Unearthing the Past: Life as a Viking at Jarrow Hall

20th May 2026Miss K. Wilkinson

A fantastic day at Jarrow Hall!

We began by learning about Viking beliefs and religion, hearing stories of their gods and how the Norse people explained the world around them. The children then explored runes, discovering that the alphabet was believed to be a gift from Odin. They each chose a rune to “predict” their future — some were delighted with their good fortune, while others were advised to make offerings to the gods, just as the Vikings would have done!

Next, we learnt how archaeologists have uncovered information about Viking life through burial discoveries. The children recreated a Viking burial, working together to honour a fallen leader with offerings and rituals.

We also had the chance to handle replica Viking weapons and armour. The children were amazed by how heavy the equipment was, especially the chainmail shirt! To finish the morning, we recreated a battle between Viking raiders and the Anglo-Saxons.

In the afternoon, we explored the farm and learnt about the animals Vikings kept and the important roles they played in daily life. We then sheltered from the rain in the mead hall, where we discovered how these halls were built and used. Our day ended with a fantastic retelling of the story of Beowulf around a roaring fire.

Year 4: Active Minds, Active Bodies

2nd April 2026Miss K. Wilkinson

As part of our Melva learning in year 4, the children explored the importance of being physically active both in school and at home, discussing activities they can enjoy independently as well as in groups. We talked about the positive chemical reactions that occur in the brain during exercise, focusing on endorphins and how they help us feel good. The children then took part in a game of “Furnus Says,” where they had to listen carefully to instructions and, at times, do the opposite, which added an extra challenge. They thoroughly enjoyed being outside in the sunshine, staying active and engaged throughout the session.

World Book Day 2026!

7th March 2026Miss K. Wilkinson

What an incredible day we’ve had celebrating World Book Day at West Boldon Primary! Our school has been filled with amazing characters from the wonderful world of books, and we have been blown away by the creativity and effort that has gone into the costumes. The children – and staff! – all look absolutely fantastic. From classic storybook characters to modern favourites, it has truly brought our love of reading to life across the school.

As part of today’s fantastic World Book Day celebrations, Mandy and her amazing catering team also created a truly magical Alice in Wonderland-themed lunch for all of our children! The dining hall was transformed into a wonderful Wonderland feast, and the food looked absolutely unbelievable. From the creative presentation to the delicious treats on offer, it was a lunchtime our children will definitely remember!

In the afternoon, celebrations moved outdoors to our fantastic fire pit area, where the children enjoyed a truly special reading experience. Wrapped up in the fresh air, they toasted marshmallows over the fire while chatting with friends about their favourite stories and characters.

The children also had the chance to relax with a delicious hot chocolate while spending time reading their books together — the perfect way to celebrate a day dedicated to the joy of reading.

Days like today are a brilliant reminder of just how important reading is. Reading opens the door to imagination, builds vocabulary, develops creativity and allows children to explore new worlds, ideas and adventures. Encouraging a love of books at a young age helps set children up with skills that will benefit them for life.

A huge well done to everyone for making such a fantastic effort today, and thank you to our families for helping create such brilliant costumes. We hope today inspires even more children to pick up a book and discover their next great story!

Careers Week at West Boldon Primary

7th March 2026Miss K. Wilkinson

As part of Careers Week, we were thrilled to welcome the education team from Nissan into school today!

The children learned all about the enormous Nissan factory — including an amazing fact that really blew their minds… You could fit the Metrocentre inside the Nissan factory 20 times over!

We also discovered that the factory employs 6,000 people alongside 6,000 robots, and the children asked some brilliant questions about:
– How long it takes to assemble a car
– How many cars are made each day
– How many are produced in a year

After learning that 2,000 cars are made every day, the children put their maths skills to work, using mental maths to calculate how many cars the factory could produce in a year — fantastic problem-solving on show!

To finish the session, the children were set a design challenge to create a car of the future… thankfully using LEGO rather than real machinery!

A huge thank you to Robyn at the Nissan education team for an inspiring and eye-opening visit

 

The Giving Project celebrate International Women’s Day

7th March 2026Miss K. Wilkinson

This week in our Giving Project after-school club, our KS2 children took a little break from making gifts for others to celebrate the upcoming International Women’s Day – fixing each other’s crowns!

The children decorated beautiful crowns and filled them with kind compliments for one another. It was a lovely opportunity to build each other up, share positive words, and remind each other just how special they all are.

Sometimes the best way to spread kindness is to start by lifting up the people around us — and our children did exactly that.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Celebration Assembly 27th Feb 2026

7th March 2026Miss K. Wilkinson

What a way to end the half-term! We had an amazing last day of half-term celebrating our Ofsted Party Day, and the children absolutely loved it!

The morning began with our usual Star of the Week Golden Coin Celebration Assembly, where it was fantastic to celebrate all the brilliant achievements and positive choices across school

After that, the children enjoyed a lovely, relaxed morning watching a film, followed by Bag Day lunch, kindly provided by Mandy and her wonderful team

The afternoon was full of smiles, laughter and energy with fun games and activities, topped off with buffet snacks generously donated by our parents — thank you so much for your continued support

A perfect end to a fantastic half-term and a well-deserved celebration for our amazing children.

Year 3/4 become Odyssey Adventurers!

18th February 2026Miss K. Wilkinson

Year 3/4 had an amazing day at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle!

The children took part in a brilliant Time Odyssey, using iPads to complete challenges inspired by the Vikings, Ancient China, the Romans and Ancient Egypt

They chose a character and helped them on their journey by photographing artefacts from the museum’s exhibits and answering questions along the way. Using their research, the children created amulets, designed maps, and even made protective cloaks – creativity at its best!

The children also spent time exploring the museum galleries, discovering fascinating artefacts and making excellent links to their history learning back in school.

A truly fantastic day filled with curiosity, creativity and hands-on learning.

Year 4 enjoy Number Day 2026!

9th February 2026Miss K. Wilkinson
Class 10 took part in an active maths lesson today for Number Day. In teams they were challenged to race through the obstacle course finding calculations to solve with their team members.
The challenge of the game – find and solve all twelve calculations, remember the right calculation and solve it.

Later on, Class 10 took part in a country-wide TTRS challenge for Number Day.

The children are working hard to learn their multiplication facts and today was a fun way to continue this trying to get on to scoreboards against schools across the country.

Footprints of Resistance: Expressive Street Art in Year 4

4th February 2026Miss K. Wilkinson

As part of their ongoing exploration of the topic of slavery, Year 4 children created expressive artwork inspired by Banksy’s street art style. Using a footprint stencil as a central symbol, they combined bold colours and layered textures to represent themes of movement, identity, and resistance. Around the footprint, they incorporated calligraphy—recently learned in class—to write powerful words like “Freedom,” “Master,” and “Slaves,” encouraging reflection and discussion.

Street Art in Year 4!

29th January 2026Miss K. Wilkinson

Over the past few weeks, the Year 4 children have been learning about Banksy and his distinctive style of street art. They explored some of his most famous pieces, as well as the tools and techniques he uses. After sketching and planning their own artwork inspired by Banksy – and linked to their Dimensions topic on slavery – the children created their stencil designs. Today they used these stencils to paint their slavery-themed artwork. Next week, they will build on this by applying their calligraphy skills to add key vocabulary related to slavery.