Online learning resources

The Week Junior Activity Hub - From news to nature, science to geography, and sport to books, The Week Junior explores an extraordinary array of topics from around the globe. Written to engage a young person’s point of view, The Week Junior have set-up an online activity hub with a range of activities to try out at home

First News publication – First News in an award-winning national UK newspaper for children which aims to present current events and politics in a child-friendly format, alongside news on entertainment, sport and computer games.

Pobble 365 - Each day a new weird, wonderful or thought provoking picture is added to fuel the imagination. Ask your children to communicate their thoughts around the image whilst or inspire them to write creatively. There are 365 images to choose from, why not select your birthday and see which one comes up...will it be a mythical creature causing mayhem, a magical fairytale, or a trip deep into the rainforest. Make sure you scroll down to the activities to spark new ideas and questions.

Spring Poetry - For those that can't get out and about, celebrate this delightful season by enjoying some great classic poetry about spring. You could start with Hopkins, who tells us, 'nothing is so beautiful as spring,' and asks us, 'what is all this juice and all this joy?' You could then appreciate the sweetness of spring from a distance with Browning, who, from abroad, imagined how, ‘…the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough, In England – now!’ 

Harry Potter at Home - Many of our pupils and their friends from outside of school have attended our popular Harry Potter themed ‘Bring-a-Friend’ events held in the Prep Hall, so we know how much your children enjoy the magic of Harry Potter. At this time, JK Rowling has announced that she wishes to bring a dose of 'magic' to children and parents whilst they are at home. The author has launched the online hub 'Harry Potter At Home', which features information and activities for children, parents, and carers.

Free Audible books for children - Audible are offering children the chance to listen to free audiobooks whilst they are off school. Click this link to view their selection. Parents can also sign up to audible and receive free audiobooks for 30 days.

DK Findout! - Produced by the award-winning children's publisher Dorling Kindersley, this free online encyclopaedia pulls together the very best of DK’s amazing images and content across a wide range of subjects with particular focus on Key Stage 2.

Scholastic Learn at Home - Every day there are four separate learning experiences, each built around a thrilling, meaningful story or video. Kids can do them on their own, with their families, or with their teachers. Just find your grade level and let the learning begin.

The Day and The Day Explorer - The Day and The Day Explorer provide daily news stories, quizzes and discussion topics and include an audio version for both publications. They are superb resources, with curriculum sections for all our main subjects. Some of the articles are translated into modern foreign languages and there are sections for PSHE. The Day Explorer is for younger pupils, predominantly aimed at children in Year 5 and below.

Let’s get writing – The websites below provide some fantastic learning facilities linked to the teaching of the English language. They are suitable for all age groups.

www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/learning-activities
writingexercises.co.uk/children
www.onceuponapicture.co.uk

Dice Time – A dice can be used in so many fun ways in maths. Roll the dice and times the numbers. Roll the dice and add them up mentally. Roll the dice and be the first to reach 30.

Maths activity websites - Looking for maths websites for children? We have selected the best websites available that teach and strengthen maths skills for children through interactive activities, practice exercises, problem solving puzzles and games. These interactive games and rewards motivate children to learn maths in a fun and engaging way. Children will become more confident with their knowledge of maths after using the following web games.
www.mymaths.co.uk
www.mathswatch.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk
www.themathsfactor.com
www.khanacademy.org

Curves of pursuit - Four bugs are initially sitting at the corners of a square. All at once, each of the bugs begin crawling with equal speed directly towards the bug on their right. What is the path of each bug? Have a look at this interactive version of this problem on this website which enables you to trial different amounts of bugs to see all the different patterns this mathematical problem creates. These patterns are called curves of pursuit. You can create these wonderful pieces of art, using maths.

If, like the science department, you are mad about science, watch Maddie Moate at 11am ‘Let’s Go Live’ over the holidays via YouTube. There are some great scientific activities to try at home as well as interesting facts, such as what part of the brain stores long-term memories? The programmes are probably more suitable for Year 6 and below.

PhET Interactive Science Hub – This interactive science hub is a really brilliant resource with hundreds of different simulations of many different scientific concepts. Some are extremely useful and would go alongside our school curriculum, while others are simply created for fun. Just search for PhET simulations and see what you can find.

Make your own 3D globe - Why don’t you attempt to make your own 3D Globe? Follow the link to research a range of shapes and models that may be of interest to you.

Energy usage - During their geography lessons this term, Year 5 will be focussing on their new topic of 'Energy'. Take a look at this link which highlights the amount of energy the world uses at night. It raises issues of population density and wealth concentration according to global locations.

National Geographic - Why not subscribe to the National Geographic and keep up-to-date with events going on around the world each month. There are also some fun activities online for the children to play.

Super Yummy Kitchen - Our fabulous catering team Chartwells UK are helping kids stay happy and healthy over the Easter break with the launch of their ‘Super Yummy Kitchen’, a string of video recipes perfect for trying at home, using everyday ingredients found in most cupboards. These fun recipes include 'Unicorn Hummus', 'Pea Pond Slime' and 'Knickerbocker Pouries' – a great way to learn something new and taste something delicious.

The HappySelf Journal – The HappySelf Journal is a daily journal for children aged 6 to 12, based on scientifically proven methods that promote happiness, develop healthy habits for life and nurture enquiring minds. Beautifully illustrated and easy to use, with just a few minutes focus each day, children benefit by being encouraged to express gratitude, reflect on their emotions and think about their actions.

Build your own Eiffel Tower - Did you know The Eiffel Tower is the most visited paid monument in the world. In total there are 1665 steps up to the top. Despite us not being able to visit it at the moment, can you come up with a creative way of building your own model Eiffel tower at home? Will you use straws, ice cream wafers, matchsticks or perhaps Lego?

The Artful Parent - From sandpaper art projects to shaving cream marbling, The Artful Parent website has a whole host of artistic activities to do at home with the children.

Origami activity - Try your hand at something creative. Have a go at making an origami masterpiece – a fox, a penguin, a fish, a box, a cup - even Yoda! There are plenty of easy options to start with or if you are experienced challenge yourself to a more difficult design.

Visit online galleries - With many art galleries closing their doors, we suggest you have a look at Google Arts and Culture, which has virtual museum visits, articles on Art and Artists, 3D architecture to explore, events, and fun activities (even the chance to find out what portrait you look like).

Globe Theatre Virtual Tour - Enjoy a trip around this historic theatre in your very own home. Follow the link below to download the app, and take a virtual tour of Shakespeare’s Globe, one of the most famous London theatres. Learn all the backstage secrets and special effects. While you’re there, try to imagine this theatre in it’s heyday with the rabbling audience and the famous soliloquy’s. Are there any modern day plays you think would be great to perform in the space? How would you have it performed?

Feel Good Music - Music can have a profound impact on our emotions and Grieg’s lively Rigaudon is so lively and uplifting. Click on the link to listen. Why don’t you compile your own top ten pieces of feel good music, and save them as a play list. You can share these with your family and friends and see what they think too.

BBC Bring the Noise - Have fun over the Easter holidays with this brilliant online music resource for primary schools from the BBC. Get started with Play It! and explore the different elements that make up a song, play or clap along with the music and make then listen back to your own version of songs.

BBC Bitesize - Being at home in the Easter holidays is the perfect time to work on your French listening. For fans of Paddington, we recommend viewing these highlights of the film, dubbed into French. You’ll be amazed at how much of the language you will understand. It’s a really fun, entertaining way to improve your fluency and accent.

Mandarin activities - In England we say 'two's company, three's a crowd'. In China, the story is of three monks who can't get on, until a crisis brings them together. Have a look at this beautiful, wordless animation from the year of our Mandarin teacher’s birth, and one of the first animations to come from China.

Andy’s Wild Workouts – Aimed at younger children, CBeebies presenter Andy travels the world to amazing places and learns to move like the animals he meets on his adventure. Can you adventure with Andy and learn some animal moves of your own?