William Barcroft Junior School
'Success and happiness for all'
'Pupils are very happy to attend this nurturing and inclusive school'
'The school has high ambition for pupils' achievement'
'Pupils know they have a strong voice'
'The school's pastoral care is exemplary'
Ofsted report - June 2025
https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/143884
Good afternoon everyone and welcome to this week’s newsletter, at the end of an extremely busy fortnight. I must start, of course, with our superstars in year 6 who have absolutely shone this week. They have all given absolutely everything during SATs week and I am incredibly proud of every single one of them. The determination and resilience was outstanding, and they fully deserve their ‘Fab Friday’ today! Thank you to parents for supporting and encouraging the children and ensuring they were here bright and early each day.
Year 5 have also been busy with their trips to Into University. This is an important part of our ambition value, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. They also have their sleepover tonight in school; definitely the delight and joy value in action here!
Next week is an incredibly busy week, with sports day for years 5 and 6 on Tuesday afternoon, and sports day for years 3 and 4 on Thursday morning, as well as our Colour Run on Thursday afternoon. We also have a football match against Elliston Academy (Monday) and year 4 violin performances on Wednesday, so a very busy week!
We are sadly saying goodbye today to one of our longest serving members of staff. Our cleaner Mrs Boulter is retiring after 29 years at William Barcroft! We would like to say a huge thank you for all of the hard work over the years and wish her a very happy retirement.
Thank you everyone, that’s all for this week. Just a reminder that we finish for half term next week on Friday 22nd at normal time (1.05pm or 3.15pm for club). Have a lovely weekend everyone.
S Sargent
Principal
This term, every time your child is present for the morning register they will receive a dojo point before the day has even begun! The children are aware that we are working on punctuality as a whole school so that we can start our day of well and this is a great incentive to support this.
Please can you help to support getting your child to school at 8.35am before the register is taken.
If you have not yet registered for Dojo, please do so as it will allow you to see how many points your child collects. The link has been sent out to you by email previously, but if you have any problems, please contact the office.
Summer 1
Friday 15th May - Y5 Sleepover
Tuesday 19th May - Y5 & Y6 Sports Day
Wednesday 20th May - All school violin performances
Thursday 21st May - Y3 & Y4 Sports Day
Thursday 21st May - Colour Dash (afternoon)
Term ends Friday 22nd May (normal time)
Summer 2
New term starts Monday 1st June
Tuesday 2nd June - School Photographs
Friday 5th June - Empathy Day
Wed 10 - Fri 12 June - Y6 Back to Bear (residential)
Mon 15 - Fri 19 June - Y3/Y4/Y5 Test Week
Tue 22 - Fri 26 June - Y6 Into University days
Thur 2 / Fri 3 July - Transition Day
Tuesday 7th July - Y6 Results Day
Thursday 9th July - Summer Fayre
Tuesday 14th July - Y3 Learning Showcase
Wednesday 15th July - Y6 Beach Trip
Thursday 16th July - Y5 Graduation & Learning Showcase
Friday 17th July - Y4 Learning Showcase
Monday 20th July - Talent Show
Tuesday 21 July - Y6 Party
Wednesday 22nd July - Y6 Leavers Assembly
Term ends Wednesday 22nd July at 2pm
Term dates
Please check the website for 2025 - 2026 term dates.
Just a reminder to everyone that straight after the half term break we will be having our photographer in to take the class photographs. Please can you ensure that all students are wearing full school uniform and are looking shiny and bright.
We will be holding our Colour Dash (fun run) to raise funds for Lifting Children's Hopes on Thursday 21st May. The Colour Dash will take place in the afternoon on school grounds. This video shows what a Colour Dash entails for those that have not heard of it before.
We currently have over 100 children signed up to take part in the Colour Dash, but there is still time to sign up and we would encourage all students to take part. If you are happy for your child to take part, please just sign up in Arbor.
Full details have already been sent out by email and in hard copy, but if you have any queries or require a new sponsorship form, please do contact the office.
For parents whose children take violin lessons, you are invited to attend a violin performance for their child, run by our music teacher Mrs Townell.
The performances will take place on Wednesday 20th May. Performance times:
Bluebells 1.20pm
Roses 2pm
Daffodils 2.40pm
Places are limited to 2 per child. Please book places through Arbor (in the school shop).
General Information
Please can we remind parents to be respectful of residents and not park over dropped kerbs or use driveways to turn.
Please do not ride bikes and scooters on the school grounds, this is for children and adults. This is for the safety of our children, thank you.
Please note, electric scooters are not allowed on the school site due to health and safety regulations and not having the facilities to store them in school.
Please do not bring pets onto the school site due to health and safety regulations. This includes picking up from after school clubs.
PE Kits
PE kit MUST be brought to school on your child's PE days,
Year 3 and Year 4 - Monday and Wednesday
Year 5 and Year 6 - Tuesday and Thursday
PE kit should be worn for every PE lesson to ensure children are successful and safe during their session. Please ensure your child is wearing the school PE top with the WBJS logo, black or blue joggers/shorts and comfortable trainers.
WBJS Newsround
We’ve been very busy and working super hard in lessons. In English, we finally finished our Big Write where we got to make up our own ending for Chapter 15 of James and the Giant Peach. Some of my friends wrote really funny endings that made the whole class laugh!
In Maths, we have been learning all about 2D and 3D shapes. We found out what an angle is and looked at all different types of lines. My favourite part was the practical lesson where we turned nets into 3D shapes. We also started a brand new history topic about the Ancient Egyptians, which is so cool. In Science, we have been learning all about our muscles and what we use them for. I didn't know we had so many!
It has been another exciting and busy few weeks in Year 4, packed full of investigation, teamwork, and active learning!
In English, we have begun planning and writing our very own newspaper articles based on The Highland Falcon Thief. The children have been gathering evidence, interviewing “witnesses,” and discussing who they believe the thief could be. At the moment, Milo is our prime suspect, and the classroom has been buzzing with theories and dramatic headlines!
Science lessons have certainly been memorable as we explored the digestive system and discovered exactly what happens to food from the moment it enters our mouths. We even carried out a practical demonstration using a pair of tights to represent the large intestine, which caused plenty of laughter while helping us understand this important process!
In History, we have been learning all about the Roman Army and discovering what made the Roman soldiers so successful. The children particularly enjoyed designing and creating their own Roman shields, carefully thinking about patterns, colours, and symbols that would make their shields stand out in battle.
We have also been busy preparing for our upcoming violin performance with a final rehearsal, showing fantastic concentration and teamwork. To keep our energy levels high, we joined the live Joe Wicks workout event and completed an energetic exercise session together — a brilliant way to stay active and have fun as a class!
Year 5 have had a brilliant couple of weeks. We have been learning about symmetry and reflections in Maths, and have been looking at how to write persuasive letters in English. We all enjoyed our Into University trips, where we got to be Forensic Scientists for the day. We looked for clues and analysed them to solve the crime of the missing iPad.
In History, we have continued learning about the Vikings, and in Science we have looking at the life cycles of different living things. We are so excited for our upcoming sleepover and have been discussing what good sleep hygiene looks like.
This week, Year 6 completed their SATs and we are all very proud of ourselves! We worked extremely hard in the weeks leading up to the tests and spent lots of time revising in class and at home. Even though some of us were nervous, we tried our best and showed great determination and resilience throughout the week.
After all our hard work, we had an amazing Fab Friday celebration to reward ourselves. We enjoyed lots of fun activities with our friends, laughed loads and had a brilliant time together. One of the best parts of the day was getting a delicious ice cream treat, which everyone loved!
We would like to say a big thank you to all the teachers and staff who supported and encouraged us during SATs week. We are so proud of what we have achieved and are excited for the rest of our final year at primary school!
We held our first family cooking club session on Monday and it was a huge success.
The 6 week course started off with a discussion on food and healthy eating and then the group made fruit kebabs and funny faces, experimenting with some exotic fruits. Both parents and children take part so that they all learn cooking skills together and will hopefully come away with new skills and new recipies. Looking forward to next week where we will be making spaghetti bolognaise and chill con carne.
William Barcroft 3 v 2 Elliston Primary
The game started cagey from both sides but it was the visitors who found themselves ahead after they had hit a powerful shot from inside the box past Oliver in goal. Barcroft tried to get level with a few long distance shots from Ronnie, which were gathered by the goalkeeper. Theo, Ronnie and Frankie had pressed well and for a 5 minute spell, they had kept Elliston in their own half. Elliston countered a few times but Oliver made some good saves to keep us in the game. Just before half time, Theo broke through the Elliston defence and slotted the ball past the Elliston keeper. The first half ended 1-1.
Mr Dawes had given feedback to the players on how to defend effectively and press as a team to win the ball back.
The second half started just like the first where Elliston took the lead with a deflected, looping shot finding its way into the top corner. Barcroft picked themselves up and worked hard to find that equaliser. Kaleb worked extremely hard in midfield and defence, showing fantastic versatility across the pitch. The equaliser was found when Ronnie latched onto a loose ball and slotted the ball beyond the Elliston keeper. With 7 minutes remaining William Barcroft showed immense character with Oliver making an incredible triple save to keep us in the game with one of the most bravest goalkeeping performances seen in a William Barcroft shirt. With 3 minutes left William Barcroft took the lead thanks to Ronnie again who had hit a through ball towards Theo. Theo missed the ball, which had tricked the Elliston keeper and slipped under his legs. The ball trickled into the goal. The goal went to Ronnie, who had bagged his second.
This was a fantastic game from both schools and with both teams having not played together, this bodes well for next year’s tournaments. Man of the match went to Kaleb. The work Kaleb produced normally goes unnoticed because he hadn’t scored or assisted but he broke up Elliston attacks really well and started many attacks for William Barcroft. On top of this, he played almost every position going throughout the game. Versatility is hard to find in a player but Kaleb offers that in abundance. Thank you to parents who had supported both teams!
William Barcroft 0 v 4 Healing Primary
The game started quite evenly. With both teams trying to figure each other out. Reagan collected stray balls well to cut out their attack. Frankie also hit a shot narrowly over the bar. The half ended 1-0 to the visitors with nearly the last kick of the first half. The Healing attacker skipped past the Barcroft defender and slotted neatly into the bottom corner.
Half time had arrived and the team rested in preparation for the second half. Mr Dawes had told the team about the dangers of lunging in too early and about how to slow down the attack especially if they are the last defender. The team listened well and this was evidenced in their second half defending.
The second half began and within minutes the Healing midfielder tried a pot shot from distance which had slipped under Reagan’s hands as he faced the low sun in his eyes all second half. 2-0 to Healing. The spirit of Barcroft wasn’t gone and they pushed for a goal with Frankie hitting the post. With Barcroft tiring they had found themselves 3-0 down due to an own goal by Benaiah. He blocked the cross which had been deflected towards our own goal. By this time, a few heads had dropped but some players really impressed Mr Dawes with their determination and perseverance to keep going. Jack displayed some excellent defending in the second half and listened to advice from Mr Dawes which had stopped countless Healing attacks. With minutes left, Healing added a fourth and the game was over.
The result was not a true reflection on the game and Mr Dawes explained this to the team, who were rightly downhearted. However, they understood the feedback from Mr Dawes and as Mr Dawes quoted “Footballers learn more in defeat than in victory!” and that this will make them better footballers. Man of the match went to Frankie, who had shown the right attitude and tried his best to get on the scoresheet. He received his trophy from Mr Dawes. Thank you to all parents who supported both schools! It was a lovely event played in the right manner and showcased our DANCE values extremely well.
This week, Year 5 all took part in their day long "Into University" workshops. At these workshops, students had the opportunity to experience a potential subject they could study at university - Forensic Science! In the morning, we learned how to preserve a crime scene, examine DNA and analyse evidence using scientific techniques such as chromatography.
Our favourite part was using balloons to look at enlarged versions of our finger prints, where we learned that everyone's finger print is different and unique to them. In the afternoon, we applied our newly learned skills to solve the crime of the missing iPad. Students had to examine multiple pieces of evidence and deduce who would have the motive and the opportunity to commit the crime. Year 5 were fantastic detectives!
This week we say goodbye to Di who retires after working at WBJS for 29 years! What a way to celebrate her 70th Birthday.
We all wish Di all the best in her retirement and hope that she has a fantastic trip to Ireland.
Follow this link to visit the safeguarding section of our website, and for a copy of our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy. https://wba.harbourlearningtrust.com/our-academy/safeguarding/
Change the life of a local child, be a foster carer. Enquire today Fostering in North East Lincolnshire | NELC
As a foster friendly school, we want to raise awareness of the need for local foster carers to come forward in the area. If you think you can make a positive difference to a child’s life, enquire today. Fostering in North East Lincolnshire | NELC https://youtu.be/sNXx6dycp3Y
For all SEND enquiries please contact Mrs Asher our school SENDCO.
Please check out the following links to our X (Twitter) accounts and see what each class have been up to this week in real-time!
