Dear Parents / Carers,
For what is one of the shortest half-terms we have during the year, we do seem to have packed a lot in to the last six weeks!
The highlight of the term is the annual Year 4 trip to Ufton Court. The challenges that children overcome during the trip, from being away from home and sharing bedrooms to acting the part of a jarl in a Viking courtroom drama, are always character building and the whole year group should be proud of the manner in which they approached the trip and the energy they brought to the multitude of experiences. The staff at Ufton Court were full of praise for their conduct throughout the residential and, despite the hard work that goes in to the preparation for this trip and the inevitable weariness at the end, I know all the staff involved were similarly impressed. This seems to be a common theme as Matt, the Berkshire Cricket Coach who we have had in school this term, was effusive in his praise for the children and said this was his favourite school to work in.
We will be sending out a feedback form for Year 4 parents to complete with their children. Please do take the time to complete this as it helps us improve the provision we offer.
On a similar vein of activities that demand the highest level of commitment from our staff, this term’s parent evenings were well attended and it was lovely to chat with so many parents each evening. We are constantly looking at ways to include parents as fully as possible in your child’s education and parent evenings are just one small part.
We have also welcomed parents in school for the Open Morning on 12th March and hosted two sessions on 18th March entitled ‘Helping your child at home’. Thank you to all those parents who took the time to attend one or both of these events and I hope there was some useful information towards understanding what we do and being able to apply this at home. There are links on the school website with ideas and information to support learning at home. I do often get to see some of the fruits of the children’s homework labours and have been particularly impressed by the range of media used to tell the Easter story, from dioramas to cartoon strips to pop-up cards. The children really do seem to relish the range of activities in the homework although, while it can be tricky to fit in the weekly spellings, daily reading and regular times tables practice, these fundamental skills really are the building blocks to a rich and rewarding education.
On the subject of rich and rewarding, we have been fortunate enough to be visited by Mrs Martin and her team of artists (including her daughter), who have transformed the corridor and cloakroom outside the 5B classroom with a mural celebrating the learning journey at Oaklands schools. Please do ask your children to show you what has been created – it is truly outstanding.
The staff continue to work incredibly hard to offer a range of opportunities for children beyond the classroom. As well as the regular clubs, children have represented the school in cross-country, football, kurling and tag rugby, although the highlight of the term was the annual WASMA concert. Once again, Oaklands was well-represented and our two soloists, as well as the dance troupe and the announcers, complemented a well-practiced and tuneful choir. Well done to all those involved and thanks should go to Mrs Broadhurst and Miss Noad for organising and training the choir and Mrs Yeatman for choreographing the dance to ‘Raindrops keep falling on my head’.
While we continue to offer opportunities in school, with netball and cricket matches being organised as I type, it is always lovely to hear about what the children have been getting up to outside of school. We always have a regular slot in our Monday celebration assembly to hear about external events and these range from the usual football and rugby matches to swimming and cycling awards. Please do keep encouraging your children to bring in news of what they have been up to – they don’t need a medal or a certificate, just a sense of pride in what they have achieved.
Looking ahead to next term, we are gearing up for the Year 6 SATs that start on 12th May. I know the children, and staff, have been working hard in preparation and I am confident of some outstanding results, but no more than the children deserve. Year 6 have still found time to visit the RAF museum at Hendon this week to learn about the Battle of Britain, so it is not all work and no play. Actually seeing aircraft that took part up close brings events in to focus and this is a trip I am always delighted to be asked to join, although I can tend to get a bit geeky while looking at planes.
This brings me neatly on to another event linked to World War Two and that is VE Day. The 80th anniversary falls on Thursday 8th May and, in conjunction with the Infant School, we intend to mark this event with a ‘Dress for Victory’ day. Details are still being ironed out but the day will involve the opportunity to wear a costume or uniform, an item of clothing or a piece of memorabilia to mark this event so hopefully this gives you time to prepare. As these monumental events drift even further in to history, it is important we not only show appreciation for what was done by so many, few of whom are still left, but also to reflect on the lessons we can take and endeavour not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
It only remains for me to thank you all for your continued contribution to the school and community, especially those parents who are able to help, regularly or occasionally, in school. I hope you all manage to have a restful Easter break and enjoy some of the traditional treats associated with this time of year. I will see you back in school on Tuesday 22nd April, hopefully fully refreshed and raring to go for a busy and exciting summer term.
Kind regards,
Mr Holland, Head of School
Contents
To go straight to any one of the sections below simply click on the wording.
Snap shot of activities this half term
Sports News
Achievements & Awards
Fundraising Activities
Contact Us
Here’s a snap shot of what’s been taking place at Oaklands Junior School this half term
Sports News
Netball: On Tuesday 1st April members of our after school Netball Club travelled to St Paul’s School in Wokingham to take part in a series of friendly netball matches against other schools in the area. Mrs Broadhurst and Miss Hanks were delighted with the way the children conducted themselves, displaying the highest standards of sportsmanship whilst participating in all of their matches. They played really well and had a fun and enjoyable time.
Cross Country Relays – On Thursday 27th March 2025 Mrs Alexander and Mrs Burrell accompanied 50 children to Braywick Sports Ground in Maidenhead to take part in this sporting event. The relays were a joint event for Division 1 and 2. Overall we came 1st which we are thrilled about and have received a plaque which will have our school name on.
Our Year 3/4 Girls’ A team – Chloe H, Emmie M, Phoebe M and Imogen L – were placed 3rd and received bronze medals. Our Year 3/4 Boys’ A team – Edward H, Miles L, Frank D, Nathan L – also came 3rd and received bronze medals too. Finally, our Year 5/6 Boys’ A team – Joey B, Jack P, Jacob L and Mason S, finished 2nd and received silver medals.
Cross Country League 2024-2025 For Division 1: 101 children have taken part this season in 3 events + relays! It has been a fantastic year for cross country – Oaklands has achieved amazing results. Mrs Alexander is so pleased that so many children in our school have taken part across the different events. We look forward to another great season next year.
Overall Oaklands came joint 2nd in the league for this season with Imogen L receiving the bronze medal for 3rd best Year 3 / 4 girl; our Year 3/ 4 Girls’ team coming 3rd overall and our Year 5/ 6 Boys’ team being placed 1st overall for which they were presented with a cup.
Tag Rugby: Our final Tag Rugby tournament of the season which took place on 27th March was another chance for children to test their skills against opposition from six schools. We managed to draw 2 matches but lost the other 4, scoring a total of 16 tries in our 6 games.
Kurling Festival: On Wednesday 12th March, Miss McComish took four children to a New Age Kurling Festival at Bohunt School. The event involved a variety of different games, using kurling stones and strategic thinking. Although it was not a competition, Rowan (Y4), Conor, Edward and Michael (Y3) represented the school fantastically.
Girls’ Football Shield Match 1st Round v Woodley C of E – Friday 7th March (lost 1-0): In a tight game between evenly matched teams, the game was decided by just one goal, and even this came after a rebound! Once again, the girls showed a fantastic team spirit and gave it their all but unfortunately it was not to be on this occasion.
Mixed Football Shield Match 1st Round v Saint Dominic Savio – 28th February (lost 3-1): With high hopes of a good result, we travelled to St Dominic Savio for our 1st Round Shield game. Despite some excellent inter-passing and plenty of pressure early on, we were not able to get on the scoresheet. Against the run of play, St Dom’s scored and quickly followed this with two more well-taken goals. Despite an increase in tempo and intensity, we were not able to overcome the deficit and the final score was 3-1.
Cricket: On 17th and 24th March, Matt from Berkshire Cricket Club came into school and took an hour’s cricket session with each class. This included skills, mini fun games and a fantastic version of non-stop cricket. We have been so pleased with Berkshire Cricket and are fortunate to have them coming back after Easter to teach the cricket units for Year 5 and 6 for 4 weeks.
Archery: On Friday 14th February each class was able to take part in an Archery taster session organised by Premier Education. Mrs Alexander was very impressed with the coach who took our sessions as they were fast paced and the children were given lots of hands on time shooting the targets.
Achievements & Awards
WASMA 2025: We would like to say a huge well done and thank you to the children that performed at the ‘It Takes Two!’ WASMA concert on Saturday 22nd March. Once again, the singing, dancing and acting all came together to produce a memorable occasion. The children were a credit to the school and all their dedication paid off in the final performance.
Chess Club: Members of the school’s Chess Club which meets every Friday lunchtime have been competing in their Spring Tournament. We are pleased to announce that Leo B was the overall winner, with Boril A taking second place. Both boys received a trophy and a medal. Medals were also presented to Harry H, Myles S, Luc D, Milly N, Qasim S, Michael S and Arthur S.
Pride Award: Congratulations go to the following children who were recipients of our Pride Award which were presented at the end of February.
3L – Heart V
3H – Harry H
4JG – Emma H
4D – Ruby C
5B – Amanda M
5M – Alex V
6A – Ollie C
6N – Samuel B
Daisy Trophy: Congratulations go to Sophia W who was presented with the Daisy Trophy this term.
Fundraising Activities
We are delighted to announce the following fundraising totals and would like to say a very big thank you to everyone who has supported these initiatives.
Special thanks, however, go out to those members of the PTA who worked so hard to ensure that February’s school disco was a success. We wish them further success with their annual Easter Egg Raffle taking place on Thursday 3rd April after school
Sponsored Read: to date cash and on-line donations have raised just over £1,370 which is amazing
PTA Disco: raised a fantastic £1,605.73
Comic Relief: in addition to any on-line payments made by parents/carers, we also received cash donations of £140
Contact Us
Head of School: Mr D Holland
Address: Oaklands Junior School, Butler Road, Crowthorne, Berkshire RG45 6QZ
School Office
Telephone: 01344 773496
Email: admin@oaklands-jun.wokingham.sch.uk
Parent Support Advisor: Nikki Lenon
Telephone: 07748 415 285
Email: nlenon@oaklands-jun.wokingham.sch.uk