Our Recent Activities

In March 2023 we had a visit from Bart Gee. Bart was born with a rare physical disability called arthrogryposis which means that he has weak muscles and stiff joints. After Bart was born, doctors said he would never walk and may not even have the strength to be able to sit up independently. Bart started to walk when he was three years old, and has learned to drive, play the piano and has participated in multiple triathlons for charity.

Bart spoke to the pupils about how, to him, words like ‘difficult’ and ‘hard’ meant ‘possible’ and encouraged the pupils to think the same when they face challenging situations.  The pupils enjoyed their assembly and sessions with Bart ‘breaking limits’, understanding how they could embrace difficult situations with a new mindset in the future!

“I liked it when he showed us how to write without bending your fingers.”  

“I liked shuffling over to the bench because it was hard (but possible!), and I learnt how to do it.”  

“ I liked it when Bart showed us how he learnt to walk using the wall because it was interesting.”  

“I was inspired by how he had learnt to play the piano.”   

“I thought that Bart is inspirational. I was chosen to demonstrate to everyone how to stand up from the floor how Bart does, and it was a lot harder than I thought! It was very challenging but once I figured out the way to do it, I managed to do it! I was proud of myself for being perseverant and not giving up.”  

“I really enjoyed the assembly and workshop. I thought it was interesting to learn how Bart writes- it was great to have a go myself. Although my writing was very messy, I persevered, and I’ve learnt that everything is possible!”   

“I thought Bart is an inspiration to everyone. He has inspired me to never give up and be Perseverant. In the workshop I really enjoyed shuffling across the hall- but it was harder than I thought it was going to be. Thank you, Bart, for being an inspiration!”  

“I loved how Bart talked about how although sometimes things can be hard, they are still possible if we are perseverant.”  

 “The assembly and workshop were very inspirational because we could see that Bart can do anything he puts his mind to. His disability does not get in the way of him achieving his goals.”  

“I loved it when Bart showed us how he lifted his cup of tea. His way of doing things is different but they work really well!”  

In November 2022, we had Lucas Jet deliver a circus skills workshop.  All classes were enthralled by the spectacular circus performance and then throughout the day, they developed different active circus skills such as plate spinning or juggling.  The pupils had to use a growth mind-set as the activities were challenging.

“I enjoyed the plate spinning, it was hard at first but I persevered.”

“I really enjoyed doing the juggling as I felt confident with the throwing and catching. Although I did have to persevere!”

“The assembly was amazing and the tricks he did were incredible! My favourite activity was spinning the plates because it was really fun and I was the first person in the class to do it! “

“My favourite activity during the circus skills workshop was the flower sticks. It was tricky but fun!”

“I enjoyed learning how to spin plates on a stick. It wasn't easy! But, with Lucas' help, I got there in the end!”

In September 2021, our school had a special visitor – Ian ‘the Doodle Bug’ Brealey, who delivered art/growth mind-set workshops to the junior classes.  The pupils really enjoyed developing their drawing skills and their growth mindset.  At the end of the day, Ian gave a motivational assembly. 

Some comments from our pupils:

What were you proud of?

• I was happy with the effort I put in.
• I used my growth mindset well.
• I thought I was a bad artist but I realised I was good.
• I’m proud that I can draw circles using the dot method. 
• I am really proud of how my drawing turned out in the end. 

How did you use a growth mindset?

• We had to learn from our mistakes.
• We had to not give up and persevere.
• We had to put effort into our work and try and improve it.

• I kept on getting the shape of the head wrong but I never gave up! 
• When I was doing the nose, it always came out as a diamond but I kept trying and it worked out in the end. 

What did you enjoy most?

• He taught us good drawing skills and taught us to persevere.
• We liked drawing freehand and learning new skills.
• It was drawing in a different way.
• I liked Ian’s growth mindset messages.
• I liked hearing about the stories when he made mistakes.