News

• Tuesday 3 February 2026 British Author, Explorer & TV Presenter visit On Monday 2nd February, we were lucky enough to be visited by George McGavin, a well-known British author, explorer and television presenter who is passionate about the natural world. He gave a talk to Year 4 on rainforests and recognising that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things. George then gave a whole-school assembly talking to us about the need to stop using plastic (he showed us a devastating photo of a turtle with a plastic straw stuck up its nostril) and how we can make gardens into amazing places for creatures to live. A huge thank you to George for coming to see us and for sharing his passion for nature in such a knowledgeable and enthusiastic way.
• Tuesday 13 January 2026 International Spectacular - Tuesday 10th February
• Tuesday 16 December 2025 Year 5 Mosque Trip
• Tuesday 16 December 2025 Welcome to 'The St Swithun's Siren' A school magazine created by Year 6
• Tuesday 16 December 2025 Year 4 Ukulele Concert On Thursday, Year 4 showed off their incredible ukulele skills in a concert to family and friends. It was amazing to see how much they had learned since September, and the concert finished with a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells where the audience joined in and sang too! A big thank you to Phil Hepworth who is their fantastic ukulele teacher.
• Tuesday 2 December 2025 Parkrun Primary
• Friday 28 November 2025 Year 6 visit Hampton Court
• Tuesday 18 November 2025 Year 2 Explorer Day Year 2 enjoyed an exciting Explorer Day last Friday. They came dressed ready to explore as you can see from some of these photos! First they explored different world habitats inside the Explorer Dome that came to visit. They learnt about how animals are adapted to their environments and the impact we as humans can have, positively or negatively on looking after our world. Later in the day they created binoculars and then went on a scavenger hunt outside looking for animals. A wonderful time was had by all.
• Tuesday 18 November 2025 Antibullying Week Our well-being ambassadors kicked off Anti-Bullying week with an incredible assembly on Monday. They spoke well and confidently and have shown they are going to be a great team this year!
• Tuesday 18 November 2025 Year 1 visit Cotswold Wildlife Park On Friday, Year 1 had a lovely but very wet day at Cotswold Wildlife Park. Despite the weather, the children smiled throughout and were so well-behaved. The best bit was the fact that, as we were the only ones there, we had great views of all the animals and saw some of the bigger ones (lions, giraffes and rhinos) really close up! We particularly enjoyed seeing the baby rhino who had been born very recently. The meerkats enjoyed showing off once they realised they had an audience!
• Tuesday 18 November 2025 BBC Children in Need 2025 The theme this year was ‘do 25 things' so our Key Stage 1 and Saplings children enjoyed a little workout on Thursday afternoon, led by Mrs Harris. We all got a little warm in the hall doing 25 arm waves, 25 star jumps, 25 squats and 25 steps marching on the spot. The children all joined in well and it was lovely to have us all together.
• Tuesday 18 November 2025 St. Swithun's celebrating with myHappymind Our school were immensely honoured to be invited to a special ceremony for myHappymind, where they were presented with the King's Award for Enterprise, a great accolade that highlights the impact, innovation and dedication they show to supporting wellbeing in education. The King's Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious awards a UK business can win. Ms Maskell (Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead) and Mrs Mills (Wellbeing Governor) joined the amazing team from myHappymind, dignitaries and other stakeholders at a joyous ceremony and reception. It was also wonderful to see all the congratulatory videos that some schools had created, including the one we created at St. Swithun's.
• Tuesday 11 November 2025 Year 3 & 4 Author visit On Thursday last week, Years 3 & 4 welcomed children's author Sarah Ann Juckes. She spoke to the children about her life as a writer and gave some brilliant tips to help the children become writers themselves. We heard about some of her books including her latest one, called "Robin" - a gorgeously poignant tale of family, hope and understanding. If you'd like to buy a copy and have it delivered to school please click this link (the book is available from other booksellers but this link will support Caper, a local independent bookshop): https://caperoxford.square.site/product/robin/PT525D6WBLNCZCGCUXX7666S
• Monday 3 November 2025 Thank you from Abingdon Foodbank
• Friday 24 October 2025 Yr 5 Elm Viking Day The Y5s all made their own costumes, shields and axes. The week has been themed around the Vikings and we have been making a start on our Viking longhouses in D&T too.
• Tuesday 21 October 2025 Year 6 Woodingtons 2025
• Tuesday 21 October 2025 Yr 3 & 4 X Country Competition
• Friday 17 October 2025 Woodlands Update - Thursday 16th October 2025 The sun has shone today! 😀
• Thursday 16 October 2025 Woodlands update - Wednesday 15th October 2025
• Wednesday 15 October 2025 Woodlands update - Tuesday 14th October 2025
• Tuesday 14 October 2025 Woodlands Update - Monday 13th October 2025 10:00pm - Woodlands Manor
• Thursday 9 October 2025 Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue visit
• Tuesday 7 October 2025 Online Safety Assembly On Wednesday, KS2 had an important assembly from PCSO Susan Haynes, who further supported our understanding of staying safe online. Lots of different areas were presented and discussed, including ensuring we are mindful and respectful in our interactions online as well as in-person, ensuring we keep our personal information secure and what to do if we come across messages we are unsure about. The children engaged very respectfully and asked pertinent questions to deepen their understanding.
• Tuesday 7 October 2025 Be Space Thanks to Reverend Samson and his amazing team of volunteers for making Be Space possible last week. The children had the opportunity to reflect on the theme of journeys. In the Bubbles Tent, the children learnt about not keeping their worries to themselves but telling it to a trusted adult, just like Christians do in prayer, telling their worries to God. The children then blew away their bubbles. In the Boat Tent, the children considered what help we can give to people who have had to go on journeys because their homeland is not safe. Pupils wrote or drew on post-it notes and then placed it on the boat. In the Mini-whiteboard Tent, children could write anything and then wipe it off – just like in our life journey when we miss our way or things go wrong, we can always stop, reflect, trace our ways back and make amends. And in the World Map Tent, children talked about other parts of the world, areas they have visited and or have friends/family. Being far from each other does n
• Tuesday 7 October 2025 National Poetry Day
• Tuesday 30 September 2025 National Teaching Assistant Day Our Teaching Assistants are a critical and brilliant part of our workforce so we were delighted to discover that last Friday was National Teaching Assistant Day! I am sure that you would join us in thanking them for all that they do.
• Friday 26 September 2025 Eco Crew 2025-2026
• Thursday 25 September 2025 Doikayt workshop Key Stage 2 were treated to some beautiful music and singing when we welcomed Tim, Dunja and Oliver from Doikayt for an amazing workshop. Doikayt are a new ensemble of nine musicians dedicated to celebrating Klezmer and Yiddish music from the Jewish diaspora. Our children engaged well with listening respectfully and with super participation, learning also some songs in both English and Serbian. What an added joy for a Wednesday morning!
• Tuesday 23 September 2025 Music Flood Week This week we are excited to let you know about our annual Music Flood in school – thanks to Radley College. Throughout the week the children are taking part in inspiring assemblies, singing workshops and a group of our musicians are going to Radley College on Wednesday to be part of an improvisation workshop with a live band. On Friday, there will be a group of talented buskers on the playground so please do give them your support and appreciation from 3pm.
• Tuesday 16 September 2025 Congratulations new House Captains

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