Theme & focus events

Each term at least one special whole school theme event is held. This enables teachers to amend the regular school timetable so that children can spend a considerable amount of time concentrating their attention and energy on one particular area of learning. In addition, we also hold some special, one-day focus events. Our purpose is to broaden children’s experience and to add some additional spice and excitement to their school experience. These special events also provide an opportunity for pupils to enjoy an intensive, in depth, deep and satisfying learning experience.

• Autumn Term 1: Solve a Problem Week (Design and Technology)
• Spring Term 1: Arts Week
• Spring Term 2: The Country we Live in (Geography)
• Spring Term 2: On Camera film making initiative
• Spring Term 2: World Book Day
• Summer Term 2: Sports Focus Days
• Summer Term 2: Saving Londoners Lives

To ensure that there is sufficient focus on this subject area, we organise special ‘Solve a Problem’ weeks, when the children spend quality time designing, making and evaluating products.

You can see examples of the outcomes here.

This extraordinary collaboration between parents, teachers and pupils has resulted in some absolutely excellent outcomes. The whole week at the end of the first half of the Spring Term is dedicated to this project. In previous years the products created by the children have been displayed, to considerable acclaim in a summer exhibition at the Old Sorting Office by Barnes Pond.  You can see examples of the outcomes here.

Key Stage 2 children spend a day looking at different aspects of the country we live in.

All classes make a short film related to any subject area the class are studying. Films are premiered at a special Sunday morning viewing at The Olympic Cinema in Barnes. One of the films, ‘Absolute Absorbency’, won the award for the best overall science film in a Richmond competition before going on to win the national primary science film award for 2008. In 2010, ‘Some Like it Hot’, a film by Rachel Wilson and her Year 4 class (2009-10) won first prize in The National Physics Laboratory school science films event. A DVD containing all the films produced during the theme event is created each year and available for parents to purchase. A large number of films can be seen here.

World book day is a celebration of books and the joy of reading. Children get the chance to dress up in the costume of a favourite character from a book. They come to school with this favourite book and get the chance to read a short section of it to their classmates. Once again, a special celebratory assembly completes the day. You can see examples of world book day here.

Each year the children are given the opportunity to participate in a wide range of sports as part of their PE curriculum.  Specialist coaches come to site to run sessions and pupils attend a variety of different venues. The opportunities include:

• Athletics
• Basketball
• Cricket
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Hockey
• Rowing
• Rugby
• Trampolining

You can see examples of our sporting activities in our gallery here

Every July, children at Barnes participate in their annual Saving Londoners’ Lives Day. The aim of the project is to increase the number of people in London with emergency life support (ELS) skills by training school children. The project is a partnership with a number of organisations, such as the NHS in London, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and a number of medical students studying in London, each one working together to help prevent deaths from heart attacks, accidents and serious diseases, so improving the health of Londoners.