Ranelagh primary has been give then accolade of a level 3 achievement in the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society ) School Gardening awards. Learning outside the classroom walls is incredibly important to Ranelagh. Giving the children memorable and meaningful experiences  ​is essential to allow the children to 'be the best that they can be'.  A huge congratulation to our lead gardeners and to our remarkable Ranelagh gardener, Miss Catherine . Miss Catherine ran a gardening club to show the children what they need to do to maintain a beautiful and inspiring gardening. At playtime and lunch time the children enjoy making sure the garden is weeded. Watered and dead-headed. Ranelagh cannot wait for the fist burst of Spring.

“Don’t be a bystander. Speak out when you see injustice and fight for a better world.” This was the powerful message delivered to year 6 this week by Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich during our live webinar with her and author Tom Palmer as part of an event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. The children were enthralled as Mala recalled her experience of the German invasion of Poland and her eventual transportation by a cattle truck to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, where she lived in appalling conditions until the camp was liberated by the British army. 

Through reading Hitler’s Canary by Sandi Toksvig in class, the children were able to draw comparisons between the lives of the fictional characters in the book and the treatment of Mala Tribich. One year 6 child remarked, “It is important that we learn about this event so that the people that lost their lives are remembered and to make sure that nothing like it ever happens again in the world.”

Children in year 4 enjoyed a special wormery  lesson in their edible garden area. 

Children were excited learning about worms and their habitats . They had a chance to hold worms and learned about what foods they ate to make compost !

Eddie said “Wow, they are so small but clever as they make compost for us .“  Sophia added “I can’t believe they eat paper!”

In the class quiz, children sorted pictures of things the worms ate and answered questions about their habitats .

The whole of Ranelagh fell silent for a minute at 11 o'clock on the 11th November.

They bowed their heads and reflected on the amazing sacrifices people have made for our freedom.

​Year 6 children at Ranelagh were incredibly excited to take part in a live zoom Q&A session with Sharna Jackson, the author of their current reading book 'High-Rise Mystery' as part of Newham's Black History Month events. The children are about to begin writing their own mystery stories inspired by the story so were fascinated to hear about the author's writing process as well as pick up some brilliant tips about writing the murder mystery genre. 

Many children asked questions throughout the session. Arian in 6T5 asked if Sharna ever had second thoughts or doubted herself before the release of her first book and received an extremely insightful response from her. 

"I was excited when my question was chosen and really liked what Sharna said about believing in ourselves and not letting second thoughts and doubts stop us from taking opportunities."​