Year 6

Year 6 is an important and prominent year for learning, where students refine their skills and prepare for significant changes and a transition within their school journey. We begin the year by exploring changes in our historical and geographical world: from the work life of children in the 1800’s, to the suffragette movement in the 1900’s to global population changes and the impact this has on our environment. Within science, we develop our skills through practical exploration and investigation: initially exploring living things and their habitats, classifying different organisms; as well as constructing electrical circuits and undertaking a voltage experiment within our electricity topic. Our creative skills are inspired through an exploration of film music, discovering photography and digital art and designing a steady-hand buzzer game using electrical components.  

In Spring, we will immerse ourselves in learning about WWII, not just the historical journey but also exploring the songs of this era, reading a mysterious Evacuee narrative- Letters from the Lighthouse and writing our own exciting narratives linked to this topic. We will focus our Geographical studies on The Alps, looking at the vast number of countries that this range spans and comparing tourism aspects to our local area- writing persuasive adverts to consolidate this knowledge. In Art and Design Technology, we build on our painting and mixed media skills through completing a range of artist studies as well as designing and sewing our own waistcoats. We will investigate two vast topics scientifically: light and the circulatory system, where we practically explore the important processes of how we see and how the heart functions.  

The Summer terms allow deep exploration with transition units that prepare us for entering Key Stage 3. In history we explore a range of significant historical figures using inference skills and research to evaluate their prominence and importance. Working outside of the classroom, geographical fieldwork is also undertaken, developing enquiry questions, creating data collection methods and analysing and presenting this data. In science, students initially focus on biology, investigating variation, adaptations and evolution and using this knowledge to write non-chronological reports and a diary in the style of Charles Darwin. Students will then carry out practical scientific projects to prepare them for Year 7: Melting points and thermal conductivity. The children will get the opportunity to explore cooking and nutrition in our own version of ‘Come dine with me’ developing their own 3-course menu. We will focus on building their artistic skills in drawing, using symbolism and imagery to ‘make their voice heard’ as well as composing their own leavers song in music, as a fond farewell to Year 6.