Weekly Newsletter

Year 1 Forest School

Year 1 had a wonderful time at Forest School this morning and the wet weather did not dampen their spirits! They all had a turn using a bow drill and learnt how the friction between two pieces of wood can make smoke! We read the book ‘Kitchen Disco’ and had a little dance! Scott showed us all how to cut wood with a bill hook and a bow saw and a few of the Year 1 children had a turn using them. The class were very impressed when Diego used a hand axe for the first time! Scott then made some kindling using a ‘feather stick’ and started a fire. We used the fire to boil some water and all drank hot squash to warm us up. We finished with a sing-a-long to one of the children’s favourite songs, ‘Down by the Bay’. It was a fabulous-forest-esque end to the week!

Pupil Experience

What’s a Gruffalo? Why don’t you know?

This week Year 1 took to baking to bring their learning in English to life. The children suggested making Gruffalo style cookies, so naturally we took it one step further and made Gruffalo lookalike Rice Krispies cakes!

The children demonstrated curiosity, kindness and a real collective drive to succeed. They wrote sensational steps to success (with many children showcasing joint handwriting for the very first time). The baking brought much love and laughter to the lesson and the end results were the best cupcakes the ‘deep dark wood’ has ever seen. A big thank you to Chef Nay for making our chocolatey dreams a reality!

The Family Tree Author Visit

On Thursday 5 February, the children from Rising 3’s to Year 2 were treated to a special visit from Yasmine Anane, author of The Family Tree. The children listened with great enthusiasm as she brought her story to life, and Yasmine was particularly impressed by the thoughtful and engaging questions posed by our Year 1 and Year 2 pupils. She kindly signed and dedicated copies of her book, making the experience even more memorable. It was a wonderfully inspiring visit enjoyed by all.

Year 4 Trip to Hampton Court Palace

On Thursday 5th February, Year 4 visited Hampton Court Palace as part of our History topic on Henry VIII and the magnificent palaces he built for himself. The children were fantastically behaved throughout the day and were truly blown away by the beauty and scale of the palace. Our tour began at Anne Boleyn’s Gate and led us through many impressive rooms, including the Great Hall, where up to 600 of Henry VIII’s guests would have dined. Pupils had the chance to sit in the grand chairs and imagine life in Tudor times while learning fascinating historical facts. We explored the Horn Room, the Procession Chamber and Henry VIII’s Chapel, where we saw a replica of the King Henry VIII’s crown, before briefly visiting the gardens and courtyards. The trip also included a hands-on workshop led by an actress portraying a Tudor lady-in-waiting, giving pupils a real insight into palace life, including the rather shocking role of a “Gong Scraper”! Even during our impressive 4km walk, Year 4 represented the school brilliantly. The day also included a quick visit to the shop, where pupils put their mental maths and decimals knowledge to great use. A huge thank you to Mrs Allen and Mrs Stotesworthy for accompanying us, it was a fantastic and memorable trip for all.

Geography in Year 3

Year 3 have been learning about rivers and made models showing the journey of a river from the source in the mountains to the mouth of the river opening out into the sea. They did a fantastic job including many of the features they had learnt about including waterfalls and tributaries in the upper course, meanders and even some oxbow lakes in the middle course and the river broadening out in the lower course. It was great to see them working together and actively engaged in their learning.

Artist of the Week

Year 2 invented letter-eating monsters. The children designed imaginative creatures on a black background. They had the opportunity to practise their oil pastel skills, followed by some collage work to improve their cutting and sticking techniques.

Year 5 take part in National Cicero debating competition.

Broomfield House this week competed in quarter-finals of the National Cicero debating competition. The first, on Tuesday, was hosted by Notting Hill and Ealing Junior School, with BHS represented by a Year 5 team of six pupils and taking part in two debates. On the Wednesday, a combined Year 5/Year 6 team took on eight further opponents, this time in an online debate, in which our team participated remotely. Despite putting in extremely competitive performances across both events, we weren’t fortunate enough this year to edge through to the semi-final. But two of our players, Henry from Y5 and Adil Y6 were awarded outstanding individual debaters of the day on the Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. All the children agreed these were fantastic experiences and their enthusiasm for debating, which Broomfield has been doing for the past four years, remains very strong.

National Hedgehog Week

So this week we celebrated the hedgehog as it was National Hedgehog Day. Our nocturnal spikey friends love to eat slugs, earwigs and even frogs and birds eggs when they can find them. They are also quicker than they look and able to reach speeds of 5mph.

The members also made eco friendly book marks as it is National Reading Week.

Cross Country Season

Broomfield girls took part in the OVS Cross Country on Monday, 2nd February 2026, facing a challenging course made even tougher by very muddy conditions. All of the girls ran superbly, showing excellent grit, determination and resilience throughout their races. Despite the demanding terrain, they pushed themselves from start to finish and supported one another brilliantly, demonstrating fantastic team spirit. It was encouraging to see the girls embrace the challenge and give their best effort, regardless of the conditions. Their positive attitude and perseverance were a credit to the school, making it a thoroughly impressive performance by all involved.