Children at a West Norfolk Academies Trust primary were scaling new heights when they celebrated the end of half-term.

The pupils at Heacham Junior School spent the day testing their mettle on a climbing wall, where they were also joined by an intrepid member of staff.

“The event was an end-of-half-term enrichment experience for our pupils,” explained Emma Hunt, Executive Deputy Headteacher at the school.

“All the pupils took part. The climbing wall was with us all day, so each year group had an hour-and-a-quarter slot, which gave them plenty of time to enjoy it.”

The wall was supplied by Climb Higher Ltd, whose instructors were on hand to coach and support the children as they donned safety harnesses to practise their climbing skills.

“Events and experiences like this aim to enhance the educational experiences of children, enabling them to develop skills, explore interests, and build social connections beyond the curriculum,” continued Mrs Hunt.

“The climbing wall was primarily aimed at providing pupils with an enjoyable end-of-half-term experience that invariably helped improve confidence and social skills, as well as building self-esteem.”

It wasn’t just the children that took on the challenge of the wall, as one staff member was also inspired to reach for the heights.

“Our Assistant Headteacher, Ashley Kirwan, joined the challenge, and climbed to the top to ring the bell,” added Executive Headteacher Louise Jackson.

“It was really inspiring for the staff to see the pupils be brave and determined – some also reached the top to ring the bell, while others were happy to cheer on friends.”

It was a day of celebration and shared memories when children at a WNAT school commemorated the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II.

The pupils at Snettisham Primary arrived at the school gates sporting patriotic red, white, and blue for Victory in Europe (VE) Day on Thursday 8 May.

All age groups at the school also enjoyed a street party-style lunch, for which the children made and decorated their own party hats.

Besides the celebrations, there were opportunities to discover more about VE Day, and to discuss those who had experienced the War.

"We had a whole-school assembly to learn about VE Day, and shared memories of grandparents that might have been involved in the War,” said Assistant Headteacher Ellie Jones.

Other WNAT members holding VE Day events included Heacham Infant and Junior Schools, Clenchwarton Primary, Walpole Cross Keys Primary, and Marshland and Smithdon High Schools.

Sprinter Ella Goldring is heading to an Ivy League university in the summer to try out life in America thanks to receiving a prestigious scholarship.

Ella, an A-level student at Springwood High School, had been exploring the opportunity to study abroad off the back of her athletics as she was approached by an agent to take up a place in America, but the cost proved prohibitive.

“After research, I came to a bit of a dead end and decided to ask a teacher if he knew of anything, and he told me about the Sutton Trust Fulbright USA Programme and where I could apply,” she said.

There was stiff competition as around 1,800 students applied to be in her cohort, and only 120 places were available for UK students to take part. The process included a three-day residential session at Nottingham University.

Ella,17, is studying A-levels in maths, physics and economics.

“We have weekly assignments to prepare us for the US admission process. This includes a lot of writing about our extra-curriculars and studying for tests and documenting financial aid forms. The US process is very holistic, which is vastly different to how we’ve been taught to apply to UK universities,” she said.

Ella will be heading to Princeton for a week in New Jersey in July, and it will be her first trip across the Atlantic. It will also give her the chance to experience life in America as a student which will be invaluable if she ends-up studying overseas.

“I’m looking forward to experiencing American culture and seeing how their lives compare to ours. My parents are very excited for me, especially my mum as she travelled a lot when she was younger, including to America. It’s not my first trip alone, in high school I went to Italy, France and Spain. However, these are not nearly as far away as America.”

With ambitions of a future in engineering, Ella is aiming to secure a place at a Russel Group university in London, either University College London or King’s. But she is a talented athlete and has also researched Loughborough and universities in America where the facilities are advanced.

“I have thought about engineering management, automotive engineering and even petroleum engineering. I also aspire to be a pro athlete, as I am a sprinter and run the 100 and 200m,” she said.

One of our teachers has more than doubled her fundraising target to help the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

Michelle Ryan took part in the recent 10k GEAR run in King’s Lynn, and was supported by pupils and colleagues at Clenchwarton Primary School,  where she has taught for 24 years.

Her initial target of £300 raised on the online JustGiving sponsorship page has been completely smashed and currently stands at £785 - more than 260 per cent of her self-set target.

A group of young runners from her school, a member of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, also took part in GEAR and completed the mini-event before cheering Mrs Ryan on for her longer run.

The air ambulance was chosen after an incident near the school in 2023 when a life was saved because of the prompt medical action of staff and the arrival of the distinctive helicopter to take the patient to a specialist hospital where they survived.

Although Mrs Ryan had taken part in the GEAR event before, it had been several years and she trained hard for the event, juggling work, family and training to make sure she could complete the course.

Children in her Year 4 class are currently working towards their EAAA Challenge badge and recently raised £134.20 from a cake sale they held at the school.

Mrs Ryan’s fundraising page is still open on the JustGiving website, and can be found here.

Young photographers from a WNAT school came together to showcase their talents at an exhibition held over the May Bank Holiday weekend at St Faith’s Church in King’s Lynn.

Forty students from Springwood High School joined pupils from primary schools in the area to display their work at the five-day event, which ran from Thursday 1 to Monday 5 May, and took as its theme ‘New Life’.

“This was an exhibition with St Faith’s and the schools in the Diocese,” said Lee Eveson, who is Head of Art and Photography at Springwood, and organised the show with the help of Revd Kyla Sorensen, and staff from the participating primaries.

“The theme ‘New Life’ was chosen due to the fact that we were close to Easter.”

The Springwood photographers ranged from Key Stages 2 to 5, with each contributing a piece to the exhibition.

“Seeing 40 different individual photographs, which showed a personal response to the theme of New Life, was really interesting, and we had some very different interpretations,” continued Mr Eveson, who is himself an award-winning artist.

“I am always amazed by the intelligence and creativity of all of our students.”

The event was followed by a visit to Springwood by Revd Sorensen to present the Rector’s Award for her favourite ‘New Life’ photograph, which went to A Level student Martha Johnson.

It was the first time that the school had staged an exhibition at St Faith’s, but there are plans to make it a regular fixture.

“We are thinking biannually,” added Mr Eveson. “We will also be taking students down to the church later in the year to do plein air drawing, which I think will be a great experience for them.

“It is not only a beautiful building which draws visitors from across the world to see its paintings and stained-glass windows, but a vibrant and growing community of people led by an inspirational rector who I have very much enjoyed working with.”

The anniversary of VE Day was particularly poignant to a student at Smithdon High School who helped create a special display in the school library.

The teenager has grown-up with stories of his great-grandfather who flew a bomber in World War II.

“I have heard all his amazing stories from my grandad, including one about how he got frostbite in both legs. I’d already been really interested in the world wars since primary school when I first found some books about them. But hearing those family stories made it feel more real to me. That’s what really sparked my interest in World War II history, especially the planes,” said Charles Werner-Smith.

Set-up with help from librarian Marie Taylor, memorabilia on show at the school included items borrowed from the Norfolk County Council Library Service, which ranged from wartime propaganda posters to celebration pictures taken 80 years ago.

“Charles has a keen interest in World War II, especially the planes. He wanted to commemorate VE Day and approached me with the idea of creating a small display in the library,” she said.

There was also a mini street party with sausage rolls, cake, lemonade and music from Dame Vera Lynn which gave students the chance to step back in time and reflect on the day, and what had happened during the war years.

A group of students also joined the town’s official event held at the war memorial, known as the Cenotaph, this morning (8) when the commemorative flag was raised. Saturday sees a Gala Day at the Town Hall from 2.30pm. A street party is being held on Sunday from noon after a parade and service.