In Year 6 at Thorplands, we are led and inspired by the quote: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new”. These words by the most fascinating scientist of all time, Albert Einstein, encourage us to stretch ourselves in every way, to be curious, resilient and brave enough to share our mistakes. We all know in Year 6 that misconceptions are inevitable on our academic journey and by solving them and working on them together as a team, helping each other to find out the right answer, the perfect solution, we learn new things efficiently and we grow together to be amazing human beings.

Year 6 at Thorplands is bulging with opportunities for learning, team building, growing in self-confidence and to enjoy school!

In Reading sessions in Year 6 we read a variety of modern and classic texts, starting with “Clockwork” by Phillip Pullman and finishing with “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Our reading curriculum aims to develop confident, fluent readers who read for understanding and to broaden their knowledge of the world. We expand our students’ opportunities through our fluency sessions that support comprehension, explicit vocabulary teaching to narrow the vocabulary gap.

In Writing sessions our children write in a range of genres and styles following the Talk for Writing scheme and much of it is cross curricular. Also, at Thorplands we enrich their learning with visits from professional writers and other enrichment activities. We believe that English is an open window into multiple opportunities for all students, that’s why we make sure at Thorplands that this window stays open widely for our pupils.

In Year 6 in Maths we want all our pupils to experience the beauty, power and enjoyment of mathematics. We believe all children can achieve in mathematics, and we teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through manageable steps, visuals and the sentence stems.  By the end of Year 6 we aim for children to be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics with a conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. They should have the skills to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of situations with increasing sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios.

In Science in Year 6 we encourage our students to confidently explore and discover the world around them, so that they develop a deeper understanding of the world we live in. They learn about the scientific world through investigations, films and activities designed to make them question. We aim to inspire and excite our children and foster a thirst for knowledge by delivering complex yet exciting topics like evolution, human heart, light and electricity.  

In foundation subjects Year 6 learn about different religions, global trade, WW2 and the African continent which makes our children think about social justice, fairness, equality and tolerance.

During PE sessions in Year 6 children have the opportunity to play cricket, tennis, football, to go swimming, running and even to enter a range of competitions in the borough.  We also have specialist teachers and sports people who come to Thorplands to support and extend our sporting skills, which has been fantastic.  We have also begun the ‘Daily Mile’ (an initiative to walk or run for 10 minutes every day).  Sport teaches Year 6 to be healthy, focussed and work as a team.   

Through PSHE sessions we teach our children British values. Also, the students learn a lot about themselves, how to approach things positively and how to prepare themselves for their future at secondary school and beyond.  They talk and share their ideas in a kind and supportive way. 

Year 6 offers many exciting opportunities through a range of lunchtime and after school clubs.  We also have a great deal of speakers who come to share information about their lives to our students.

At Thorplands we always remember that all pupils need to have access to the best no matter what their background. On the top of that, in Year 6 we make sure that by the end of the year our students are well equipped for their future – with the knowledge, skills and confidence that enables them to make the right choices in their lives. It all comes with the best gift for life we can give to our students: EDUCATION as “the beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.”