The new academic year is in full swing at Sybil Elgar School. On 7 September we welcomed students and staff back after the long summer holiday and are looking forward to an exciting year of learning and fun. 

Alongside  classroom-based education, community outings have also resumed. In their second week back,  students were able to capitalise on the warm autumn days by enjoying canoeing sessions.  

This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to develop confidence on the water, learn new skills and work as a team.  

Learn more about how outings like these fit into our vision to provide our students with enhanced access to the community and provide a broad, balanced and creative curriculum that places the child at its centre. 

Starting the new academic year in style 

In addition to regularly venturing out into community, we also ensure that community events are brought into our school environment as often as possible.  

Soon after the start of the new term, students and staff took part in “Jeans for Genes” day. This UK fundraising campaign is close to our heart. An estimated 1 in 25 children in the UK are born with a genetic condition.  

To show their support, schools are encouraged to wear denim, fundraise and use the occasion as an educational opportunity to learn more about genetic conditions.  

Our students were invited to participate in ways that were linked to specific learning experiences and that reflected their interests and strengths.  

Our Year 1 and Year 2 pupils  decorated muffins, coloured and created custom jean designs on paper templates. Our KS4 students put their ASDAN  learning into practice by helping to collect donations and support the school cafe bake sale, using their communication, independence and employability skills in a meaningful context. 

For our older students this presented an opportunity to dive deeper into the theme with  DNA matching, get hands on decorating their own jeans and create  colourful posters and preparing donation boxes.  

All this activity and we’re only a few weeks into the year! Stay tuned to see what else we get up to this term.