Our children brought the sunshine to school when we marked World Mental Health Day in colourful style.

Pupils across all year groups at Walpole Cross Keys Primary arrived dressed in yellow on Friday 9 October in support of the Young Minds annual Hello Yellow campaign, while members of staff also swapped their usual dress for cheerier hues.

Rachel Daws is Assistant Headteacher at our school, which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, and helped organise the event.

“We celebrated World Mental Health Day with Hello Yellow,” she said. “The school came in wearing yellow, we had a mental health assembly for the whole school, and we did mindfulness exercises throughout the day to teach children how to look after their mental health.”

Activities on offer included physical exercise, colouring, problem solving, doodling, breathing exercises, and meditation.

Other WNAT members participating in the initiative included Clenchwarton Primary and West Lynn Primary, along with St Clement’s High School in Terrington St Clement, and Smithdon High School in Hunstanton.

Our trust's free, annual community event has entertained music lovers for the fifth year running, with almost 600 musicians, and more than 30 different groups, performing at Springwood High School in King’s Lynn across four consecutive nights.

The West Norfolk Academies Trust Community Music Festival was attended by around 1,000 people, and took place from 6 to 9 July at 6pm, with each evening featuring a different musical style or genre.

Trust high schools taking part included host Springwood, Marshland in West Walton, St Clement’s in Terrington St Clement, and Smithdon in Hunstanton; while the member primary schools involved in the event were Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Heacham Junior, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn. There were also performances from community groups, bands, and orchestras from across the region.

The event kicked off on the Monday with a night of concert bands, big bands, and orchestras, where Springwood school bands were joined by the West Norfolk Music Centre, West Norfolk Reeds, Centre Stage Swing Band, and King’s Lynn Town Band; while Tuesday was ‘Rock and Pop’ evening with performances from up-and-coming rock and pop stars.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of more than 200 school choir singers to take to the stage, performing a medley of 1990s hits, before the event came to a close on Thursday with the ‘Springwood Spectacular’.

WNAT Director of Music Robin Norman organised the Festival, and was delighted with its ongoing success.

“The Festival has now been taking place for five years, and, year on year, the success and audience numbers grow,” he said.

“The vocal evening on the Wednesday is always a highlight, with 16 different schools, and a total of around 200 young people performing, aged eight to 18, including three combined items where everyone performed together.

“In terms of memorable performances, the Springwood Concert Band performed some disco classics, including the Village People classic ‘YMCA’. The sight of over 200 people in the audience getting involved in the actions is one that we will remember for a while!”

The diverse range of music was also enjoyed by an audience beyond those attending the Festival.

Mr Norman explained: “Each year we receive messages of support not only from those that are present, but also from people whose gardens back onto the school field, who just enjoy sitting in their gardens and enjoying the music.

“Springwood is a hive of music, with many of our facilities used on weekday evenings and weekends. It is wonderful that we can invite so many of them to get involved in what we are doing.”

He added: “ As a Lead School for the Norfolk and Suffolk Music Hub, we take our responsibilities very seriously, we are asked to liaise with other schools and local music groups.

“We are proud to be a part of our community, and to also work with community groups to provide opportunities to engage in music making, and to listen to live music, for all.”

Our top spellers went head to head in an annual competition where pupils from ten West Norfolk Academies Trust schools were challenged to showcase their skills.

The WNAT Primary Spelling Bee featured 30 Key Stage 2 children from Years 3 to 6 across the Trust’s member primary schools, which included Clenchwarton, Walpole Cross Keys, West Lynn, Gaywood, Snettisham, and Heacham Junior, alongside Terrington St John, Tilney St Lawrence, Walpole Highway, and West Walton from the Windmill Federation.

The event took place at Heacham Junior School and was overseen by Emma Hunt, who is WNAT English Lead as well as Executive Headteacher at the Windmill Federation.

“The event forms part of a programme of activities organised by the Trust throughout the academic year,” she said. “These events are designed to build pupils’ confidence, provide opportunities to interact and socialise with peers from other schools within the Trust, develop new skills, and, above all, ensure that pupils enjoy themselves.”

It was the fourth time the Spelling Bee had taken place, with three entrants from each primary qualifying via previous stages held in individual classes and schools. Primary Trust Assistant Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo) Darren Furzey was on hand to call out the words.

Mrs Hunt continued: “Pupils pick a number from a hat  – this matches a chair for competitors to sit in. Spellings are called out and individuals answer. They remain in the competition until they spell a word incorrectly, then they sit down until a winner is found.”

Words successfully tackled by this year’s competitors included ‘accommodate’, ‘government’, ‘sincerely’, and ‘quadrilateral’, while the winner was Olivia from Clenchwarton, who correctly spelled ‘accomplishment’ to win a Kindle Fire tablet. Everyone participating received a certificate and chocolate.

Mrs Hunt added: “The Spelling Bee is a particularly valuable event, as it helps pupils develop a deeper understanding of the English language, while expanding their vocabulary.

“Beyond learning to spell words correctly, participation encourages planning, preparation, perseverance, and effective study habits, all of which contribute to pupils’ overall academic development.”

There was a treat in store for music lovers when musicians from our school joined others from across the West Norfolk Academies Trust for a Piano Recital.

The performance featured pianists from across the Trust’s primary and secondary schools, and took place at Springwood High School.

Participating high schools included Marshland, St Clement’s, and Smithdon, as well as host Springwood, while among the primaries taking part were Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Heacham Junior, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn.

“Performers represented a broad range of students, from debut and initial-level performers, through to diploma-level pianists,” said Benjamin Howell, who is Peripatetic Music Lead at the Trust and oversaw the event, with the support of WNAT staff including CEO Andy Johnson, and Director of Music Robin Norman.

“One of the lovely aspects of the recital was the variety of repertoire featured, spanning everything from pop and contemporary music, through to Baroque and classical works,” he continued.

“We also included several piano duets within the programme, which always add a particularly engaging dimension to the evening.”

Musical events are held regularly within the Trust, with a previous piano recital having taken place at Springwood in the Autumn Term.

“Events such as these form an important part of the wider musical journey across the Trust, providing valuable stepping stones towards both short- and long-term goals for our students,” added Mr Howell.

“This very much reflects the ethos of the WNAT Peri Team this year: Practice, Progress, Performance.”

It was around the world in 21 schools, when our dancers joined others from across the region for the West Norfolk School Sport Partnership (WNSSP) Dance Festival.

Opening the sold-out show at the Corn Exchange were performers from Springwood High School, who rose to the challenge of this year’s ‘Different Countries’ theme. The ten students from Years 8 to 12 danced to a variety of music, which included ‘Waka Waka’ by Shakira, ‘Let's Get Loud’ by Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin’s ‘Maria’, and ‘Mambo No.5’ by Lou Bega.  

“It’s an honour to be invited to perform at this event,” said Dawn Paulo, Head of Dance at Springwood, which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust. “It allows our dancers the opportunity to come together to perform in a professional venue, and to interact and support younger students in West Norfolk.

“It is lovely to see our Springwood students enjoying themselves on stage, but it’s also great to see our primary schools getting a chance to perform too.”

Among the 20 primary schools participating were fellow WNAT members Clenchwarton, West Lynn, and Walpole Cross Keys primaries, and Heacham Infant School.

Twenty-seven Year 3 pupils from Clenchwarton performed a routine to ‘Cheers to Life’, which had been choreographed by Dance Teacher Kate Whyborn.

“This was our third year taking part,” said Class Teacher Sophie Tarsey.

“It is a great opportunity for children to step outside their comfort zones and do something they have probably never experienced before.

“Many children expressed how much they enjoyed it and wanted to do it again, when they were really nervous about it at the start of the year.

“I hope it encourages more children to find opportunities for dance outside school, as well as inspiring other children in school.”

The Walpole Cross Keys dancers drew inspiration from America for their routine. The 16 pupils from Years 2 and 3 at the school performed to a medley which featured ‘Party in the USA’, ‘Hey Mickey’, ‘Everybody’s Surfing’, and ‘Achy Breaky Heart’.

“Events like this are vitally important, as the children get to take part in an activity and perform on stage,” said Class Teacher Carol Jones. “It shows them resilience through learning the routine, encouragement from other class members and adults.”

The Dance Festival takes place twice-yearly, each March and June.

“It’s definitely a highlight of the year, as it brings so many schools together to perform and celebrate one another’s work,” added Ms Paulo.

“Springwood will be performing once more at the next WNSSP Dance Festival in June. The theme for this event will be ‘Popstars’.”

There was something for everyone, when musicians from our school joined others from across West Norfolk for a performance at St Nicholas Chapel in King’s Lynn.

Organised by the West Norfolk Academies Trust, the WNAT Play Day event saw primary school pupils perform alongside older students from the Trust’s four high schools, which include Marshland in West Walton, St Clement’s in Terrington St Clement, Smithdon in Hunstanton, and Springwood in Lynn.

“The Play Day brought together students from across the feeder primary schools to the four WNAT high schools, spanning the breadth of West Norfolk, from West Walton through to Hunstanton and the surrounding areas,” said Benjamin Howell, who is Peripatetic Music Lead at the Trust and helped co-ordinate the event.

“The event featured primary school musicians alongside high school and sixth-form students, who came together to perform as a large Trust ensemble.”

The musical offering was equally wide-ranging, covering themes from television and film as well as classical pieces, while there were also guest performances from some of the schools’ music groups.

“The musical programme was varied and engaging, ranging from the dramatic theme from The Traitors, music from How to Train Your Dragon, Hungarian Dance No. 5, and both the ‘Habanera’ and ‘Toreador’s Song’ from Carmen,” continued Mr Howell

“In addition, we were delighted to feature performances from the Springwood Concert Band, the Sinfonia String Group, and the St Clement’s High School Band, whose performances further demonstrated the musical progression available to students across the Trust.”

Some 187 musicians were involved in the day, which concluded with a concert performance for WNAT staff, trustees, family members, and friends.

Support was provided by WNAT Peripatetic Team members Jo Kemp, Music Lead at St Clement’s; Mary-Ann Robertson; Emily Savage; David Maddison; Nic Bouskill; and Helen Johnson; along with David Stowell from the Norfolk Music Hub; while the event was organised by WNAT Director of Music, Robin Norman, with the assistance of Emma Pearman and Sam Johnson from the Trust.

“We are very appreciative of the Trust Administration Team, Senior Leadership, and Trustees for their support – particularly CEO Andy Johnson,” added Mr Howell.

“Our thanks also go to St Nicholas Chapel for hosting the event, and to the many parents, carers, families, and friends who attended the concluding performance.”