Children at our school were able to swap their school trousers for jeans to raise awareness of the Jeans for Genes charity and the work it supports.

And they have also been getting used to some changes which include the installation of a new log cabin-type building, now the school’s new Butterfly Room. It will be available for a variety of sessions, including teaching phonics, and is a welcome addition.

“We don’t have many additional rooms here, so this is incredibly useful. It also enabled us to start work on our new library which is going in the former Butterfly Room. This is something we haven’t really had before and we want to inspire a love of reading for our pupils.

“The new Butterfly Room has enough space for groups of eight pupils and has working walls and an interactive whiteboard, allowing for the same teaching consistency we see throughout the rest of the school,” said Assistant Headteacher Billy Overton.

Jeans for Genes is a major annual awareness and fundraising campaign for a charity that supports families who may include members with genetic conditions. It is marking its 30th anniversary this year and 

Beneficiaries from last year’s events include the Down Syndrome Training and Support Service, Gene People (supporting families and individuals), The Haemophilia Society and The Leanne Fund, for children and young people who have cystic fibrosis.

Young photographers from our school joined others from across the West Norfolk Academies Trust to show off their skills in an annual competition.

Run by the Trust in association with the King’s Lynn & District Camera Club, the WNAT Photography Competition was renamed this year as the David Ashfield Photography Cup, in honour of a KLDCC member who had recently died.

“The competition started in 2024 as a collaboration between the WNAT and the KLDCC, who use the Springwood High School for their weekly Monday meetings,” explained KLDCC Chair Brian Sadler, who organised the event with Emma Pearman from WNAT.

“That was a great success, so we decided to build upon that and make the competition a regular event to encourage youngsters into photography.

“The late David Ashfield was a pivotal and influential member of the KLDCC, so we decided to honour his memory by naming the competition after him.”

Competition categories comprised Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, and Key Stage 5, plus one for WNAT staff, and almost 150 entries were received from Years 3 to 13 across the Trust’s member schools.

Those participating included Marshland High School in West Walton, St Clement’s High School in Terrington St Clement, Smithdon High School in Hunstanton, and Springwood High School in King’s Lynn, as well as primaries Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Heacham Junior, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn.

WNAT undertook the first round of judging, shortlisting ten images from each of the five categories to go through to the final at Springwood, where experienced circuit judge and honorary KLDCC member Allan Livingstone had the task of selecting the winners.

The first place category prizes went to Ava F for Key Stage 5; Thomas S for Key Stage 4; Scarlett C for Key Stage 3; and Sydney C for Key Stage 2; while L Sedgley won the Staff Award.

WNAT Executive Headteacher Andy Johnson was on hand to present the prizes, with each category winner receiving an Amazon voucher, and all finalists receiving mounted prints of their entries.

An additional award went to overall winner Ava, who was presented with the David Ashfield Cup by the late Mr Ashfield’s daughters, Jill Smithson and Sally Ashfield  – a former Deputy Headteacher at Springwood.

“This competition has become an important part of our Trust calendar,” added Mr Johnson. “All entrants enjoy this extra-curricular pursuit.

“It is also important that our Trust is part of the local community. We enjoy working with our partners in the KLDCC, alongside other community partners.”

Our young maths whizzes were put through their paces when the West Norfolk Academies Trust held its annual Primary Maths Challenge on Thursday 3 July.

The West Norfolk Academies Trust event was hosted by fellow Trust member Springwood High School in King’s Lynn, and saw Year 5 and 6 pupils from primary schools across the region work together in teams of four to solve a series of maths problems.

“Students were given four rounds: Group; Relay; Cross Numbers; and Shuttle,” explained WNAT Maths Lead Connie Loizou, who organised the Challenge with the assistance of colleagues Sylvilyn Forbes-Clake from WNAT and Springwood Maths Teacher Luke Rawlings, as well as a group of the school’s sixth formers.

“They had to work as a team to solve challenging maths problems using mathematical techniques they had already learnt and applying them to unfamiliar situations.”

Launched in 2018, the event featured eight schools this year, including WNAT primaries Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Heacham Junior, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn.

First place went to St Martha’s, with each member of the winning team receiving a certificate from WNAT CEO Andy Johnson.

“The Primary Maths Challenge promotes mathematical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills,” added Ms Loizou.

“It also gives students the opportunity to compete against students from other schools in their area.”

Pupils from our school joined others from across the West Norfolk Academies Trust to test their spelling skills at the third annual WNAT Spelling Bee.

Children from each of the Trust’s six primary schools gathered for the final of the event, including host Gaywood Primary. The other participating schools comprised Clenchwarton, Walpole Cross Keys, West Lynn, and Snettisham Primaries, and Heacham Junior.

Eighteen pupils from Years 3 to 6 made it through to the closing stage, having qualified through previous rounds held within their respective year groups and schools.

“There were three pupils for each primary school taking part from across Key Stage 2,” said Emma Hunt, who is Executive Deputy Headteacher at Heacham Junior and oversaw the competition.

“Round One was a class round, Round Two a school round, then three pupils from each school reached the final.”

Caller for the spelling contest was Amanda Wright, Head of English at fellow WNAT member Smithdon High School, who dressed as a bee for the occasion.

“Pupils picked a number from a hat,” continued Mrs Hunt. “This matched a chair for competitors to sit on. Spellings were called and individuals answered. They remained in the competition until they spelt a word incorrectly, then they sat down until a winner was found.”

Amongst the words posed to the contestants were ‘pronunciation’, ‘accommodate’, ‘convenience’, and ‘environment’ – none of which foxed George B from Clenchwarton, who correctly spelt ‘acquaintance’ to win the contest.

He was presented with a Kindle Fire tablet, while all the finalists received certificates and chocolate.

“The event is part of a calendar of events throughout the academic year organised by the Trust,” added Mrs Hunt. “The aim of these events is to boost confidence, provide opportunities for our pupils to interact and socialise with peers from across the Trust, to provide pupils with a range of new skills, and, most importantly, to have fun.

“The Spelling Bee is important as it helps pupils to develop a profound understanding of the English language and improve their vocabulary. It is not about merely memorising spellings – it develops skills in planning and preparation.”

Members of our school Junior Leadership Team made the trip to London recently to find out more about the workings of government.

Junior Leadership Teams at our school were joined by Clenchwarton and West Lynn Primary Schools and we were led by our Assistant Head Billy Overton.

The group was treated to a guided tour of the historic building and discovered how laws have been created by those who work in both houses and how they are shaped by people from the past and the present.

The Junior Leadership Teams are elected at each of the primary schools, all members of the West Norfolk Academies Trust.

“They have a role in making decisions as to how our schools may be improved through a range of initiatives including learning walks and they also help celebrate our schools’ achievements,” said Mr Overton.

“The trip to Parliament showed the children how our system works and enabled them to see the political system at work. Our leadership teams are encouraged to acquire skills and knowledge that, it is hoped, will encourage them to consider taking an active role in leading people in the future,” he added.