Year 6

Welcome to Year 6!

I hope you had a wonderful summer and are looking forward to starting a new year at Holbrook. Our RoK topic unit for the autumn term is called the ‘World at War’. We will be learning all about WW1 and WW2. We will learn about conscription, trench warfare, The Blitz and the life of evacuees.

Our class text this half term is ‘Private Peaceful’ by Michael Morpurgo. Private Peaceful is a poignant story told by young Tommo Peaceful as he relives hi

s childhood and family life in rural England while facing death in the trenches of WW1. The novel contrasts the idyllic, bittersweet memories of his youth, filled with love for his family and friends, with the brutal horrors of war and the injustice faced by soldiers executed for cowardice or desertion. The narrative builds tension towards a dramatic conclusion, examining the nature of violence and the lasting impact of war on individuals and society.  

Our class text this term is ‘Boy in the Tower’ by Polly Ho-Yen. The story focuses on a boy called Ade as he and his mother try to escape their tower block as strange plants are attacking the city around them. The story explores themes of anxiety and depression and how people come together to help each other through difficult times.

• Polly Ho-Yen
  Link to author’s website

Our class text this spring term is Tom’s midnight garden by Philippa Pearce:

When Tom is sent to stay at his aunt and uncle’s house for the summer, he resigns himself to endless weeks of boredom. As he lies awake in his bed he hears the grandfather clock downstairs strike . . .eleven . . . twelve . . . thirteen . . .

Thirteen! Tom races down the stairs and out the back door, into a garden everyone told him wasn’t there. In this enchanted thirteenth hour, the garden comes alive – but Tom is never sure whether the children he meets there are real or ghosts . . . This entrancing and magical story is one of the best-loved children’s books ever written.

• Reading zone
  Link to information about the author Philippa Pearce