Congratulations to the brilliant cast and crew of Year 6 at St Peter’s for their incredible performance of Aladdin. With vibrant costumes, brilliant singing and wonderful dancing the children put on a great show for their fellow pupils in matinee performances, followed by two evening shows for families and friends. The production was the result of a lot of hard work over a short space of time, and showed off the many talents throughout the year group.

Thanks also must go to the incredible St Peter’s staff who helped to cast, rehearse and stage the production, as well as those involved in the sale of tickets, the Friends of St Peter’s for selling refreshments, and the site staff for the incredible turnaround of the hall into a theatre on several occasions.

Mr R Cunningham
Executive Headteacher

Thank you to all families for their cooperation, support and flexibility as we worked to cope with an unprecedented heatwave last week. It is never an easy decision to make changes to the school day in the event of a dynamic situation, as I am ever conscious of the impact this has on children’s learning and the lives of families. Putting the safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff at the heart of all decisions last week meant that when changes had to be made, they were made with as much notice and mitigation as possible. Throughout the week the children were fantastic, coping well with both the heat and the changes to routines, being a real credit to their families. Friday was definitely cooler, and pupils being able to wear relaxed clothing meant that we were able to finish off the week in style. We also managed to complete a Year 4 Sundowner Festival in place of the planned Year 4 overnight camp, so 60 pupils had a great evening of games, songs and a silent disco as the sun set over the school field.

Enormous thanks go to the staff in every area of the school who worked so hard last week during the heat, and especially to colleagues who stayed on later on Friday for the Year 4 event.

Mr R Cunningham
Executive Headteacher

Congratulations to the children who made their First Holy Communion recently, 22 of whom attend St Peter’s. It was a wonderful celebration on a beautiful day much enjoyed by family and friends.

Our thanks go also to the Catechists Liz, Bruce and Marie, and of course to Fr James, Fr Jeremy and Fr Tom.

Mr R Cunningham
Executive Headteacher

Well done everyone at St Peter’s Catholic Primary School for taking part in “Wear a hat day” on recently. The day was to raise awareness about brain tumours, a message which was shared with the pupils during assemblies that day.

The school managed to raise £289 for the Brain Tumour Research charity. One in three people in the UK knows someone affected by a brain tumour. This disease is indiscriminate; it can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.  Thank you to all who were able to donate to a cause that is close to the heart of St Peter’s.

Mr R Cunningham
Executive Headteacher

There has been lots happening in St Peter’s this week, which doesn’t really make it any different from any other week in our school! Pupils in Year 4 took part in quiche making as part of their design technology course, working to research healthy food options, plan and prepare ingredients, and then sample the fruits of their labour once they had been cooked by our very own kitchen staff.

On Tuesday we had a hastily relocated Mass for Years 3, 4 and 5 celebrated by Fr Tom Hiney and attended by families and parishioners. We were due to walk to Sacred Heart and St Peter the Apostle Church on London Road in Waterlooville, but the wildly unpredictable May weather put a stop to that plan, and Mass was celebrated in our school hall. Thank you to Fr Tom for coming to celebrate with us, and being so adaptable to the rapid-paced life of a primary school.

Mr R Cunningham
Executive Headteacher

Well done to the children of Year 5 at St Peter’s who took part in Bikeability (the updated version of the Cycling Proficiency Test) this week.  School is about so much more that just what goes on in the classroom, and Year 5 in the spring and summer terms are the proof of that.

In 2026 each Year 5 class has taken part in swimming lessons as required by the National Curriculum, and also this week learnt the basics of bike maintenance as well as the skills needed to ride safely on the road.

Mr R Cunningham

Executive Headteacher

Pupils at St Peter’s have been marking the 100^th birthday of Sir David Attenborough with a nature-inspired art competition.  Children from Year R to Year 6 submitted drawings, paintings and models of animals or of Sir David himself, as well as nature photos that they had taken themselves.  The competition entries were displayed in the school hall during the week, and Friday afternoon saw the pupils taking part in a live-link assembly which brought thousands of primary school pupils together across the UK and globally to celebrate the naturalist’s life, legacy, and commitment to protecting the planet. At the end of the celebrations winning entries were announced and prizes went to the successful artists. 

Thanks go to Mrs Pearson for organising this activity.

Mr R Cunningham
Executive Headteacher

Please remember in your prayers over the coming two months pupils and students at St Peter’s and Oaklands who will be undertaking various different forms of public and national assessments.  Students aged 16 and 18 tend to grab the headlines in the August results, but don’t forget about Year 6 SATs, Year 4 multiplication tables tests, and Year 1 phonics screening tests.  Equally, exams such as GCSEs and A-Levels may have the higher profile, but young people aged between 16 and 18 take a wide variety of different courses assessments to test their learning, check their understanding and exercise their recall.  All of the different types of assessment are designed to give young people the best opportunities in the next stages of their lives, whether that is for further learning and study, an apprenticeship or entering directly into the workplace.  The pupils and students in our schools work incredibly hard, guided by teachers and a wide range of learning support and auxiliary staff – they all would appreciate your prayers as the academic year enters its final furlong. 

Mr R Cunningham
Executive Headteacher

It been a long, wet winter followed by a cold, damp spring, but evidence keeps popping up in St Peter’s that we are finally in something of a spring that could even foretell the arrival of summer. Some pupils have started top brave shorts and summer dresses as school uniform, we had one lunchtime play on the school field last week (which was rained off in the end!) and this week another display of floral beauty in the school.

We also had that annual spring event of the national school place offer day for Reception Year, and I am pleased to say that St Peter’s Early Years classes will be full to the brim next September. We look forward to welcoming our next generation of children, parents and carers to the St Peter’s family over the coming months.

Mr R Cunningham
Executive Headteacher

St Peter’s is delighted to announce that we have achieved the Silver Artsmark Award. This is a great achievement for our school and a wonderful recognition of the strength and breadth of our arts provision.  The assessors’ feedback highlighted how the arts at St Peter’s have moved from enrichment to true entitlement – becoming increasingly central to our curriculum and to pupils’ wider experience of school. They recognised the growth in extra-curricular opportunities, improvements in curriculum design and progression, increased staff confidence and the positive impact on pupil wellbeing, engagement and expression. It is also particularly pleasing that our inclusive approach to the arts and the therapeutic use of art, music and storytelling were noted so positively. 

Special thanks to Mrs Pearson, who led this project with dedication and determination. The process of gathering evidence, reflecting on practice and compiling the report required an enormous amount of time and care.  This recognition is a celebration of the work that all colleagues do to create a vibrant arts culture at St Peter’s. From art, music, choir, performance and storytelling through to creative curriculum opportunities and enrichment activities. Every class teacher, support staff member and leader plays a part in ensuring that creativity thrives across our school.  Well done to them all for their continued commitment to placing the arts as an important part of our pupils’ experience.

And, to accompany this happy news, a happy picture from the first day of the summer term.

Mr R Cunningham
Executive Headteacher