Year 5/6

  We aim to make the curriculum relevant and meaningful for our children by integrating their experiences, wherever possible, through cross-curricular lings, using a range of learning strategies to cater for all abilities and with the emphasis on teaching key skills.  It is a carefully planned, thematic approach to teaching and learning, designed to stimulate creativity and arouse children's natural curisity.  At Bodiam we aim to make learning enjoyable and fun through real experiences. 

 

Our children are working to the National Curriculum and the revised Literacy and Numeracy Strategies (2006) and are assessed accordingly.

  An example of learning through first hand experiences is when our Y5/6 class made an electric car in their Design Technology lessons and then raced it at Goodwood.  We didn't win but learnt a lot about team work in the process and had great fun taking part in this event. 

  Every other year our Y5/6 class spend a residential week at Blackland Farm, a scout site just outside of the Ashdown Forest.  Here they sleep under canvas, cook over an open fire and take part in team building activities and challenging tasks under the watchful eye of trained coaches.  They come back tired, a little grubby but with a new self confidence that will stand them in good stead for the future.

  Cycling proficiency is another skill that we teach our Y5/6 pupils.  A ten week course, led by a qualified cycling trainer on quiet roads near the school, leads to a cycling proficiency certificate. 

  We have close links with Robertsbridge Community College to which our Y6 children normally transfer at the age of eleven.  The LEA provides a coach to take children from Bodiam and nearby villages to Robertsbridge.  During the course of the year our Y6 pupils participate in various activities such as the cross country, rounders and athletics tournaments as well as attending a Taster Day at the school.  By the end of Y6 they are very familiar with the College and settle quickly and happily into secondary school life. 

 

Other children transfer to Claverham Community College in Battle or Uplands Community College at Wadhurst.  Some transfer to schools in Kent or to the private sectore such as Christs Hospital and Battle Abbey.  As an East Sussex school, our pupils do not sit the 11 Plus Exam, however we are happy to advise those parents who would like their children to attend a Kent Grammar School.