Our Friday afternoon assemblies this week had a medal winning theme with the visit of swimmer Katy Sexton. Katy represented England at the Commonwealth Games, and Great Britain in four World Championships and the Sydney and Athens Olympics between 1997 and 2012. Swimming the 200m backstroke, Katy became Great Britain’s first ever female World Champion swimmer in 2003. As well as sharing her medals, Katy also displayed the MBE for services to swimming that she was awarded in the 2004 New Year Honours list.

Katy spoke to the pupils about the importance of motivation and resilience, the latter attribute being one of our key Learning Circle behaviours at St Peter’s. During the assemblies, Mrs Stewart, who leads PE in school, also announced the winners of this half-term’s inter-house sports competition and launched the ‘Road to Paris’ initiative to increase pupils’ awareness and interest in this summer’s Paris Olympiad.

All the pupils attended school in non-uniform today as part of our fundraising efforts to support the Meerkats Child Bereavement support service at the Rowan’s Hospice.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

You may have read, heard or seen in the news this week the grand proclamation that “children under 9 are to be banned from receiving sex education”, including plans to prohibit any pupils being taught about gender identity.  In truth, sex education is not typically taught in most primary schools until Year 6, when the children are aged 10 or 11, and is delivered at an age-appropriate and introductory level centred on pregnancy and child birth.  Further and appropriate sex education follows at secondary school age, and parents and carers always have the right to withdraw their children of any age from sex and relationships education (but not the biological aspect of reproduction that appears in the science national curriculum). 

It is also worth noting that in primary schools, what is meant by ‘relationships’ education involves teaching children what makes a good friend, who are trusted adults, how to sort out arguments, and how make up after disagreements.  Throughout primary school, children are taught about healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships – including online and social media.  This primary school content at St Peter’s is all age appropriate and does not venture into what some of the mainstream media may have you believe is radical teaching on adult relationships, gender identity and sexual orientation. 

Furthermore, children are taught at the right age and stage about some of the physical changes that will happen to them during their later childhood and early adolescence as part of the curriculum about maintaining their own personal health and wellbeing.  You will be reassured to know that St Peter’s relationships and health education curriculum is taken from a Diocesan approved programme of study called ‘Life to the Full’ , prepared and resourced by a Catholic company called Ten:Ten.  This is a programme underpinned by a Christian faith understanding that our deepest identity is as a child of God – created, chosen and loved by God.  Furthermore, St Peter’s Relationships and Sex Education policy is publicly available on our school website, giving further reassurance to parents, carers and families of how our school approaches these sensitive topics in the most suitable way for the pupils in our care.  At all times, we respect the role of parents and carers as the first educators of their children. 

I am always available to host any conversations that parents, carers or families, having the policies and curriculum above, may still wish to have regarding relationships and health education at St Peter’s.  I would also advise caution when reading about this topic in the media, encouraging individuals to conduct their own research as to just how representative headline grabbing stories may be of the reality in the vast majority of our schools.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

As well as regular timetabled lessons of whole class PE, and a range of extra-curricular sporting activities, many children at St Peter’s get the opportunity to take part in sports taster sessions organised at local secondary schools and colleges. 

So far in 2024, different groups of children from across the year groups have taken part in racquet skills sessions, tri-golf, dodgeball, netball and tag rugby tournaments.  In school, meanwhile regular inter-house sports tournaments are organised to pit our different houses, named after St Oscar Romero, St John Paull II, St Teresa of Calcutta and St Mary Elizabeth, against one another over the course of the academic year. 

After indoor athletics and football so far this year, the next inter-house tournament will be tennis, in keeping with the hopefully sunny and hot summer term.  There is always a lot of sport going on at St Peter’s, and we will be building up to the Paris Olympic Games and the Euro 2024 tournament with further events in June and July.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher

Year 4 pupils recently experienced learning in the great outdoors to have an Anglo-Saxon day. Their first task was to make an amazing stew, chopping vegetables carefully before placing them into the bubbling water.

The second activity of the day was coloured weaving, with pupils picking two colours and transforming them into lovely spirals. The children then made friendship bracelets out of thread which they got to wear and take home.

After lunch, the pupils made Anglo-Saxon dens (homes) out of dried grass and bendy sticks. The last thing activity of the day was making fire! The children made the fire using flint rocks with a specific type of metal to ignite cotton wool or dried grass.

Thanks as always go to our St Peter’s staff for bringing external experts into school to enrich and deepen the school curriculum for the pupils.

Mr R Cunningham
Headteacher