Summing It Up

A New Direction

James Wolfe Primary School wished to raise standards of achievement in Maths, English and Science, especially in Key Stage 2. They also wanted to incorporate different spaces outside the school into the pupils’ learning environment to engage them in developing cross-curricular investigative skills.

Greenwich and Lewisham Young People’s Theatre (GLYPT), in partnership with the National Maritime Museum and The Centre for Deaf for the Deaf, worked with Years 3, 4 and 5 at the school to develop skills in numeracy and science. Each class worked with a lead character who set them a challenge with a prize at stake for making a scientific discovery.

Each class investigated their theme with the aim of making a discovery or taking up a challenge provoked by their lead character. For example, one actor playing Galileo asked a class to help him prove that the earth and other planets orbit around the sun. Students constructed a model of the solar system, examining gravity and calculating proportions and distances. At the end of the project, all classes presented their findings to each other and to parents and carers at the National Maritime Museum.

In addition to the work with Years 3, 4 and 5, Year 6 worked on developing literacy skills, team work and organisational skills by working with GLYPT to create, organise and manage their leaving celebrations. This culminated in a separate Year 6 celebration and a presentation at the National Maritime Museum.

As a result of this project, students’interest and attainment in maths and science increased, including the deaf children who fully benefitted from the practical and visual nature of the learning. Teachers developed cross-curricular links with Maths and Science and began to develop a strategy for providing students with a variety of learning environments. In addition, the school developed an excellent relationship with the National Maritime Museum and this has helped the Museum enhance its educational offer.