This week, we have welcomed a number of visitors to Swainswick in the colder weather. On Tuesday, we held our second open Reception morning for families considering places in 2026. It was great to be able to share our learning and grounds with prospective new parents and pupils. It is brilliant showing new people around our school, and we often receive positive comments about the calm and nurturing atmosphere here at Swainswick. We also welcomed Debbie Smith, who conducted a

Hazel Class have fully immersed themselves in the Stone Age this week. The children wrote some fantastic diary entries from the perspective of Stone Age child and were incredibly proud to share their work aloud with the class. In the afternoon, we created our own cave paintings, using natural colours and Stone Age-style techniques. These artworks will soon be displayed inside our very own ‘caves’—shoebox creations the children are excited to bring to life.

This week, we have marked Remembrance day with a special assembly and by observing a two minute silence on Tuesday 11 th November at 11am. We all came together on the playground to share this time as a whole school community. As part of our assembly, we thought about the people we remembered during our silence and anyone affected by war or conflict today. Ada told us how different colour poppies represent different people (and animals): red poppies commemorate those who sacr

This week in Science, Hazel and the class carried out a fascinating experiment to explore how different drinks can affect our teeth. Since we couldn’t use real teeth, we used eggs instead—their shells are made of calcium, just like tooth enamel! We tested six liquids: water, juice, squash, tea, cola, and milk . Each egg was placed in one of these drinks and left for a few days. Here’s what we discovered: Water  – No change at all! A great reminder that water is the best drink

We’ve had a brilliant start to the term. The children have settled back into the routines of school really well- it’s been a busy week! In assembly, we have started thinking about our value for the term, ‘thankfulness’. We listened to a story about a couple who were granted 3 magic wishes in return for their integrity, but they were so busy arguing about what to wish for they ended up losing them all! Thinking about the moral of the story, the children had lots of good ideas.

Hazel Class have settled beautifully back into the routine of school after the half-term break. We are now venturing into our exciting new topic — The Stone Age! In History this week, we began learning about nomads — the hunter-gatherers — and the class had great fun creating their own “stone caves.” In Art, we explored the Lion Man  figurine and had a go at sketching our own versions. In Maths, our new topic is multiplication, and we started by learning about arrays. Well do

And just like that, it’s half term! On Tuesday, we had a brilliant time at Woolley Church for our Harvest Festival service. The walk across the valley to and from the church was a great opportunity to be together, chat and enjoy our local environment. One parent commented how it felt like a lovely migration across the valley, watching the children play and talk as we went. At the Church, we were blown away by the children's contributions of singing, sharing harvest poems and