Children from Years 5 and 6 took part in the Preliminary round of the House General Knowledge Competition, back in April. Participants had to answer 50 questions, with the top five scores in each house making up the teams for the final (four team members and a reserve). Felix M recorded the highest score in the Preliminary round with 48 out of 50 and William W (Y5) managed an impressive 44 ½ . Teams Barnardo: Bethen E, Mei-ya L, Alfred C, Ben P, (reserve: Charlotte T) Brunel: William W, Holly J, Jake R, Sasha G, (reserve: Will S) Jenner: Felix […]

Year 6 pupils have been celebrating their SATs results, with a record number of pupils achieving Level 5 and above. As a national base line, 85% of children are expected to attain Level 4 in Key Stage 2 SATs testing, with the top 1% in the country achieving Level 6 at age 11. Gateway School Key Stage 2 SATs results 2014 Maths 96% of Gateway pupils achieved Level 4 79% of Gateway pupils achieved Level 5 33% of Gateway pupils achieved Level 6   Writing 98% of Gateway pupils achieved Level 4 83% of Gateway pupils achieved Level 5 31% […]

On Thursday 10th July, Year 5 were very privileged to have a netball session with Issy Kemp, a former Gateway pupil who was selected to play for the England under 21 team, earlier this year. Everyone had a great time practising skills and learning some new drills with Issy, who has recently returned from the Netball World Championships in South Africa. We would like to thank Issy very much for giving up her time and wish her well with the England squad.

Pipers Corner Swimming Gala (Thursday 19th June) On Thursday 19th June, 26 girls from Years 4, 5 & 6 took part in a friendly gala against Pipers Corner School – the second this season. Most competitors took part in one main event and two relays. The afternoon began well with Emily B and Esme Y coming 1st and 2nd in the back crawl, followed by Hannah M and Tilly W coming 1st in the two freestyle races. The two teams then came 1st and 4th in the medley relay and 1st and 3rd in the freestyle relay, resulting in Gateway […]

On Tuesday 1st July, children joining Reception in September enjoyed meeting their new class teachers, Miss Topping and Miss McCarthy, and sharing a Teddy Bears’ Picnic outside in the sunshine. After being introduced to their new classrooms for next year, the children made their own Teddy Bear masks and listened to Miss Topping read ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’. We then went outside to enjoy a yummy picnic snack, followed by a treasure hunt, to find hidden Teddy Bears in the trees. Each child also took away their own Gateway bear to remind them of their morning. Thank you […]

We were delighted to welcome Abstract Artist, Melissa Vigor, to work with Years 5 & 6 in June. Her love and enthusiasm for colour and texture was infectious and the children were spellbound by the stories she told them about her pieces of work and how they were created as an expression of her personal feelings and political opinions. The pupils in Year 5 worked collaboratively on a large canvas, using pallet knives and large brushes to apply acrylic paint, discovering new techniques for working and thoroughly enjoying every moment! Using masking tape to tape up areas allowed the children […]

Our ‘Great Gateway Bake Off’ took place at the Friends of Gateway (FOG) Family Fun Day, on Saturday 21st June. There were lots of fantastic entries, but the winners, as judged by staff, were: Reception-Year 2 Winner: Zac with Zac’s Rocket – for taste and originality Joint 2nd: Scarlett & Isobel F for their butterfly cakes Years 3 & 4 Winner: Ethan H for his Coffee Cake – delicious and moist 2nd: Cameron W for his Millionaires Shortbread – for skill Years 5 & 6 Winner: Sophie A with her family of aliens – deliciously light and tasty cakes 2nd: […]

We are looking forward to another action-packed Holiday Club during the Summer. Our four-week club will run from Monday 21st July-Friday 15th August, 8am-5pm. Children from the ages of 3 to 11 can enjoy a wide range of activities, including outdoor games, football, rounders, musical corner, arts ‘n’ crafts and The Cube challenge. Don’t miss out! Download our Holiday Club brochure and booking form here. For more information, please contact the School Office or email holidayclub@gatewaysch.co.uk

On Friday 20th June, Reception visited Whipsnade Zoo. Armed with waterproofs and sunhats, we were ready for whatever the British weather was going to throw at us! To start the day, Reception were split into two groups to partake in an educational talk by one of the zoo keepers. Here we learnt about mammals and reptiles and we were amazed to find out that the lady had owned four pet meerkats. For the brave ones amongst us, a very friendly corn snake called ‘Sausage’ came to say hello. Some children thought the snake felt slimy, some thought it felt smooth, […]

Lucy Allsop in 3RW recently wrote a letter to Jill Murphy, author of ‘The Worst Witch’, and was thrilled to receive a letter back from her. Lucy said: “I felt very proud when I got a letter. My whole class were astonished, as was I. My favourite part was finding out where she lived and what pets she had.”

On Monday 23rd June, Year 4 visited the Science Museum and had an amazing day exploring the wonderful world of science. We spent an exciting time in The Launch Pad, marvelling at the mysteries behind the many experiments and exhibits. Read some comments from Year 4 about their day: “We could listen to music through our teeth.” Jess “I was fascinated that this was even possible!” Ted “I created energy from water!” Cai “I used my body to create a turning force.” Jayden “I created electricity through pedal power.” Eve “I touched an electric prong which sent an electric pulse […]

Forest Fridays was introduced at Gateway in September, for pupils from EYU to Year 2. In Reception, our pupils enjoy weekly sessions every Friday, throughout the year. Forest Fridays gives the children the opportunity to explore their natural surroundings, whilst developing their problem solving skills, initiative and co-operation. Come rain or shine, Reception enjoy their time outdoors, investigating and collecting natural materials for a wide range of fun activities and games. Watch a video of children in our Early Years Unit enjoying a recent Forest Fridays session:

Year 3 had a “splendiferous time” at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre on Tuesday 9th June. We learnt lots about this “fantabulous” author and enjoyed plenty of hands-on activities. We finished with a Word Workshop where we became experts at creating “whipple-scrumptious” words. Back at school we made “gloriumptious” newts, inspired by Matilda’s newt, and placed them in “phizz-whizzing” dream bottles.  We hope you enjoy our “squiffling” facts: “When he was a little boy Roald Dahl used to get his sisters to attach pillows around their stomachs and use them for target practice!” Dominic H “I did not […]

After a week of torrential rain, our sun dances worked and we woke to super sunshine on the morning of Thursday 5th June. The children were all excited to set off on our trip to Kew Gardens. We arrived at the impressive gates and made our way to the tree top walk. We walked through the very tops of the trees and the children scampered like squirrels and chattered like chipmunks as we found out lots of tree facts. “Did you know that a tree’s roots are twice as wide as the tree is tall?” After walking down the 1,008 […]

EYU have begun to focus on the World Cup and for the next three weeks we will be participating in lots of activities including designing our own football shirt, looking at the countries on the map and talking about their flags, listening to national anthems and learning the World Cup song. On Tuesday 10th and Friday 13th June, EYU had a visit from a football coach – Adam. Throughout the sessions the children played lots of games that concentrate on their ABCs (Agility, Balance and Coordination); This included games with and without a football, to help bring out these fundamental […]

Gateway entered two teams into the English Primary Schools Chess Association semi-finals plate competition, which took place at Camber Sands on Saturday 7th June. Due to a few absences, we had two teams of mixed experience – for some of the children this being their last Pontins adventure and for most of the children, their first of many! The plate competition this year was probably the toughest one since Mr Sonley took over, with several schools opting to enter this year. U11 Team Representing the U11s were Ruaidhrí B (Captain), Jake R, Tim E, William G-R and Jonathan E.The first […]

A squad of 24 children from Gateway participated in the 3rd Regional Schools’ Athletics Championships, at Stoke Mandeville, on Wednesday 4th June, competing against 17 other teams. The event allows children the opportunity to compete in a stadium environment on a synthetic track. Eight children – four boys and four girls from Years 4, 5 and 6- made up each squad. Each child is eligible for one track event, one field event and also runs in the 4 x 75m relay. All the track events – 75m, 150m, 600m and relay – have heats, with the top two or three […]

Last week, Year 5 enjoyed an overnight trip to Ironbridge in Shropshire. Cameron M wrote the following diary entry about the trip: “Dear Diary, My Ironbridge excursion began on Wednesday 15th May at approximately 8.10am as we boarded the coach and set off towards Shropshire. There were many people who had brought games to pass the two hour journey and some teachers took photos to record our visit. Before long we had arrived at Warwick Service Station, on the M40, where we had a snack, before re-commencing our journey. After about an hour we arrived at Coalbrookdale and when the […]

On Thursday 15th May, Year 6 children had a lovely evening in the beautiful grounds of Pipers Corner School. They were there to watch the Fourways Theatre Group perform Romeo and Juliet. This local amateur dramatic society has an excellent reputation and Shakespeare ‘in-the-open’ is part of their repertoire every year. This year’s production did not disappoint and, despite the obvious difficulties with the Shakespearian language, the children thoroughly enjoyed the play and followed the story well. The theme of gang warfare appealed to them and had resonances for us today, and the fencing was particularly impressive. The children had […]

On Friday 9th May, prospective and current children and parents, for Reception 2014, were invited to a special ‘Meet the Animals’ morning. Everyone who attended the animal presentation had a fantastic time. The children were enthralled and were very brave, much more so than some of the teachers! We saw a wide variety of animals and reptiles and the children all had a chance to touch and hold some amazing creatures including a bat, an armadillo, a meerkat and a lizard. As well as seeing some fascinating creatures, it was a lovely chance for the Reception teachers to meet with […]

On Monday 12th May, children from Year 3 enjoyed a visit to the British Museum, to see the Greek collections. The aim of the trip was to understand that primary sources such as the Elgin Marbles, vases and plates can give us lots of information about what life was like in Ancient Greece. We were amazed by the size of the Elgin Marbles and enjoyed the freedom to explore them independently, using learning missions. The children found out which gods were represented on the marbles, how many different animals were on the pots and investigated the different sizes and shapes […]

On Wednesday 7th May, Year 2 spent a very enjoyable and informative time at Radlett and Bushey Reform Synagogue as part of their R.E. topic on special books. The children were very excited at the prospect of seeing a ‘real’ Torah scroll and were quick to recognise features of the Jewish faith such as the Menorah, Hebrew writing, the Ark and the Tree of Life, which we had talked about at school. The best bit of the visit was when Karin cut up a loaf of Challah bread and the children were able to eat it along with a glass […]

After school, two Year 6 teams travelled to Pipers Corner school to play a match. The A team played some exciting netball against a tall Pipers team. The standard of play was high, but we could not beat their strong defence. The final score was 5-0 to Pipers.  Sasha, Isobel, Ella, Charlotte, Mei-Ya, Lucy, Harriet, Sophie(injured) and Merryn played in this team. The B team played their match after the A team. They also played some exciting netball and were winning 2-1 until the final quarter when Pipers scored two more goals. The final score was Pipers 3, Gateway 2. […]

Each afternoon in Gateway’s Early Years Unit, the children enjoy taking part in a variety of activities. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, focussed Montessori sessions allow the children to spend time exploring practical life activities at their own pace, helping to encourage independent learning. Different activity sessions happen each afternoon in EYU: Monday: Muddy Monday Tuesday: Montessori Afternoon Wednesday: Wonderful Wednesdays (cooking, visits, celebration) Thursday: Montessori Afternoon Friday: Forest Fridays Gateway’s Head of Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, Sue Kemp, explains more about Montessori Afternoons in this short video:

On Friday 27th March, in surprisingly good weather, the Year 5 House teams gathered to compete in the House Basketball Competition. Special thanks have to go to Maddie I and Tim E for giving up their afternoon to act as scorers for the tournament. Across the six games there was some excellent play, with great skill being shown in both offence and defence, by all teams. I was also impressed by how mature the teams were in organising their own substitutions and positions on the court – a sure sign of their learning from lessons and basketball club. After the […]

2nd April was Gateway’s last league fixture and for most of the squad, their last time to represent the school. They could not have chosen tougher opponents, with Great Missenden currently topping the league and undefeated. Gateway could only keep their title hopes alive by winning this match. With news that Jodi S and Ben C were under Doctor’s orders not to do any physical activity, the squad was left in no doubt that they would have to be at their best to stand any chance. It became very apparent why Great Missenden topped the league from the first minute. […]

In their ICT lessons, Year 6 have been working on their own programming projects, to create an interactive children’s story. They recently shared their ideas with pupils from the Juniors. The Junior pupils looked at their plans and suggested improvements for their stories. We will look forward to sharing the finished stories with the Juniors next term. Watch a video of Year 6 explaining their projects:

On Wednesday 2nd April, Year 3 put on a production of ‘What a Knight’. The story is about a Squire called Watt who gets expelled from Knight school. With the help of a Princess and a dragon, he helps Merlin the magician to find the King’s sword Excalibur which has accidentally been shrunk and lost. Along the way, they rescue the other princesses from the Black Knight and his evil henchmen and for all his efforts, Watt is finally Knighted by the King. Our favourite bits: “When Merlin magically makes the sword big again” – Oakley “When the Black Knight […]

On Tuesday 1st April, after an excellent April Fool’s joke from Sophia, Year 1 set off on their day out to the Chiltern Open Air Museum. We enjoyed a short walk through the museum, past the horses to the Victorian School where we found some very strict teachers! We wandered on to an old barn where we met Tom, an Iron Age warrior. He took us to his wattle and daub house and we sat around the fire while he told us about his life. He had tribe members coming for dinner and the children were set to tasks making […]

Year 4 recently welcomed a visitor from the charity ‘Shelterbox’. Shirley came to talk to the children about the role of the charity and explained that it was started in Helston, Cornwall in 2000 as a Millennium project. The idea was to send out boxes of equipment, anywhere in the world, to help people whose lives had been devastated by a natural disaster. The boxes contain vital equipment to give the people safety, in the form of a temporary home and a means of accessing clean water. After the terrible tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, and with the […]

Read Year 6’s fundraising report: The school council were planning Sports Relief. Madeleine made posters to go around the school advertising our sport themed mufti day that took place on the 21st March. We also had to plan an assembly to perform to the juniors. This went very well and the whole school council came up with something to say. Overall, we have a lot of money and it has been very successful and great fun!

According to the World Poetry Day website, the observance of World Poetry Day is meant to encourage a return to the oral tradition of poetry recitals. Learning poetry has been a long tradition at Gateway. Not only does it help to develop a love of language and poems but it also strengthens our memory and ability to learn. I was in for a great treat on World Poetry Day as I set off around the school in search of poetry! My journey began in EYU where I heard a wonderful poem describing what a dragon might look like. I was […]

Many of the boys who had played for the B team this season, plus several more keen Year 6 footballers met at Magnolia for their own fixture and the chance to shine. The Lions were led by Fitz J and the Tigers by Ben P. This match turned into a classic, ‘game of two halves’ with the Lions striking first, after 12 minutes, when Will S shot them into the lead. The Lions were more organised and passing the ball more fluently. Three minutes later, it was Will S who scored again after the Tigers failed to clear the ball. […]

On Monday 10th March, Year 3 enjoyed a trip to Mop End to investigate materials. Maria (3RA) has written an account of her day: First we built a shelter out of logs, sticks and pine needles and tested if it was waterproof or not. It had to be strong and big enough for all of us to get inside. We had to carry one stick at a time and work as a team to move bigger logs. Some of us got wet when the teacher tested our shelter by pouring water on top to see if it was waterproof or […]

Over the years, Gateway has opened its doors to many noteworthy visitors, who have kindly agreed to share their experience, expertise and unique personalities with the children. Each one has been very special but none more so than our guest on World Book Day – Mr Mark Sanger, Oscar winning film editor. Having just stepped off the plane from Hollywood, Mr Sanger very kindly agreed to visit Year 5’s English lesson, sharing with us just how initial ideas evolve and change, until finally the written words are unfurled, to become intriguing visual images on our screens. Outlining pre-production, filming and […]

Year 5 and Year 6 pupils Bella and Tillia gave outstanding recitals of French poems Ponctuation and D’humeur Chocolat at the French Verse Speaking Festival held at St. Mary’s School in Gerrards Cross on 27th February. Around two dozen independent and state schools from the region participate in this popular event, each allowed just one candidate per year group to perform. All Gateway pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 learned and practised the poems last half-term and Bella and Tillia were the brave pair chosen to recite them at the festival itself. Our candidates both gave delightful performances and […]

This term, Year 5 pupils have been taking a well-earned break from learning French, to take up a taster course in Japanese. It came as quite a surprise to many of the children that they knew more about Japan and its language than they realised. Whilst many had heard of Tokyo, Mount Fuji, judo, karate and sumo, as well as some of the natural disasters (such as earthquakes and tsunami) that often beset the country, many hadn’t perceived the prevalence of Japanese commerce and industry around the world. Most had heard of some of the famous car makers such as […]

Bucks Cross Country Championships (Wednesday 5th Feb) In previous years the Buckinghamshire Schools’ Championships and ISA North London Championships have been held on consecutive dates. This year the events were spaced a week apart, allowing Gateway to enter two teams at U11 and one individual runner at Year 7. 16 schools entered this year’s events. Conditions were wet and icy, with a blustery wind adding to the chill factor. The Year 5 and 6 run took the children around a hilly 1500m Hughenden Valley circuit. Year 7 children had to endure an extra 500m loop. The children also had to […]

What a fantastic experience Gateway School Choir had on Tuesday 11th February. The choir were lucky enough to take part in a concert at the Wycombe Swan Theatre – ‘Rock the Night Away!’- which followed our Sign2Sing event the previous week. The concert was organised to raise money for Sign Health. The 220 strong Dunstable Rock Choir started the concert with some lively, rousing songs, such as ‘Just the way you are’ by Bruno Mars. Also taking part was a ladies vocal trio – the Rockabellas- who entertained us with some fantastic close harmony singing and quirky dance moves. Our […]

On Tuesday 11th February, EYU took part in I CAN’s Chatterbox Challenge to have fun developing their communication skills whilst raising money for I CAN’s work with children who struggle to communicate. This year’s Chatterbox Challenge ‘Sounds like Fun with Humf’ has helped the children’s understanding, attention and listening skills. I CAN’s Chatterbox Challenge is an annual sponsored singalong for children aged 0-5 years across the UK. The children participated in the Chatterbox Challenge in front of proud families and the Junior School in morning assembly, with the songs and rhymes, ‘If you’re happy and you know it’, ‘I hear […]

We had a very (cerebrally) challenging Monday morning at Davenies School, Beaconsfield, with two teams from Gateway taking part in the National KS2 General Knowledge Quiz. There were some very tough questions, but all of the children thoroughly enjoyed taking part. All children in Years 3-6 at Gateway took part in the initial Team Selection Quiz – a 20 question, multiple choice quiz that asked questions ranging from Star Wars characters through to Heads of State. The final teams representing Gateway were: Year 3 Team 1: Felix P Team 2: Oakley D Reserve: Jack I Year 4 Team 1: Peter […]

Over eighty children from Years 4, 5 and 6 participated for their House in this year’s House Football Competition. After weeks of heavy rain and strong winds over Christmas, this competition was close to being postponed but fortunately when the pitches were inspected at Magnolia Park they were in surprisingly good condition with little surface water. The Year 4 children got the competition off to a great start, although some teams were not at full strength due to forgotten boots on the first day back! There were some exciting matches and several ended with last minute drama and goals! The […]

Year 4 girls played a netball match at Gayhurst School on Tuesday 21 January. The girls were very excited, as for some of them, it was their first match. They all gave their best and the final score was 5-0 to Gateway. The team was: Roisin (1 goal), Hannah M (2 goals), Esme, Lucy, Kimberly (1 goal), Jessica, Hannah W, Isabella, Emily (1 goal) and Eve.

Eco Crafts Club for Years 1 and 2 takes place after school on Fridays, with Miss Mac. Children bring in their own recycled materials from home to create fun projects. Last week, the children enjoyed making faces out of paper plates, using recycled materials such as wrapping paper and plastic bags to create their features. Pupils at Eco Crafts Club have previously made paper chains, masks and Eco posters and are looking forward to making wind chimes, bird feeders and their own recycled paper, in future sessions. Watch the video below to see what pupils have been creating at Eco […]

In Art, Year 3 have been looking at Seurat, who was the first artist to develop the Pointillist style of painting. Year 3 drew boats on a river using the computer programme, Paint, and tried to create a Pointillist effect. See photos of Year 3’s Pointillist-effect paintings, below:

On Wednesday 8 January, Year 1 had an exciting trip out to the recycling centre in Great Missenden. To support the work they are doing in topic this year we took our Christmas waste to see what we could recycle. The children carefully sorted the different items and posted them into the right bins. When asked “Why do we recycle?” Sophia replied, “So we don’t waste the World’s resources!” Great fun was had by all the children. See photos from Year 1’s exciting trip to the Recycling Centre, below:

Each afternoon in Gateway’s Early Years Unit, the children enjoy taking part in a variety of activities. On Friday afternoons, the children look forward to their Forest Friday sessions, where they explore the school’s outdoor areas and the neighbouring farm. The children are encouraged to engage with the outdoor space and to be led by their curiosity, whilst under the supervision of our EYU teachers. Watch a video of the Nursery pupils exploring during a recent Forest Friday session: Different activity sessions happen each afternoon at Gateway’s Early Years Unit: Monday: Muddy Mondays Tuesday: Montessori time Wednesday: Wonderful Wednesdays (Cooking, visits, celebration) Thursday: Montessori […]

On Friday 29 December, Year 6 visited the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery to support this term’s work on the Tudors. Children enjoyed the opportunity to view the superb ‘Elizabeth and Her People’ exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and were delighted to see several of the Nicholas Hilliard miniature portraits which they had been studying in art. They were able to look closely at these tiny and highly detailed portraits with magnifying glasses. One of the highlights of the day was seeing ’The Ambassadors’ by Holbein. Pupils took delight in spotting the symbolic imagery in the painting […]

It is something of a challenge to try to present to you, in just a few words, something of the enchantment of this special day; and it was entirely the children who created it! It is true to say that there was historical learning – an opportunity to see and touch everyday Victorian household artefacts and to experience life as a rich or poor child, but it was the children’s spontaneity and natural ability to replicate those manners and customs, of an age long gone, that was beautiful to witness. Running across the lawns, in front of this great house, […]

On Tuesday 10 December, Years 5 and 6 celebrated the Christmas season with their annual carol concert at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Great Missenden. The children have been working really hard over the past few weeks, learning their songs in preparation for this big occasion. The large audience of friends, families and staff had a real treat in store. After a warm welcome by Rev. Rosie Harper, William W bravely began the concert with a solo verse of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’; he was joined by the congregation and children for the subsequent verses, […]

On Wednesday 4 December, over 30 children from Years 3 to 6 took part in Gateway’s first instrumental concert of the school year. A very enthusiastic audience of parents, friends and staff, listened attentively to a varied programme of music, played by a whole range of instruments, including piano, violin, trumpet, saxophone, flute, drum kit and guitar. The eclectic mix of pieces spanned from traditional carols such as ‘Away in a Manger’ and seasonal favourites such as ‘Walking in the Air’ and ‘Rudolf the red nosed reindeer’ to ACDC’s ‘Back in Black’. All those involved enjoyed the experience of performing […]

On Tuesday 10 December, Year 3 performed their version of Hosanna Rock in St Peter’s Church. The children were so confident with their lines and told the story of the nativity energetically. The singing and dancing was wonderful and everyone watching the performance thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The children worked really hard and we were so proud of them all! Merry Christmas from Year 3! See photos from Year 3′s production, below:

On Friday, Year 2 were buzzing with excitement, as the day of their Christmas production had finally arrived! After so many rehearsals, singing lessons and music lessons, the time had come and the morning and lunchtime couldn’t be over quickly enough. At last, the children could put on their wonderful costumes (thank you parents!) and walk down to Great Missenden Hall. They lined up as quiet as mice… as quiet as Barney the mouse, perhaps? Their production was about Barney, the mouse who almost spoilt Christmas, and it had children dancing in the street, villagers worried that Christmas might be […]

Last Friday, children from Year 1 performed ‘Star Of Wonder’ to family and friends. They did such a great job! There were a lot of complicated dances, including the box step, which that they had to learn and they all performed outstandingly. Everyone delivered their lines with big, clear voices so that they were heard by all and the singing was out of this world! We would like to congratulate Year 1 for their amazing effort all the way through the rehearsals up to the actual performance. We are already looking forward to our summer play now! Well done Year […]

On Tuesday 26 November, 12 children from Years 5 and 6 travelled to Northwood Prep School to take part in the Area Heats of the National Years 5 and 6 Science Quiz. 12 teams from six different schools took part and the standard was particularly high. One of our teams was consistently in second place throughout, but were overtaken at the very end, finishing a very creditable third overall. The final results were: 1st: Northwood Prep (Rickmansworth), 2420 pts 2nd: Edge Grove (Watford), 2220 pts 3rd: Gateway 1, 2215 pts 6th: Gateway 2, 1840 pts 8th: Gateway 3, 1780 pts […]

On Friday 22 November, all of our Year 6 pupils enjoyed the unique opportunity to take over the Roald Dahl Museum. This was the first time the staff of the Great Missenden museum had ever handed over the reins during the national “Kids in Museums Takeover Day.” The purpose of the day was to provide the pupils with meaningful roles, working alongside staff and volunteers to participate in the life of the museum. Throughout the day groups of pupils worked with the museum’s archivist, Rachel White, to curate an exhibition for the “Boy” gallery. This will remain on display until […]

The Year 3 pupils enjoyed learning about the Caribbean and its dance when they took part in a Caribbean dance workshop recently at Great Missenden Hall. Some of the pupils have shared their recounts of what they most enjoyed about the workshop:   On Tuesday all of year 3 went down to Great Missenden Hall for a Caribbean Dance afternoon. We told Monica what we knew about St Lucia. She taught us some dance moves. I thought it was very cool. My favourite part was when we had some material and put all the dance moves into one big dance. […]

To support their work on senses in science, Year 1 had a visit from a lovely 12 week old puppy called Peppar on Friday. He had just started his training as a hearing dog and his carer, Sylvia, told the children how Peppar will be able to help his deaf owner. As part of his training, Peppar will learn to react to different sounds he hears. This will include acting as an alarm clock in the morning, letting them know if someone is at the door, making sure they are alerted if an alarm goes off and much more. The […]

You could hear the gasps of excitement as our coach slowly made its way up the winding drive to this fairy tale Gothic house that you have come to know as ‘Downton Abbey’. I am ashamed to reveal that I have never once watched an episode of ‘Downton’ but my love affair with Highclere, commenced twelve years ago, long before it became so famous. It is a beautiful, magical place that never fails to disappoint. The Year 5 children have been captivated by the story that this house holds. You can’t really fail when you have all the right ingredients – […]

This half term in Year 1, emphasis has been placed on numbers in numeracy, including counting forwards and backwards, learning to recognise what each digit in a number represents, understanding number bonds and measuring. They have been working on number bonds to ten and beyond, using the numicon tiles to calculate. The children are asked to cover the ten tile using two of the other tiles, making sure that the whole tile is covered, with no gaps and no overlaps! Any work that you can do at home to develop children’s knowledge of number bonds will support the children a […]

On Friday 22 November, our Year 6 pupils will be taking over the Roald Dahl Museum for a very special day. The pupils will present a variety of activities to parents, school groups and visitors to the museum, throughout the day, including: ‘School Days’ Exhibition Pupils will carefully handle some of Roald Dahl’s early writings and personal effects, placing them in a brand new display in the galleries, which will be open to the public. Moving Statues Lucky visitors will be able to learn more about the book characters represented with just the touch of a button when, for a […]

Mr Judge presented an important message about road safety to Years 4, 5 and 6 pupils: ‘Be  Bright, Be Seen, Be Safe’.  A timely reminder, as the clocks go back and we head deeper into the autumn and  winter months, to wear bright, high visibility, fluorescent colours when crossing roads on dull days.  Children should wear something reflective at night or to carry bags, torches or other accessories with reflective or light-up qualities. A PowerPoint presentation highlighted the dangers and distractions that children face when walking to and from school. Examples of road safe clothing, bags and other accessories (with […]

On Monday 14th October, Year 3 enjoyed a trip to Dyson Farm. Marcus H and Lily P recount their visit: “When we got to Mr Dyson’s farm, Mr Dyson led us to the barn and told us the rules.  He told us that we had to be quiet around the calves and not to slip in the mud.  He asked us a question, “What do cows eat?”  We followed him to a maize field, which is grown to feed the cows.  He knew that the roots of plants collect water and anchor the plant in the ground so that it […]

Year 5 recently enjoyed their trip to find the source of the River Misbourne. Cameron M describes the day: “Last Friday, Year 5 set off excitedly in search of the source of the River Misbourne. Ambling across the fields, we reached Mobwell Pond and to our surprise there was no water to be seen! This river is rather unusual as the rain soaks into the chalky ground of our Chiltern Hills and flows away underground. The area of Mobwell Pond is a bit like a sponge and it is only when heavy rain has fallen and the water level has […]

In Learning for Life this term, the whole school has started a new scheme called Jigsaw. Each year group has their own Jigsaw character piece, for Year 6 it’s Jigsaw Jem – who is red. Jigsaw has clear guidelines about lesson expectations for example: always being positive, listening, respecting others and everyone having the right to speak, as well as not having to speak. Also, each lesson has the same sort of structure. It will always have a warm up, followed by a breathing exercise called Calm Me to prepare us for studying the topic in detail – which is […]

On Wednesday 25th September, Year 1 had a fantastic day at the Bracknell Discovery Centre. Their day began by building their very own dinosaur in the forest, using sticks as bones. The children worked as a team to help each other to place bones in the right place. They had to tip toe away carefully because “the dinosaur might wake up” (Jago T). Next, they ate their lunch outside on the picnic benches and had a detailed discussion about dinosaur anatomy. A wonderful day was finished off by exploring the different areas of the Discovery Centre, looking at light, electricity, […]

On Tuesday 24th September, Year 2 spent a very enjoyable day at Aylesbury Museum. In the morning, the children followed a question trail around the materials gallery, which supported their science work. They were amazed to discover artefacts, especially enormous fossils, hidden inside draws. In the afternoon, after a tasty picnic lunch in the garden, the children were excited to visit the Roald Dahl gallery and our helpers made sure they made the most of every minute. ‘I loved it when we acted out the story of August Gloop’ said Will and Thara. ‘They blew BFG dreams into our ears. […]

Year 4 enjoyed a fantastic visit to Kew Gardens on Friday 27 September. They had a glorious sunny day which was action packed and filled with ‘awe and wonder’. The children were so excited on the ‘treetop walk’ as they stared at the ground from 20 metres above it. They could imagine themselves as squirrel monkeys or noisy macaws as they scuttled amongst the branches and leaves in the treetops. Inside the glasshouses they began to experience the climate of a rainforest with the heat and humidity. The children had a guided talk where they learned how leaves have adapted […]

As the Year 6 children boarded the coach that would transport us to Northamptonshire, to the manor house once owned by the ancestors of the first President of the United States of America, George Washington, their faces were filled with trust and expectation as they peered between coach seats. They gazed at me almost as if they had placed total belief in the fact that they would shortly learn about a different time and place. The Gateway teachers demonstrate such passion in planning visits and ‘special days’ in a bid to teach Humanities, taking hours planning and designing the curriculum […]

On Friday 20th September, Year 4 enjoyed a very busy day out at Holly Green Farm, investigating different habitats. Squeals of delight could be heard around the lake as the children discovered leeches, water scorpions, slugs, snails and all manner of other small creatures. They learnt about the soil layers through looking at the clay, stone and mud around the area. In the garden, the children collected data about the different colours of flowers. They will use this information in their ICT lessons to make bar graphs. A mini beast hunt took place in the woodland, where the children identified […]

In a recent English lesson, pupils in Year 6 were excited to interview their new Headteacher, Mrs. Sue La Farge.  Using the information which they discovered from their interview, the children have created biographical writing.  Read some extracts, below:   Mixing with the Rich and Famous I think Mrs La Farge was really quite brave to answer our interview questions posed to her. After all she has only been in the job three weeks. Mrs La Farge has met famous people including Victoria Beckham, George Osbourne, Stella McCartney and Sophie Dahl. We don’t know why but I would like to […]

We got to Green Park and met Dave and Jee. We went into a yurt and talked about Green Park. We went to low ropes with Jee and we got to put on our helmets. We had two planks and at least three people had to stand on the one plank. Everyone went across with swapping around the planks. We had to swing, climb and pull and walk on planks and they were not allowed to touch the floor because it was pretend lava. We all got across and went to the Amazon Adventure. We walked and swung along and […]

The children in Reception have created drawings about what they have enjoyed most about coming to school. The school’s brand new  iPads have been very popular! Other favourite things included: going down the slide in the playground; playing with their friends; walking to school with Dad; playing Ninja Turtles on the tennis courts and painting. See some of Reception’s drawings, below:

Forest Fridays has launched at Gateway for the children from EYU to Year 2. They didn’t let the rain put them off during their first Forest Friday session on 6th September, when they spent an hour outside exploring and having fun. The children enjoyed learning about boundaries by tying ribbons around the trees to mark the Forest School boundary. In their next session, the children were introduced to the story, ‘Stick Man’ by Julia Donaldson, which provided a great opportunity for the children to collect sticks to make their own stick man and to learn about stick safety at the […]

Year 1 Display their Skills at Sports Day The sun shone for our sports stars from Year 1 when they competed in their Sports Day. The first event was the sprint. The action was fast from end to end. The children all displayed their super sprinting arms and gave their best. Well done to Adam A and Lillie J, who both overcame knee grazes and ran well. We continued onto the hurdles with incredible jumping action, cheered on by the excited crowd. The obstacle race provided a challenge and after weaving, bending and crawling, the teams returned to their places, […]

Year 6 have been working hard all term on their production ‘Johnny and the Bomb’ and ‘Jenny and the Bomb’, based on the book by Terry Pratchett. They gave two super performances last Wednesday and Thursday evenings at Magnolia Park in the marquee. All the children had important roles to play, whether as one of the characters on stage or as one of the art or stage management teams. The performances were well supported by an enthusiastic audience of friends, families and staff, and it was clear from the applause how much they enjoyed it. Well done Year 6, you […]

Read Miss Craig and Mrs. Palmer-Jones’ accounts of Year 1’s performance of the Little Red Hen: Last week, Year 1 performed in the production of ‘The Little Red Hen’ to all the mums and dads. The children were amazing – they sang loudly, all remembered their lines and joined in with all the dances too! We had spent weeks before practising and this certainly paid off as we are all incredibly proud of them! Well done. Miss Craig   On Friday 5th July, it was finally time for Year 1 to perform their summer production of ‘The Little Red Hen’. […]

On Thursday 11th July, a large number of children from Years 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 took part in an afternoon musical extravaganza. Around 25 soloists played a variety of musical styles on piano, cornet, trumpet, flute, saxophone, clarinet, violin, guitar and drum kit, ranging from Bach’s Violin Concerto in A-Minor to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’. The captive and appreciative audience was also entertained by the Junior and Senior recorder ensembles, orchestra and the choir. What an enjoyable afternoon. Well done to all who took part so confidently.

Thanks to the hard work of the children in Gardening Clubs, as well as Rachel and Neil, we enjoyed home grown onions in our onion gravy last week! The vegetarian option included our own new potatoes and on Monday there was a salad bowl of our own lettuces. Thanks for all of their efforts and to the kitchen staff for so willingly incorporating into our food. Enjoy your food! Alan Bridges Greenfingers are proud to be official suppliers of salad plants for the end of school lunch. We have also worked with the Year 1 and 2 Gardening Club to […]

At Easter, all the children in Years 5, 6 and 7 sat a general knowledge quiz paper and the highest four individual scores qualified to represent their House in the finals. Henry B achieved the highest boys’ score with 45/50 and Elise F recorded the highest girls’ and individual score with 45½. The following children were selected to go through to the General Knowledge Final: Barnardo: Kam L (Capt), Alfred C (Y5), Jessica T, Kiera H, res Ella C Brunel: Rosa C (Capt), Jamie C, Sam W, Maddie I (Y5), res Luis M Jenner: Oscar F (Capt), Clare A, Felix […]

On Wednesday 26th June, the U11 B Cricket team travelled to Ley Hill Cricket Club to take on Chesham Prep. Excited and full of volume, the team left Gateway for the challenge ahead. On arrival at Ley Hill, Gateway quickly unpacked the bus and began warming up in the field – they were fired up and raring to go. CPS won the toss and elected to bat. Perhaps not such a wise decision when faced with the pace of the opening bowling attack of Ruairidh B and James E – full and straight was the key on this wicket and […]

On Monday 1st July, the Year 6 cricket A team went to Chesham Prep to play a 6 a side tournament against Chesham prep A’s and Davenies. However, Davenies never turned up so the Chesham Prep B team were summoned. The team was: Jack T, Will H, Harry W, Tom B, Ben J, Jack S, Elise F and Hannah B. The team lost the first game by a mere one run, 45-44, but then came back in the second match and finished the game victorious with 3 overs to spare. We all enjoyed the different format of the game and […]

Oscar F, Alex A, Thomas B, Ben J, Jack S, Will O’B, Will H, Harry W, Jack T, Elise F and Hannah B. That’s the team and now we need to know how they got on!!!!! Chesham Prep won the toss and decided to bat, ending on 133. Thomas and Will taking the wickets to fall. Gateway then batted and some poor decisions meant that they ended on 61. Nigel (The Coach) said ‘You played well in a hard match and should be proud of yourselves’. I think we did well too. By Oscar F, Year 6

We managed to complete the House Netball tournament on Tuesday 2nd July, where all the Year 4 girls played to a very high standard. Year 4 The points were as follows: Jenner 1 point Brunel 2 points Seacole 5 points Bernardo 7 points The Years 5 and 6 tournaments were played last term. The results were: Year 5 Jenner: 1 point Seacole and Brunel: 4 points each Bernardo: 7 points Year 6 Seacole: 0 points, Brunel: 3 points, Bernardo: 6 points Jenner 9: points. The overall results were: 4th Brunel 6 points 3rd Seacole 9 points 2nd Jenner 11 points […]

On Thursday 27th June, Years 4, 5 and 6 took part in the annual House Gala. This was indeed a close competition with fun and excitement throughout the day. We started proceedings with the Year 4 competition which was closely fought between Brunel and Seacole; with Brunel leading by two points at the end of the front crawl races and with only two points separating Jenner and Barnardo. The scores remained close throughout the backstroke races. All was to swim for in the relays with double points available. Jenner won one of the relays with Seacole winning the other. The […]

During Thursday’s assembly we were thinking about ‘Brand Bullying’, which is about the pressure that children feel to wear certain clothes or to own certain gadgets. It is called bullying partly because companies target young people, who can sometimes feel that they need a certain look or product in order to be accepted. It can also lead to bullying when those children who do not have these products are made to feel left out. We considered where our identity comes from. For Year 6 in particular, there is a need for wisdom as they move up to secondary school. There […]

On Monday 1st July, Year 2 had a fantastic morning when they arrived at school dressed for the seaside. Everyone looked very smart and summery in their shorts and sundresses ready to take part in a traditional day at the seaside. They designed their own spectacular sand castles and sand sculptures and the children all got very creative with their designs. Then the children designed and made their own windmills in bright colours and had to follow the instructions carefully to fold the shapes and pin them with split pins. Next, they went to the hall for a traditional Punch […]

On 6th June, 32 children from Years 4, 5 and 6 took part in a friendly gala against Gayhurst School. For some pupils this was their first experience in a swimming gala. Each competitor took part in one main event and at least two relays. We started the competition with Back crawl, where Sophie A and Jack T came first and James M came second. This was followed by the Butterfly races, a much more difficult stroke to master. All the children did their very best with Chantel O and Timmy E finishing in first place and Aaron P equal […]

Day 1 We had a slow journey down to Folkestone with lots of traffic on the M25 but spirits were high on the coach. We split into six groups and went up the Leas Cliff Vernacular Lift. This was opened in 1885 and is the second oldest water balance cliff lift in operation in England. Once at the top we had a lovely walk along the promenade with sea views and then down the zig-zag path to the amphitheatre where we had lunch, avoiding the dive bombing seagulls. James E needs to buy a lottery ticket after receiving a special […]

On Thursday evening, Nicky Upton (Neighbourhood Sergeant, Chiltern and South Bucks LPA) delivered a very informative ‘Drugs Awareness’ session for Year 6 parents. Nicky reflected on her experiences as a police officer, as well as a mother, and amongst other things described the signs that parents should be looking out for if children experiment with tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs. A large emphasis was put on keeping communication channels open with children as they become teenagers to enable open discussions about such matters. On Wednesday 3rd July, Nicky will talk to all Year 6 and 7 children on this subject […]

Year 3 had a funsquiffling morning at the Roald Dahl museum on Wednesday. They explored the story centre and saw how Roald Dahl created some of his bugswaffious characters. They enjoyed dressing up and making movies. They also learnt about Roald Dahl’s earlier life before he became a phizzsome writer. Read Scott’s account of what he enjoyed about the morning: I liked it because when Roald Dahl passed away, he left his hut as it was. I was standing right in front of the real hut! And I liked creating movies with Ted and Jayden. There were cards and you […]

EYU’s trip to Whipsnade Zoo was great fun! We were very lucky with the weather as it was warm and dry. The children were very well behaved and we managed to see a good variety of animals. We were given a talk by Hannah who showed us lots of animal skins and a selection of animal poo coated in plastic. It was fun looking at this through the magnifying glass. One of our highlights was meeting and stroking Ebenezer (the squeezer), the python. Adam said that she was warm and scaley. It was interesting to see skulls of various animals […]

Day 1 We loaded the coach with our bags, all of us almost screaming with excitement.  Ironbridge HERE WE COME!!!    Once we got there, after a 2.5 hour journey, we saw the bridge through the coach windows, and we were all very eager to go on it!  We took lots of photos, and Mr Grosse took a group picture (let’s hope none of us blinked!).  We then went down the road to the Gorge Museum, which was interesting because we saw how deep the water was in 1775.  Back then we would have been standing really deep under the […]

Finally the day had come for our trip to Kew Gardens. We arrived at the large gates feeling very excited, on the journey we had already passed over the River Thames and seen lots of boats. Once inside we walked towards the bridge over the lake, we saw lots of interesting trees; the monkey puzzle trees were especially strange. When we walked across the bridge we had a chance to watch the ducks, ducklings, geese and goslings. We carried on to the wild flower meadow where we had a quick snack and took the chance to go into the badger […]

On Tuesday 14th May, Year 2 visited Radlett and Bushey Synagogue. When we got there Jo, who was going to teach us, told us how to say hello, goodbye and peace in Hebrew, which in Hebrew is Shalom. Jo told us about Shabbat which is a Holy day which starts on Friday and ends on Saturday night. The mother waves her hands over a candle to collect happy moments for her family. Then she says a special prayer. Afterwards Mrs Applegate tasted the wine it was really funny because she said it tasted like Ribena. The challah that they also […]

On Monday 20th May, the children from Year 3 visited the British Museum to see the Greek collections. The purpose was to understand that primary sources such as The Elgin Marbles, vases and plates can give us lots of information about what life was like in Ancient Greece. The children were amazed by the size of The Elgin Marbles and enjoyed the freedom to explore them independently, using learning missions. They found out which gods were represented on the marbles, how many different animals were on the pots and investigated the different sizes and shapes of the pots. During their […]

Year 2 have created a recount of their trip to Mop End: ‘On a very warm, sunny day,’ Year 2 visited Mop End Environmental Centre on Tuesday 4th June. We were treated to a ‘fabulous’ (Thomas R) exciting morning looking closely at an abundance of unusual creatures including water boatmen, leaches, water snails, blood worms and a hog louse. “We caught a newt!” Lucy said. “It was awesome!” exclaimed Poppy. After a much needed lunch ‘we played in the willow tunnel it was fun’ commented Oakley. During our afternoon in the woods we found an assortment of small crawling creatures […]

On Friday 3rd May, Year 1 had a treat when Mrs. Earl, the dietician, came to speak to them about healthy eating as part of their topic on food. The children cleverly sorted foods into groups of: – proteins – carbohydrates – dairy – sweets They looked at how a meal should include all these items but in different amounts. Afterwards they got to taste some interesting fruits and vegetables. They had fresh and dried mango, Chinese lantern fruit (physalis), passion fruit, sharon fruit, avocado and edamame beans. Aidan thought the sharon fruit tasted like apple. Tom enjoyed unwrapping his […]

  Day One – Wednesday 8th May We rushed to school on Wednesday morning, ready to set off on our trip at 9am. We jumped on the coach and drove to our first destination – Stonehenge. It was great to see it in real life rather than just pictures. We split into our classes and learned about the facts and myths that the stones carried. We sketched Stonehenge and were inspired to write some poetry. I wrote one with Helen which began ‘Stones of wisdom, stones of glory, but do we know this enchanted story?’. After Stonehenge tour we were […]

On Thursday 2nd May, Callum, Maddie, Alfred, Tim, Ella, Charlie, Jake and Fitz from Year 5 took part in a regional heat of the Year 5 Science Quiz, held at Davenies School, Beaconsfield. Eleven teams from eight different schools took part, with some very challenging general science questions. It was great fun, with individual handsets and a huge display screen showing the questions and recording scores. The children worked really well in teams of four and can be truly proud of their efforts despite not qualifying for the next stage. A big thank you to the travelling reserves: Bethan, Felix, […]

If Gateway had won this fixture they would have secured their place as league champions, but as things turned out they could only manage a draw. It proved to be a very frustrating match. Gateway were slightly better in attack, although the team’s passing was not of its usual high standards. It was exasperating to see countless chances, squandered or saved by an excellent Prestwood keeper. Tom hit the bar from long distance and the boys thought they had scored when the ball may have crossed the goal line, during a goal mouth scramble. Prestwood also had chances to win […]

St Joseph’s    1 Gateway        0 Gateway       2 Farnham R     0 Iver Village    0 Gateway        1   During Year 5’s 6-a-side against St. Joseph’s on 18 April, the opposition proved to be a strong physical side who won slightly more possession in midfield. Both teams had several chances to score but it was St. Joseph’s that finally found the net. Gateway were very comfortable in their second match against Farnham R, creating a string of opportunities. Jodi scored twice to give them a well deserved victory. Gateway had […]

Year 4 House Football, 20th November 2012 Brunel 3 Vs 0 Seacole Jenner 0 Vs 2 Barnardo Seacole 2 Vs 2 Barnardo Jenner 2 Vs 3 Brunel Seacole 3 Vs 0 Jenner Barnardo 0 Vs 0 Brunel   Houses Played Won Lost Drawn Points SEACOLE 3 2 0 1 7 JENNER 3 1 2 0 3 BRUNEL 3 0 3 0 0 BARNARDO 3 2 0 1 7     Year 5 House Football, 16th November 2012 Seacole 1 Vs 0 Jenner Barnardo 4 Vs 1 Brunel Brunel 0 Vs 1 Seacole Jenner 2 Vs 2 Barnardo Seacole 4 Vs […]

On Tuesday 23rd April, fourteen schools from the Chiltern and South Bucks area entered teams into a friendly festival of fun football hosted by Gateway at their Magnolia Park facility. Twelve teams made it on the day, but the absences meant that the start was slightly delayed as fixtures were quickly rearranged. The event provided an opportunity for boys and girls from Years 3 and 4, if selected, to gain match experience without the usual pressures of competitive cup and league football. There were no recorded results, medals or cup, with the emphasis on just playing for fun and experience. […]

On Thursday 25th April, eight Year 5 and 6 pupils spent the day at Mill Lane Primary School in Chinnor, attending an Authors Abroad workshop.  The group of 30 girls and boys from five schools had a rewarding and enjoyable day with John Siddique, who is a specialist in poetry and creative writing. The first activity was to find a partner from a different school who was the opposite gender, and then to write five open questions to ask them. The idea was to find the story behind the person. Once they had completed the task, each child delivered a […]

Another freezing Friday forced Year 3 to retreat inside for their soil investigations. The children enjoyed an informative and fun day together finding out about soil: where it comes from, what is in it and how different types differ in form and structure. Did you know that if you dig deep enough you will come to a solid layer of rock? Mr. Phil dug a deep hole in the field and the children could see that there were different layers of soil and that the deeper they dug, the stonier the soil became. They could also see roots of plants, […]

On Wednesday 20th March, the children in Year 4 were visited by Shelterbox and learned that the charity provides thousands of large, green, durable boxes to countries all over the world where natural disasters have made thousands of people homeless. The boxes include items such as: a 10 person tent a portable cooking stove metal plates, pans, cups and bowls blankets sleeping bags and much more   The organisation, based in Cornwall, is now beginning to provide RED boxes in addition to the green, filled with equipment for portable classrooms. The children have been asked to think of fundraising ideas […]

On Wednesday 20th March, Year 1 went to the Chiltern Open Air Museum as a part of their topic on houses and homes. They started the day by learning about lighting in the past and found out that candles used to be made of animal fat called tallow. Next, they were given a chance to make their own beeswax candle. The weather was cold so they carefully warmed the wax in their hands before they could tightly roll it to make a candle. After a short walk, the group made their way to the brick shed, where they learnt about […]

It was very cold and wet on Friday 15th March as Year 3 set off on their outdoor visit to Amersham Field Centre. The miserable weather did not dampen the children’s enthusiasm and they had an exciting day building shelters for both themselves and an imaginary cyber pet. The activities supported the work Year 3 have been doing in science this term, investigating materials and their properties. For their first activity, the children were given the task of building a shelter to house five or six pupils. The shelter had to be stable and waterproof and use only the materials […]

On Monday 4th March, EYU had a visit from Dinostar Steve. The day started with a talk about dinosaurs, where the children in EYU learnt some amazing facts. They were able to handle and examine a wide range of artefacts, including a gigantic apatosaurus skull, a triceratops femur and two fossilised dinosaur eggs! The children listened attentively and asked some relevant questions in order to further their knowledge and understanding of a very popular topic. In the afternoon session, the children were thrilled to be able to do their own fossil rubbings and even make their own fossils. All the […]

It has been pleasing to see the development of this squad since last year and they have played particularly well this season, earning a place in the District Final. This was a very even and exciting match which had all concerned trying to predict who would eventually walk away with the cup. The match fizzed with energy as both teams attacked in an enthralling end to end match. Both defences stood strong and, although each team had chances to score, shots ran wide or lacked the power or accuracy to beat the keeper. Gateway probably had the better of the […]

The A team won their match 18-3 and the B team 17-0. Goals scored: Chloe B (3), Clare A (2), Libby B, Henrietta E (3), Katie B (1), Kiera H (4), Elise F (3), Jadeine J, Emily L (4), Emily N (2), Charlotte PJ (3), Amira M (3), Jessica T (1), Ella C (2), Orla G (1), Emily B (1) and Hannah B (2). Well played girls.

On Wednesday 13th March, the Year 5 A and B teams played netball matches against Heatherton House. The A match started well and both teams were evenly matched with good defending on both sides. Gateway inched ahead with one goal before the end of the first quarter. By half time Gateway settled into a rhythm and managed to score a further 2 goals in each of the quarters and finally winning 7-0. The A Team: Sasha G, Isobel M (3 goals), Ella R (2 goals), Mei-Ya L, Charlotte T, Harriet W (1 goal), Sophie W(1 goal) The B team game […]

On Tuesday 12th March, two Year 4 Netball teams from Gateway travelled to Gayhurst School to play in their first netball tournament. Seven teams were entered in the tournament, so each team had to play 6 matches. The other teams were Gayhurst 1 and 2, Long Close, York House and Charlotte House. The girls played their best netball on a very cold day, although their hands were suffering towards the end. For Team 1, Molly scored two goals, Hannah one goal and Amy one goal. For Team 2, Helen scored one goal. The games were very close and exciting, especially […]

It was with some trepidation that the Year 5 team travelled to Little Chalfont knowing that they faced strong opposition, a team who had beaten them in a friendly last year. The boys knew that they had to close down space and win possession to nullify Chalfont’s excellent passing game. The team made a great start and forced Little Chalfont on to the back foot. Will N created chances upfront supported by Sam W, Luc B, Ruairidh B in midfield. Jodi S and Tim E were exemplary in defence and Jake R, playing in goal, was rarely troubled. In the […]

Two wonderful performances by Gateway pupils brought great praise from the judges at the 2013 French Verse Speaking Festival held at St. Mary’s School in Gerrards Cross this week.   With twenty schools from our region participating in two sessions, each school was represented by just one candidate per year group. Megan McCleverty was chosen to represent Gateway Yr5 and gave a delightful rendition of the Year 5 poem J’aime le carnaval! (I love the carnival!). Chloe Bantock was chosen for Yr6 and recited Le jeu de cartes (The game of cards). Both poems are by Maurice Carême.   Indeed, […]