Year 5

Welcome to Year 5- the year we transition into Upper Key Stage 2!

 Our move ‘up the stairs’ means we are growing up! This is our penultimate primary school year and we intend to make the most of every minute of it!

Curriculum overview:

Autumn term- Ancient Egypt

We will be travelling back 5,000 years to the dusty realms of ancient Egypt. We will cruise along the Nile (hypothetically of course) entering a world of mysteries, curses and mummies. With the help of Mr Egypt (a real-life Egyptologist, who lives in Egypt) we will be unravelling the secrets of ancient tombs using historical resources and ancient age-old artefacts – some over 4000 years old! In Art, we explore the Christian Dior collection, inspired by the glamour of

Spring 1- Stargazers

The second half term’s learning is a Science-based topic all about Space. We look in detail at the Space Race between America and Russia and about some of the incredible ‘Hidden Figures’ involved.  We will also study the planets; what causes day and night; the effect of gravity and the seasons. Using the fictional moon of Pandora, from the film Avatar, we also delve into putting our imagination to full use, designing beasts that would live there.

Spring 2- Peasants, Princes and Pestilence

Always a firm (but gruesome) favourite, we travel back in time to the 14th century where the plague spreads rife throughout the land. During this topic, we explore societal hierarchy and reasons for the spread of the illness; how the medieval doctors attempted to cure patients and what, scientifically, we have learnt since then.

Summer 1- Fair Trade?

In Summer term, we become geographers, investigating the journey of our food, from farm to fork. We explore the link between climate and land use, looking at what can be grown in particular biomes across the world. We consider how many people are involved within the whole process before looking at how much each get paid. We look at the Fair Trade movement and how it aims to pay farmers fairly for their produce.

Summer 2- Africa

Using our class novel and our Autumn 1 work on Egypt as a stimulus, we explore the diverse continent of Africa- the second largest of the continents on Earth! Within this topic, we learn about its geography, its history and its inhabitants! Martin Luther King Jnr and Nelson Mandela introduce the pupils to the idea of apartheid and what it meant to live under this system. The children complete a self-led research topic on inspirational black achievers and reflect on the true meaning of equality for all.