It is widely acknowledged that January feels like the longest month. This year it certainly feels like the wettest. Whichever way you look at it, the first half of the spring term presents a variety of challenges as it lacks the excitement of Christmas, the hope of Easter and the warmth of summer. Nevertheless, the school has continued to be a hive of activity and, on a cold, dark, damp day there always seems to be someone or something at Oaklands that brings a smile to our faces – an experience I hope you will also encounter during this final week of term should you attend one of our Celebration of Learning afternoons.
As I look back on the term, I am once again astounded by the volume of activity going on around school in addition to the daily routine of teaching and learning.
There have been many trips and visitors to school. Year 3 braved the weather on their trip to the Gordon Brown Centre while Year 5 took the opportunity to escape the weather by visiting the Living Rainforest, where they learnt about the wildlife and biodiversity in this amazing habitat. Sadly, once again the sloth was hard to spot. Year 6 took their annual trip to the RAF museum at Hendon. I am always excited when I am asked to go along as I get to go full nerd about aeroplanes but the children seem to enjoy the trip regardless. I have also been fortunate to have visited Windsor Castle with Year 1 this term. Their natural inquisitiveness and sense of wonder were an example of how children can always surprise you with an observation or a question that wouldn’t occur to an adult. My favourite memory was watching a bunch of 5- and 6-year-olds march up and down alongside a guardsman as he made his regular patrol around his patch.
Year 1 – Visit To Windsor CastleYear 5 – Visit To The Living RainforestYear 6 – Visit To RAF Museum
On the subject of being pleasantly surprised, while we often have children sharing achievements during assembly in more common activities such as football, swimming or dance, for the first time this term we have celebrated a child sharing a certificate for rock climbing. It is wonderful to find out about the diversity of experiences children have outside of school and we can add this to other less common pastimes we have celebrated, from Bible study to securing a lead role in local theatre productions.
Last week, we had one of our regular reviews from the Corvus Trust development team. This one focussed on writing and how the use of Literacy Tree materials has positively impacted children’s writing. The children were, once again, fantastic and able to clearly articulate what they are learning, why and what they need to do to improve. As I have mentioned before, one of the most important aspects to learning is revisiting and so I would encourage parents to ask their children what they are studying and get involved in conversations. Just this morning I learnt one Year 4 child has Japan as number 1 on his list of places to visit and it led to a fascinating conversation about the role of women in the samurai. This stemmed from me asking about the book he was reading.
New PTA Funded IT SuiteLiteracy TreeNew PTA Funded IT Suite
There has also been quite a lot going on behind the scenes with our Governors spending the day in school, observing teaching and interacting with the children before having a briefing about the changes to the Ofsted framework. It is really appreciated how involved the Governors are in school, not only championing us but also playing the role of critical friend to ensure the school is doing the best it can. Alongside an active PTA, without whom we would not have been able to afford a complete refurbishment of the computers in our ICT suite last summer, I feel very lucky to have such an involved and supportive community at Oaklands.
I will sign off by wishing Miss Weston the very best of luck as she starts her maternity leave. She has been a fabulous Co-Headteacher since September and, although I will miss her support, organisation and tolerance, I am very excited for her and I can’t wait for her to bring her baby in to school as soon as she feels able. While there will be challenges ahead with the changes to the staffing structure, I am confident that Mrs Shrieve and Miss Davies will prove to be excellent in the role of Infant School Assistant Headteacher in making sure that Oaklands continues to be not only an inspiring place to learn but also a wonderful place to be.
Kind regards, Mr Holland, Co-Headteacher Oaklands Infant and Junior Schools
Contents
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Here’s a snap shot of what’s been taking place at Oaklands Junior School this half term
Year 3 – English LessonYear 3 – New PTA Funded IT SuiteYear 3 – Trip To Gordon Brown CentreYear 3 – Trip To Gordon Brown CentreYear 3 – Trip To Gordon Brown CentreYear 3 – Magnets In ScienceYear 3 – 3D ShapesYear 3 – 3D ShapesYear 3 – Celebration Of LearningYear 3 – Numbers DayYear 3 – Numbers DayYear 4 – Breakfast Workshop – Milking DaisyYear 4 – Breakfast Workshop – The Porridge Proved Very PopularYear 4 – Breakfast Workshop – Making SmoothiesYear 4 – Breakfast Workshop – Tasting SmoothiesYear 4 – Science Investigation – Heating & CoolingYear 4 – Science Investigation – Heating & CoolingYear 4 – Dragon’s EyeYear 4 – Dragon’s EyeYear 5 – Fire Service Visit – EquipmentYear 5 – Fire Service Visit – UniformsYear 5 – Visit To The Living RainforestYear 5 – Visit To The Living RainforestYear 5 – Visit To The Living RainforestYear 5 – Visit To The Living Rainforest – IguanaYear 5 – Visit To The Living RainforestYear 6 – The Lancaster At RAF HendonYear 6 – In Role As Sir Hugh Dowding At RAF HendonYear 6 – Exploring Aircraft At RAF HendonYear 6 – By The VulcanYear 6 – Making A Battle Of Britain PosterYear 6 – Analysing Historical Sources About The Battle Of BritainYear 6 – Experimenting With RefractionYear 6 – Pinhole CamerasYear 6 – Escape RoomYear 6 – Escape Room
Ten Pin Bowling – On Monday 12th January Mrs Alexander accompanied 6 children to Wokingham Superbowl to take part in a fantastic event put on by Wokingham School Games. Libby, Mason, Shane, Thomas H, Philly and Maria D all received a ‘taking part’ certificate. They all had great fun and even scored a few spares!
Primary Maths Challenge – Congratulations to the following Year 6 pupils who have made it through to the next round of the Primary Maths Challenge as a result of scoring more that 20 out of 25 in the first round of this challenge – Ashton C, Macie H and Jacob L.
Building Challenge – On Tuesday 27th January, Mrs Yeatman accompanied 12 children to Owlsmoor Primary School where they took part in a building challenge to build a pre-determined structure accurately within time limits and at the lowest possible cost. All the children needed to work together, using different skills linked to the world of work, including leadership, planning, communication, problem solving, finance and strategic thinking. We are delighted to announce that our team from 6N were placed first, followed very closely in second place by our team from 6A. Well done to everyone involved – Alex T, Amelie H, Boril A, Francis D, Iris W, Kian W, Lache M, Lara B, Oliver C, Myron K, Oliver P and Poppy H.
6N Building Challenge Team6A Building Challenge Team
School Awards: Our many congratulations go to the children below who have received the following school awards.
Don’t forget that the deadline for all monies to be received for the Oaklands 2026 Fundraising initiative “£20.26 for 2026 Challenge” is Friday 20th February 2026. For further details click here
Contents To go straight to any one of the sections below simply click on the wording. Snap shot of activities this half termSports NewsAchievements & AwardsFundraising ActivitiesContact Us Here’s a snap shot of what’s been Read more
Contents To go straight to any one of the sections below simply click on the wording. Snap shot of activities this half termSports NewsAchievements & AwardsFundraising ActivitiesContact Us Here’s a snap shot of what’s been Read more
While we continue to offer a range of activities in school, children are encouraged to share what they have been getting up to outside of school. We always have a regular slot in our Monday Read more
