School Events Gallery
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Mrs Briggs leaving assembly

We said farewell to Mrs Briggs at assembly as she starts her maternity leave.  We to thank her for her teaching service to our school and her leading role in Religious Education.

Mrs Briggs will be missed very much, her dedication and commitment to our school and parish has been immense and I hope that she returns to teaching when her family commitments allow.

​We wish her continued good health and wellbeing and look forward to meeting her new baby in December. 

Wonka bar prize winners

Pictured are 3 of our prize winning pupils with their Golden Ticket and Roald Dahl book prize.

Congratulations all!

English Martyrs Summer Fayre

On Sunday 16th July English Martyrs School held it's Summer Fayre.  This event was organised by our new highly driven Parent Association who all pulled together to make this a fantastic event.

Cook-a-Thon

Pupils in years 3, 4, 5 & 6 were treated to a cook-a-thon today.  Staff from Tower Hamlets came into school and with the help of 'Celebrity' chefs, raced to cook a meal in 15 minutes with a bag or mysterious foods. Our celebrity chefs were Mrs Pannell and Mrs Pinkerton.

Mrs Pinkerton (green team) cooked a chickpea & veg curry and Mrs Pannell (orange team) cooked a chicken & pasta bake.  Both teams were supported by 2 pupils each.

Recipes for their chosen dishes are available to download below.

Chicken & Vegetables Pasta Bake recipe

Chickpea and vegetable Balti recipe

Foundation Stage Sports Day

Foundation Stage held their sports day in the school playground supported by year 5 pupils.

The afternoon was a great success with pupils and parents enjoying the sunshine while it lasted.

​Coach Smokie organised games and the parent association organised refreshments stand.

English Martyrs Church Art competition

Art competition winners were awarded prizes at assembly today.  Well done all.

English Martyrs fundraising craft fayre

Pupils held a craft fayre on Friday 16th June to raise funds for the school.  

Each class had their own stall and sold crafts which the pupils had made themselves.  The whole event was a great success and was attended by many parents.

Maths & Science week - parent volunteers

The week commencing Monday 12th June, English Martyrs celebrated Science and Maths through an exciting week of activities. 
 
The objective for the week was to alight a love for science and maths through practical and real-life experiences.  
 
To enrich this week further, we asked for parents who work in science and maths backgrounds to volunteer some time to come and tell the children about their job.  We hoped this would inspire future careers in these subjects.

TasteEd workshops

Pupils in Y4, Y5 & Y6 had TasteEd workshops with David & Michelle from Tower Hamlets Healthy Lives team.  They chopped veg and fruit and asked pupils try them and give explanation of how they looked, tasted and sounded when they bit into them

Students were willing to try new foods and all enjoyed the sessions and gave positive feedback.
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​Year 5 gardening

Year 5 seeds have now germinated.  Seedlings of Courgettes, Squash and Marrow which have now been planted in the vegetable patch on the school grounds.


​Year 5 & 6 Assembly

Pupils in year 5 & 6 presented a Holy Spirit Assembly reminding us of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruits we bear from them.

​Songs and dances were performed as a powerful symbol for the power of prayer.


​Class Chess Champion

​Rayan was awarded Y5 class Chess Champion 2023.

Year 5 Architecture Workshop

Y5 were given the opportunity to participate in a design workshop for a wall mural to be displayed in Mansell Street.  The focus was Architecture and Urban Design linked to history – The Bartholomew Fair.  The morning began with a presentation where we discussed the design and then we got creative.  At the end of the session we brought everyone’s designs together into one long wall art.
 
The artwork will soon be displayed in Mansell street for viewing.


​Crowning of Mary

Pupils celebrated the crowning of Mary at assembly today. 

​Parents and pupils donated flowers for the May Altar for Our Lady which is our prayer focus this month.

Our families and friends are invited to send flowers to honour Mary and to pray at Our Lady’s altar in the school hall each morning.


​King Charles III Coronation Celebration

The staff and pupils were thrilled to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III with a family picnic and concert. With a heavy downpour at 12 noon, we really appreciate the stoicism of our families who came anyway to picnic in the festively decorated hall.

One of our Y6 boys was crowned King for a day and given his own man servant.  He was served lunch by his loyal staff and sat royally watching the performances.
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We enjoyed the children's singing, the art gallery and a display of Country Dancing.  Mrs Simon, our music teacher, truly brought to life the words attributed to St Augustine, ' The one who sings, prays twice.'

It made a memorable afternoon and when the sun appeared, the Gospel of Matthew 25:31-46 was perfect.

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him."


​Lent boxes - Catholic Children's Society

Lent boxes were given to all families to take home and pupils were encouraged to make an extra effort over Lent to fast from a special treat and give the cost to this charity before bringing their lent boxes back to school.

A group of English Martyrs Y5 girls made cakes to sell following Mass at St Patrick's Church to raise funds for CAFOD.  The cakes were a hit with the parishioners and raised a total of £382.


​Eid Assembly

English Martyrs celebrated Eid in an assembly where the children learned about the fourth pillar in Islam - Sawm (Ramadan/fasting) and how Muslims celebrate Eid.

They learned about some traditions and prayers as well as the reason why Muslims fast for a month which is to be close to God as well as learning to be humble.
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Each class was presented with plates of Eid food to join in the Eid celebrations.​

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​Easter egg hunt

Thank you to those families who donated Easter eggs for our hunts this week.  Pupils in Nursery and Reception had their hunt on Wednesday and pupils in Years 1 – 6 took part in their hunt today.  Both events were a great success.


​Toby Lane catering staff visit

Staff from Toby Lane Catering Unit visited school to offer parents samples from the new menu.  The new menu will start after the Easter holidays.

The session was well attended and families had the chance to speak to catering staff regarding the ingredients and recipes used.  Staff received positive feedback on the new menu.  

A copy of the new menu can be found here.
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​Sporting achievements

Pupils in years 5 & 6 attended Tower Hamlets Hockey, football and Gymnastics competitions with some some attaining first place.  All pupils had a great time.

​World Book Day
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Children were asked to come to school as their favourite book character OR choose 3 items that explain their book. (For example - red shoes, a Witches hat and a stuffed lion for The Wizard of OZ!) and we tried to guess the title. During the day each child had a chance to show their costume or props at our world book day parade.  All classes participated in a World Book Day assembly

​Theatre in Education workshop

To celebrate World Book Day, classes from Reception to Year 6 had a visit from ‘West-End in schools’, a company who provide theatre in education workshops held by professional West End Performers.
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By exploring children’s books through drama, children have the chance to experience storytelling first-hand. Using techniques drawn from a professional theatre, they will gain confidence alongside a new understanding of the characters and themes as they live and breathe the story.

Reception and Years 1 and 2 attended a workshop about ‘The Gruffalo’ and Key Stage 2 a workshop about ‘Boy at the Back of the Class'.

Year 3 at the Pantomime

Year 3 were invited by Pricewaterhouse Coopers to watch a pantomime at the Peacock Theatre.  They watched 'Babes in the Wood' followed by a sing-a-long.  Pupils were taken by coach and provided with a snack at the interval.  The whole afternoon was a great success.  

Chinese New Year

Pupils were offered a Chinese lunch today to celebrate Chinese New Year, the year of the Rabbit.  The menu consisted of BBQ Chicken Bao Bun, Vegetarian Chow Mein served with delicious sides of Asian Slaw, Sweetcorn and Carrots followed by an Orange Jelly with Mandarin segments.  Key Stage 1 pupils were entertained by Y6 pupils singing Chinese songs.

Elizabeth's last day

Pupils bid farewell to Elizabeth, our school cook, as she moves on from us to another school.  The pupils made leaving cards and sang to her at their Christmas lunch.


​Year 5 class creative activities

Year 5 made Angels, Christmas clay models, fabric designs & sewing in class this week.


​It's snowing at English Martyrs

Pupils enjoyed playing in the snow in the school playgrounds today.
Year Victorian day

Year 6 celebrated Victorian day by coming to school dress as poor and rich Victorian children.  The whole school day, from start to finish, was an experience they were glad they did not have to live through.

From a dark and dingy classroom to to eating scraps of food from the floor was all part of the experience.  The whole day was a great success.

Year 6 also went Carol singing at 'The Loom' (an old Victoria wool storage house) dressed in their Victorian clothes.
Year 5 carol singing

Pupils in year 5 were invited to sing carols at 125 Old Broad Street in the city.  The pupils sang standing around their Christmas tree enjoyed themselves and were delighted with their 'goodie' bag.  The children singing raised £160.


​Hosanna Rock

Pupils in years 1, 2 and 3 presented their Nativity Play 'Hosanna Rock' for their parents in school.  The friends and families were very impressed and the children loved performing.​
Daily Mile

English Martyrs has signed up to join the Daily Mile from September.  The Daily Mile is very simple. Every class goes out each day in the fresh air to run or jog at their own pace for 15 minutes. Most children will average a mile in the 15 minutes, with some doing more and some doing less. It is not competitive though some will compete and that is fine.  It is not PE, sport or cross-country but physical activity in a social setting which is aimed at improving the children’s physical, social, emotional and mental health, and wellbeing.
 
The Daily Mile can help children to focus and concentrate in the classroom making them more learning-ready. And most importantly, the children really enjoy it. Since 2015, The Daily Mile has been adopted by almost 8,000 schools in the UK alone, proving extraordinarily popular with thousands of children, parents and teachers. 


​Cricket

Congratulations to Years 5 & 6 cricketers who received the Silver medal in Tower Hamlets School Sport.
Athletics

Competitors in the Tower Hamlets Sportshall Athletics competition.
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​Fire - performed by Year 4

Year 4 presented songs from the musical ‘Fire’ to parents in school today.  The songs came from the Classical Roadshow they attended in Milton Court Concert Hall, in Barbican which they were invited to in October.  ‘Fire’ tells the dramatic story of the Great Fire of London (1666), through the words of Samuel Pepys (diarist) and Jane Birch (his sensible young housemaid).  They tell of the four days that changed London forever

​Anti-Bullying week

During Anti-Bullying week, pupils have been identifying who they could ‘reach out’ to if they felt unsafe.

​Pupils were also invited to wear odd socks to school to celebrate ‘we are all different’.
Stone Age workshop

Pupils in year 3 and year 4 enjoyed reliving some elements of the Stone Age this week when they participated in a Stone Age workshop.

​The children listened attentively and undertook Stone Age training with enthusiasm! They worked together as a large group and in smaller groups.
​The Daily Mile – The Road to Qatar
 
Pupils in Reception to Year 6 take part in the 'Daily Mile' throughout the week, but to encourage participation, we have designed a game called 'The Road to Qatar' to coincide with the World Cup.  A map of the world is on display in the school hall with a picture of animals which have been nominated to each class. This animals’ ‘journey’ will be tracked from London to Qatar using the miles run each week by their class.  The totals will be converted into percentages and displayed for all to see on the map which will stay on display to show their journey so far.  By the end of the tournament we get to see who arrives in Qatar first.  At the end of the world cup, the winning class will have a treat.  Classes are encouraged to compete with each other.   The 'Road to Qatar' was designed, explained and promoted to all pupils and staff by a parent governor.
Remembrance Assembly

Year 5 pupils presented the ‘Remembrance Assembly’ in the school hall on Friday 11th November to the whole school.

All parents were welcome and event was well attended.

Parents stayed for coffee following the assembly and looked at the wonderful display of 'trenches' the children had made at home and Poppies they made at school with the names of families members and friends lost in conflict on them.
Years 1 & 2 Maths Workshop

Parents of pupils in Years 1 & 2 were invited to attend a Maths Workshop in the school hall on Wednesday 9th November. This gave an insight into the way Maths is taught in school and how parents can support their children at home. The event was well attended with very positive feedback given.

Fundraising Penalty Shootout

The children took part in a school fundraising shootout on Friday 8th July.  Prizes were awarded for 1st place, 2nd place and most funds raised for each class.  A football was given to ‘best team player’ in each class. 

​Thank you for your support in this event.  The money raised will go towards the renovation of the KS1 playground.

​Platinum Jubilee celebration
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Today English Martyrs school celebrated Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee.  Pupils arrived at school wearing red, white & blue and watched old footage of the coronation in assembly before being treated to our own version of the coronation when a pupil from Year 6 was elected queen for the day.  She took to the role well by visiting her subjects in their classes and kept the school running smoothly by working from Miss Nugent’s office.  Parents and friends were invited into school in the afternoon to look at the art gallery in the school hall.  The children then celebrated in the afternoon with a picnic with their families followed by a concert and a variety of activities in the playground.
 
We thank Fr Alex, Fr Ray and Mrs Simon, our music teacher, for bringing faith and musicality to a wonderful afternoon and our families for making the afternoon a great success.
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​Learning about Islam

At English Martyrs, we celebrated Eid.  The children learned about the Five pillars of Islam: Profession of Faith (shahada), Prayer (salat), Alms (zakat), Fasting (sawm) and Pilgrimage (hajj).  They listened to prayers read out in Arabic as well as the meditative ‘call to prayer’.  Some children gave presentations about the month of Ramadan.
 
Children learned that for Muslims, it is a special time to show their commitment to God and take care of the poor.  
 
This assembly reinforced our British Value of respect and tolerance.


​Easter Bonnet design competition

Pupils were invited to design an Easter Bonnet to wear to school today.  Prizes were awarded for the best and most unusual designed bonnets.  Winning designs were all given an Easter egg.  Congratulations all!

​Easter Egg Hunt
 
The school councillors prepared the Easter Egg Hunt which took place in the playground today.  Thank you to all friends and parents of English Martyrs school for their generous donation of Easter eggs.

​Year 6 lunchtime partners

Pupils in Year 6 elected to become Reading and Maths partners for Year 2 pupils.  They give up their lunchtime play on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to help in the Year 2 class with the support of Mrs Paterson.

"We love being teachers, it has improved my confidence."  Terence Y6

"My Y6 tutor explains what I need to do to help me answer the questions."  Jenna Y2 
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​RE Ambassadors Ukraine Coffee Afternoon

Fr Ray and our RE Ambassadors organised coffee afternoons to raise funds for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal through DEC - Disaster Emergency Committee.  Parents from all classes were invited to bake or donate goods and to join us on 23rd and 30th March in the school for this important event.  Funds raised amounted to £458.23.


Shadwell Responds
 
Since the start of the pandemic, over two years ago, St George’s Pool has been closed.  Many of our parents and children have expressed how much they miss swimming at the pool. The council ran a consultation to collect views on whether St George’s should be redeveloped or knocked down with a new pool built at John Orwell Leisure Centre.
 
Fr Ray asked if the school would like to be involved in the consultation.  As a school, we want to show that our children care about local access to swimming by creating an art installation out of children’s handprints in the shape of the River Thames. 
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On 18th March, our PE Coordinator Mrs Paterson and Playground Ambassadors visited St George in the East Church to meet children from other schools and to celebrate the decision to maintain a swimming pool in Shadwell.  This event was attended by Cllr Sabina Akhtar who was impressed by all the work submitted.  The work involved giving a one-word answer to ‘how does the pool staying in Shadwell make you feel’.  These words were them placed on the Thames river drawing.  All children were asked to design what they would like the new leisure centre to look like. 

Eco Warriors Book Sale

The school Eco Warriors arranged a book sale for Friday 18th March to raise funds for a bug hotel in a small area of the school gardens.

Donations of good quality children’s books were brought to school for the sale which was held in the Key Stage 2 playground before and after school.  Books were priced at 50p to £1. The sale was well attended by pupils and parents and raised a total of £107 so far.

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​World Book Day

Pupils and staff were invited to dress as their favourite book character or author on Thursday 3rd March.  The children paraded in the hall and were given first and second prizes for the best-dressed and most original outfits.

Well done to all for the great effort to bring your favourite book characters to school for the day!
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​Bowling for Tower Hamlets

​The Tower Hamlets Schools Sport Network works collaboratively with local schools and partners to support the development of PE, physical activity and sport within schools in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Six Year 4 & Year 5 pupils attended the 10 Pin Bowling Challenge at All Stars in Stratford and were so proud to be awarded Silver medals for their efforts. Well done!
Blue Hands for St George’s Pool

A display which feature the 'blue hands' made by pupils in our school, will be on show at St George’s Pool from Wednesday 22nd. Fr Ray will attend to meet the councillors and has invited families to attend.  
Y5 & Y6 Football

Girls and boys from Y5 & Y6 attended the Tower Hamlets football tournament in Mile End Park

​Headteacher for the day

One of our Year 1 pupils was 'acting headteacher for the day', a prize he won in the Christmas raffle. His special job for the day was to place Baby Jesus into Mary's hands at our assembly. 

​Miss O'Dea's Retirement

​Miss O’Dea has been a dedicated and inspirational teacher and leader of the English department. The library is certainly her legacy, she has ensured that books are central to learning in every classroom and her energy and enthusiasm for Literacy will be her legacy.

​Sports Day 2021 photograph gallery