Headteacher: Mrs Carol Taylor
Phone: 02380 843162
Year 3
Year 3 are practicing Mindfulness at the moment and yesterday were lucky enough to enjoy a Yoga session! Well done Year 3!



Celebration Assembly
1st May 2026
We have celebrated our DT stars of the week, Well done to them all!
Concert
29th April 2026
Yesterday we had our summer sounds concert which showcased musical talent across the school. We had instruments, solo performances and our rock choir performing!
They all did an amazing job and we would like to thank all the parents, carers and grandparents who came along to support the children who performed! Well done to them all.
Year 5
Thanks to Year 5 for a brilliant residential this week! You were amazing and we were really impressed with the positive attitude you showed to having a go at new activities and how well you worked together. Look forward to seeing you all tomorrow and talking about all your favourite bits.
Eco Club
Our Eco Warriors have been busy cleaning up our school grounds on Earth Day. They are all very passionate about looking after our environment.
Year 5
Year 5 have had a good evening and are excited to start the morning activities, a photo will follow later on today.
Year 5
Good morning from Year 5! We had a fantastic day yesterday and are looking forward to lots more fun today!

Year 4
Year 4 made their own bread and really enjoyed tasting it! Well done to them all!
Year 4
Year 4 would like to say a massive thank you to Mr Belsey from Edwards and Ward for helping us to make and bake our bread.

5DW
5DW had a brilliant afternoon making DT models with pulleys. Everyone worked really hard and showed great resilience!
Year 3 and 4
Year 3 and 4 were able to watch the Praizin Hands Puppet group this morning for assembly. Thank you so much to the group for performing for us!

World Book Day 2026
Bubble Bubble toil and trouble,The Year 6 team were in a huddle.....
The Year 6 team took on characters from Macbeth yesterday to celebrate World Book Day. They would like to thank the children for the effort that many of them made with their costumes. The team also want to celebrate how amazingly well the whole year group did in their mock SATS last week. It was calm, smooth and showed that our pupils are resilient and adaptable. We are so proud of you all!

Orchard Junior School had great fun at our world book day on Thursday 5th March! We had some amazing costumes so well done to all!
We have been awarded the good travel plan for our pupils walking and cycling to school. Thank you to everyone for your efforts!!

Year 5 Build a Book Day
at Noadswood
A group of Year 5 children had a fantastic time at Noadswood taking part in a Build a Book Day with Stewart Ross. We look forward to reading their book when it is all put together.
Year 5 Kisoboka Trust Update
Please click the link below to see how the Kisoboka trust is using the money year 5 raised for their water walk earlier this year!
Year 3
Year 3 have had the opportunity today to be taught how to make soup by Dave Belsey, who is in charge of our new catering company.
He taught the children how to chop, snip and grate vegetables and then taught them to sweat the vegetables ready for blending and tasting.
We had the best day.


Year 6
On Tuesday, Year 6 welcomed local historian Marc Heighway to speak to us about the impact of World War 2 on our local area. Children will be bringing home an ‘I-Spy’ activity from Marc that you may wish to do with them over the half-term break.
Year 4
On Wednesday, Year 4 visited Noadswood to find out more about the Vikings. We had a great day listening to an historical reenactor and handling artefacts. We also made Viking glue and created shields for a longboat.
Just a reminder to please park considerately in the local area, please also make sure to be careful whilst parking and reversing as there are so many children and parents in the area during the pick up and drop off times. We thank you for your continued support in this matter.
As announced at the PFTA AGM in October, thanks to the generosity of the OJS school community and the hard work put in by the PFTA team and helpers at various events throughout 2024/25, we were able to raise an amazing £16,000 to support the school in providing a wonderful environment to learn and have fun.
The monies raised were agreed at the AGM to be used to support various parts of the curriculum with some new equipment or materials along with over £10,000 going to support the much needed renovations in the school playground including Victoria’s Garden which was built in 1996 so next year will be 30 years old.
It was agreed at the AGM that the renovations in Victoria’s Garden, which are expected to cost over £30,000, would be the key focus of fundraising for 2025/26.Victoria’s Garden, which is a memorial space dedicated to a OJS student, is an important part of the playground for the children and needs a major renovation after serving the OJS community for nearly 30 years.
The PTFA are looking forward to our next fundraising events this term with the Christmas Wrap Rooms and Christmas Discos but to reach our goal as soon as possible we have posted QR codes in the playground which can be scanned to make one-off donations of any value via the PTFA Sum Up platform.
All donations, big or small, can help us reach our goal faster!
Many thanks,
PTFA Committee
We’re proud to announce that Orchard Junior School has achieved the Gold School Games Mark for the second year in a row! A huge well done to all our pupils and staff for their outstanding commitment to sport and physical activity.
This year, we’ve further expanded sporting opportunities across the school - boosting the number of intra-school events and setting a new participation record in inter-school competitions!
#TeamOrchard #SchoolGames #GoldMark2025

Seatbelt Safety
Click here to see some information about Seatbelt Safety from the Road Safety Team
Year 6 Multiplication Support
If your child would like some support with Multiplication or would like to do some more multiplication work. Please use the QR Codes Provided.

School Notices























⚽️ Mr Ramsey’s Football Clinic is excited to be hosting a number of football opportunities at Orchard & Noadswood over the coming months!📅
Tuesday 26th May 🔥 Half Term Player Development Day
⏰ 9:00am–3:00pm
A high-energy day focused on technical development, 1v1 confidence, game-realistic practices, small-sided games and athletic movement work in a positive, player-centred environment.
👥 Age Groups: • Boys: School Years 3–6 • Girls: School Years 4–9⚽️
Summer Football Development Programme 📍 Orchard Junior School 📅 Thursdays (6 Weeks: 4th June - 9th July)⏰ 6:00pm–7:00pmDesigned to help players prepare for next season through technical development, speed & agility work, 1v1 development, decision making and football-specific fitness in engaging, progressive sessions.
👥 Age Groups: • Boys: School Years 3–6 • Girls: School Years 4–9
Also, Starting September 2026:⚽️ Football Development Centre 2026/27 📍 Noadswood School Astro Pitch 📅 Mondays (7th Sept - 22nd March)⏰ 5:00pm–6:00pm
Weekly development centre programme providing separate boys & girls groups with player-centred coaching focused on confidence, technical ability, creativity, decision making and match-realistic learning to support long-term development alongside club football.
👥 Groups: • Boys: School Years 4–7 • Girls: School Years 4+
All sessions have limited spaces, early booking is recommended to secure a space.
🌐 For more information or to book: thefootballclinicuk.com footballclinicuk@gmail.com







