AT Paddock we work hard to make school enjoyable as well as a place of learning.

One way in which we try to do this is by offering our pupils a wide range of activities outside the normal curriculum.

These include French lessons for our Year 5 and 6 pupils.

During lunchtimes and after school we offer tennis, rugby, cricket and football clubs.

The football team have made an excellent start to the season, playing seven games with only one defeat so far.

We also have ICT, science and cartoon clubs involving many children throughout school.

Creativity is extremely important to us. Visiting artists including a sculptor, scratch musicians, rap poets and many others have helped to make school an exciting place to be.

However, our two most thrilling events are probably our residential trip to Northumberland offering pupils the chance to visit Seahouses on the Northumbrian coast for a whole week and our wonderful Creative Arts Week.

This Arts Week has seen staff and pupils create an opera, a circus and a technologically assisted theatre show over the past three years.

This year the project was in partnership with Royds Hall High School and Highfields School and involved creating a performance, with Full Body and the Voice a professional acting company, which was staged at the Lawrence Batley Theatre.

These and other events provide children with those special memories to take through life.

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Help from all our partners

EDUCATION is a partnership between school, home and the children.

We have taken many steps to strengthen the involvement of the whole community in the life of Paddock School.

Parents have been involved in a wide range of courses including Babies into Books, Computing, SHARE and Reading Friends.

Joining the parents in these activities have been our community reading friends including Mr and Mrs Robson and our two fantastic community constables, Terry and Gary.

We feel that it is important the children are involved in their own learning and in the life of the community.

Current projects involve the establishment of school and class councils which give elected members of each class the opportunity to represent their fellow pupils.

One very real benefit of this input will be seen in the new pupil-friendly playground on which work is due to start.

The playground planning began with the children suggesting ideas.

Together with the involvement of pupils in the e-democracy project and Paddock Community Forum, our children are beginning to develop a real sense of responsible citizenship within their school, and in the wider community.

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Nice one, son - By Ben Tibbott, Year 5

RECENTLY our school was the first in Kirklees to run a Fathers and Sons Conference.

All our Key Stage 2 boys and many fathers, grandfathers and stepfathers took part in a wonderful day, aimed at showing boys how to succeed in both education and life.

Gary Wilson, Kirklees LEA school contact officer, kindly delivered our keynote speech.

I took part with my dad in the cricket and cookery workshops.

Other activities to take place included poetry by Gez Walsh, music by Hugh Nankeville, scratch recording, science and mathematics.

If anyone would like to see the outcome of the day a group working with Roy Plum have produced a very professional recording. A big thankyou to Mrs Ratcliffe, our teacher, for organising the event.

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It's good to know you're among friends - By Jonathan Dyson, Year 5

BEFRIENDERS are children who help other children be safe in school.

Teacher Mrs Ratcliffe says: "Without Befrienders our playground would not be as welcoming a place as it is.

"Befrienders train and work hard to make other children feel happy, safe and cared for playtimes."

Befrienders will be helping in lots of events and hopefully we will help Paddock children enjoy their playtimes by playing games in a way that leaves everybody happy and ready to work hard in their next lesson.

Mrs Ratcliffe is the one who helps and trains the Befrienders.

We are positive and we will make it an even safer and more pleasant place to be at playtime.

The children at Paddock will always have someone to play with because Befrienders are trained to play with people as well.

All the children can recognise us because of our red hats.

We are just setting up our "Befrienders' Station" where people will know where to find us or leave us a message if they need to.

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Young achievers

AT Paddock School we are very proud of the ever-improving attainment of our pupils.

Over the past four years we have seen a significant and consistent rise in the number of pupils achieving level 4 and above in the Key Stage 2 SATs.

Last year in Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Stage 2 we exceeded the targets set for our pupils.

This reflects the hard work of parents, pupils and staff over a significant period of time.

Since 1999 the number of pupils achieving level 4 at the end of Key Stage 2 in numeracy have risen from 38% to 76% with 29 attaining level 5 and in English from 61% to 79% with 45% of children achieving level 5.

Well done children - keep up the good work!