In the afternoon, Mr White shared some of his favourite poems, including Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, Benjamin Zephaniah's Talking Turkeys and Michael Rosen's Chocolate Cake and Strict - by the end of the day, we were all joining in with the performance!

We have also recorded some of the poems we have written in recent weeks. The videos have been uploaded to the video sharing website Vimeo but are not public and can only be viewed by using the password - Viking

I have read my book Becky the Best Friend Fairy by my fairy garden in my garden. I really enjoyed it and liked the characters.

Well done Lydia! 

Next i'm going to read Peter Rabbit 2.

Protect Our Planet – Children’s Global Message

The passion and conviction of young children in a public speaking competition has won high praise.

Pupils representing partner schools in the Viking Academy Trust – Upton Juniors, Chilton Primary and Ramsgate Arts Primary – were outstanding in their heart-felt presentations titled Climate Change - A World in Crisis.

Trust Executive Head Teacher Michaela Lewis was highly impressed by the way each school’s ‘champions’ approached the whole challenge, from researching their material and preparing their presentations, through their in-school heats and to the big final.

She said: “The courage and confidence show by the ten Trust-wide finalists was exemplary, but what set our winners apart wasn't just their confidence but the way they were able to connect with their audience.

“They showed great timing and structure in their speeches.  They spoke not only with their voices - their bodies and emotions also spoke volumes. 

“To be able to master this, aged between 7 and 10 years old, to an audience of hundreds of people was remarkable.

“It clearly demonstrated how deeply they feel about climate change. It is an important global topic that really resonated with our children who spoke from the heart - the passion and conviction shone through in each of the ten finalists

“Our public speaking challenges also illustrate well that communication is a two-way process. People are more willing to speak when they feel listened to.

“So our children were learning to be 'active listeners' too and developed skills in how to engage in conversations with attention and kindness. These are vital learning skills and valuable assets for the rest of their educational careers and in life in general.”