Somersham Primary School

About Our School : What's New Archive

Staying Power

A runner's-eye view of the County Cross Country Relay Championships 2009

Our teams of girls and boys competed among more than 800 runners this week at the Cambridgeshire Primary Schools' Cross-Country event held in the grounds of Longsands College, St Neots. Somersham children's training regime began before Christmas, and the preparation certainly paid off with some brilliant individual performances during fast races on a testing circuit. The boys achieved good final placings in a boys' race featuring 102 other teams: our B team coming in overall 41st place and our A team achieving 14th place (notching up a top 15 finish for the third consecutive year). In the girls race, our team battled hard to finish in 52nd place within a field of 86. A strong sense of teamwork contributed strongly to the children's success and enjoyment, as did great support by a travelling band of parents and well-wishers.

What was it like to take part? For the first time two of the runners, Will and Callum, have recorded an exclusive audio diary of the race for Radio Somersham. Hear all the thrills and excitement leading up to and during the event by clicking here. More great photos of our runners in action can be seen in the multimedia section.

And the winner is…

Middle School's film festival brought a touch of glamour & celebrity into school this week

Tuesday 24th March 2009 was the middle school film festival. Some parents came in the morning and some in the afternoon to see the nine films in three different venues; there were three films in each venue. After they had seen all nine films they went into the hall. They got two vote slips, one to vote for their child, the other to vote for the one they actually thought was the best they had seen.

Then all the children went home to get changed into their Oscar clothes in preparation for the evening award ceremony. When the celebrity opened the golden envelope for the best film, it suddenly went silent! The children were shouting "who is it, who is it?" The winner was… The Adventures of Jade and Beth! A superb end to a unique whole school event. You can have a look at a gallery of the glamorous awards ceremony in the multimedia section. DVDs featuring the award ceremony and extracts of the winning films: copies available only by pre-ordering from the school office, priced at £5.00 - delivery soon after Easter.

Listen again: Radio Somersham presents an interview with Best Film winners and one of the teachers behind the SAFF (Somersham Awards for Film) - exclusive!;

18th March 2009: Somersham Primary School – ‘A happy and harmonious school where pupils attain particularly good standards’

Ofsted Inspection Report (March 2009)

Consistently good teaching that motivates pupils and challenges their understanding, leadership that is good at all levels, and an outstanding, rich and varied learning curriculum were picked out as just three of the many strengths of Somersham Primary School by an Ofsted Schools’ Inspection report this week. The report said the school is a happy and harmonious place where pupils feel both cared for and listened to, and as a result their behaviour is excellent.

The inspection team visited the school over one day at the beginning of March. They found that Somersham Primary is a good school where pupils’ overall achievement in English, Science and Mathematics is consistently above average, with standards in mathematics highlighted as excellent. Pupils also attain particularly good standards in other subjects including Information and Communication Technology, through their extensive use of digital equipment and contributing to this excellent school website.

The outstanding range of curriculum activities provided for the pupils was praised. Activities encourage all pupils to acquire healthy lifestyles and responsible attitudes. An exceptionally strong focus on environmental awareness is typified by pupils’ investigation of saving energy and conservation through studying data from the school’s recently installed solar panels, and practical studies of native flora and fauna in the wildlife and conservation garden. Art work around the school is very striking. The variety of lunchtime and after school clubs which includes chess, poetry and line-dancing, as well as music and sports, is also described as excellent.

The ways that the school works to remarkable effect with the local community and its positive partnerships with parents were also highlighted. One parent told the Lead Inspector, “There is a strong sense of togetherness within the school and I always feel that we, the parents, teachers and the teaching assistants, have the same goals and priorities – the children.”

Rigorous systems ensure that pupils’ learning is carefully tracked so that any underachievement is identified quickly and extra support provided, helping these children to make good progress in their learning. The inspectors recommend that the school should identify ways to match high levels of achievement and standards in mathematics by further raising the bar in English and Science assessments. The school’s policy on community cohesion should also be fully implemented and its impact evaluated.

The common sense of purpose of a wide group of staff, governors and members of the local community has contributed to such a superb assessment by Ofsted of our school’s progress so far. While we feel great excitement over this, we are also determined to make sure that these high standards are maintained, so that we move further from good to great.

A copy of the Ofsted Inspection report in full is available to view in the Inspection Reports section.

13th March 2009: Doing something funny for money

Red Nose Day 2009

Hilarious headgear accompanied amazing costumes and the essential red nose as children and staff entered into the RND 09 spirit! A day full of fun and colour included a whole school line dancing performance, led by Miss Chandler, and also games for younger children organised by members of the School Council and peer buddies.

In morning assembly, children learned about lives of real children in several African communities, and the reasons why these children are unable to go to school. We are delighted to report that the children’s fundraising efforts realised in total £360.17 – thank you to all who contributed to a really successful event.

Some very entertaining photographs from the day are available in a gallery in the multimedia section - are you in there with your crazy headgear?

12th March 2009: Feeling the beat

A day of music making that raised the rafters!

Upper school children were excited to meet professional musicians Shlomo, Jestar (Beatboxing) and Tim Gunnell (drums and percussion) during a day of music workshops and performance. Sharon Cusworth added her expertise as a choral coach, and the combined result was an amazing set of shows for children and parents, which had toes tapping and even featured guest performances from Upper School staff Mr Dawe and Mrs Marsh!

See and hear some live and exclusive extracts from this memorable event online on Radio Somersham, our new and interactive audio service. Photographs of the day are available in a gallery, and some video will be available in the multimedia section soon.



 

Radio Somersham goes live!

To add to our range of online facilities that seek to share and celebrate the children’s creative endeavours with the widest audience, today we are launching Radio Somersham. This extends the children’s opportunities to offer audio content such as:

• interviews and blogs on subjects that are important to their lives in school and beyond;
• extracts of music played by individual and groups;
• reports from both curriculum and extra-curricular activities and events.

Check out Radio Somersham regularly – click on the logo:

Today’s launch features a real treat: a live and exclusive interview with international beatboxing stars Shlomo and Jestar, a recording of the children’s performance after a day of inspiring music workshops and a musical piece played by the school’s recorder ensemble at a recent Young Musicians of the Year competition organised by The Rotary Club.

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