Class 7C went on a trip to the local garden centre, Van Hage. They were accompanied by their teacher Mr. Harvey and their TA Miss Jones. This trip was in relation to their current Science topic of Habitats and Adaptation. 7C had two tasks to complete on their trip.

Firstly, the class had to walk around Van Hage’s small zoo where they saw various animals and information about them. These included: mammals such as sheep, goats, pigs, guinea pigs and rabbits; birds such as chickens, turkeys, ducks and pheasants; and reptiles such as tortoises and turtles.

The class took it in turns to read the boards which described their natural habitats and their diets. They engaged in various conversations about all of the animals discussing their physical differences and imagining what would be different if they were living in the wild. This was also talked about once returned to the school to reinforce their memory on what they had learnt.

Secondly, the students had to locate different size pots and compost for a flower experiment they had planned to do when they returned to school. The pots they chose included two wide shallow pots and two deep pots. Once the they were purchased and carried back to school, the class spent a lesson setting up the experiment. They wanted to find out which location wild flower seeds would grow best: in the deep pots, in the shallow pots, sprinkled across a grassy area, or placed on a loose pile of mud. For the pots the students took it in turns to fill them half way with compost, put a sprinkling of seeds in the pots, cover them with more compost and finally water them. Since the 16th May the class have been keeping a Science Diary to show the progress of the plants in four locations. The most recent entry showed that the seeds in the deep pots were growing best with bigger shoots, however, the seeds in the shallow pots, on the grass, and on the pile of mud have shown little to no progress.

The class now hopes to see flowers emerging in the deep pots by the end of the Summer term!

Every year Pinewood plays an important part in the training of student teachers.

We work with Hertfordshire and Middlesex Universities to give their students an experience of the challenges working in our education sector as opposed to mainstream. The students, without exception, gain enormously from this time at Pinewood. They always comment on the kindness and consideration of our pupils and are amazed at their enthusiasm for learning.

Tutors from the Universities visit and assess the trainee teachers and value our school because of the range of opportunities to see personalised learning and differentiation for the benefit of all Pinewood Pupils.

For the last few weeks we have had two students here at Pinewood from Middlesex University. One of them, Stephanie Quinn is a drama specialist. Stephanie has been working with Mr Harvey’s class using ‘Horrid Henry’ as the theme to create improvisation and mini- dramas.

The pupils have benefitted enormously, the lessons have helped team work, speaking and listening skills, fired imagination and have been fun!

Using the beautiful sensory garden pupils acted out their creations and enjoyed it very much.

Stephanie said ‘The children enjoyed the sessions working creatively and they seemed to grow in confidence as we worked.’

James, one of the pupils said “I loved playing the part of Perfect Peter!”