Welcome to Year 6.
Our Teachers are Mrs Collins and Mrs Aitbenmoussa and our Teaching Assistants are Mrs Rimstad and Mrs Cheruvarthur.
May 012026
Poems, Posters and Parenthesis
This week in English, we read a poem by William Blake – The Tyger – written in 1794. Inspired by his words, the children wrote poems, in a similar style, about endangered animals.
We continued with our maths revision work books this week, working hard to practise key skills and everyone seems to be doing well and building their confidence across the maths topics.
In RE, following on from our interesting discussions about world views, we learnt about some different humanist thinkers and their key ideas. This links to our science topic about evolution in which we will be learning lots more about Charles Darwin.
For homework, in addition to the quick revision sheets, we are encouraging children to finish their revision posters, with a focus on SPAG this week.
Enjoy the long weekend and see you on Tuesday for the last push before SATs week.
The Year 6 Team
Apr 242026
Persuasion, Practice and Pellets!
It has been a lovely week in Year 6 – not least because of the sunny weather! Back in class, we have enjoyed writing persuasive speeches about endangered animals. Drawing on lots of techniques, the children chose an endangered animal and wrote some fantastic speeches, which included information on how or why the animal is in danger of extinction, what the impact could be and what we can do to help.
In maths, we are working in a carousel rotation, each day practising arithmetic and reasoning questions. There is time to discuss the different style of questions and work closely with the children to unpick the strategies they need to successfully solve them for maths Papers 2 and 3.
In topic lessons, as part of our new Asia theme, we learned about the Himalayas and how they were formed, millions of years ago. The children then drew a series of pictures to show the process and wrote information to explain.
Our new Spanish topic is ‘El Fin de Semana’ – The Weekend. We started off with a session revising time – no easy feat and will go onto learning how to say different leisure activities.
Amethyst have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to visit St Albans Boys School – where we got to dissect owl pellets – a few pictures below. Magenta will visit for the next 2 weeks.
Please see below the timetable for the SATs, which are just around the corner:
Monday 11th May 2026 Grammar & Punctuation test – 45 minutes Spelling Test – 20 minutes
Tuesday 12th May 2026 English Reading Test – 60 minutes Wednesday 13th May 2026 Mathematics Arithmetics (Paper 1) – 30 minutes Mathematics Reasoning (Paper 2) – 40 minutes
Thursday 14th May 2026 Mathematics Reasoning (Paper 3) – 40 minutes Have a lovely weekend
The Year 6 Team
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Mar 272026
RAF Museum
Year 6 had a brilliant trip to the RAF Museum in North London on Wednesday. We couldn’t think of a better way to conclude our studies of World War 2. We spent time on a self-guided tour around the hangers, spotting and noting down all of the planes used by the allies and axis during the confrontation. We were then lucky enough to learn about some of the heroes of the time and try on the uniforms. Finally, we experienced what it was like for people during the Blitz and even took cover in an air raid shelter!
Homework for the holidays – we have sent home booklets with 10 days worth of tasks (10 minutes per day). Please encourage your children to complete them.
Maths Booklet
Grammar Booklet
Reading Booklet
Happy Easter!
The Year 6 Team
Mar 272026
SATs, Science and Spanish
This week has mostly been taken up by our mock SATs practice, which the children approached in a very positive manner – we couldn’t be more proud of them. As a reward, there will be no homework this week!
In science, we explored types of energy, both renewable and non-renewable and the advantages and disadvantages of both. We had some interesting discussions which may lead to some additional research. It certainly gave us renewed appreciation for the solar panels that we have on our roof here at Alban City.
In Spanish, we have been learning about the different clothes that we wear and how to say the colour. For example: Llevo unos pantalones negros y un gorro rojo. I am wearing black trousers and a red hat.
Next week, we will revisit our suspense stories, which are inspired by The Boy in the Tower. We will read more of the book and write the second parts, ending with an appropriate conclusion – we hope!
On Wednesday, we will visit the RAF Museum and just a reminder that the children will need to bring a packed lunch.
Have a great weekend.
The Year 6 Team
Mar 132026
Safety, Suspense and Circuits
We continue to enjoy our class book – Boy in the Tower. This week, we have started writing our own suspense stories in a similar style. We will complete these before Easter to find resolutions to some of the terrifying threats that have been identified.
Over the last 2 weeks, we have been revising and learning about measurement and conversion of measure. Volume has been the focus of lessons this week and we have learnt how to calculate it as well as solving problems and carrying out an investigation.
In Science, we are learning about electricity, the different types of circuits and their features as well as how to identify errors in circuits. Next week, we will look at how electricity is made and think about and discuss ‘clean energy’.
On Monday afternoon, we all hopped on the coach to the fire station to take part in the Crucial Crew workshop. There were nine different scenarios set up around a variety of hazards and risky situations that children may face, as they become more independent. They had discussions and talked about making decisions around safety and responsibility as well as possible consequences of making the wrong decisions.
As the children know, next week, we will be doing another set of mock SATs papers; this is just part of our preparation for the tests which are coming up in May.
Please check Google Classroom for the homework and in the meantime, we wish everyone a lovely weekend.
The Year 6 Team
Mar 092026
Books, Bulbs and Boy (in the Tower)
World Book Day dominated this week. We had a lovely day enjoying all things book related. Following a thoroughly enjoyable quiz – delivered by the one and only Mrs Bland, the children made some brilliant bookmarks, created their own book covers and read with children lower down the school. We also got to experience a workshop with SASA, where the children learnt some of the dance moves to Matilda the Musical.
In science, we have moved on to our electricity topic. We looked at the differences between series and parallel circuits and then had an opportunity to make circuits using equipment which included bulbs and motors.
We are really enjoying our new class read, a dystopian story called Boy in the Tower. This week, we have written newspaper articles, a formal letter and a Wikipedia entry about an invasive species of plant.
Have a great weekend and remember the book fair will be running from today, until Wednesday 11th March.
The Year 6 Team
Feb 272026
Invading, Investigating and Inspiring
It’s been a week of investigations in Year 6. Following some revision on both multiplication and division (to 2 decimal places), children set about using their own examples to prove whether a statement was always, sometimes or never true.
In English, we have started our new class book, Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen It is dystopian novel about Ade, a boy trapped in his London tower block by fast-growing, invasive plants called “Bluchers”. We wrote a newspaper article about the events so far and we are keen to continue next week.
In our history lessons, we got to know Winston Churchill a bit better, considering the type of leader that he was and some of the key decisions he made during World War 2. We heard an extract of his inspirational speech ‘We shall fight on the beaches’ and then thought about questions we might like to ask him and how he could have responded.
Next week, we will celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 5th March and keep an eye open for the arrival of the Book Fair.
Homework:
Reading x 3
Spellings x 10 sentences and learn
Maths – Multiplication quiz
Have a lovely weekend,
The Year 6 Team
Feb 132026
Algebra, Arctic and Amazing Assembly
We finished our class book, Leila and the Blue Fox this week and the children have really enjoyed writing an extended blog post based on her adventures in the Arctic and what the main character has learned. We have started our new class book which is ‘Once’ by Morris Gleitzman and it links in nicely with our World War 2 topic.
Algebra – a much feared topic in maths – was on the agenda this week. I think the children were surprised to see how quickly they grasped some of the basic concepts and by the end of the week were getting stuck in and solving some more challenging problems.
In topic, we continue to be impressed with the pupils’ enthusiasm when learning about World War 2. This week, our focus was the changing role of women during this period. Lots of brilliant discussion and hot potato topics that were sensibly spoken and written about.
Science has been the highlight of the week in Year 6. We delved further into our topic of Light and focused on the ‘spectrum of light’ where we discussed what white light is, what produces white light and the spectrum of colours that appear. When white light (light with no colour filters) is refracted using a glass prism or water, the colours bend and separate into the colours of the rainbow. Red is at the top as it bends the least and violet is at the bottom as it bends the most. We used the idea of Newton’s disc to create a spinning wheel that has the colours of the rainbow on it. When you spin it quick enough, the colours merge to a white representing white light. Everyone LOVED it!
Everyone loved the Lion Dance assembly, held on Tuesday to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
For homework, we have suggested that the children look through their past SATs papers to revise and go over questions.
Homework:
Read x 6
TTRS x 5 mins per day (minimum of 35 minutes in total)
Oracy – Debate with family
Art – Collect resources
(Details on Google Classroom)
We wish everyone a restful and relaxing half term break.
The Year 6 Team
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Feb 062026
Periscopes, Propaganda and the Passive Voice
We finished our class book, Leila and the Blue Fox, today and thought it was right to wave her off, whilst enjoying the main character’s favourite sweet – a Werther’s Original. We have dabbled in different styles of writing this week, using descriptive techniques such as personification, similes and metaphors and everyone enjoyed writing a ‘tweet’ using the passive voice to help Leila spread the word about her mum’s unjustified detention by the Canadian authorities.
In topic lessons, we have been learning Propaganda and how it was used in World War 2 to spread important messages about safety, food shortages and staying positive. The children created their own versions of war propaganda, which we hope to display in the coming weeks.
Continuing with our topic of light, this week, the children investigated and made their own periscopes, using card and mirrors. They then set about investigating what they could (and couldn’t) see with them. See pictures below.
Homework:
RE – Leader (Due 11.02.26)
Spellings x 10 sentences
Reading x 3
Maths – Arithmetic quiz
Grammar quiz
Have a great weekend.
The Year 6 Team
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Jan 302026
SATs, St Paul’s Survives and Spanish
This week, Year 6 have worked really hard and completed another set of past SATs papers. All the children approached the tests with positivity and resilience and we couldn’t ask for more. Back to normal next week!
In other news, in continuation of our World War 2 studies, we learnt about the devastating events of the Blitz. We looked at the photograph ‘St Paul’s Survives’, taken in London during the night air raid of 29–30 December 1940, the 114th night of the Blitz of World War II. It shows St Paul’s Cathedral, illuminated by fires and surrounded by the smoke of burning buildings. It was taken by photographer Herbert Mason. To recreate this iconic image, we firstly made stencils of the London skyline – with St Paul’s Cathedral being front and centre – and then used chalk around the edges. Using our fingers, we smudged the chalk to create the impression of smoke and flames and finished it off by adding damaged buildings to the foreground.
We have been making strides through our Spanish topic over the last few weeks and lots of the children are now able to say what they study in school, at what time, whether they like it (or not!) and why. ¡Buen trabajo!
In RE, we used all of our research about the Dalai Lama to write an information page all about his incredible life and the type of leader that he is.
Homework this week is a 2 week project linking with our RE and leaders.
Have a great weekend.
The Year 6 Team
