It’s a pirate’s life for King’s Ely Acremont pupils as new term gets under way

Children as young as ten-months-old have been enjoying swashbuckling adventures at King’s Ely Acremont this week.

The school’s pupils kicked off their new term with a host of adventures based on the world of pirates, with the reception class searching for Ginger the Bear who was kidnapped by the mischievous Captain Blackbeard.

The pupils united to find Captain Blackbeard’s ransom – thirty pieces of gold that were scattered around the school grounds – and return Ginger to safety.

In year one, the children learned about co-ordinates after discovering an old map, which they used to find buried treasure.

Thanks to a workshop hosted by ‘History Off the Page,’ the older children got the chance to explore the many aspects of pirate life, learning how to tie nautical knots, creating leather pouches and concocting homeopathic remedies made from herbs.

In the nursery, the children got into the spirit of the theme by dressing up in pirate costumes, and enjoyed an afternoon of storytelling by the older children.

Head of Acremont, Jonathan Willcocks, says that the pirate theme was a great way to get both pupils and teachers to be more creative.

He said: “Each term, an area of study is chosen by a year group, or sometimes the whole school, and learning is centred around this area for the duration of the term.

“The topic starts with a ‘wow’ feature to stimulate interest, launch the learning, generate a spark of interest in the children and capture their imagination. There is no ceiling or limit to the learning and certain elements are usually child-led. This is especially important as the creativity of the child’s mind is limitless and this is where the excitement stems from.”