocabulary such as full, empty, nearly full, nearly empty, half full, capacity, and volume.
Here are some snapshots of our learning in action:
Welcome back to the Spring Term
This term the children will be finding out about events in the past. They will be using a range of resources to find out about ‘The Great Fire of London’ and will learn about significant people. We are all looking forward to the ‘Great Fire’ workshop when the children will be actively involved in drama tasks to find out where the fire started, how it stopped and how London was rebuilt after the fire. As well as being historians, the children will also be exploring different materials in Science and will be designing, drawing and making a building in Design and Technology.
Great Fire of London workshop
This week, the children took part in an exciting drama workshop all about the Great Fire of London. The hall was buzzing with energy as the children stepped back in time to 1666, experiencing what life was like in London during this historic event.
From the very start, the children were highly engaged, listening carefully to the storyteller and joining in enthusiastically with the activities. They loved pretending to be bakers in Pudding Lane, helping to “put out” the fire as well as finding out how the people escaped across the river to safety.
Throughout the session, the children showed fantastic participation and confidence. They listened closely, followed directions beautifully, and worked together to bring each scene to life. The workshop encouraged lots of lively discussion — the children answered questions thoughtfully and shared what they already knew about the fire. Many of them were eager to contribute new ideas and made great connections to their classroom learning.
It was wonderful to see how much new knowledge they absorbed during the session. They learned how houses built from wood helped the fire spread, why the wind made it worse, and how London was rebuilt afterwards.
By the end of the workshop, the children were full of excitement and pride in their learning. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to learn through play, imagination, and teamwork — and a truly memorable way to bring history to life!
Spring Term Theme Web