Latest News

Friday 16th July - Pirates' Picnic

The children in Year 1 invited children in Year 2 to join them at a Pirates' Picnic which involved lots of fun, games, eating and drinking. We are glad to report that the Pirates behaved very well and no one was made to walk the plank on this ocassion...

15th July 2010 - Behaviour Reward Class 4

Class 4 won the Behaviour Incentive League (BIL) last half term. They spent their reward money on a trip to the cinema and the park. They also clinbed up to Penshaw Monument.

Sports Week - 28th June - 2nd July

We held our second annual Sports Week and all had a fantastic time. Visit our special Sports Week page for details.

Thursday 17th June - High Five Tournament

Congratulations to the High Five team who played in the Hetton and Houghton area  tournament.  We went to the Monument Centre in Penshaw for the afternoon.  Everyone tried their very best and we were delighted to come in second place and we were awarded silver medals.

Wednesday 16th June - Reception Wedding

On Wednesday 16th June, Class One took part in a wedding role play. They had been working very hard, finding out about weddings, making invitations, button holes, table decorations and hats. Children who wanted a special part were chosen to be a bride, bridesmaid, groom, best man, usher or father of the bride. Rev Canon Sue Pinnington, rector at St Michael and All Angels Church in Houghton came to school to marry the happy couple in our school hall, before photos outside and then a reception party in the classroom. Thank you to everyone who helped to make the wedding happen. The children thoroughly enjoyed it and they all looked very smart in their wedding outfits. Look out for the next church magazine, The Signpost, and you will see an article and photo about our wedding role play.

Friday 11th June - Football Fever

We had a fabulous day to celebrate the start of the World Cup.  We all came dressed in football gear and we raised £79 for school funds.  Thank you for all your contributions. The schools meals service joined in the celebrations by making a special football based lunch and decorated the hall with lots of great World Cup decorations. We all went into the hall after lunch for a special draw to see which teams each class will be supporting throughout the World Cup.  We will also be researching these teams during Sports Week.

See more fabulous photos in our gallery.

Spring Colouring Competiton

Mrs Russell set us a colouring competition for the half term holiday.  The best entries from each Key Stage won a crafty paint set.  Congratulations to Amy Dodd (class 1) and Melissa Hennis (class 5).  Well done to everyone who entered, there are such a lot of talented artists in our school.

31st March 2010 - WWII Food Tasting

Today classes 9 and 10, the two Year 6 classes, tried various foods, such as potato pancakes, Spam and even tongue and many more ‘delicacies’ from the 2nd World War (1939-1945). We tried these foods because we are learning about rationing in WW2 in history. Our head teacher, Mrs McMaster, made the majority of the food but other teachers like Miss Bridle, Mrs Jenkins, Mrs Stoker and Mrs Rennison all helped out. The opinions about the food were varied but most of the children enjoyed the experience. We tasted Potato pancakes, (which set the fire alarm off!) oxtail soup, dripping on bread, beetroot pudding, condensed milk on bread, or just the bread, Spam, tongue, fatless sponge and jam, sugarless apple dessert and homemade chutney on bread, or just bread again! We all had a very interesting and enjoyable afternoon!

March 2010 - The Grand Ball

Children in Foundation Stage have been learning all about Castles, Princes and Princesses. We have developed a role-play area in the classroom. The children wanted a grand ball. They made invitations, wrote menus, and shopping lists. Some children wore costumes. At the grand ball there was some fantastic partner work, just like strictly come dancing. Then afterwards we had a banquet, with fruit, sandwiches and party rings. It was a great experience.

24th March 2010 - Easter Bonnet Parade

We celebrated Spring time with our traditional Easter Bonnet Parade. Some of our children also visited Age Concern at Kepier Hall to perform their songs and poems. See our fabulous hats by visiting our gallery.

16th March 2010 - The Big Cookathon

Today we took part in The Big Cookathon – a competition organized by Let’s Get Cooking and funded by The Big Lottery Fund. The schools with the highest proportion of people cooking a Let’s Get Cooking recipe would win a share of £3000 or a visit from a celebrity. Our 95 Key Stage One children and 6 Lets Get Cooking Club members from Key Stage Two took part by making vegetable pizzas with Miss Bennett and Mrs Martin. We all had a great time learning about how to make pizzas, eat healthily and of course eat a slice of our pizza! Some children tried sweet corn, red pepper and mushrooms for the first time and the older children were a great help in preparing the vegetables and demonstrating how to chop using the bridge and claw methods. Have a look at some photos on our gallery page.

10th March 2010

School Councillors presented Mick Clough, President of the Rotary Club of Houghton-le-Spring, with a cheque for £250. The money had been collected as loose change over the past year and is to be used to support the “Thanks for Life” and “End Polio Now” Campaign. It costs just 50p to provide a polio vaccination for one child and for every pound raised in the campaign, Bill Gates (Owner of Microsoft) has promised to double it.

You can read more about the “Thanks for Life” and “End Polio Now” campaign by visiting the Rotary Club of Houghton-le-Spring website by clicking here.

4th March 2010 - World Book Day

In celebration of this national event everyone in school dressed up as a story book character. All the children received a £1 voucher to put towards a book. Visit the official site here.

For more World Book Day images visit the gallery.

February 2010 - Expo chef

‘Expo Chef’ Kasia Vasloo treated the children of Key Stage 1 and a number of parents and family members to a healthy cooking demonstration. Some children were lucky enough to help with the cooking and taste the healthy snacks. Everyone had a great time and the comments left by the adults were all very positive and kind. The children in Years 1 and 2 were inspired to make their own fruit smoothies! Later the same week all children in Key Stage 1 were given a bag to take home containing red fruits and vegetables. This was to promote the British Heart Foundation’s Healthy Heart Campaign. Click here to visit the Expo Chef website.

February 2010 - Pancake flipping competition

The children in Years 1 & 2 had great fun flipping their pancakes for a minute. Prizes were awarded for the child in each class who managed the most flips. Here are the proud winners...