Sonning Common Primary School

You only have a few days left to take part in this year's National Read-Aloud Challenge!

Enhance your child's reading skills, foster a genuine passion for reading and play your role working as a school team by taking part! All you need to do is set up profiles using our school's custom URL (https://www.readaloudchallenge.co.uk/join/JQKF-X2ZE-XVYI) or by scanning the QR code above. Enjoy!

On Thursday 14th July Miss Green and Coach Joe took two mixed Year 3/4 teams to Peppard for the annual rounders tournament.

Both teams played brilliantly and showed fantastic teamwork, so much so that the whole competition came down to the final match: a decider between our two teams which ended with our 'A' team being crowned as champions! As usual, a more detailed report can be found on our school website.

Thanks to our squad of parents and puppy Tino for cheering us on during a morning of great individual and team performances!

Last weekend there has been a team of the most remarkable staff and parents who have worked ALL weekend on our new SCPS sandpit. Words cannot explain how grateful we are to them for the efforts that they have put in. The children have been playing in it all week and they love it. It's all part of our OPAL initiative to improve children's play times.

We're very proud of our 2026 trophy winners. Trophies are awarded in KS1 for progress and most improved reader, across the school for upholding school values and in Year 6 for music, art, citizenship, performance, sportsmanship, cricket, progress and academic excellence.

The whole school gathered under the canopy for a final assembly this morning to celebrate everyone who won trophies and Headteacher's Awards. We waved goodbye and good luck to Mr Foley, Mrs Marrison, Miss L Jones and Mrs R Jones who are all moving to teach at other schools, Mrs Dickinson, who will be moving to a different school's office, Mrs Skidmore, who is retiring from teaching, and our two swimming teachers Julie and Liz. We also bid a fond farewell to our Year 6 leavers and wish them all the best in their new secondary schools.

Our school is proud to announce to be taking part in the National Read-Aloud Challenge 2026!

Throughout the challenge, children engage in independent reading using Fonetti, the reading platform app. The goal is to enhance reading skills during the summer break, aiming to prevent the typical ‘summer slump’ while fostering a genuine passion for reading.

Fonetti is an award-winning, speech recognition reading platform that helps children improve their fluency and confidence - without adult supervision! It's free for the two months of summer and is the perfect way to help keep their reading skills sharp.

During the challenge period, you will receive weekly updates on the children's reading progress. They will earn certificates for reaching the various milestones and have the opportunity to compete on national leaderboards alongside children both locally and nationally. All you need to do is set up profiles using our school's custom URL (https://www.readaloudchallenge.co.uk/join/JQKF-X2ZE-XVYI) or by scanning the QR code above and your children will be ready to take part in this exciting challenge!

Earlier this year, one of our Year 5 children, Ellianna, joined over 25,000 other children across the country by submitting a piece of art to be considered for inclusion in the Royal Academy's Young Artists' Summer Show. We are thrilled to say that her piece, 'The Horse Racing through the East Wind', has been accepted into the online exhibition!

You can view her piece here: https://bit.ly/4wLMJ10

With the summer holidays approaching, many children will be looking forward to spending more of their free time online and for lots of children, that means playing online games. Online games can be a brilliant way for children to have fun, connect with friends and build confidence, but it’s important they know how to play safely and understand the rules of the spaces they’re in.

The website Internet Matters offer free guidance to help you support your child with online gaming, including how to understand community rules, avoid warnings or bans, and start positive conversations about the games, apps and videos they enjoy.

You can get more advice – including how games are rated (PEGI ratings), how to configure your home internet settings and why your child should not be using any social media – on our SCPS website page online safety advice for parents.

(Image from Magnific johnstocker)

Last week, Eco Council were invited to the Climate and Nature Lobby at Sonning Common Village Hall, where they got the opportunity to raise an issue and ask a question to Freddie van Merlio. Eco Council decided to speak about the rising temperatures and uncomfortable learning environments. They were excited to hear the reply, in which Mr van Merlio said that he would speak about this issue in his next parliamentary question time! He is going to keep us updated with the reply.

Thursday 9th July was Sustainability Day. Each year group worked on some different projects linked to the theme 'Small changes, big impact'. Take a look at some of Kites' recycled sea creature creations!