Category: Academic
Year 3 Explore Our Amazing Skeletons
Year 3 have been learning about the human skeleton, exploring the names and locations of key bones and discovering how our skeleton supports and protects our bodies. The children enjoyed putting their learning into practice by creating their own colourful skeleton models using split pins, allowing the bones to move just like real joints. They had great fun combining science and creativity while showing off their fantastic knowledge!
Year 3 Enrichment – Research Skills
Year 3 Research Skills Enrichment session focused on the question: “Who Can We Trust?” The children explored a range of different sources of information and discussed whether they could be relied upon to provide accurate facts.
As part of the lesson, the children learned that not all information sources are equally reliable. They carefully examined different examples, shared their reasoning, and worked together to decide which sources could be trusted and which might contain inaccurate or misleading information. The children showed excellent critical thinking skills and had some thoughtful discussions about how to check whether information is trustworthy.
Every Digit Counts for Year 3
In Year 3 this week, the children have been learning how to add and subtract 1, 10 and 100 from three-digit numbers. They have been exploring how the value of each digit changes and using their understanding of place value to solve problems efficiently.
The children have found place value counters particularly helpful, as they allow them to visualise what happens to each digit when numbers change. The counters have been especially useful when an exchange is needed, helping the children to clearly see how ten ones can be exchanged for one ten, or ten tens for one hundred. Good work Year 3!
Alba Walks Life Like an Egyptian
Alba has been showing fantastic enthusiasm for our Year 3 global question, “What was life like in Ancient Egypt?” At home, she has been reading an Egyptian-themed book and even created her own papyrus paper. She carefully wrote a secret message using hieroglyphics and brought it in for the class to decode. The message turned out to be a cheeky request for “No more homework!” Year 3 had great fun trying to crack the code. Well done, Alba, for your creativity and excellent independent learning!
Maths Investigation Day
Across the school, children tackled a range of engaging puzzles, problems and investigations that encouraged them to apply their mathematical skills, work collaboratively, think creatively, and use logic and reasoning.
Year 1 enjoyed sorting objects and numbers. Year 2 explored sequences and number patterns using dominoes and have since developed a real enthusiasm for the game as they discovered the wealth of maths hidden within it. Year 3 investigated how many different ways four cards numbered 1 to 8 could be used to make 20, with the winning team finding an impressive seven combinations. In Year 4, pupils worked in teams to solve Spaceship, a challenging puzzle involving combinations of alien legs.
Meanwhile, Years 5 and 6 linked their investigations to our historic Clock Tower, a treasured part of the school’s legacy, by solving a range of Roman numeral puzzles. Many also chose to tackle the notoriously difficult NRICH challenge Which Scripts? with some pupils still persevering in their quest to solve it! We extend the challenge to any parents who enjoy a mathematical puzzle. Investigation Day perfectly captured our love of challenge, curiosity and deep thinking, showing that mathematics is about far more than getting the right answer; it is about exploring, reasoning and discovering.
Congratulations to Franky, Isabella A and Adi who were the first to solve the script puzzle
Year 5 cook up a sandwich!
As a part of the DT curriculum, children in Years 5 and 6 have lessons in cooking and nutrition. This week, the Year 5s enjoyed making their first dish – a caterpillar sandwich. The children created their own sandwich, practising their cutting and spreading skills. We were also very impressed with how they worked together, clearing up and washing up. Well done!
Excellence in Mathematical Reasoning Recognised
We are delighted to celebrate our fine mathematicians and in particular Alexander, whose work has been published on the NRICH website as part of their “Live Problems.” NRICH is a collaboration between the Faculty of Mathematics and Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge to. The team at NRICH believe that successful mathematicians understand curriculum concepts and are fluent in mathematical skills and procedures, and can also solve problems, explain and justify their thinking, and have a positive attitude towards mathematics and to themselves as learners of mathematics. With this in mind, they offer rich mathematical activities which aim to nurture curious, resourceful and confident learners of mathematics.
Copthorne Prep’s mathematicians were the first to be mentioned for strong reasoning skills, and Alexander was singled out for his outstanding explanation. This recognition reflects our whole-school focus on developing mathematical reasoning this year, and we are incredibly proud of his achievement.
TTRS Summer Slam Maths Success!
We are delighted to announce that Year 4SB have been crowned maths times tables winners of the TTRS Summer Slam competition across the entire Caterham Family of Schools—an outstanding achievement!
A huge congratulations to all our Copthorne Prep pupils, who showed incredible determination and enthusiasm throughout the competition. Special recognition goes to Freya, who secured an impressive 3rd place, and Alek M, who finished a fantastic 7th overall.
As we head into the summer holidays, we encourage all pupils to keep their skills sharp by continuing to practise on Times Tables Rock Stars and Sumdog. Just a few minutes each day can make a big difference—and who knows, you could be our next competition champion!
Well done once again to everyone involved, and keep rocking those times tables over the summer!
They came, they saw, they explored!
Year 3 had an exciting Roman Day workshop, where they stepped into the shoes of Roman soldiers and learned about the strength of the Roman army. They practised battle formations, explored the dramatic world of gladiators, and discovered what life was like in Roman Britain and for the Celts. The children looked fantastic in their costumes.
Measuring Up in Year 2!
In Mathematics, Year 2 have been developing their understanding of measurement through practical, hands-on experiences. Measuring is an important foundation for building mathematical concepts, helping children develop estimation, comparison and problem-solving skills. This half term, the children particularly enjoyed estimating and measuring the mass of a variety of everyday objects. An easy and valuable way to practise these skills at home is by involving children in real-life measuring activities, such as weighing ingredients while cooking or comparing the mass, length and capacity of household items. Practising reading, measuring and comparing different units of measurement helps to strengthen mathematical understanding and confidence.
