Arts and Activities
Musical Productions
We produce a Summer Play and a Christmas Nativity Play, both great highlights of the school year. Children, parents and staff all have to work very hard together, learning scripts and making costumes and scenery. Every child has a line and a part to play:
In 2016, our summer Shakespearian play, As We Like It, took place in our local secondary school (Farmors) drama theatre.
Our summer musical for 2017, Oliver With A Twist, was held for the first time in the new performing arts theatre at our neighbours, Hatherop Castle School.
Again, in July 2018, we used the performing arts theatre at Hatherop Castle School to present Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Our Christmas production is always held in Hatherop’s beautiful St. Nicholas church, a short walk from the school.
Art
We love art at Hatherop. We invite in specialist artists to share their skills with the children, and place great importance on displays of the children’s work that are generated as part of their art lessons and changed regularly throughout the school. The children derive great pleasure from seeing their work on the walls.
We also display art work at the sculpture exhibition that is held every other year in Quenington. This is visited by several thousand people from around the country. As part of our Arts Week, we worked with Hannah Ellis from Cirencester’s Brewery Arts to create large colourful banners for our vision statement using batik printing techniques; every child contributed to these wonderful creations.
Design and Technology
Hatherop Primary pupils love their D&T – Design and Technology. Over the years, they have worked on a range of projects; younger pupils have made model playgrounds, wind-up toys, torches and morse code machines. We also take part in the Engineering Challenge held as part of the Royal Air Tattoo at the nearby RAF base in Fairford.
Computing
We recognise that ICT skills are imperative for today’s children. Not only will they need ICT skills in their eventual workplace, but they will need them at secondary school too. Our Computing curriculum ensures that Hatherop pupils are skilled in their use of various programs, as well as seeing the advantages of using a PC or tablet, whether for internet research or for producing good quality work.
We have interactive whiteboards in all classrooms and chromebooks, iPads and laptops for the children in every classroom. This equipment is not only used in ICT lessons but it is used appropriately for other subjects too.
Instrumental Music
Guitar Lessons: Every week, Mr Mead comes to teach children guitar. They are taught in small groups and learn different chords to accompany melody. Children enjoy the lessons and parents have commented on how the children love playing the guitar at home, even singing along to the tunes they have learned! They often play at the Christmas, Harvest and Easter services, accompanying the congregation.
Drum Lessons: Mr Downes-Hall comes to teach drumming once a week week. Children learn individually and have a great time.
Nature, Gardening and Cookery
We encourage our children to lead a healthy lifestyle. We have celebration cooking days, where the whole school takes part (both making and tasting their food). Days such as Hannukah and Divali are two examples with a cultural theme together with our annual healthy eating picnic and popular Community Tea.
We have an organic school garden, where we grow vegetables and fruit, and a nature area for den making and wildlife.
As we are sited in a rural area, we encourage all children to learn what’s going on in the countryside around them. We regularly visit the Ernest Cook Trust Woodland School and we have links with local farms.
The school has always been active in the inter-school Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust Nature Quiz and runs a lunchtime nature club free to all children from Y4 upwards.
School Council
We elect a new School Council twice a year. Children who wish to stand make a speech to the whole school and explain what they would do if they were elected. Everyone in the school has a vote and the successful candidates become our School Council.