History happens at Firs Farm School! It is a favourite subject in all year groups and it is backed up with plenty of trips, visits, Wow Days and displays. 

Our Reception children enjoy learning to contrast the past with the present and they develop an understanding of chronology and sequencing. They do this through a combination of directed activities and play.

In Key Stage 1 our children learn and revisit specific skills and understanding about the past. An example of this is our Year 1 children compare two periods of history by studying the lives of Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong. Meanwhile in Year 2, these skills are embedded when our children compare the lives and times of Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell.

In Key Stage 2 we follow the Opening Worlds (OW) curriculum with in depth studies of a range of ancient and first millennium civilisations. We easily exceed the requirements of the National Curriculum as we work through the past chronologically, repeating key concepts and building our working vocabulary and understanding. We aim to reflect the demographics of our school as we do this, for example, studying the lives of black Roman Britons and learning about early Islamic Civilisations. 

Our learning about History feeds into our writing in English as we describe, recount, report and explain the events and people of the past. We underpin all this with clear learning and teaching about how we know all this - archaeology, artefacts, art and ancient writing.

Black History Month 2023

What a fabulous month it has been learning about black British artists! Each year group looked at a different artist, studied their work and heritage and learnt a song linked to black musicians. Our wonderful PTA also funded a food tasting and making session, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.

EYFS looked at the country of Jamaica and sang a traditional song in our carnival. They made lovely dumplings and ginger cake.

Year 1 looked at the superstar that is Marcus Rashford, tasting delicious ginger cake and performing a beautiful rendition of Don’t worry, be happy.

Year 2 researched the very popular Craig David and tasted ginger ice cream!!! They sang a well-known round called Che Che Kole.

Year 3 delved into the work of illustrator Dapo Adeola and learnt how to sing and play (!) 3 little birds using the new glockenspiels that have been generously bought by the PTA.

Year 4 learnt about 2 artists – Labrinth and Dizzie Rascal. They sang a beautiful rendition of Beneath your beautiful and had the opportunity to make mango cheesecake.

Year 5 spent time learning about the lovely Judi Love! Their version of You gotta be left everyone speechless – it was fantastic! They ended their celebrations with some food tasting of buns, bread and cheese.

Year 6 looked at the very talented Stormzy and amazed us all by singing and playing his hit song God’s plan. Again, they were able to use a selection of the new Glockenspiels donated by the PTA and tasted a range of Ghanaian breads and cakes. They have set the bar very high for their summer production!

We ended the half term with a spectacular Carnival that was enjoyed by all! The singing and instrument playing was amazing. A special well done to our soloists – we have a lot of talent here within the school and it was great to have an opportunity to display it.

Everyone at Firs Farm had a wonderful time observing this very important and special month. A huge thank you to the staff for their dedication, parent volunteers that helped and the PTA who funded our enrichment activities. We wouldn’t be able to do this without you so – THANK YOU!