Ripon Cathedral School Update

Week ending Friday 13th June 2025

Year 3 Visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

On Thursday, Year 3 had an amazing art trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. They had a brilliant time exploring the sculptures with artist Sarah. The children created rubbings using the Three Stones for Three Trees that were created by inspirational artist, David Nash . They rubbed graphite paper against the rough stones and tree bark, then developed the image by shading and blending. One of the favourite sculptures of the day, was the eye-catching Buddha with its shiny crystals and gemstones. In the back of the sculpture was a calming sitting place for meditating. The children also explored the work of Barbora Hepworth, sketching and sculpting their own inspired designs and using perspective, made them look huge on photos! Year 3 really impressed us with how they expressed their thoughts and the creativity they showed in the activities.

Reception's Trip to Harlow Carr

Reception had a fantastic time on their recent school trip to Harlow Carr! The children loved exploring the beautiful grounds and took part in lots of exciting activities throughout the day.

In the morning, we enjoyed making observational drawings of the plants, trees, and pond life we discovered along the way. The children showed great curiosity and focus as they carefully sketched what they saw.

The highlight of the afternoon was our brilliant workshop, where we got hands-on with nature. We planted our own seeds and then set off on a fun nature trail, hunting for fallen leaves, colourful petals, and tiny minibeasts. We were lucky enough to spot ladybirds, caterpillars, and even some busy bumblebees!

All of the children were exceptionally well-behaved and represented our school beautifully. We were so proud to receive lots of lovely compliments from members of the public about how polite, enthusiastic, and well-mannered the Reception children were.

Armed Forces Day

In recognition of Armed Forces Day for Children 2025, our Service children travelled to Catterick Garrison on Wednesday for an exciting day of activities. Cleo and Ivy both said that their favourite part of the day was looking at all the military vehicles. The children were able to climb inside a truck and a jackal, and ask questions of the military personnel who accompanied them. George said he found it really interesting when one soldier explained lots of interesting facts about the vehicles to them. On one of the other stalls, the children had camouflaged face paint, which was Stella, Glenda, Eric and Clara’s favourite part! Also on that stall, the children could try on a soldier’s kit – Elijah said he really enjoyed this, as well as trying out an extremely heavy bag that a soldier would have to carry. Primrose liked seeing all the different weapons that were on display on the same stall. After a delicious lunch provided by the garrison, pupils tried out some military training by tackling an assault course, which Tobias thought was the best part of the day. Despite an extremely long queue, the day ended with Freya’s favourite part which was visiting the ice cream van! Thank you to Mrs McIlmurray for arranging for the children to attend, and to the military personnel and Service Children’s champions who organised a really enjoyable event.

Stars of the Week

Congratulations to this week's stars:

Nursery - Vinny for re-telling the Bible story Jonah and the Whale with lots of detail.

Reception - Lacey for coming in on a morning always ready to learn and doing her best to write a fabulous morning sentence.

Year 1 - Eryn for her fabulous instructions to explain how to become the bravest lion in the jungle. She used the suffix -est with confidence.

Year 2 - Jonah for his attitude to learning this week, particularly with his handwriting and presentation. Jonah has been trying so hard to form his letters beautifully and to include finger spaces too.

Year 3 - Betsy for really engaging with the art work on our trip yesterday. She absolutely made the most of the day.

Year 4 - Dylan for making incredible progress with both reading speed and understanding due to the hard work he consistently gives in school and at home.

Year 5 - Olivia for always trying her hardest and getting on straightaway with whatever task has been set. Super attitude for learning!

Year 6 - Charlotte C for enthusiasm when practising for the production and putting in 100% in all lessons.

Well done to our latest Reading Monsters and Reading Stars!

Year 5 Bake Sale

As part of their Design & Technology work on seasonal foods, the Year 5 children will be baking a delicious selection of sweet and savoury treats using a variety of fruits and vegetables. These tasty creations will be available to purchase after school on Tuesday 17th June on the school playground.

The children are currently planning how they would like to spend the money raised. One exciting idea is to develop an area of the school playground. With more fundraising projects planned later in the year, they’re aiming to invest in playground equipment that all children in the school can enjoy.

We’d love your support—come along and see what they have to offer!

Friends of the School Summer Fair Saturday 21st June

Please make sure this very important date is in your diaries! The fair will take place in the afternoon on the school field from 12pm to 3pm. Every year the fair is a lovely occasion which brings the whole school community together and attracts visitors too. In addition, the funds raised are very welcome!

If you would like to run a stall (selling items or for a particular game or activity), or know someone who would be interested, please contact rcpsfriends@gmail.com