A busy and brilliant Start to the Spring Term in Year 5

Year 5 have had a fantastic start to the spring term as we launched our new topic, Through the Ages. The children have already thrown themselves enthusiastically into a range of exciting activities and learning experiences.

We began the term with a magical surprise, snow! We had great fun outdoors, building snowmen, playing together and enjoying the wintery weather. It was a wonderful way to begin the year and brought lots of smiles to the playground.

We have started exploring the influence of the Romans on Wales. As part of this, the children took on a hands?on challenge during Forest School: designing and building their own aqueducts. Year 5 showed impressive teamwork, creativity and perseverance as they constructed their designs and tested how well they worked.

In maths, we have been focusing on improving our fluency skills. The children have particularly enjoyed using Blooket quizzes to consolidate their understanding of multiples and factors. The friendly competition helped make the learning fun and engaging, and the class showed brilliant focus throughout.

We have also enjoyed continuing our British Sign Language lessons. This term, the children have been learning new signs linked to our story sessions, including one about an exciting trip to space and another featuring a dinosaur in the garden! Their enthusiasm and concentration have been wonderful to see as they expand their signing skills. Well done, Year 5! We are incredibly proud of the enthusiasm and effort you have shown already this term.

Racing to School Maths in Action Day at Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse 🐴 6 February 2026

The children in Year 5 had a fantastic day at Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse as part of the Racing to School  programme. Despite the wet weather, the children showed great enthusiasm and adaptability, making the most of every activity and experience.

We began by walking onto the racecourse, where the children learned about the different types of racing, including professional and amateur races. They explored the Parade Ring, measuring distances using trundle wheels and applying their maths skills to real-life problem solving, including calculations based on distance and the length of horses.

Inside, the children took part in a range of engaging activities from their Racing to Schools activity books, working collaboratively and thinking carefully about how maths is used throughout the racing industry. In the Weighing Room, they discovered the many careers involved in horse racing, before heading to the Stewards’ Room to learn how Stewards’ Enquiries are carried out when judges suspect misconduct during a race.

Throughout the day, the children were curious, well-behaved and eager to learn. It was a brilliant opportunity to bring maths to life through hands-on learning, and a memorable experience for everyone involved.

 Park in the Past, Hope – Our Roman Adventure Day! 

What a truly fantastic day we had during our visit to Park in the Past in Hope! From the moment we arrived, there was a real sense of excitement in the air. The weather was wonderfully kind to us, allowing us to spend the entire day outdoors, fully immersing ourselves in the sights, sounds and experiences of Roman life.

Throughout the day, the children embraced every opportunity to step back in time. They explored many different aspects of Roman daily life, taking part in a range of hands-on activities that brought history to life in a meaningful and memorable way. From practical tasks to interactive demonstrations, the experience allowed the children to deepen their understanding of how people lived during the Roman era.

It was particularly lovely to see how inquisitive the children were. They asked thoughtful questions, listened carefully to the experts leading the sessions, and showed genuine curiosity about the world of the Romans. Their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn were evident throughout the day, and it was clear they were making valuable connections with their classroom learning.

We were also incredibly proud of how brilliantly the children behaved. They demonstrated excellent manners, respect and responsibility at all times, representing our school wonderfully. 

It was a rich and rewarding experience for everyone involved, a day full of learning, laughter and lasting memories. We are certain the children will be talking about their Roman adventure for a long time to come!

03.03.26 was an unforgettable morning in Oswestry with our friends from Llyn Ogwen and Dermot O’Leary, as part of the National Year of Reading.

What a truly inspiring and joy-filled event! From the very first moment, Dermot had everyone hooked, asking brilliant questions, sharing stories and chatting so warmly with the children. The room was buzzing!

Dermot told us all about how his love of reading began with  trips to the library with his dad. Picture books were his first  favourites, and as he grew older, he fell in love with the  wonderful world of Roald Dahl — especially Fantastic Mr Fox, because Mr Fox was such a rogue!

We also discovered that Dermot’s storytelling started  early — he used to write his own stories and sell them  to his neighbours for 5p each. Entrepreneurial and  creative!

Many of Dermot’s books are inspired by animals and his own life experiences. His much -loved Toto series was sparked by a trip to Italy and a very special cat he met on holiday – the inspiration behind Toto, the brave (and blind!) ninja kitten. Writing from the perspective of a blind cat comes with its challenges, as Dermot explained – sometimes he has to go back and edit, reminding himself that Toto wouldn’t have seen certain things!

We also learned about the beautiful illustrations that bring the stories to life, created in collaboration with illustrator Nick – who met the real-life cats before capturing them so perfectly on the page.

One of the highlights was our fantastic “draw along” session, where we learned how to draw Toto the ninja cat – budding illustrators in the making!

Branwen had the honour of askin our school question: does Dermot prefer being a radio presenter or an author? A tough one to answer!

To top off a brilliamt morning, we will each receive a signed copy of his newest book, Toto and the Pirate Treasure Hunt. We can’t wait to dive in, we’re expecting plenty of laughs!

A huge thany you to Booka Bookshop and Oswestry School for making this wonderful opportunity possible, and to everyone who helped ensure each of us received a free signed book.

A morning full of stories, smiles and inspiration, one we won’t forget in a hurry!

In March, pupils from Years 1-6 attended the after-school Bible Craft Club with Louise Youens.

The children created a beautiful prayer tree where everyone could add their own prayers and help decorate it, and they also made lovely sun catchers. They really enjoyed listening to Louise share a short story about the importance of prayer, linked to the Lord’s Prayer. ✨

It has been such a special time, and the children absolutely loved it. We are so thankful to Louise for generously sharing her time and expertise with us. We’re already looking forward to welcoming her back to St Mary’s in the coming months to do more work with the children. 💛