Enriching Our Curriculum

We are very fortunate to have large and varied outdoor spaces within the school grounds, including a large courtyard area, two playgrounds, a very large school field, a multi-use-games-area, two outdoor activity trails, two forest school areas and a pond. Our school environment therefore offers many opportunities for outdoor learning and these are embedded throughout the curriculum so that all year groups can benefit from this valuable resource. 

We regularly support community events in Buckingham such as the May Day Celebrations, Remembrance Parade and the Christmas Parade. These opportunities help children to develop a sense of belonging and encourages them to demonstrate our school values and make a positive contribution to society. 

All year groups enjoy a selection of educational visits during the year which are linked to the curriculum and extend and enrich their learning beyond the constraints of the classroom. Recent visits have included Woburn Safari Park, Waddesdon Manor and the Space Museum.  Teachers also make good use of the local area to develop skills such as map reading and river studies in geography, sketching in art, as well as scientific and historical enquiry. 

Pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 are also given the opportunity to gain confidence and independence through a residential visit. Children visibly grow in character during these trips, experiencing new sports and activities, stepping out of their comfort zone and strengthening friendships before they move to secondary school.

We recognise the very broad and varied talents of our pupils and we provide a wide range of opportunities to enable them to apply and showcase their talents within the wider community.  All pupils are given regular opportunities to perform, whether this is through their class assembly, year group performance or by taking part in national events such Young Voices – the largest children’s choir concert in the world!  Pupils are also given regular opportunities to compete in both competitive and non-competitive sporting events, representing their school and, most importantly, having fun! We also support a range of other competitions, relating to the wider curriculum. These experiences enrich the children’s learning but also teach them important life skills such as the art of winning and losing gracefully, and embedding the school’s values within a broader context. 

A wide range of extra-curriculum clubs are also on offer. A list of these can be found within the 'Parents' section.

Children often learn about historical events, religious festivals, geographical locations and different cultures with which they have no first-hand experience. We therefore regularly invite visitors into school, so that our children can learn from the experiences of others, and have the opportunity to ask questions to consolidate their understanding. 

Other visitors include professionals who help us, such as the fire brigade and police, as well as writers, theatre groups and artists.

Reading is a key skill and the gateway to learning across all subjects. We recognise the importance of children being exposed to a range of high-quality texts and we create regular opportunities to do this across all subject areas.  Purposeful links are made between these texts and the curriculum being taught, helping children make sense of what they are learning by putting it into a broader context. This helps them to know and remember more.