Autumn 1 - Curriculum Enrichment Review | Heap Bridge Village Primary School

History & Historical Immersion

RAF HQ Simulation: Classroom transformed into RAF Headquarters to model WWII command chains during the Battle of Britain. Students took on roles as radar controllers, commanders, and pilots, using radar reports to track incoming aircraft and make tactical defense decisions.
The Blitz Museum Curation: Analyzed archival air-raid footage, mapped targeted British cities on national maps, and created artifacts for a class Blitz museum exhibition.

Ancient Egypt Immersion Day (Year 5): Day of experiential learning exploring mummification, writing in hieroglyphics as scribes, pharaoh city architecture, Egyptian storytelling, and traditional board games.
Viking Culture & Living History (Year 4): Living history preparations including a Viking storytelling session around a simulated indoor campfire (with cushions and blankets), ahead of the Y4 Viking class assembly.

The Great Fire of London: Hands-on exploration of historical artifacts alongside creating 17th-century Tudor house collages in art.

Nutrient & Water Transport (Year 6): Built physical models of the human body using absorbent materials to simulate blood vessels and observe how nutrients travel through the bloodstream.
SCARF Health & Physiology Workshops (Reception – Year 3): Interactive workshops with SCARF and Harold/Gerald the Giraffe covering mental health and brain function (Year 3), oral hygiene and tooth brushing (Reception), handwashing, nutrition, and body stretches (Years 1 & 2).

Forces Fieldwork (Year 5): Practical fieldwork at the local park testing friction, gravity, air resistance, pushes, and pulls, observing how forces alter speed, direction, and shape.
Gas Generation Experiment (Year 4): Produced carbon dioxide by mixing white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to inflate balloons.
Material Properties & Testing (Year 2): Evaluated materials for flexibility, opacity, and waterproofing to select optimal tent fabrics.

Five Senses Inquiry: Multi-week sensory testing covering touch (blind identification of bark, gems, shells, pegs), taste (identifying 4 crisp flavors), and smell.
Fieldwork & Map Reading: Conducted live pavement traffic and vehicle-color tally surveys in pairs, mapped the local Heap Bridge community, and identified key landmarks (school, petrol station, St. George’s Church, homes).

Weekly outdoor house team-building challenges in the environmental area focused on natural den construction. Supernova and Comet houses tested communication, structural integrity, and leak repairs, joined by Year 1 pupils for cross-year teamwork.

Gathered natural materials in the environmental area to replicate prehistoric cave painting techniques.

Weekly woodland visits exploring autumn changes, nocturnal animal habitats (decorating leaf-covered hedgehogs), sound walks, conker throwing, sensory water play, and shadow tracking.

Egyptian Jewellery & Artifacts (Year 5): Crafted dream catchers and designed Egyptian death mask accessories using recycled cardboard tubes.
3D Woolly Mammoth Sculptures (Year 3): Collected 2L plastic milk bottles to construct 3D woolly mammoth models in English.
Printmaking & Line Techniques (Year 1): Carved polystyrene tile stamps to execute roller prints in sketchbooks, alongside experimenting with line thickness (bold/thin) and color wheel mixing.

Black History Month (Reception): Celebrated jazz pioneer Louis Armstrong by decorating trumpets, listening to jazz recordings, experiencing live trumpet music in class, and matching musical beats through movement.
Pulse & Performance (Year 1): Completed a 6-week rhythm module mastering pulse-keeping through clapping, swaying, singing, and performance cues.
Instrumental Tuition (Year 4): Weekly practical ukulele lessons focusing on chords, rhythm, and strumming.
Choir & Young Voices 2027: Weekly rehearsals and digital music room practice preparing repertoire for Young Voices.

Partitioning & Subtraction (Year 2): Partitioned numbers to 100 using physical apparatus; developed subtraction strategies (counting back, partitioning to nearest 10).
Early Maths & Subitising (Reception): Compared mass using balanced arm scales (heavy vs. light), set matching, 5-frame 'one more/one less' exercises, subitising to 5, and size comparisons (big/small).

Little Wandle Phonics (Reception): Introduced initial phonemes (s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, g, o, c, k, h, b, f, l, e, u, r) and digraphs (ck); established correct pen grip ("nip, flip, grip"); introduced wordless books, sound walks, and oral blending.
Cursive Handwriting (Year 4): Targeted cursive joins for lower-case letters ('a', 'o') using digital handwriting tools.

Student Leadership: School Council planned and managed the Harvest drive for Heywood Foodbank. Senior pupils completed formal job applications and Headteacher interviews for Prefect and Assembly Leader roles.

KS2 Girls’ Football: Finished 1st Place (Champions) in the Heywood Schools Tournament (5 wins in 6 games).
Year 5/6 Football: Finished 2nd Place overall in Heywood, remaining completely unbeaten without conceding a single goal.
Year 3/4 Boys’ Football: Secured 3rd Place overall in their local competition.

Year 3/4 Dodgeball after-school club and cricket coaching sessions (Year 4).
Reception PE covering animal movement imitation (giraffes, monkeys, tigers), balance drills, and "domes and dishes."
Year 2 wellbeing yoga warm-up routines.