Thomas Bewick C of E Primary School, part of the Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, is celebrating the outcome of their recent OFSTED inspection, which judged the school to be ‘Good’ in all aspects.

In the inspection carried out on the 14th and 15th May, Inspectors noted pupils “embody the school’s LIGHT values” and they are “proud, happy and confident members of the school community”.

“Pupils have a tangible love of books. Pupils’ enjoyment of reading was summed up by one pupil’s comment that, when reading, ‘it feels you’re going into your own little World’.

The inspectors found that the pupils enjoy attending school and that “older pupils act as role models for younger pupils”. The report comments on the range of opportunities which pupils have “to contribute to the wider community beyond the school gates” and how “leaders have constructed a well-sequence series of curriculums” and have helped the pupils develop a “tangible love of books”.

One parent summed up the thoughts of many by saying, “It’s great to see a school that takes care of its pupils as well as parents. They encourage the children to let their light shine”.

Jessica Hodson, Headteacher at Thomas Bewick, said:

“I am delighted that Thomas Bewick has achieved the recognition it deserves. I am proud of the staff, children and community for continually supporting Thomas Bewick. The staff work incredibly hard to ensure the very best for all of our children, endeavouring that they all let their light shine.”

Alan Hardie, Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust’s CEO commented:

“We are delighted that OFSTED have recognised the tireless work of Thomas Bewick’s staff, supported by the trust team, to provide a great education for their pupils. I am very pleased that the report captures the strong sense of community at Thomas Bewick and the pride that the staff, pupils, parents and carers have in their school.

WELL DONE!

Year 6 have arrived safely. They are getting ready for their hike into Robinwood!

ROBINWOOD UPDATE:

Giant swing completed

Fears overcome on the trapeze

Archery – we hit the target!

A fresh shower after the piranha pool (luckily the piranhas were sleeping today!)

Another great day enjoyed by all!

ROBINWOOD UPDATE:

Yesterday the children took part in a night line activity with Miss Mordue teasing the children who were blindfolded!

Today the children took part in final activities with Spring group canoeing and Waterfall group completing the crate challenge!

Today we have had a visit from Network Rail and Morgan Sindall Infrastructure to deliver workshops across the year groups. We are really lucky to have a railway line coming into Ashington so that it will be more accessible for our community but we must ensure that our children and families are kept safe. The children have an important message which they have been taught today – “Stop, Look, Listen, Live.”

Eight children from Thomas Bewick were lucky enough to win a place on the team for the NUFC Foundation 1892 Cup. Children were invited along to the NUFC Academy building where they competed against seven other primary schools. Despite some very tough competition, the children still enjoyed a fantastic day out.

They received a brand new Newcastle United strip (to keep!) and even had the chance to meet Eddie Howe and his coaching staff who all paid a visit to watch some of the young football talent on show.

“Yesterday at the 1892 Cup I had an amazing time playing football matches against the other schools. We tried our best and it was really good fun. I had the best time and it was great to see the school’s lift the trophy at the end. I felt so excited getting my first ever Newcastle strip and it was cool to meet the Newcastle manager. Hopefully I could join the team again some day.”

Ali Kartoev (Y3), one of Thomas Bewick’s players

The NCEA Miner’s Picnic event on Tuesday 11th July was the culmination of a huge amount of work that both children and staff have completed in relation to the Y3 enquiry about mining and the local area. Children had worked extremely hard to learn all about the mining heritage of Ashington and the surrounding areas before getting the chance to engage in some fantastic workshops. Bill Elliot, a member of ‘The Elliott’s from Birtley’, led a number of workshops across five of our primary schools to teach traditional mining songs such as: ‘Just One Spark’ and ‘Jowl Jowl.’

The children had a fantastic time learning the songs and a real highlight of the Miner’s Picnic was seeing over 200 children all joining Bill in singing these songs together.

It definitely was a sight to behold and there were numerous members of the public who stopped by to watch the singing which sounded beautiful. In addition, children had the opportunity to learn the art of Proggy Mat making thanks to Justine Fox (Creative Remakery). Each school now has their own Proggy Mat banner which they were able to parade on the day. The banners will be shown around Ashington over the summer before being returned to schools to be displayed. The event could not have been such a success without the support of Sarah Bredin-Kemp from Hirst Park. Sarah supported the organisation of the event and was able to provide much needed funding to ensure the children were able to have all of these wonderful experiences.

Take a look at our new, simplified school rules.

Last term, we have been learning all about Easter in Reception. To end our spring term we had a very noisy 4 legged visitor. We were more impressed than she was!!

We also made some really delicious chocolate nests and learned all about how the microwave works and why our chocolate melted.