SCHOOL REPORT: Netley Abbey Junior School

Netley Abbey Junior School is at the heart of its community, offering 300 children a warm, nurturing environment with plenty of educational opportunities.

The school caters for every need with lessons focused on academic subjects, fitness and performing arts as well as extra-curricular activities.

Children are also encouraged to fundraise for charities in Southampton and nationally throughout the school term as well, will thousands being raised for Comic Relief, Children in Need and Royal British Legion.

The head teacher, Mrs Nicholas-Bond has been at the school for more than 11 years and is determined to offer her pupils the best facilities indoors and outside.

They are now home to an environmental science area which was created with the help of volunteers from the Prince’s Trust in a bid to keep children interested in what they can find outdoors and learn from it.

Being based in a rural setting near to Royal Victoria Country Park, the school also makes the most of its location with regular school trips to the venue and works with neighbouring schools like Netley Abbey Infants and Bitterne Park School to offer combined trips and education days.

Teachers aspire to encouraging pupils to follow the theory of CLIC as well, which stands for confident, communication, responsible learning, improving health and being a good member of the community.

Mrs Nicholas-Bond said: “We are very excited by the new space and hopefully it will become a valued part of the school and community. The children now wait with anticipation for the building of a new outdoor classroom to go next door to the Secret Chamber in order to fully utilise this wonderful space from the beginning of the summer term this year.”

The library is used by pupils every week for lessons or fun and the school regularly organises events to keep them interested in reading.

Here Mrs Hughes’ year 3 class are enjoying a free reading session.

Parents are also invited to come into the library to sit with their children and help them read.

The school has recently invested in creating an outdoor learning space to encourage children to look after the environment and learn about what they could do in their gardens to look after animals and nature.

Here Mrs Barnfield’s year 4 class are enjoying the facilities which include a pond, flower beds, bird houses and an allotment to plant fruit and vegetables which the school cook uses to show pupils what they can create.

The space (above) has been dubbed the Secret Chamber and will be used for environmental science lessons, Bitterne Park School are also invited to the venue for their own science lessons.

The school has been taking part in the Rock Challenge for three years, offering children in every year group the chance to take part in a production.

This year more than 100 children are taking part in a re-enactment of Pocahontas with pupils dressed as sailors, Indians and girls in periodic dresses.

FOOTBALL Teachers are passionate about encouraging children to stay fit and healthy as part of their curriculum.

There is a boys and girls football team made up of year 6 pupils and led by Mr Watts, the head of school.

The boys team is currently preparing to compete in the semi-final for the school county cup.

The school has had an IT suite for more than 10 years, offering pupils the chance to enhance their technological knowledge.

Here Mrs Pickett’s year 6 class are using the computers as part of their English class to write up poems but the room is also used for an IT lesson by pupils every week.

MUSIC Teachers are keen to encourage children to learn instruments and expand their musical knowledge at a young age.

In year 3 and 4 each pupil begins learning three instruments per term during the curriculum from keyboard to ukulele and recorder.

The children are then able to perform a summer show for their parents and play what they have learnt throughout the year.

The school also offers children the chance to have music lessons through Hampshire County Council.

There are three classes per year group from year 3 to 6 and two council representatives are chosen for each class to create the School Council.

They meet every week to share their thoughts on offering classmates different facilities and working out new ways to raise money for charity.

Mrs Shirley Nicholas-Bond (pictured above) said: "Our values and vision underpin every aspect of our school life. The children use CLIC as a tool to enable them to be the best they can be.

Children improve their communication skills at Netley, through a wide range of learning experiences. We encourage independent work and enjoy seeing the children develop. The children continually aspire to improve themselves and our marking feedback allows them to independently reflect upon and evaluate their own learning.

To ensure children are always thinking about their physical and emotional healthy, we run a wide range of clubs from supporting activities to musical extravaganzas. Rock Challenge has been one of the extra-curricular opportunities that has enabled children to shine.

Our highly skilled and dedicated staff have facilitated many of these opportunities. A further example is the great achievement of the boys football team who have reached the semi-finals of the Under 11 County Cup.

We have many community links, particularly with the Royal Victoria Country Park and Beacon Good Neighbours. The children regularly visit the park and most recently, were a part of the discussions about regenerating the facilities for children.”