It has been quite a quiet week in school even though we have been carrying out the Phonics screening in Year 1 and the multiplication tests in Year 4. I think it is a credit to how the school organises the tests that it does not impact on the daily running of the school and we can maintain a pleasant atmosphere in school. Although we do strive to achieve the highest standards in the children’s learning I do not think that children in primary schools should be stressed by examinations. All we expect is that they apply themselves to their learning to the best of their ability.

Next week will definitely not be a quiet week in school as we have our Talent Night on Wednesday night and our Sports day on Thursday (weather permitting). All the children who are taking part in the Talent Night have been selected and hopefully they have been rehearsing hard at home in preparation for the evening. We will be holding a rehearsal for the show on Monday morning so the children should bring in all the props they need for their act on that day. We have not held a talent night for a long time so I am looking forward to hosting one again.

Thursday is the day of annual Sports Day so let us all hope that it does not rain. All the children get very excited at the prospect of this day because they all want to do well for their school house and it is great to see them competing hard trying to win as many points as possible for their team. The children in the Foundation stage and Key Stage One take part in their events in the morning and they start at 9.15am and the Key Stage Two children take part in the afternoon and their event starts at 1.30pm. The winning house will be announced in the afternoon but we also make an announcement in assembly so that the younger children know which house is the winner. Remember if we do not think that the Sports Day can go ahead we will inform you as soon as possible. Reserve Sports Day is Friday.

I hope you all have a great weekend. The European Football Championship is starting so I expect many of you will be glued to your television sets on Sunday night watching England taking part in their first game.