Primary School Department - Newsletter - The British College of Benalmádena

Welcome to our newsletter about the Autumn term of 2025. We want to share with you some of experiences that your children have been involved at The British College in the last term. As well as being dedicated to providing the best possible teaching and learning for your children we are committed to enhancing their learning environment for them to thrive in. Take a look at how we achieve this each and every month, as each year group tells you a little about what they have been doing… …keep on reading to find out what has been happening across the school such as celebrating Halloween, Remembrance Day and “Maths Week” among many other activities.

Pre-Nursery

Recently in Expressive Art and Design, Pre-Nursery, we have been focusing on some autumnal ideas and starting the art work for our November display board outside. The first activity that the children are working on, is our class friendship tree. We have made some painted hand prints, which they love to do. We have also used the hand prints to make some autumn leaves, focusing on brown, yellow and red. The children are really starting to enjoy painting and playing with the different colours.

Nursery

In Expressive Art and Design, the children in Nursery G had a wonderful time exploring shaving foam! They enjoyed feeling the soft, fluffy texture and used their fingers to make marks, draw shapes, and even form some numbers. This playful activity helped them develop their sensory skills while having lots of fun experimenting and being creative.
The children in Nursery R also explored shapes and patterns using shaving foam, enjoying the sensory experience as they created pictures with their hands and tools. This playful activity encouraged creativity and imagination as they experimented with lines, circles, and designs. Manipulating the foam helped to strengthen their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It was a fun, messy way for them to express themselves while developing early pre-writing movements.

Reception

Recently, Reception had an exciting time learning all about our five senses! We took part in lots of fun, hands-on activities that helped us explore how we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste the world around us, as part of their Understanding the World work.
We started with “seeing” and “listening” games that encouraged the children to really focus and use their observation skills. Then we explored our sense of touch by feeling a variety of materials and textures — from soft and smooth to rough and bumpy!
The children’s favourite part of the week was definitely the “smelling” and “tasting” games. During the smelling game, we discovered all sorts of interesting scents and shared which ones we liked (and which ones we didn’t!). In the tasting game, there were lots of giggling as we tried salty crackers, dark chocolate, and sweet honey — all big hits! The stock cubes and lemon juice, however, got some funny faces and weren’t quite as popular! It was a fantastic week full of curiosity, laughter, and sensory discoveries.

Year One

In Design Technology, delicious dips in Year One, what a tasty experience! Our budding young chefs rolled up their sleeves to make some delicious dips, guacamole, hummus and tangy salsa. They began by writing a shopping list for the necessary ingredients. There was chopping, mixing, mashing and tasting as the children explored the new flavours and different textures. They loved dipping in their crunchy bread sticks. It was a fun hands-on way to learn about safe food handling and healthy eating – and even the most hesitant tasters were brave enough to give them a try! The activities encouraged teamwork, creativity and confidence to try new flavours. Each child recorded their taste verdict and chose their favourite.

Year Three

This term, in Design Technology our young engineers took to the skies! Pupils began by designing their very own kites, adding personal touches and creativity to each one. They then learned about the different parts of a kite and how each piece helps it fly. Working in pairs, the children assembled their kites with teamwork and excitement. The highlight came when we brought the finished kites outside to test their flying abilities. With big smiles and lots of laughter, the students watched their creations lift into the air. It was a wonderful, hands-on learning experience that combined creativity, co-operation, and a bit of windy-day fun!

Year Two

Year Two have started an exciting new Computing topic. Each week they are learning about a different artist and the style of their art. The artists include Picasso, Monet and Mondrian. The children then use the Paint program and many of its tools to recreate the art work. So far, the children have been greatly inspired and their creativity is clear to see – well done!

Year Four

During our Year 4 Science lessons this term, we have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Digestive System. Working collaboratively, we traced an outline of a student and then tried our best to accurately place the various organs in the correct positions. We also had great fun participating in a demonstration of how food travels through the Digestive System, although somewhat revolting at moments, enriched our understanding and enabled us to become experts on the digestive system through these hands-on activities.

Year Five

This term, in Science year 5 have been busy investigating how materials change – and finding out which changes can be reversed and which can´t. After our whole class experiments, the children had some terrific discussions about what they had observed and began to come up with their own `what if…?´questions to explore.
Working in small groups, they planned and carried out their own investigations to find the answers. There was lots of curiosity, problem-solving and teamwork on show – and a few surprising results too! We´ve had a fantastic time being scientists!

Year Six

As part of our World War II History topic, the children have been diving into the fascinating world of Anderson shelters—and discovering just how important they were during the war. Then came the exciting part: they became engineers themselves!
Armed with cardboard, foil, lolly sticks, artificial grass, and a whole lot of imagination, the children designed and built their very own model shelters. They planned carefully, put their ideas to the test, and evaluated whether their structures were strong enough to do the job.
We were blown away by the creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills on display. Every single shelter was unique—some cosy, some camouflaged, and all brilliantly thought out.
History truly came alive in our classroom, and we couldn’t be prouder. Fantastic work, everyone!

Other News

Anti-Bullying Day

Friday 21st November

Throughout the whole school, Friday 21st November was dedicated to anti-bullying. During the day the children took part in a special assembly and teachers planned a series of activities which encouraged the children to recognise what bullying in all its forms, including online cyber bullying. The children also considered what to do should they encounter bullying of any kind. The day was an ideal way to reinforce our school´s core value of “Respect the Individual” in order to create an environment where all children can thrive and succeed.

Halloween in Nursery & Reception

The children in the Nursery classes were all very excited when they came to school in their fancy dress Halloween costumes. They could not wait to show each other which character they were. In the Nursery classes we had some special sensory activities like jelly and spiders and Halloween pasta and black spaghetti. We also did some spooky dancing like skeletons, monsters and witches!
Reception enjoyed Halloween celebrations that lasted a whole week ending with a Halloween dance party and fancy dress. The children had fun using Phonic knowledge to help a witch to read labels to make magic potions. They really enjoyed playing with small world toys of Halloween characters, Halloween pasta and Halloween mini toys. On Friday we had some sensory fun using foam, paint, dough and some chia seeds and water. The children had great fun filling mini cauldrons and finding the spiders.

Remembrance Day

Our whole school came together to mark Remembrance Day with great respect and thoughtfulness. Every class took part in making and wearing beautiful poppies, each one carefully crafted to honour those who have served and sacrificed. Together, we created an amazingly creative and meaningful display that filled our school with colour and remembrance.
The children listened attentively to heartfelt poems and speeches dedicated to the bravery and resilience of those who fought for our freedom. The atmosphere was one of reflection and gratitude.
We then held the one-minute silence, which was observed completely and respectfully by everyone. It was a truly moving moment, showing the unity and maturity of our pupils as we remembered together.
We are incredibly proud of how our school community honoured this important day — a wonderful example of respect and togetherness.

Maths Week

10th to 14th November

Our Primary School celebrated its annual Maths Week recently, and the theme was Shape and Space! The children threw themselves into a wide range of exciting, creative, and hands-on activities that brought maths to life in imaginative ways. There were also plenty of interactive maths games that challenged our problem-solving abilities while keeping the fun flowing.
Maths Week wasn’t just about numbers — it was about teamwork, creativity, and seeing maths in the world around us. The children worked with classmates, shared ideas, and learned from one another. It was an engaging, inspiring, and incredibly fun week where everyone discovered just how exciting and diverse the world of maths can be!