It's great fun at Hawthorns First School

Take a peek inside this friendly little school in Poplar Road and it is easy to see that everyone there, be it the 140 youngsters, their parents, or the staff, feel like part of a family '“ just their smiles speak volumes.

Head teacher Kathy Offer has many reasons to be proud to lead the school.

She said: "Our children are very happy at Hawthorns and they feel secure. We really do treat each child as if they were our own. We have a lovely teaching environment and the children have fun while learning. They tackle everything with enthusiasm."

Lynne Watson, deputy head teacher, said: "Our children really appreciate what we do for them.

"We have fantastic grounds, with lots of wildlife, and the school is a wonderful place to work. We are a family and we get support from parents."

The school offers an exciting curriculum, which is made all the better thanks to its facilities '“ there's the fantastic outside grounds, a new library area, an activity area for the younger children, interactive whiteboards, a ICT suite, role- play areas and plans to develop the school further.

The children also benefit from, and are empowered by, having a voice on a pupil opinion group and Eco Schools team, the chance to sing for the award-winning choir, doing school productions, taking Spanish and dance lessons, and enjoying outings.

Hawthorns has many awards under its belt, including Artsmark Gold, Active Schools and Eco Schools bronze.

It also has a nursery on the site called Little Owls.

Youngsters have great fun learning. In reception and year one this week, they were learning all about the Chinese new year.

Brandon Martin and Caitlin Bradley were painting Chinese firework patterns. Delicious Chinese noodles were being made and eaten by Rosie Campagna, Patrick Clout and Daniel Snow.

Cameron Ahmed, four, couldn't wait to show the paper dragon he had made and Declan Bransby and Jordan Morgan were making Chinese fans.

In year two, youngsters, including Joshua Wood, Aiden Stent, Brett Enticknap, Caralina Foschini-Shaw, Megan Arnold, Lucy Brand, Christopher Robertson and Samuel Knight were working on a story about a penguin called Floe.

It was then time for them to do some marvellous maths, counting the number of sides different shapes had.