Year 9 Vision and Voices students took their second trip of the year to the National Gallery, where they developed their oracy skills by focusing on three key paintings. All students were highly engaged throughout the activities and were fantastic on the trip.
This term in Year 4, the children have been very busy learning all about the Anglo-Saxons. In reading lessons, they have thoroughly enjoyed following the adventures of the main character, Oslaf, in our class text Winter of the Wolves. In History, the children have been learning about Anglo-Saxon conquests and how England was once divided into seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. They have also learnt about the achievements of the Anglo-Saxon king, Alfred the Great and how Christianity first spread in England during this time. Our Science and Design and Technology learning have been closely linked, with children exploring electrical circuits and how electricity works. As part of this, they designed and made their own electrical circuits using simple circuits. In RE, the children have been learning about Hinduism and how Hindus worship. To deepen their understanding, they visited the London Sri Murugan Temple in Ilford, where they were able to see a wide range of Hindu statues and artefacts. The children learned about different deities and the reasons why Hindus pray to them. This valuable experience gave the children a deeper insight into their learning about Hinduism.
The end of term for Year 3 was certainly a busy one. The children completed their Prehistoric Artwork unit by creating cave wall posters for a classroom display, as well as finishing their own textured cave walls to take home. In Science, the children also had the opportunity to investigate different rock types, soil types, and fossils, thinking about where they might be found and how long they may have been there. The children also enjoyed some Christmas celebrations, including a class party, a pick‑and‑mix station, and even a visit from Santa and his elf. Year 10 presented the Primary School with their own pantomime, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all the children. So far in 2026, the children have started their new Science topic of Forces and Magnets, completing experiments to see how friction can affect an object while spinning and how different surfaces create friction when sliding. The children were tasked with working scientifically, so they created a question to investigate, predicted the outcome, and then set up their investigation to gather their final results. They have also investigated which materials are magnetic and how magnets can attract and repel each other.
Year 11 student Nwayinnaya recently approached Mrs Monk to explore a potential career in Psychology. Former pupil Chiamaka Oleh, who is now working in the field, was keen to help and generously gave up her time to offer guidance. They met via Teams on Wednesday 4th February, where Nwayinnaya was highly proactive, asking thoughtful and probing questions throughout the conversation. A huge thank you to Chiamaka for sharing her experience and supporting Nwayinnaya on her career journey.
Gifton, Teddy and Mazeed from our successful year 10 boys Rugby team have all been selected to play for the professional Rugby side, Saracens in their performance development group. Trials took place over a number of months and had close to 1000 students involved in the process from the South East of England. The Robert Clack boys represented Saracen at their home ground, the StoneX stadium. The boys are part of the year 10 team that made the county final last year and are currently waiting to play the quarter final this year in the hope of making it to back to back Essex finals. The PE department and the whole school are extremely proud of the whole team, but these 3 in particular deserve special recognition for their achievements. Mr Goyette
We had a fantastic start to our ‘Fairy Tales’ topic with a creative Fairy Tale Workshop. Throughout the day children explored a range of fairy tale stories through drama and art. Children enjoyed exploring characters feelings and motivations to help them create some fantastic imaginative writing! In Geography, we have been learning to name geographical features in our local environment. In Computing, we have been learning about online safety and discovering how to program a Bee-Bot with a seqence of instructions. In Science, children enjoyed taking part in science experiments including naming and classifying the properties of different objects and taking part in a water experiment to check the strength of different types of paper. This half term, we had a visit from a Road Safety specialist, who helped our children to understand the importance of staying safe, when crossing a road. It was a very interesting and valuable workshop and children were very keen to take part in the activities provided. Our new topic is called ‘Global Explorers’ and we will be discussing what makes an explorer ‘great’. We will begin our topic by making binoculars, looking at a world map, making passports and completing physical training. Once we have completed our training we will be ready to explore the world! In maths we will be focussing on addition and subtraction skills as well as learning our number bonds to 20 and times table facts of 2 and 10. In science we will be exploring the topic of ‘materials’ and in PSHE we will be exploring our own dreams and goals. It is going to an amazing new half term! We look forward to seeing you soon!
Recently, students had the exciting opportunity to visit Bauer Media Out of Home Advertising , where they stepped into the heart of creativity and digital marketing. During the visit, students explored what makes a strong poster and an effective advert, gaining valuable insight into how successful advertising captures attention and communicates a message clearly. Through hands-on discussions and real-world examples, students learned how advertising campaigns are developed, from the initial creative concept to final delivery. The experience offered a behind-the-scenes look at the fast-paced world of digital and outdoor advertising, helping students connect classroom learning with industry practice and inspiring future career possibilities. This was made possible through a contact first established via our alumni association. A huge thank you to Jordan and the entire team for their continued support and for providing such brilliant, real-world opportunities. Experiences like these are invaluable in helping our students gain insight, confidence, and inspiration for their future careers. David in Year 12 commented: ‘A really interesting and hands on experience that highlighted just how much thought, creativity and strategy go into effective advertising. Thanks to Jordan and Holly at Bauer Media Out Of Home for such an engaging experience.’
This term, your lovely children have been learning all about the many traditional tales that we all grew up learning and loving. Goldilocks and the three bears; The three little pigs; We're going on a bear hunt and so many more. They have had the opportunity to explore this learning in our different areas. In the art area, they enjoyed making crowns and colouring so many different pictures of the various characters. In the investigation area, they definitely had a lot of fun exploring and feeling their way around oats. They have had many opportunities to re-tell these stories in their own words as well. We were also privileged to have been visited by a body that taught our children the importance of road safety. Let's have a brief recap: First, we need to find a safe place to cross & STOP. Then, we look out for traffic by looking, LEFT RIGHT LEFT & EVERYWHERE. We also use our ears as we use our eyes. Finally, we walk sensibly and safely across the road! They have also been taking huge strides in their reading and writing as well as in their number and maths. Over the break, please continue to work with them in their phonics and writing. If there is any support you think you may need, feel free to speak to us at the end of the day, when you come to pick up your children.
Pupils from Lymington Fields visited on Tuesday 16 th December and Thursday 18 th December to support with the Medicine component of the History GCSE paper. The museum contains the large collections of John Hunter, a pioneering surgeon in the 18 th century. Pupils had this to say: 'I really enjoyed the history trip to central London. It was really interesting to see John Hunter's strange collection of items relating to anatomy and to observe how surgery has changed from the medieval period through to the modern day.' Ruby H 'The week before we broke up for Christmas our class visited the Hunterian Museum. It was great to walk around Central London seeing the Royal Court of Justice on the way to museum to see what careers are linked to history. In the museum we saw many things which we had studied during our Medicine Unit and it was fascinating to be able to see these items for real. I think it will help hugely with our GCSE' Rosie T
Our core texts have been reading, listening and exploring the characters from various fairy tales. We have enjoyed adding the correct numbers of beans to the beanstalk, matching characters and key objects we see in Little Red Riding hood and building sentences to say what we can see in the images presented to us. We have enjoyed exploring colour mixing primary colours to make secondary ones as well as developing our fine motor and gross motor skills through tracing lines, threading and mark making. We have also enjoyed working together on our turn taking and using a range of construction toys such as blocks, magnetic tiles and Duplo to create a range of structures and models of our own choice. Miss Javid
This term, students from KS4 and KS5 in the Food Studies Department took part in three enriching educational trips, each spread across different days. These visits strengthened curriculum learning while giving pupils hands‑on experience in real food‑industry environments. Trip 1: Young Innovators Food Conference 2025 Students attended the Young Innovators Food Conference 2025 at Barking & Dagenham College’s Technical Skills Academy, where they participated in culturally diverse, sustainability‑focused cooking workshops delivered in partnership with ‘Be Inclusive Hospitality’. Guest chefs—including Ferdinand “Budgie” Montoya, Natalie Sheridan, and Sara Assad Mannings—inspired students with recipes and stories rooted in Filipino, plant‑based, and Palestinian food traditions. Working in professional kitchens, pupils explored new ingredients, gained confidence in practical cooking, and learned about career pathways in hospitality and food innovation. Trip 2: Billingsgate “Seafood by Design” Practical Workshop Students also took part in the Seafood by Design programme at Billingsgate Market, led by seafood expert CJ Jackson . This highly practical experience allowed pupils to handle, prepare, and cook a wide range of British seafood. Activities included pin‑boning fish, preparing mussels and prawns, shaping fish sliders, and tasting dishes such as Goan curry, chilli mackerel, and seafood pilaf. The workshop deepened students’ understanding of sustainability, responsible sourcing, and the nutritional value of seafood while developing their hygiene, knife, and teamwork skills. The day concluded with a reflective Q&A on everything they had learned Trip 3: “Fishmonger for a Day” — Vocational Seafood Skills Workshops The third educational experience brought KS4 students back to Billingsgate Seafood Training School for the innovative “Fishmonger for a Day” sessions. Hosted above the historic Billingsgate Market , these workshops are designed specifically for Barking and Dagenham secondary schools to introduce young people to employment pathways in the food and hospitality industries. Delivered by specialist chefs from the Seafood School, the workshops offered students the chance to: Learn practical fish‑handling and preparation techniques, including filleting and cooking Identify fish species and assess freshness Strengthen kitchen hygiene, presentation, and teamwork—essential skills for professional food environments Understand current industry shortages in fishmongers and “blockwork” skills, making these sessions especially relevant for career exploration Students showing strong aptitude were offered work experience placements with local fishmongers and apprenticeship pathways through the school’s partnership with Direct Seafoods. A Valuable Experience for All Learners Across all three trips, students represented the school with maturity, enthusiasm, and curiosity. Each visit enhanced their understanding of the food industry—spanning sustainability, culinary arts, cultural food traditions, and specialist fishmonger skills. The Food Studies Department is proud of the students’ engagement and looks forward to planning even more exciting learning opportunities in the months ahead.