Tragedy, triumph… or a bit of both? This week, in our History lessons we stepped back in time to the icy world of Captain Scott’s Terra Nova expedition. The big question on everyone’s mind: Did the expedition end in tragedy because of bad planning or bad luck?
To help us decide, we used a Diamond Nine activity, ranking different reasons and justifying our choices. The result? Some fantastic debate, thoughtful reasoning, and impressive oracy skills as children listened carefully, challenged ideas respectfully, and explained their thinking clearly.
We then explored how polar exploration equipment has changed over time—and were genuinely shocked by what explorers like Scott had to rely on. Wooden goggles, cotton jackets (which freeze when wet!), and other equipment that feels unbelievably primitive by today’s standards made us appreciate just how tough those expeditions really were.
Inspired by the polar regions, we continued experimenting with chalk techniques in Art. The focus? Creating dramatic, swirling Northern Lights scenes.
The results have been stunning—bold colours, smooth blends, and a real sense of movement across the sky. Our classroom is starting to look like an art gallery somewhere north of the Arctic Circle!
In English, we’ve been writing in role as Captain Oates, one of the Terra Nova explorers, who famously said:
“I am just going outside and may be some time.”
Using extracts from Scott’s journal, we explored Oates’ final moments, aiming to write with authenticity, emotion, and historical accuracy. Before writing our final pieces, we focused on effective paragraphing—including a game that helped us really understand how paragraphs work together to create cohesion. The finished writing has been powerful, moving, and incredibly mature.
‘Avoir’ the Time of Our Lives! Our French lessons have been full of laughter and learning as we tackled the verb “to have” – avoir. We have been conjugating it, using it in sentences, and even singing it to help it stick. It was difficile to begin with, mais maintenant c’est fantastique!
Have a lovely weekend. À bientôt!