Welcome to Year 5!

2025-26

In Year 5, our teachers are Mrs Gilchrist (Class 7), Miss Brown (Class 8), and Mrs Tamsett-Tate and Mrs Oswald (Class 9). We are also supported by our dedicated Learning Support Assistant (LSAs): Mrs Bridgeman.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your child's teacher. If they are not around at pick-up, you can speak to them by phoning the school office and requesting an appointment.

Keep referring back to this page for regular updates about the children's learning. 

Curriculum Newsletters

Year 5 Spring 1 -Curriculum Newsletter

Year 5 Autumn 2 - Curriculum Newsletter

Year 5 Autumn 1 - Curriculum Newsletter

Update – Thursday 29th January 2026

Geography:

This week, the children built on their learning about the location of rainforests around the world by exploring their physical features in more detail. We focused on the different layers of the rainforest and investigated each one carefully, from the forest floor up to the emergent layer.

To apply their knowledge, the children completed a challenge activity where they wrote about each layer underneath labelled strips, explaining the key features of each section of the rainforest. They showed great understanding and enthusiasm while demonstrating what they had learnt about this unique and important ecosystem.

 

      

In English, the children are now working on their final pieces of writing based on The Explorer. They are rewriting the first four chapters, with a strong focus on using speech to show characterisation and bring the characters to life.

The children are applying their learning from our sentence surgery lessons to ensure their sentences are well structured, varied and flow smoothly. They have been carefully manipulating sentence types to improve the impact of their writing. Alongside this, they are developing their editing skills and using vivid descriptions to help the reader clearly imagine each scene.

In Maths, the children have been learning how to multiply two-digit numbers by two-digit numbers using the column method. As this was a new and challenging concept, the children have shown great resilience and determination in their learning.

Some pupils have extended their understanding by tackling three-digit by two-digit multiplication and applying their skills to reasoning and problem-solving questions.

Next week, we will be moving on to division. We continue to use White Rose Maths to support our teaching and ensure a clear, structured approach to learning.

Update – Friday 23rd January 2026

Maths:

Year 5 has begun a new unit of learning focused on multiplication and division. Pupils have started by developing their understanding of 4-digit by 1-digit multiplication, using a range of written methods and representations to support accuracy and understanding. They are now progressing onto 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication, alongside application and reasoning tasks that require them to apply these skills in a variety of contexts.

Throughout this unit, pupils have demonstrated excellent perseverance, focus, and effort as they tackle increasingly challenging calculations. We have been very pleased with the positive attitudes shown towards learning and the progress being made as children continue to develop their confidence and fluency with these important mathematical procedures.

English:

In English, the children have been continuing with The Explorer unit of work, with a strong focus on sentence structure. We have been busy performing sentence surgery! The children explored main clauses, phrases and conjunctions, learning how to piece together more complex sentences so they flow smoothly and are as effective as possible.

The children first worked together as a class, “operating” on a range of sentences and discussing how changes could improve clarity and impact. They then applied this learning in pairs, performing sentence surgery independently and writing their improved sentences into their books.

The results were fantastic. The children wrote amazing sentences and manipulated clauses very effectively. They also read their sentences aloud, listening carefully to how they sounded and discussing which versions worked best and why. A great demonstration of teamwork, thoughtful editing and growing confidence as writers.

 

 

Computing:

In Computing, the children have been exploring the Mars Rover using Kapow. They have been learning about binary code and how it is used to communicate instructions in computing.

Through engaging activities, the children discovered how binary code works and how computers interpret sequences of 0s and 1s to perform tasks. They applied this knowledge practically by programming the Mars Rover, seeing firsthand how precise instructions in code result in the rover carrying out specific actions.

We then used an online game to practice using binary code and apply our knowledge:

 

Update - Friday 16th January 2026

Geography:

This week, our Year 5 pupils have been exploring the world through their rainforest unit of work. They have learnt about climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, and how these are all interconnected, with a particular focus on tropical rainforests. Using atlases, the children identified different global climate zones and located where rainforests are found, discussing the key characteristics of each zone and how climate influences vegetation and wildlife.

Alongside their geography skills, pupils developed strong oracy skills by sharing ideas, explaining their thinking and using subject-specific vocabulary with confidence. Through discussion and collaborative work, they were able to describe the features of different biomes and compare them, showing a growing understanding of how physical geography shapes our world.

English:

In English, Year 5 have been working on their class text, The Explorer by Katherine Rundell. The children explored the key characters, including Con, Fred and Lila, developing a deep understanding of their personalities, motivations and feelings. Through hot-seating activities, pupils stepped into the role of each character, responding to questions in character and explaining their thoughts and emotions in a range of imagined scenarios.

To further develop their understanding of dialogue, the children were given different characters and asked to take part in structured arguments with one another. This helped them explore how characters speak, react and express their viewpoints. Pupils learnt how effective dialogue can reveal a character’s personality and move a narrative forward. Next week, the children will write their own pieces of dialogue, applying everything they have learnt to create engaging and believable character interactions in their writing.

Art:

 

In Art, Year 5 have been exploring the theme of line, light and shadow. As part of this unit, the children learnt about the artist Pablo Picasso and studied examples of his line drawings, focusing on his use of a single, continuous line to create expressive artwork. Pupils discussed how simple lines can be used effectively to suggest form, movement and expression.

The children then practised this technique themselves, using one unbroken line to create their own drawings. With a range of examples to observe and replicate, they developed confidence in experimenting with line and refining their control. This work encouraged creativity, careful observation and perseverance, helping pupils to understand how artists can use simple techniques to achieve powerful visual effects.

Update - Friday 9th January 2026

English:

In English this term, Year 5 have begun exploring the adventure novel The Explorer by Katherine Rundell. To fully immerse the children in the world of the story, we began with an exciting, imaginative experience: a shared “plane journey.” The children imagined boarding a small aircraft, flying high above South America and eventually crash-landing in the heart of the rainforest, mirroring the opening events of the book. This immersive approach helped the children to engage emotionally and creatively with the text from the very start.

To deepen their understanding of the setting, we used a range of visual stimuli, including video clips and photographs of rainforests. The children explored what they might see, hear and feel in this unfamiliar and dramatic environment. Using this inspiration, they worked together to develop rich vocabulary and descriptive ideas before writing a detailed setting description of the crashed plane surrounded by the rainforest.

As part of this unit, we have also been developing key grammar skills. The children have been learning about prepositions and adverbial phrases and exploring how these can be used effectively to add clarity, detail and atmosphere to their writing. They practised identifying and using these features to describe position, movement and time, helping their writing to become more precise and engaging for the reader.

Next, the children will be completing an “apprentice piece” of writing. In this task, they will independently apply everything they have learnt so far by writing their own setting descriptions inspired by the rainforest scene. This will allow them to demonstrate their understanding of the text, use of descriptive language, and confident application of prepositions and adverbial phrases.

Geography:

In Geography this term, Year 5 have begun a unit of work focused on Living Rainforests. The children have been learning about the importance of rainforests and why they are such valuable and unique environments. To introduce the topic, the children watched a David Attenborough documentary, which helped them to understand the incredible diversity of life found within rainforest habitats. They then completed a quiz to consolidate their learning, focusing on the wide range of animals that live in the rainforest and the roles they play within this ecosystem.

To further deepen their understanding, the children had the opportunity to use virtual reality (VR) headsets to explore rainforests in an interactive way. This immersive experience allowed them to see the rainforest from different perspectives and helped them to imagine what it might feel like to be there, surrounded by dense vegetation, towering trees and abundant wildlife. This hands-on approach supported the children in developing a more meaningful understanding of rainforest environments, which will underpin their learning as the unit progresses.

   

Update – Friday 19th December 2025

DT:

This week, we presented our final pneumatic machines to the children in year 4. We evaluated our products and completed a review form for each of our final pieces:

     

English:

The children have been enthusiastically practising their performance poetry as part of their preparations for the upcoming Carol Concert. They are currently working on their The Grinch poem, focusing on clear voices, expression, and confident stage presence.

Throughout rehearsals, the children have shown fantastic commitment and energy, bringing the poem to life with character and emotion. They have worked hard on timing, actions, and projection, and their progress has been impressive.

We are incredibly proud of how well they are doing and look forward to sharing their performance with families at the Carol Concert. It promises to be a fun and festive highlight of the event!

Update - Friday 12th December 2025

This week we have started our preparation for the carol concert, and our unit 'Christmas Performance Poetry' has commenced! We have explored the key techniques needed to perform poetry effectively and have been exploring these skills in detail. Our focus has been on the use of our voices to create expression and tone. The children are now learning their part for the Year 5 performance and will be learning some actions to go alongside their vocals.

This week in DT, the children have worked in groups to produce their final pneumatic machine. They have worked hard to ensure the mechanism works effectively and will be presenting their machines to the Year 4 children next week. It has been brilliant to see how the children's social skills have developed during their group work, and we are proud of the children's knowledge of pneumatics.

 

We have now concluded our Shang Dynasty unit, and the children wrote their final pieces all about the Shang. They created Horrible Histories-style writing about different aspects of life, including oracle bones, warfare and the hierarchy within the Shang Dynasty.

Update – Friday 5th December 2025

To complete our Shang Dynasty unit, we explore the Bronze Age from across the world. We learnt that other countries also had Bronze Age eras at the same time as Ancient China and explored them in more detail. Working in pairs, we each chose a random envelope that contained information about a Bronze Age from a specific location. We used Google Earth to explore the location and used resources to learn more about what their Bronze Age looked liked. After this, we presented our findings to the class and compared and contrasted each Bronze Age with the Shang Dynasty:

      

   

We had an exciting set of visitors this week for the Science Dome! We were able to go into the Dome and learn more about Earth and Space through an exciting light show! It was a brilliant experience and so immersive for the children. We learnt a lot from the visitors, and the children really enjoyed their session:

Update - Friday 28th November 2025

Over the last couple of weeks, the children have planned, designed and created their pneumatic machines in groups! We have spent some time working on the skills required to work in groups, as it involves a lot of different social skills, communication and teamwork. Having designed their pneumatic machines, the children then used a range of recycled materials from home to create them. It has been a big learning curve for the children, and they have thoroughly enjoyed creating their final pieces:

In English, we have explored the use of parentheses within sentences. We learnt about brackets, dashes, and commas, how they can be applied, and what their effects on the sentence are.

We had a range of sentences with parentheses and had to remove them to explore what happens when they are removed.

We learnt that the sentences still make sense as the parentheses are for extra information, and then spent some time applying our new knowledge to have a go at using parentheses accurately within sentences. Next week, we will be writing our final pieces for our Horrible Histories unit of work, and we will try to see if we can include parentheses within our writing.

Update – Friday 21st November 2025

In Science lessons, we have continued learning about space, and the children created a model of the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun to understand the relationships between their movements better. 

We then used these models to complete the following tasks: 

In the next session, we conducted an investigation to replicate Aristotle’s observations of ships disappearing over the horizon and determined that the Earth is spherical. We did one investigation where we imagined that the Earth was flat, and used a cube to represent a ship travelling over the horizon (our table tops) to investigate what we would observe. In the other investigation, we used a cube stuck onto a ball to also represent a ship travelling over the horizon. We concluded that this is what happens on planet Earth, as it is a sphere. We discussed that this proves Aristotle’s theory.

    

Over the last week, we have explored two key topics within our PSHE sessions: bullying and racism. The children have shown such maturity, and some fantastic discussions have taken place in classrooms. We have explored differences between people and why these differences make us unique and individual. The children have celebrated these differences and shown a good understanding of the importance of being different and being your true self.

We have explored what bullying and racism actually are, the impact they have on individuals and the importance of speaking up and responding in the correct way. It was very interesting to listen to the children's contributions, stories and their opinions within the lessons.

 

Update – Friday 14th November 2025

This week, we have continued with our Horrible Histories unit of work. Having explored non-chronological reports and Horrible Histories examples, we compared and contrasted the two so that we understood the layout and language features required. To show our learning, we completed a Venn diagram to show the similarities and differences between the two types of text:

   

We are now preparing to write an Apprentice piece so that we can have a go at writing part of a Horrible Histories report.

This week, we explored the end of the Shang Dynasty and the causes and consequences of the King's actions. To do this, we acted the end of the Shang Dynasty as a play:

  

Finally, we completed a diamond 9 activity to rank the causes for the fall of the Shang in order to determine the significance of each cause:

 

The children explored the biomes of the world and their key characteristics using a range of sources. We then completed an activity where we had to match the right characteristics to the right biome:

 

 

Finally, we explored some of Planet Earth and delved deeper into the Tundra biome.

 

Update – Friday 7th November 2025

In English, we are putting the children’s knowledge of the Shang Dynasty to the test by applying this within our English unit, ‘Horrible Histories: The Shang Dynasty’. The children have been exploring a range of information texts to unpick the layout and language features. 

In science, we have been learning about our solar system and creating a 'to-scale' model. We used a variety of fruits and vegetables to show the relative size of the planets to the sun.

Update - Friday 24th October 2025

DT:

This week we introduced the children to our new DT topic in preparation for after half term. We explored pneumatics! The children learnt about the states of matter before applying this knowledge to the concept of pneumatics:

 

We then explored how pneumatics is used within the real world:

 

After this, we investigated how squashed air increases the pressure to make things move using a range of syringes and rubber tubing:

The children absolutely loved this lesson and are very excited to start the unit. 

Boxes:

We have asked the children to bring in any empty cereal or shoe boxes if they have them at home in preparation for their creative work next half term. 

 

Geography:

Over the last couple of weeks, the children have explored climate zones and vegetation belts within the world. After learning about the climate zones, the children created their own display pieces to show off their learning and apply their knowledge:

    

Update - Friday 17th October 2025

   

The children have completed their Taotie masks in art and used painting techniques to finish their final pieces. This week, we are reflecting on our work and evaluating our masks. We have been very impressed with the children's hard work in this unit, and there are some talented little artists in our year group!

 

In History, we have been learning about the hierarchy of people within the Shand Dynasty. The children then used their knowledge to create Top Trump cards for the different roles to show who had the most power, wealth and popularity.

 

In English this week, we have worked hard on cohesion and ensuring we join our sentences and paragraphs effectively. We have learnt a lot about Simon Biles and the key events within her life.

Next week, we will be writing our final pieces to put our skills to the test and show off our learning. 

Update – Friday 10th October 2025

This week, the children explored religion within the Shang Dynasty. We looked at five key areas of religion and why this was so important to the Shang. In pairs, the children received a blank envelope, which revealed the area of religion they were tasked with investigating. They then used the Chromebooks to follow their line of enquiry and learn more about what the Shang believed, how they worshipped their ancestors and why this was so important to them. Each pair then created their own Google Slides and prepared a presentation for another group using flash cards. They then taught each other about their findings:

      

We completed our PSHE unit 'Being Me in My World' for this Autumn half term by looking at a range of conflict/resolution scenarios. We worked together to become Agony Aunts and support others with their problems. To do this, we used the structure 'GEARS' to write a reply letter supporting a child with their problem by showing empathy, giving advice and also reassurance:

This week we have completed our RE unit 'Belonging'. We have explored how a sense of belonging is felt within Islam:

Update - Friday 3rd October 2025

This week in English, we have started our next unit of work linked to Black History Month. 

We are exploring the life of Simone Biles in preparation for a biographical piece of writing later on in the unit. To kick start this topic, we were given a range of items as clues and had to work out who the mystery guest was. The Olympic medal and leotard were the biggest giveaways, and it didn't take the children long to figure out the gymnast! 

        

We have started to learn more about her life and explored her key life events, putting them into chronological order. 

We have moved on to our next unit, 'Addition and subtraction', and will be learning a range of methods to help us work out calculations quickly and efficiently. We will soon be exploring the use of the inverse to check answers and work out missing gaps in calculations.

This week in art, we made our own 'oracle bones' by hosting a divination ceremony. The children used clay to create their own bones/plastrons and then carried out the divination process by inscribing their names, date and question on behalf of the Shang:

         

Update – Thursday 25th September 2025

This week, we have started our Year 5 swimming sessions at the Sports Centre. The children have thoroughly enjoyed their first sessions, and it has been lovely to see them already growing in confidence in the swimming pool and listening carefully to their instructions as they are taught different strokes and shown techniques. We have a lot of great swimmers already in the year group, and their hour swim each week is definitely a hit with them!

In computing, we have enjoyed our new topic 'search engines' and have been learning about alternative search engines to 'Google'. The children had the opportunity to explore a range of different search engines and reviewed them to determine which ones would be the best to use in given scenarios. After this, the children explored the accuracy and validity of information from the internet. They were given a website to explore:

 

It didn't take long for them to realise the information provided on this website was inaccurate and had been fabricated! The children uncovered evidence of inaccurate information and we discussed safety online. 

In Geography this week, the children learnt about contour lines on OS Maps. We explored a range of maps and they were given the task of making their own 3D model to represent contour lines:

Update – Friday 19th September 2025

This week, we have continued to work on our persuasive letter writing. Having completed an Apprentice piece to show off what we can do, we started to focus on the structure of paragraphs. The children were given sentences to organise and manipulate to help develop their understanding of how to make paragraphs and sentences within paragraphs cohesive. We explore how to persuade using points, explanation and evidence to further our understanding of how a paragraph is pieced together.

After that, we then spent some time applying this knowledge and practising writing paragraphs in preparation for our final pieces.

    

This week in history, we took a trip back to the year 1950 in the 20th century, when a unique dig at Yinxu uncovered the first evidence that the Shang Dynasty had existed. To help us understand more about the dig, we first listened to a news podcast about the event. Then, we re-enacted the dig with our very own archaeological dig! The children used paintbrushes to uncover the evidence within and used their historical interpretation knowledge to try to work out what the artefact told them about the Shang Dynasty. We then looked back at historical scientists' insights before choosing an artefact to write about in our books. The children were very good archaeologists and enjoyed learning about the Shang Dynasty through the artefacts discovered!

      

Our current topic 'Forces and mechanisms' is well underway now and the children investigated friction this week. We carried out an investigation into the relationship between surfaces and friction. To help us understand the concept, we used cars, ramps and different surfaces to see how the car travelled.

Update – Friday 12th September 2025

The children have now begun their exciting History unit: Dynamic Dynasties! To start the unit off, we learnt about the chronology of Ancient China and created our own interactive class timeline:

After this, we then shared a memorable experience in which we acted out a myth from the Xia Dynasty called ‘The Yellow Emperor’. The children took on the role of different characters, and as a class, we performed the play:

   

Once we had completed the play, we discussed the validity of the myth. We explored how these stories are passed down and whether we believe them to be accurate depictions of what happened or whether we believe they have been embellished or made up for creative reasons!

This week we have been exploring words containing ‘ough’ in spelling. As a class, we learnt about some of the different sounds these letters can make and explored the following words:

We used the following ‘Grow the code mat’ to explore the words and break them down into their sounds:

The children spent the week practising these words and we tested each other to see how many words containing ‘ough’ we could spell correctly.

Each week on Mondays, we will continue to give the children the spellings being focused on for that week so that if they want to, they can practice them at home too!

Update - Friday 5th September 2025

Welcome to year 5! We hope you have all had a lovely summer break and enjoyed spending time together over the holidays. We have many exciting plans in place for the children this year so stay tuned on this Year 5 group page of the website for weekly updates. 

We have already been so impressed with the way the children have come back to school and started to settle into their new classes. Although they are in the same classroom area as last year, they have stepped up their game and are adjusting well to the expectations set for year 5. Every single child has shown such a positive attitude towards their learning and to their new class teachers so we are already excited about this year ahead.

We began with full steam ahead and the children have already kicked off many of their topics for the half term. Here are a few we have already started:

In maths this half-term, we are focusing on place value. The children use a combination of White Rose maths alongside the teacher's own creative ideas and have already explored Roman numerals as well as the place value columns. This exploration will continue into next week.

We have also started our TT Rockstar practice this week and hope the children will continue to use TT Rockstars online at home to further improve their knowledge and speed of their times tables because it has such a benefit to the children throughout their maths journey.

In our English, the children have started to read their new class book 'The Boy At The Back Of The Class' and we will be completing a writing unit alongside this. On our first day, we explored the term 'refugee'. A lonely chair sat at the front of the classroom when we first came back to school and on the chair, there sat a rucksack. Inside this rucksack, we uncovered a range of clues that led to us understanding more about refugees.

We explored the art of 'persuasion' within writing and will continue to explore the skills required to write a formal letter to Miss Charman.

     Linking to our history unit 'Dynamic Dynasties', the children have explored taotie art work. They learnt about the key characteristics of taotie art and then had a go at replicating an artifact using key drawing and sketching skills. It turns out we have some fantastic artists in year 5 and cannot wait to see what they can produce throughout the year!