Key Stage 2

Welcome to Key Stage 2

Here at Towngate Primary Academy, we strive to give every child an inspiring and motivating school experience as they progress through their learning journey. In Key Stage Two, we invest time in preparing the children to be self-motivated, to develop an enquiring mind, to have high aspirations and to be independent thinkers and to demonstrate our core values in their own choices and behaviours. 

Who's who?

Year 6 - Miss Eke (Deputy Headteacher) and Mrs Schofield

Year 5b - Miss Atkinson (Key Stage 2 Leader), Mrs Drury, Mrs Harvey

Year 5a - Mr Adlington, Mrs Drury, Mrs Blenkinsop

Year 4 - Mrs Wolstenhome, Mrs Bailey, Miss Barnes

Year 3/4 - Mrs Mitchell, Mrs Allen, Miss Broadbent and Mrs Gordon  

Year 3 - Mr Hellam, Mrs Watters, Mrs Bailey, Mrs Hanley

 Our Academy Uniform

 At Towngate Primary Academy, we encourage the children to be smart in appearance so they are ready to learn. Please see below for a list of our academy uniform:

- White polo shirt or collared shirt 

- Grey trousers, shorts or skirt 

- Blue summer dress or grey pinafore 

- Navy blue academy jumper or cardigan 

- Black shoes

PE Kit 

It is important for the children to have correct PE kit in school, including footwear, to fully participate in PE lessons and sporting activities. 

Indoor

- Black or navy shorts 

- White polo shirt or t-shirt 

- Pumps or trainers 

Outdoor

- Black or navy shorts or jogging bottoms 

- White polo shirt or t-shirt 

- Black or navy hoody/jacket 

- Trainers 

Homework

In Key Stage 2, we provide regular, age-appropriate homework to ensure chidlren are able to continue their learning at home and consolodate key skills. Homework is set weekly and in-line with the academy's homework policy; we encourage all parents to support their children in regularly completing their homework tasks to ensure this has maximum impact on the outcomes of all our children.

Years 3 and 4

Homework in lower key stage includes weekly times table practice, regular reading at home with an adult, weekly spellings and termly holiday projects which are linked to the current topics within the classroom. 

Years 5 and 6

Homework in upper key stage includes weekly times table practice, maths workbooks with tasks set, weekly spellings, reading regularly at home and termly holiday projects linked to current topics within the classroom. In Year 6, after February half term, children are required to complete revision which is provided to all children in preparation for their SATs assessments in May. 

Take a look at the exciting things that have been happening this week!

 13th September 2019 

What a busy week in Key Stage Two!
Upper Key Stage have been busy applying for leadership roles across the academy and we were very pleased to announce this
year’s leaders this morning. We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who applied! Year Five and Six were lucky
enough to have a visit from Explore Learning on Thursday, where they had the opportunity to develop their creative writing
skills in describing a mystery animal!
Lower Key Stage have been developing their art skills by drawing three-dimensional shapes in the style of Lowry. In PE, Year 3
have practising their rugby skills by working in groups learning to find spaces and intercept passes! In science, the children have
been investigating light - they have used their skills to make rainbows by using mirrors!

20th Septemebr 2019

What a busy week in Key Stage Two!
In Year 6, we have been joined by Mr McPhail, who began our outdoor learning on Monday. We had a lovely start to the year and began various outdoor learning projects around our school site. We have also been working hard to impress our teachers in creating some excellent formal letters to complement our English learning around the text, Billy Elliot. In Year 5, we have been using role play to consider how we would react to various situations using our values and morals; we enjoyed discussing our own opinions and debating what we thought to be the correct actions.  In Year 4, all classroom instructions this week have been given in French to both children and adults to help us develop our language skills. In Year 3/4, we have been using a range of sources from the national archive to explore what houses were like during the Victorian period in 1837-1901.   In Year 3, we have been practising plotting numbers onto a number line practically and enjoyed justifying our estimations. 

27th September 2019

This week in Key Stage Two, Years 6 and 5 have been busy following recipes and baking in preparation for our MacMillan Coffee morning.  The Key Stage Two band have been had a successful second week rehearsing together and combining their skills of singing, guitar, drums and cello.  Year 5 have had a fantastic time at the Coal Mining Museum and had faces covered with coal; Year 6 are looking forward to their chance to explore deep underground on Monday!  Year 3 have been visited by the school nurse, who spoke about healthy eating and looking after our teeth.  Year 4 have finished creating their scarecrow ready for this weekend’s Ossett Scarecrow Festival - we look forward to seeing you all there!

4th October 2019

This week in Key Stage Two, Year 6 have experienced an exciting underground experience at the Coal Mining Museum where they had the chance to go down the mine and meet some real miners! Year 5 have enjoyed a local walk around Ossett, looking at the areas where old coal mines used to be situated such as Longlands, Flushdyke, Low Laithes and Gawthorpe. Year 4 have been developing their art and history skills by sketching Victorian and modern landscapes. Year 3, have been focusing their RE learning on Hindu beliefs of reincarnation and enjoyed sharing their opinions with their peers. 

11th October 2019

Upper Key Stage have enjoyed a careers workshop by health care professionals. The children were informed about details of different careers by a HR representative, a care worker, a social worker, a health worker and an occupational therapist. The children explored via VR what it would be like to have dementia, investigated bacteria and explored living aids for people with mobility difficulties.  Lower Key Stage have been developing their passing and tackling skills during their PE session with their Huddersfield Giants coach. They have focused on the importance of teamwork, good sportsmanship and effective communication! Well done everyone.

18th October 2019

Lower Key Stage have enjoyed their INSPIRE afternoons, celebrating their learning with parents and carers. The children used oil pastels to recreate landscape pictures inspired by Lowry and their history topic of Victorians. This week, the children have also enjoyed a Wakefield Museum workshop about how our local area, Ossett, has changed and developed since the Victorian era. 

In Upper Key Stage, Year 5a have explored what happens as blood circulates the body and Year 5b have learnt how to find and measure their pulse rate and what can impact on this. Year 6 have researched the key figures who impacted upon the 1980's mining strike and have enjoyed debating their opinions on the topic.  

25th October 2019

In Upper Key Stage, Year 5a have developed their art skills by creating a value scale and then applying this skill by using water colours to paint a mining inspired piece of work.  Year 5b have enjoyed writing their own folk song about the mining strike, considering the implications it had upon different groups of people such as: police, mines, families and the government. Year 6 have created a pie chart about their favourite types of exercise, carefully considering how to calculate percentages.  Year 4 enjoyed sharing their learning with their parents and carers this week during their INSPIRE afternoon creating Lowry style artwork using oil pastels.  Year 3/4 have enjoyed their RE lesson learning about Christian Marriage. The children now understand the process involved in a Christian wedding including vows and symbolism.  Year 3 explored the lives of a Victorian prisoner and took on this role whilst writing a diary entry and recounting their experiences.  I would like to thank all Key Stage Two children for their hard work throughout our first half term and I hope you all enjoy your break!

8th November 2019

Welcome back Key Stage Two! This week we have all enjoyed developing our understanding of the parliamentary system in our country. Year 6 devised their own campaigns, created their own political party, wrote their own Bills and were filmed delivering a speech to the other 'Members of Parliament', convincing their peers to vote for their party. Well done Year 6, Miss Eke is very proud of you! Year 5 wrote their own Bills as a proposal for a new law, which they believed to be of up most importance and attempted to convince their peers to make it into a law. Year 4 have created their own manifesto about what they believe to be the most important issues at the moment such as more money into schools, increased sporting opportunities and health care. Year 3/4 developed their ICT skills and created a PowerPoint to demonstrate their understanding of parliament and its role in our society.  Year 3, have learnt about Brexit and formed their own debate on whether the UK should leave the EU and why.

15th November

In Year 6 this week, for their INSPIRE afternoon the children and their adults have enjoyed creating Brazilian Carnival inspired headdresses to launch their new geography topic. It was wonderful to see so many parents and carers getting involved and enjoying the arts and crafts and Brazilian music! Year 5b have explored the ageing population of Brazil compared to its neighbouring countries, the UK and counties within Eastern Europe. They discovered that the population of Brazil is approximately 209.3million, which is significantly more than its neighbouring countries.  Year 5a have developed their writing skills this week by writing a character description about August Pullman - the protagonist in their novel 'Wonder'. The children have developed their use of similes and metaphors to describe his appearance and character.  In their DT learning this week, year 4 have designed and built their own freestanding 3D structures. These were inspired by the skyscrapers they have been studying within their geography topic on cities in Europe. Year 3/4 have explored anti-bullying week by learning about intimidation and how the Haka is intended to intimidate rival teams. The children enjoyed watching the Haka and discussing how it made themselves feel. They then discussed different forms of intimidation and strategies to prevent this.  Year 3 used geographical resources such as maps and atlases to understand the differences between villages, towns and cities. The maps in the atlas showed 1km square, allowing the children could compare the features of each different place. 

22nd November

This week in Key Stage Two, we have enjoyed another fantastic assembly from the Methodist Church - it focused on friendship and dealing with saying goodbye to those we care about. The children had an opportunity to reflect on how their friends offer them support and how to help those who might be feeling down. 
 
Upper Key Stage have been exploring inherited and environment changes in humans and animals and why these variations exist in our science learning. The children conducted their own data collection exercises to consider the variations between each other in the classroom. We also then considered how animals – such as dogs – are bred for specific reasons and considered the ethics behind this. Well done everyone for your considered ideas! 
 
Well done to year 6, who successfully completed their Bikeability training this week!
 
Lower Key Stage have developed their ability to read maps as part of their geography this week! Year 4 have been reading 4 figure grid references to compare and contrast features in different cities and Year 3 have been locating capital cities in Europe. 

29th November

This week in Key Stage Two, Year 6 have debated the arguments for and against selective breeding in plants and animals - they considered factors such as the spread of disease, the impact on farmers and scientists and the moral stance of various people. 
 
Year 5 have explored the push and pull factors which make the residents of The Caatinga and Brasilia want to stay where they live or move to a different location. These included education, employment, land use and climate. 
 
Year 4 have worked hard on some Christmas crafts making tree decorations and Christmas wreaths with various materials. 
 
Year 3/4 have worked hard writing a newspaper report focusing on Oliver Twist - they have challenged themselves to include adverbs, the 5 w's, a range of conjunctions and direct speech.
 
Year 3 have had an exciting time learning a new African rhythm during music called the 'Looba' which sounds similar to the noise a woodpecker makes.
 
Well done everyone, enjoy your weekend!

6th December

We have enjoyed another busy week in Key Stage Two this week doing our final preparations, ready for our Christmas productions next week! Well done to everybody on your Dress Rehearsals - your hard work is definitely paying off and we are very proud of you all.
 
In Upper Key Stage 2 this week, children have enjoyed a Wakefield Museum workshop all about Charles Warterton, an explorer from Yorkshire who was said to have started the world's first nature reserve. They experienced what it was like to write with a quill, discovered some exotic species and explored taxidermy to complement our science curriculum on evolution and inheritance!
 
In Lower Key Stage 2, children have been designing their own toy using different programming apps on the computer and have worked hard to read multi-figure grid references in their Geography work. 
 
Well done everyone for your continued hard work this week!

13th December

This week in KS2, we have been very busy with our Christmas performances. LKS2 performed 'Are we nearly there yet!' UKS2 performed 'Sleeping Beauty'. The children have worked very hard and it was wonderful to watch. A big thank you to all the parents who came to watch bought raffle tickets and provided costumes! We have enjoyed coming into school in our Christmas jumpers and spending lunchtime with our teachers this week and eating our Christmas dinners!

20th December 

On our final week before Christmas, Key Stage Two have been very busy.
 
Year 5 and 6 have written their own poems based on their novel 'Wonder'. Their poems carefully explored feelings of acceptance, loneliness and isolation using a range of poetic devices and figurative language. The children have enjoyed sharing these poems with their peers and discussing how to help those who may feel this way. 
 
Year 4 have been learning about how Christians use song to celebrate their beliefs. They explored a range of Christian hymns and poetry and the messages these portray. 
 
Year 3 have enjoyed a science experiment this week - testing the strength of magnets. They enjoyed working collaboratively, planning, predicting and evaluating their findings. 
 
Finally, to share the Christmas spirit children have posted Christmas cards to some of our neighbours on Whitley Spring this afternoon. Merry Christmas everyone!

 Take a look at this terms class newsletters below: