Brook Acre Community Primary School

One of the absolute highlights of our school year, this fantastic week brought our curriculum to life as we celebrated the vibrant culture of our community, including our many Asian families.

We kicked things off with a fun and inspiring whole-school assembly, with Y4 children telling the story of the 'Great Race' and teaching us about the Chinese Zodiac. This set the tone for a week full of colour, creativity and excitement. Classrooms buzzed with activity as children explored Chinese culture through art, dance and storytelling. Our youngest pupils especially loved working together to create a wonderful Chinese dragon before proudly performing a lively dragon dance for the whole school.

A real standout moment was welcoming children into classes to share their language and culture—children absolutely loved learning new words from native speakers.

We rounded off the week in style with a joyful celebration, as children exchanged red envelopes filled with kind messages and enjoyed a delicious taste of Chinese cuisine from our special school dinner menu. A truly memorable week, full of smiles, pride and togetherness!

The whole school took part in a meaningful project to raise awareness of issues surrounding the use of palm oil, inspired by the book There’s a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom.

Across the school, pupils engaged in a wide range of thoughtful activities. They explored which everyday products contain palm oil, located rainforests around the world on maps, and created eye-catching posters to spread awareness. Children also wrote persuasive letters to chocolate companies, researched statistics about endangered species and conservation efforts, and learned about sustainable planting practices.

As part of this shared learning experience, classes worked collaboratively towards a whole school performance of the story, presenting it as a narrative poem on World Book Day. Staff and pupils came together to mark the occasion by wearing orange, showing their support and commitment to the cause.

Leighton, Y6, was so pleased to receive a reply from Local MP, Charlotte Nichols, showing how our work is impacting on our local area!

At Brook Acre, we take full responsibility for protecting our planet and recognise how small changes can have a big impact. In February, the School Council led an assembly to encourage everyone to think about ways to make a difference, such as organising litter picks, recycling batteries, planting flowers, and upcycling milk bottles into musical instruments.

Year 2 pupils took part in a beach clean-up at Formby Beach, and each class designed their own eco-challenge linking with Warrington Wolves’ Ready, Set, Go Green project. These class projects made a meaningful difference to our school environment, the local community, and, in turn, our planet.

We also held a whole school ‘Crazy Hair Day’ to raise funds for the local charity, Warrington Animal Welfare.

During the Summer Term, each class based their English studies around a book linked to environmental issues. These included Someone Swallowed Stanley, which focused on plastic recycling; Year 1 explored Devon farming to reflect on responsible consumption; Year 2 studied beaches and the impact of littering; Year 3 learned about the ocean through The Big Blue Whale; Year 4 explored deforestation with Where the Forest Meets the Sea; Year 5 read The Paperbag Prince to deepen their understanding of reusing and recycling; and Year 6 learned about the importance of preserving our National Parks.

Water is one of the greatest things that connects us all. Across the world, rivers, lakes and seas link communities, shaping the places where we live and reminding us that, although we may be in different countries, we are all connected through our shared water sources. Pupils across the school took part in a range of exciting geography and cultural learning activities.

Year 2, Year 3 and Year 5 pupils explored rivers through their Geography topics, learning about physical geography, local culture and traditions in both the UK, Brazil and France. They collaborated across year groups by creating interactive displays and quizzes, sharing their knowledge and teaching one another about what they had discovered.

The children investigated flood plains and learned about how flooding affects our local area and took part in a thoughtful class debate, considering how flooding can sometimes have positive benefits for people and the environment.

Pupils also produced informative leaflets about rivers in our region, which they shared with our partner school. In return, they received information about Dax being a spa town and the legend of the healing properties of the River Ardour, which they discussed and compared in class.

In May, Year 5 and Y6 visited Dax, where they experienced the town's unique natural resources first-hand. They discovered how the hot springs have shaped the town's history, economy and tourism, further strengthening the friendship between the two schools and enriching their understanding of life in another European country. 

Back in England, the pupils enacted the legend of the Roman soldier and his dog, performing their playlets for younger pupils and sharing their knowledge. The children are very curious about how true this legend is!