Well done to the children who took part in the Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts Competition in the ‘Choral Speaking’ category. We are proud to say that they won 1^st prize for their wonderful performance of an alternative Little Red Riding Hood!

It was wonderful to invite parents to support our children on Sports Day this year! Races included the three-legged race, hurdles, baton relays and a sack race for the grown-ups! Luckily, the rain held off until we had finished! 

The EYFS and KS1 Creativity Exhibition was enjoyed by everyone! The artwork included Van Gogh-inspired 'Mulberry Trees' using texture with paint, self portraits, African and Japanese artwork (from Arts Week), Kandinsky-inspired primary and secondary colour paintings, landscape sketches using perspective and Platinum Jubilee artwork. The children also displayed their collaborative 'Think Big' piece that they produced at Leeds Art Gallery. Thank you to all of the parents who came along!

The whole school had a wonderful day celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The children created artwork, dressed in Jubilee-themed clothes, a bun sale, a special celebration lunch and made decorations for the Askwith Jubilee street party. Class 1 also decorated the Askwith Phone Box. 

Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 held their annual Art Exhibition. Their artwork included tie-dye cushions, Mexican Day of the Dead inspired skulls, totem poles, Picasso-inspired paintings using warm and cool colours and sketches using perspective. The whole school enjoyed viewing the exhibition and we were pleased to invite parents back in this year! 

Children, parents and teachers had a wonderful time at the Otley Carnival Parade on Saturday! Each class dressed as a season: class 1 as spring; class 2 as summer; class 3 as autumn and class 4 as winter. Children and adults dressed as daffodils, rabbits, autumnal trees, snowflakes, ice queens and festival goers! 

All children have enjoyed a very creative International Arts Week! Children in Reception and Nursery have been exploring African cultures. They were inspired by the photographer Thandiwe Muriu and created their own camouflage collages. The children also made their own Maasai necklaces using primary colours and pasta threading. Class 2 have been learning all about the culture of Japan. They have created artwork inspired by the work of Yayoi Kusama and the traditional Japanese blossom trees. They have enjoyed listening to calming Japanese music whilst creating their traditional art including a recycled piece based on The Great Wave by Kanagawa by Hokusai. The children in class 3 have looked at the artist Jane Ash Poitras who created artwork related to the Cree tribes of North America. They have created paintings and their own totum pole sculptures. Class 4 children have spent the week exploring Mexican culture. They have looked at the work of Frida Kahlo and been inspired by her resilience and robustness.

This year's Design and Technology Challenge was another huge success. Well done to all of the children who worked so hard on their egg designs. 

A special thank you to our special guest judge from the village who joined us via Zoom to judge the entries and choose a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for each year group. 

Children from all classes had a fabulous afternoon learning how to dance around the maypole. They learnt traditional dances, whilst listening to live music performed on the accordion. 

We would like to say a huge thank you to The Buttercross Belles from Otley for giving their time and sharing their expertise. The children had a wonderful afternoon. 

As part of the Queen's Green Canopy initiative and to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, we were lucky to find an opportunity in Askwith to plant over 100 saplings in partnership with The Woodland Trust.

The children had a wonderful time planting the trees! Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered their time and expertise, including Mrs Crabtree for her beautiful photos. 

Askwith Primary School is officially part of a Guinness World Record title. Congratulations to all of the children who took part in the 'largest postage stamp design competition'. A total of 606, 049 entries were received, well done children!

The children have enjoyed their first few weeks of fencing club. They have been practising keeping their feet in a T position and using "allez" and "en-garde" during their games. 

The children in KS2 thoroughly enjoyed their first session of Sculpture Club after school on Wednesday. They began by designing their vases using intricate patterns. Then, they rolled the clay out, wrapped it around their rolling pin and created beautiful and unique vase shapes. The children made patterns in their vases using a range of tools. 

...next week, we will add colour! 

The children had a wonderful day celebrating National Poetry Day with Tony Peek, a poet who visited Askwith Primary School for the day. 

Children in KS1 and EYFS listened to Tony's funny poems about every day life as a child. They recited their own poems in the style of nursery rhymes and used some alliteration. 

KS2 recapped their learning from previous years. Year 5 and 6 had the opportunity to perform poems that they had written with the help of Tony in a whole school assembly at the end of the day. The poems were fantastic, well done! 

 Well done to all of the children who represented Askwith Primary School in the cross country race at Ashlands over the weekend! The children had a fantastic time. 

The next race will be on Saturday 13th November. 

The children throughout school had a great time learning about online safety and keeping safe in the community with PCSO Phil. 

They discussed the importance of personal information and who it should and should not be shared with. PCSO Phil also outlined the importance of using their phones, tablets and computers near a trusted adult. 

The children also discussed how to identify a trusted person in the community such as a nurse, police officer or a fire fighter and how these people could help them if they were in trouble. 

The children had a wonderful day celebrating European Day of Languages. 

In EYFS, the children practised greeting people with "Bonjour!", listened to French nursery rhymes and created some European flag inspired handprint artwork. 

In KS1, the children explored Europe and found different countries on a map while listening to songs in French. 

In KS2, the children were exploring different places in Europe using digital maps and atlases. They also practised conversations and poems in French.

To conclude our day, we had a whole school assembly in French, led by Mrs Nayler. The children had the opportunity showcase their poems, songs and artwork. 

The children had a fantastic sports day in their 'bubbles'.

Nursery, Reception and KS1 enjoyed lots of different races including a sprint, an egg and spoon race and a skipping race.

KS2 practised their relay skills and also competed in a sprinting race. Many of their races involved working well as a team. 

The children had a wonderful morning when Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby Athlete, Ayaz Bhuta, visited.

They had a 'zoom' assembly where they listened to Ayaz Bhuta's life story and learnt how hard work can help them to achieve their goals. They also had the opportunity to ask Ayaz questions throughout the morning. 

After the assembly, each 'bubble' of children, took part in some circuit training led by Ayaz. They then went outside to see if they could put his catching skills to the test! 

Thanks to your generous contributions, all costs were covered and the school has over £500 to spend on sports equipment and sports activities. Many thanks to all the sponsors!

Throughout Mental Health Awareness Week, the children enjoyed lots of different activities, with a focus on nature and the world around them. 

To raise money for Comic Relief, the children took part in an inter-house skip-a-thon. They all brought in skipping ropes purchased for them by school during lockdown. Lots of fun was had and lots of money was raised for an excellent cause, all while keeping fit and healthy enjoying the fresh air!

A fantastic £148 was raised!!

Story Time

During Lockdown, we still had our daily class story.

Some children listened on Zoom and some children listened in school, but the important thing is we still shared our story every day. 

Congratulations to one of our young writers on winning 2nd place in The CPRE Yorkshire Children's Writing Competition! 

Hockey Club

Handbells Club

Songs and Stories

Story Telling

The children took part in listening to stories from around the world. The joined in by creating music to go with the stories. The children enjoyed exploring a range of different instruments together.

The children enjoyed a story telling session with Mrs Sardar. The story, 'The Conference of the Birds', is a magical and inspiring story of the adventures of a flock of birds in search of their king. The children enjoyed discussions about overcoming fear, hardship, and inner limitations.

Dance Club

Intra-house Sport Competition 2

The children have enjoyed learning a range of different dances in dance club this half term.

Well done to all of the children for taking part in our intra-house sport competition. Each house worked well as a team in their year groups.