Cool Capybaras (Year 5)
At the start of every academic year, each class meets their new teacher and as a team, they decide on what their class name is going to be for that year. We feel that giving the children collective ownership over their class name helps to foster a strong sense of belonging and pride in their team. This year, our Year 5 class are the...
Across the Year 5 school year, children follow a rich and varied curriculum that develops their skills, knowledge, and confidence in many subject areas. In the autumn term, they begin by diving into Greek myths, using The Twelve Tasks of Hercules to inspire their own creative retellings. Alongside this, they explore place value, addition and subtraction, and geometry in maths, while their science learning focuses on forces. Autumn also offers engaging wider‑curriculum themes, including an exploration of ancient Greek civilisation in history and a study of life in the Alps in geography. Children start the year in Spanish with the topic All About Me, and in computing they take on the exciting role of game developers. Art lessons concentrate on drawing skills—texture, shading, and perspective—while PE emphasises personal skills, and music focuses on melody and harmony.
As the year moves into Autumn 2, the class studies The Boy at the Back of the Class, producing a range of thoughtful writing such as letters, persuasive pieces, and news reports. Maths shifts to multiplication, division, and fractions, and science turns to living things and their habitats. Children explore difference and diversity in PSHE and continue their Spanish learning with Describing Appearance. They also become cryptographers in computing and create electrical wobble‑bots in design and technology. PE targets social skills, and music encourages pupils to sing and play in different styles.
In Spring 1, the class immerses themselves in Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, using the story to inspire diary entries, adverts, and magical adventure writing. Maths extends multiplication and division while introducing fractions and decimals, and science focuses on materials. PSHE explores emotions, and history investigates whether the Vikings were raiders, traders, or something else entirely. Spanish lessons move to Eating Out, and computing transforms pupils into young architects, designing and creating digital spaces. Art this term builds further drawing techniques, particularly depth, emotion and movement, while PE develops cognitive skills, and music explores composing with chords.
During Spring 2, children read The Jungle Book and use it as inspiration for personal narratives, monologues, instructions, and descriptive writing. Maths introduces decimals and percentages as well as measures, while science continues to explore materials. In PSHE, pupils learn about relationships, and geography helps them understand why oceans matter. Spanish turns to My World, and computing encourages creativity as children become web developers. PE progresses to creative skills, and music invites children to enjoy a variety of musical styles.
In Summer 1, the focus turns to the imaginative worlds of Ray Bradbury through The Rocket and All Summer in a Day. These texts inspire internal monologues, writing in the author’s style, soliloquies, and reflective evaluations. Maths covers decimals and statistics, while science expands to space. PSHE highlights responsibility, and history moves into Tudor England, exploring what life was like during this fascinating period. Spanish centres on the classroom, computing introduces adventure gaming, and design and technology invites children to develop their own recipes. In art, the children explore portraits through painting and mixed media, with PE developing physical skills and music encouraging students to improvise freely.
Finally, in Summer 2, the year closes with a study of The Call of the Wild, leading to a range of writing including narratives, non‑fiction, monologues, and even presentations on dog sled teams. Maths finishes with negative numbers and measures, while science turns its attention to animals including humans. PSHE tackles bullying, and geography asks the compelling question, Would you like to live in a desert? Spanish explores the past tense, and computing ends the year on a high with virtual‑reality design. The art focus on portraits continues, PE highlights health and fitness, and music ends with a lively Battle of the Bands.
