A HEADTEACHER has remarked on the success of the school year - despite only being half way through!

Pupils at St Matthew's Catholic Primary School, Highfield Lane, Prudhoe, have immersed themselves in a variety of activities across the school terms.

The school caters for nursery aged children up to Year 6.

"At St. Matthew's, we are passionate about providing an enriched curriculum which inspires creativity and builds confidence in our young people", said head Martin Gray.

"Despite the many challenges faced this year, we have been delighted to be able to continue to offer our children a breadth of experiences designed and chosen to provide them with opportunities to learn and grow. This year, our focus has really been on expanding our arts offer."

Children in Years 2 to 6 are all currently in the early stages of working towards an Arts Award accreditation and have many projects on the go, including the Year 6 production of Twelfth Night at the Northern Stage Theatre, Newcastle, on April 29. Working with the team from Coram's Shakespeare Schools Festival, the school's oldest children will have the opportunity to work with a professional stage crew to put on a performance for a large audience.

"We also continue to enrich our pupils' learning experiences in STEM subjects with several other exciting activities having taken place this year", added Mr Gray.

In the autumn term, pupils participated in marine engineering challenges; in a range of World Space Week activities and in research and learning about COP26 and the impact of climate change. Some pupils have even been working as judges for the Royal Society Science Book Awards which are to place in February.

Pupils have also supported the community by raising hundreds of pounds for homeless charity Shelter to help its important work.

Some children have also been on a residential trip to Scotland.

Mr Gray said: "It really has been a wonderful year so far at St. Matthew's and we're not even half way through it yet!"