2025-2026

Spring 1

Week Ending 06/02/2026

This week, we have been researching rivers and are now ready to create our own information leaflets. This has been a wonderful project and has really highlighted what the children have learnt during our rivers unit in Geography. We have seen some fantastic recall of key facts and vocabulary.

In Maths, we have been focusing on length and perimeter. The children now understand that there are 10 mm in 1 cm and 100 cm in 1 m, and they have been using this knowledge to add different lengths together. We are really proud of the children’s perseverance with this topic. Even when it has been tricky, they have tried their very best and shown great resilience.

In Geography, we have continued to develop our knowledge of settlements. We now know what a city is and what makes a city a city. The children enjoyed learning about the smallest city in the UK and the newest place to be named a city in 2012.

In History, we have been exploring sources from the Indus Valley, including seals. The children then designed and drew their own seals featuring an animal of their choice, and they were wonderfully creative. We have also been learning about jewellery and ornaments that archaeologists have discovered from this time period.

In RE, we have been learning about how Jesus changed lives and looked closely at the story of Zacchaeus. The children thought carefully about the person Zacchaeus was before he met Jesus and how he changed after this important encounter.

In PE, our focus has been on dance. The children chose a setting and created a short dance to help others guess where their setting was. Their creativity and teamwork really shone through.

During our whole-class shared read, we have been really enjoying our new book Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. The story follows four different characters who all visit the same park, but each chapter is told from a different point of view. This has helped the children understand how the same event can be experienced in very different ways. The children have engaged brilliantly with the text and have enjoyed taking turns reading the different voices.

Another busy and successful week in Year 3!

Week Ending 30/01/2026
This week in English, we have been immersing ourselves in our story The Rhythm of the Rain. We explored the example text Marvelling at Mountains, an information leaflet all about mountains. The children examined the vocabulary used and discussed how it engages the reader, in preparation for creating their own information leaflets about rivers or waterfalls. We also immersed ourselves in images of rivers and waterfalls and discussed the technical vocabulary that could be used to describe them effectively.

In Maths, we have started our new topic on length and perimeter. The children have begun exploring metres, centimetres and millimetres, learning how to measure and compare lengths. Although we have now finished our multiplication and division topic, I would still strongly encourage children to continue using TT Rockstars to build fluency, as this will support them across all areas of maths.  

In History, we continued our learning about the Indus Valley, focusing this week on Bricks, Buildings, Baths and Bathrooms. We learnt that people in the Indus Valley had the technology to:
- make bricks all the same size
- fire bricks in very hot kilns
- build straight walls and roads
- plan large cities and impressive buildings
We looked closely at different rooms and structures and discussed how they were built. Ask your child to explain each of the images to you at home!

Our final week of swimming has been wonderful. The children have thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and it has been fantastic to hear about the progress they have made. A huge thank you to Mr Doyle and Miss Fenlon for taking the children and supporting them so brilliantly.

Week Ending 23/01/2026
This term, we are delighted to welcome Mr Holland, who will be teaching singing lessons to Years 3 and 4 over the next six weeks. There will also be an exciting opportunity for the children to sing at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and to perform alongside a professional orchestra on Tuesday 10th March.

We had a fantastic start to the week with an exciting visit to LIPA Sixth Form College. The children were treated to a variety of wonderful performances put on by the talented students, including Twisted Tales, The Jungle Book, The Wizard of Oz, and James and the Giant Peach. The shows were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone and provided a brilliant opportunity for the children to experience live theatre. What a memorable trip!

In maths this week, the children have been working hard on dividing a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number using flexible partitioning, as well as exploring division with remainders. We used sticks to create shapes and support our understanding, helping the children to visualise remainders clearly. The children showed great perseverance and teamwork throughout. Well done to all!

Swimming has also been a real highlight this week. Mr Doyle and Miss Fenlon have shared how much fun the children have been having and praised them for listening carefully and following instructions from the swimming instructors. Overall, it has been another wonderful week full of learning, enjoyment, and great effort from everyone.

Week Ending 16/01/2026

This week in Maths, we have continued our work on multiplication and division. The children have been learning how to multiply a two-digit number by a one-digit number, and I am super impressed with how hard they have worked! They have shown lots of resilience and explored different methods to reach the correct answer. Well done, Year 3!

In English, we have continued studying our class book, The Rhythm of the Rain. The children have worked hard to analyse the text and even took part in group role-play activities. Each group created a freeze frame to represent a scene from the book and explained their choices clearly and confidently. The children then went on to record their ideas in writing, describing what they could see, how the characters might be feeling, and using expanded noun phrases to add detail. They also began exploring personification, using it to bring the setting and images from the text to life. I was very proud of how well everyone worked together and shared their reasoning.

In Geography, we have continued our topic on settlements. The children have learned what a settlement is and explored the differences between hamlets, villages and towns. They are now able to explain both the similarities and differences with confidence.

In History, we learnt about the Dancing Girl, a statue discovered by archaeologists in the Indus Valley at a site called Mohenjo-daro. The children really enjoyed this lesson, and it was great to see how much knowledge they remembered from our previous topics on the Egyptians and Sumerians, making links to this new civilisation.

In Science, we have started our new topic on rocks. The children learned what rocks are and explored the three main types: sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous. They were able to explain how these rocks are formed and identify examples we might encounter in everyday life.

A wonderful week, Year 3 — let’s keep up the fantastic hard work!

Week Ending 09/01/2026
We have had a wonderful first week back after Christmas, and what an amazing way to start the term with a pantomime and Science Week!
The pantomime was brilliant and provided a lovely way to welcome the children back into school. A huge thank you to the PTFA for organising such an enjoyable experience.
During Science Week, the children had a fantastic time exploring big questions such as What if humans hibernated?, What if we had no mirrors? and What if winter never ended? They thoroughly enjoyed sharing their ideas and showed great curiosity and creativity. We were also lucky enough to attend a Mad Science assembly, where the children were amazed by the wonders of science. We all learnt a lot and had great fun!

Our class also learned about the famous fossil hunter Mary Anning. With the help of Miss Fenlon, the children researched facts about her life and discoveries, created their own fossils, and produced informative fact files. They really enjoyed this hands-on learning experience.

We were very fortunate to welcome visitors from Riverside College, who delivered a wonderful workshop making genetic bracelets. This gave us lots to think about, and we were amazed by both the similarities and differences between us, while celebrating how unique we all are. Thank you to the visitors who came in to support our learning.

In English, we have started immersing ourselves in our new book, The Rhythm of the Rain, and in Maths we have continued to develop our multiplication and division skills. We also began our new topic on settlements in Geography and started learning about the Indus Valley in History.

Autumn 2

Week Ending 19/12/2025

We would like to begin by saying a heartfelt thank you from myself and Mrs Buckley for the very generous Christmas gifts. They were truly appreciated. While we are sad to see Mrs Buckley leave, we are so grateful for the positive impact she has had on the children. She has been a wonderful part of our class, and we wish her every success and happiness as she begins her next adventure.

The lead-up to Christmas has been full of excitement and special memories for our class.
One of our highlights was the Santa Dash. Although the weather didn’t cooperate, it certainly didn’t dampen our spirits! We completed the dash indoors instead, and the children had an amazing time, putting in a fantastic effort and thoroughly earning their tired smiles at the end.

Crontons Got Talent was another standout event. Every child who participated was absolutely brilliant, and the range of talent on display truly amazed us all.

We also enjoyed our Christmas parties, filled with dancing, party games and lots of laughter. The festive fun continued with Christmas dinner, where the children proudly made festive hats before enjoying a delicious Christmas feast, kindly served by the teachers.

To make the season even more magical, we were delighted to receive a special visit from Santa, which brought great excitement and joy to the children.

It has been a wonderful end to a busy term, and we are incredibly proud of the children for their enthusiasm, effort and festive spirit throughout.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas break, filled with rest, fun and special moments with family and friends. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to welcoming the children back in the new year.

Week Ending 05/12/2025

What a wonderful week we’ve had in class! We began the week with the B Tales Nativity show, which was a fantastic way to start. The children thoroughly enjoyed this performance, full of fun and laughter, while also reminding us of the importance of the Christmas story.

We also took part in our Road Safety workshop. The children engaged brilliantly, sharing their own stories and experiences and reminding each other how we can stay safe when near roads. They all learnt a great deal and represented the school beautifully.

In Maths, we are nearing the end of our first Multiplication and Division unit. The children have been working hard on their 3, 4 and 8 times tables, using equipment to support their understanding as they practised multiplying and dividing by these numbers.

In English, we finished writing our fable narratives and even received a letter from Fox asking for our help, as he is always being mistaken for being sly and devious! We explored positive and negative vocabulary to describe Fox and used them in sentences to show how his character can be viewed in different ways.

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In Computing, we learnt about input, process and output. The children were very enthusiastic, working in groups to complete worksheets where they had to identify each stage and match different inputs to their correct outputs.

In Geography, we have been exploring mountainous regions of the UK. We focused on the Cairngorms and the Highlands, and the children wrote short paragraphs about everything they had learnt. They also used geographical vocabulary to describe the locations of the Lake District, the Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales in relation to one another.

The children have worked incredibly hard this week and we are so proud of each and every one of them. Well done, children! We’re sure there will be lots more fun ahead as we move into our final weeks before the Christmas holidays.
Week Ending 28/11/2025

This week has been test week, and the children have worked incredibly hard. We are so proud of every one of them, what superstars!

In Geography, we explored the question “How have mountains affected humans?” The children thought about the different ways mountains influence how people live and the changes humans have made to adapt. Using the Andes as an example, they learnt about terraced farming, adaptation to high altitudes, and the importance of mountain passes for travel.

Our focus in history was “What was similar about the cradles of civilisation?” The class identified key features shared by early civilisations, including life near rivers, the shift from nomadic to settled farming communities, access to water, the development of writing, storytelling traditions, and the use of bronze.

In RE, we learnt about the Salvation Army and discussed how the presence of Jesus has had – and continues to have – an impact on people’s lives. The children were able to explain this thoughtfully and respectfully.

In science, we investigated reflective light. The children carried out an experiment to determine which materials reflect light and which absorb it, making excellent observations throughout.

As always, the children have worked extremely hard and should be very proud of their efforts this week.

Week Ending 21/11/2025

We have had a wonderfully busy and enjoyable week in school, filled with hands on learning and lots of excitement across our subjects.

We have now finished our addition and subtraction topic. To celebrate children took part in a special maths lesson where they visited a range of stations, each containing different subtraction challenges. They worked brilliantly, showing great focus and enthusiasm as they moved around and applied their learning.

We have now started multiplication and division, exploring equal groups and arrays. The children have been excited to build on the times table knowledge they already have and we can't wait to see their skills grow.

In English, the children took part in role play and prepared arguments about whether Magpie should trust Fox. We used conscience alley to help magpie decided and the children put forward some fantastic, well-reasoned ideas. We have now begun writing our own fable narratives and I'm already blown away by the quality of their opening paragraphs!

Our focus in PE has been developing throwing and catching skills and team work. The children have worked incredibly hard and it has been lovely to see how much they are enjoying these sessions.

In geography, we continued our learning about mountains, exploring different ways people use them. We looked at how mountain environments are adapted for growing crops, how people visit mountains for their views and clean air and how some mountains are used for skiing. 

Our history lesson took us back to ancient times as we learnt about the Epic of Gilgamesh. The children created silent actions to accompany the sorry before retelling it themselves. It was a wonderful lively lesson that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Can you guess the words our silent actions represent?

There has been a real buzz around the classroom this week as the children competed in England Rocks. They had time in class to take part and it was fantastic to see how excited and motivated they were about practising their times tables.

                                                                   

Week Ending 14/11/2025

What an exciting week it has been in school! The children enjoyed a brilliant school disco and we also took part in anti-bullying week. As part of this, children proudly wore odd socks to celebrate their individuality and had great fun taking part in crazy hair day. We also gathered for a beautiful Remembrance worship. 

In English, we have begun exploring our new book and have focused on the character Fox. The children have produced some truly impressive descriptions, capturing his appearance and personality with creativity and detail.

This week in maths, children have been finishing their work on addition and subtraction. Everyone has shown fantastic determination and it has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they apply their knowledge more independently. 

In RE we have been recognising and reflecting on the different ways that God is with us. The children offered thoughtful ideas and made meaningful connections with their own experiences.

In history, we have continued with our topic on the Cradles of Civilisation, learning about Ancient Sumer. The children explored how Sumerians traded, built and wrote. The children explained why they no longer needed to move around or hunt in the same way earlier people did. 

In science, we have launched our new topic, Light. The children were enthusiastic and engaged, and it was fantastic to see them recalling what they had learnt about light back in year 1. We are excited to continue exploring this fascinating topic in the weeks ahead. 

Week Ending 07/11/2025
We have had a wonderful first week back after half-term! It's been lovely to see the children return with such enthusiasm and energy, ready to learn into new learning across all subjects.

We have been thoroughly immersed in our new book, Fox, this week and the children have produced some wonderful simile poems inspired by the fox in the story. They have shown great creativity in their writing to capture the fox's movement, appearance and personality.            

In maths, we have been continuing our work on addition and subtraction, focusing on adding numbers with an exchange and subtracting across tens and hundreds. The children have worked hard to apply their understanding to solve tricky problems.

In science our focus has been on air-resistance. We carried out an exciting experiment to see how different shapes fall through the air comparing a paper aeroplane and a scrunched-up ball. The children discussed how the shape affects how the air moves around an object, linking this to streamlining and the effects of air resistance. We also took our learning outside and experimented with running parachutes. The children quickly discovered how much harder it is to run when air resistance is acting against them!

                                                                             

In geography, we have started our new topic about mountains. The children have begun to explore how mountains are formed and where some of the most famous mountain ranges in the world can be found. In history, we have begun learning about the Cradles of Civilisation. This week the children leant about clay tablets and the first forms of writing used in ancient Mesopotamia. 

It has been a busy and exciting week full of creativity, curiosity and fantastic learning across all subjects!

Autumn 1

The children have settled into Year 3 wonderfully and have made a fantastic start to the new school year.

We began the term by immersing ourselves in our new book, The Iron Man. The children explored the story in detail, discussing the characters, the plot and what might happen next. They shared their ideas with enthusiasm and then wrote some excellent threat narratives, using creative language and imagination to bring their stories to life. It’s been wonderful to see them so engaged and proud of their work!

More recently, the children received a letter from the town mayor asking for their help in designing a new trap for the Iron Man, who has managed to escape the last one! They have shown fantastic creativity and problem-solving skills in their designs, thinking carefully about how to capture such a clever and powerful character. I’m really looking forward to reading their written explanations of their traps in the coming weeks.

In maths, the children have worked hard on their place value topic. They have explored numbers up to 1,000 — learning to partition them in different ways, use number lines confidently and find 1, 10 or 100 more or less. They have also practised comparing and ordering numbers, showing great understanding and accuracy. 

We’ve now started addition and subtraction and the children are following our five-part lessons with focus and enthusiasm.

In RE, we’ve explored Harvest and how it is celebrated by Christians and through other traditions such as Pongal, Vendimia, and the Olivagando Festival. We also learned about Sukkot and what a sukkah is. The children have been very engaged and can confidently explain why Harvest is celebrated. As part of our Harvest celebrations, the children brought in food donations for the Trussell Trust Widnes Foodbank, showing generosity and care for others. They also put on a brilliant Harvest Festival worship, speaking confidently and singing beautifully. It was wonderful to see their teamwork, enthusiasm, and kindness shine through.

In DT, the children have been working with Mrs Gillies to design and begin creating their own puppets. They have shown fantastic creativity and problem-solving skills and it’s clear they’ve had lots of fun bringing their ideas to life – with only a few tangled threads along the way!

In PE, the children have enjoyed gymnastics and football, developing balance, coordination, teamwork, and confidence. They practised sequences and movements in gymnastics and worked on passing, dribbling and game play in football.

In history, the children have begun exploring Ancient Egypt. They have been learning about Upper and Lower Egypt and how the two kingdoms were united under one pharaoh, who wore the famous double crown to show his rule over both lands. They have also been fascinated by Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, which gives a glimpse into life in ancient times. The children have enjoyed sharing their ideas as they continue to learn more about this exciting topic.

In geography, the children have been learning about the River Indus and its journey from the Himalayas through India and Pakistan. They have explored how the river has changed over time and discussed its impact on people and the environment. The children have considered how the river can be beneficial by irrigating the land but also how it can have negative effects, such as affecting the fishing of palla fish. They have also been learning about the water cycle and how processes like rainfall and evaporation influence the flow of the river.

The children have also enjoyed taking part in a range of exciting enrichment activities this half term.

We were very lucky to welcome Emily Ford, GB rower, for the Great Athletes fitness session. The children took part in a variety of fun exercises, showing energy, enthusiasm, and encouragement for each other. It was an inspiring and enjoyable experience that gave them a real taste of what it’s like to train like a professional athlete.

For International Day, our class represented Switzerland. The children researched the country and created a detailed fact file, and they also produced some wonderful artwork inspired by Swiss artist Paul Klee. The highlight of the day was the parade in the hall, where the children proudly showed the rest of the school their Swiss-inspired outfits. It was a fantastic celebration of learning, creativity, and global culture!

Finally, the children took part in a school council election, preparing speeches and voting for their two new councillors. Magnus and Penny were elected as our class representatives and they approached their new roles with excitement and responsibility. The process gave the children a real sense of democracy in action and showed how everyone’s voice can make a difference. It was fantastic to watch them take leadership, support their classmates and celebrate the achievements of everyone in the class.                                                                           

Tatton Park
As part of building on their learning from Year 2, the children enjoyed a wonderful visit to Tatton Park for a hands-on Stone Age workshop. They stepped back in time to experience what life was like thousands of years ago, taking part in practical activities that brought their history lessons to life.

The children were fascinated to learn that real Stone Age people once lived at Tatton Park, after flint spearheads were discovered on the grounds. This discovery made their visit feel even more special, as they could imagine ancient people walking on the very same land thousands of years ago. They were also captivated by the story of Ötzi the Stone Age man, whose frozen body was discovered high in the Alps — and they are looking forward to exploring his story in more detail back at school.

The day began with the children exploring how people in the Stone Age built their homes. They first constructed a simple shelter using sticks and added the soft fur of a red deer to provide protection and warmth, imagining how early humans kept themselves safe from the elements. Afterwards, they looked at how wattle and daub could improve their shelters, carefully weaving sticks and covering them with a mixture of mud and straw. It was brilliant to see their teamwork and problem-solving as they experimented with this ancient building technique.

Next, the children discovered how early farmers would have grown their own food. Using animal bones to dig the soil and plant seeds, they learned how people used what was available in nature to survive. Everyone was amazed by how effective the tools were and how resourceful Stone Age people had to be. They also explored the different uses of animal fur, discovering how it could be turned into clothing, bedding, and even added to shelters for warmth and protection. It was fascinating to see how every part of an animal could be used to meet the needs of daily life.

 

They then explored how people prepared food, using simple stone tools to crush grains and make flour. The children were fascinated to see how everyday items like flour could be produced without modern equipment — it really helped them appreciate the hard work that went into daily life.

One of the most exciting moments of the day was learning how to create fire. The children watched carefully as sparks flew from the flint and bow drill, and it was wonderful to see the excitement on their faces when they managed to create sparks themselves by rubbing two stones together!
     

It was a fantastic day full of curiosity, energy, and discovery. The children came away with a real sense of how people in the Stone Age lived and thrived — and with lots of muddy hands and big smiles to show for it!

For Courageous Advocacy Week, Year 3 explored how we can make a difference in our communities. They discussed the cost of living and thought carefully about ways they could help others. After some thoughtful discussion, the children decided to collect books for the Children’s Book Charity, inspired by their own love of reading.

The children worked together as a team to create colourful and informative posters to encourage donations, and we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone who has contributed. We are so grateful for all the books we have received and can’t wait for them to be delivered to children who will love and enjoy them just as much as we did.

It has been wonderful to see the children taking action, working together, and showing how small steps can make a big difference in the lives of others!
 

2024-2025