This week in geography, our Year 2s tackled a big concept: how we fit into the wider world. We started by recapping the four countries of the UK—and their capital cities—before narrowing our focus right down to our home city of Leeds.

While looking at a map of the UK, one student raised a brilliant question: “Why does Leeds look so tiny on the map when it’s actually huge?”

It was the perfect moment to talk about scale. To help them visualize it, we pulled out a whole range of maps, from massive wall maps down to detailed local street guides. The real lightbulb moment came when we pulled up digital maps on the screen. The children watched in awe as we zoomed out to see the entire UK, then zoomed right in until we could spot familiar streets, landmarks, and even the outline of our school grounds.

Watching their eyes light up as they realized how maps represent real-world spaces was fantastic. Questions like that show they aren’t just memorizing facts—they’re truly beginning to think like young geographers.

There’s always a lovely hum during our Year 2 reading for pleasure sessions, but this week took an unexpected turn.

Instead of grabbing the usual storybooks, a few children wandered over to the shelf and picked out atlases entirely on their own. Before long, small groups were huddled together over maps, tracing coastlines and pointing out countries. They were genuinely fascinated, sharing what they had found with each other.

As the geography teacher, I couldn’t help but feel a massive sense of pride. You spend so much time planning lessons to spark that spark of curiosity, but seeing seven-year-olds dive into the world map just because they wanted to is about as good as it gets.

It was a brilliant reminder that kids are natural explorers. Sometimes you just have to put the right books out and watch their imagination take off.

This week, Year 2 gathered in the main hall for a very special event: our Year 2 Booknic! The hall was transformed into a reading haven, complete with mats and piles of wonderful stories.

The children brought along their favorite books and spent a delightful afternoon diving into fantastic adventures and sharing tales with friends. It was wonderful to see the hall filled with quiet giggles, shared smiles, and captivated young readers.

Reading is at the heart of everything we do in Year 2. Events like our Booknic remind us that reading is not just an essential skill for learning, but a lifelong source of joy and imagination. Opening a book builds empathy, expands vocabulary, and lets children explore brand-new worlds.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our Booknic such a joyful success!

Welcome back to a brand-new school year! Our Year 2 classroom has been buzzing with excitement all week as the children have settled brilliantly into their new routines. It has been wonderful to see so many smiling faces, reconnecting with old friends and warmly welcoming new ones.

The children have worked so hard to learn our new class expectations, showing super listening skills and fantastic teamwork from day one. To celebrate such a successful first week, we headed outside into the hall for some fun group ball games! As you can see in the photos below, everyone had a brilliant time practising their throwing, catching, and passing skills while cheering each other on.

We are so proud of how mature and enthusiastic our new Year 2s have been this week. Thank you for all your support at home—it is going to be a fantastic year!