Here at Beacon, immersing the children in quality texts is a key priority.  The books that the children study have been specifically handpicked to ignite their imaginations whilst promoting a love of reading and writing.  They also (where possible) aim to have a cross-curricular link.  We study a range of authors including Julia Donaldson, Michael Morpurgo, Roald Dahl, Anne Fine and many more and that’s just as part of our writing lessons! Along with this, the children can immerse themselves in a world of fantasy and reality with our themed corridor, which give the children a spark to their learning, with each area having a link to one or more year groups focuses.

In Year 1, one of our focus texts is Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs, which links to the children’s ‘Dinosaur Planet’ topic.  The children learn to retell these stories through the use of story bags as well as learning the history of these prehistoric animals in their topic lessons.  To give a sense of how it would feel to live in prehistoric times, you can travel back in time to our dinosaur themed corridor.  But make sure that our life size dinosaurs don’t eat you for their lunch! 

Is it a bird?  Is it a plane?  No, it’s Superman!  You’ll be asking yourselves these very questions when entering our superhero themed corridor. It is perfectly situated just outside the Year 1 classrooms ready to inspire budding superheroes in training from this year group who not only study heroes throughout history as part of their topic but texts including Superkid and Eliot Midnight Superhero to immerse them in this theme. 

In Year 2 we channel the seaside theme created in our upstairs corridor where washed up boats and sharks can be found amongst the beach hut which house the children’s belongings.  In the summer term, the children study the topic ‘Land Ahoy!’ where they study worldwide seaside destinations, marine life and famous pirates that once sailed the seven seas.  This theme ties in perfectly with the focus text in English – Pirate Pete.

If you take a stroll through our park, situated between Reception and Year 1, you might just bump into Percy the Park Keeper who takes good care of the environment along with the animals that reside there.  The children in Year 2 read the Percy the Park Keeper books in their English lessons to compliment the learning that takes place in their topic ‘Wiggle and Crawl’ where they learn about minibeasts from around the world.

"A Little Nonsense Now and Then is Relished by the Wisest Men”.  This quote taken from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, studied in Year 3, is very in keeping with our Crazy Corridor.  Nonsense is very much in abundance in this part of school with wonky bookcase, chairs on the ceiling and wacky lighting to set the mood.  It could quite easily be found in Willy Wonker’s magical factory for the Oompa Loompa’s to relax in.  Year Three use this area as inspiration when studying this famous text and have to invent their own factory room.  Running alongside this book the children study the topic ‘Scrumdidiyumption’ where they learn about the history of chocolate and even pay a visit to our local chocolate factory - Cadbury World.

When taking a walk through Beacon’s reading forest, make sure that you have got your guard up as this is where the wild things live!  It’s home to a giant gorilla and towering giraffe who have escaped straight from Year 4’s book ‘Running Wild’ which tells the tale of a boy who lives amongst wild animals when getting separated from his mother.  These life size animals give the children an up close and personal look at these creatures they are learning about in this text which links to their topic of ‘The Rainforest’ where they not only study the animals that would be found there but also about the climate and problems that this environment faces.

Beacon’s castle inspired library is closely guarded by Anglo-Saxon knights who would have once been seen fighting in the Battle of Hastings, which can be read about through the eyes of Tony Bradman in the book ‘Anglo-Saxon Boy’, a key text in Year 5.  The children escape to this area to submerge themselves not only in this incredible story but also to find more information about what life was like in the Anglo-Saxon era and how this time period has played a part in shaping our lives today.

Take a walk through the coats hanging in the corridor in Key Stage 1 and you will find the wonderful world of Narnia where magic is around every corner.  This text -studied by Year 6 – runs alongside their World War topic enabling them to become fully immersed in their learning of this period of history.  If you look closely, hidden amongst the trees, you may just find Aslan standing guard over his land, ready to pounce on anyone who may pose a threat!

Around every corner there is something new to see and explore.  Our curriculum and building go hand in hand to provide each child at Beacon with the best possible chance to succeed and excel!