From cakes and crafts to choreography and sport, pupils at West Lynn Primary School explored a host of exciting career opportunities.

Children from Years 2 to 6 took part in Apprentice Day, where they spent the day gaining in-depth, hands-on experience of a series of different professions. Choices on offer included baking, carpentry, art, sewing, crafts, jewellery making, teaching, and journalism, along with rugby, sports retail, and even musical theatre.

Dan Ryan is the Assistant Headteacher at our school, which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, and organised the annual event, as well as leading the carpentry group.

“Once the children have completed an application to their top three jobs, they complete a mini CV selling themselves to their chosen career,” he explained. “They are then allocated one of the activities where they spend the whole day learning from an expert in that field.

“Most of the activities are very practical, and the children get to have a hands-on approach with one of the careers.”

Among the activities on offer were building benches, baking cakes and biscuits, sewing bookmarks and an apron, and creating tie-dye shirts; while the theatre group choreographed a routine to ‘Circle of Life’, the West Norfolk Rugby Club put their apprentices through their sporting paces, and the budding journalists went in search of a scoop.

Staff, parents, and volunteers supported the event as ‘experts’, including Stephen Miller and Elizabeth Buckingham from the West Norfolk Rugby Club, and JD Sports Executive Rickey Devonish.

Mr Ryan added: “I think, in an area where children can struggle with aspirations and self-belief, days like Apprentice Day give them a taster of what they could be, and remind them of what they can achieve.

“Every child left with a smile on their face, and a sense of accomplishment.”

There was a chance to try out a new sport, when pupils from West Lynn Primary tested their skills at Ultimate Frisbee.

The team of eight Year 6 children from our school enjoyed a non-competitive round-robin event at Lynnsport, where they played frisbee games against other schools.

Our Year 6 Teaching Assistant, Leanne Swallow, accompanied the group.

“The children had a taster season before the event to familiarise themselves with the game before attending, and really enjoyed that,” she said.

“Even though the event was non-competitive, they enjoyed playing against the other schools – and reported that they won all of their games!”

Our school, which is a member of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, takes part in the Ultimate Frisbee event every year.

Miss Swallow added: “It is important for children to engage in a range of sports, and particularly those that they might not usually have a chance to play.”

Our top spellers went head-to-head in an annual competition where pupils from ten West Norfolk Academies Trust schools were challenged to showcase their skills.

The WNAT Primary Spelling Bee featured 30 Key Stage 2 children from Years 3 to 6 across the Trust’s member primary schools, which included Clenchwarton, Walpole Cross Keys, West Lynn, Gaywood, Snettisham, and Heacham Junior, alongside Terrington St John, Tilney St Lawrence, Walpole Highway, and West Walton from the Windmill Federation.

The event took place at Heacham Junior School and was overseen by Emma Hunt, who is WNAT English Lead as well as Executive Headteacher at the Windmill Federation.

“The event forms part of a programme of activities organised by the Trust throughout the academic year,” she said. “These events are designed to build pupils’ confidence, provide opportunities to interact and socialise with peers from other schools within the Trust, develop new skills, and, above all, ensure that pupils enjoy themselves.”

It was the fourth time the Spelling Bee had taken place, with three entrants from each primary qualifying via previous stages held in individual classes and schools. Primary Trust Assistant Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo) Darren Furzey was on hand to call out the words.

Mrs Hunt continued: “Pupils pick a number from a hat – this matches a chair for competitors to sit in. Spellings are called out and individuals answer. They remain in the competition until they spell a word incorrectly, then they sit down until a winner is found.”

Words successfully tackled by this year’s competitors included ‘accommodate’, ‘government’, ‘sincerely’, and ‘quadrilateral’, while the winner was Olivia from Clenchwarton, who correctly spelt ‘accomplishment’ to win a Kindle Fire tablet. Everyone participating received a certificate and chocolate.

Mrs Hunt added: “The Spelling Bee is a particularly valuable event, as it helps pupils develop a deeper understanding of the English language, while expanding their vocabulary.

“Beyond learning to spell words correctly, participation encourages planning, preparation, perseverance, and effective study habits, all of which contribute to pupils’ overall academic development.”

Children from our school were hitting all the right targets, when they joined others from across the West Norfolk Academies Trust to test their skills in an archery competition.

The Upper Key Stage 2 event was hosted by Heacham Junior School, and saw 30 Year 5 and 6 pupils from across the Trust’s six primary schools compete in teams in a series of challenges.

Among the activities were a ‘pizza game’ where pupils had to hit coloured segments of a target representing ‘base’, ‘sauce’, and ‘toppings’ in the right order to build up a pizza, and a contest to score the highest points in a set time limit. Each participant received a certificate to mark their achievements.

Besides Heacham Junior, other participating Trust primaries included Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn.

“Events hosted by our Trust are important because they help children build confidence, focus, and teamwork, while trying something new and inclusive,” said James Agate, who is Year 4 Class Teacher at Heacham Junior and oversaw the event.

“They also give schools a chance to bring students together, encourage participation in sport, and support wellbeing and personal development. These events create positive experiences that can inspire children both in and outside the classroom.”

It is time to get snap happy, with amateur photographers at our school invited to showcase their talents in a photography contest.

Held in conjunction with the King’s Lynn and District Camera Club (KLDCC), the West Norfolk Academies Trust (WNAT) Photographic Competition is open to staff and pupils across the Trust’s member schools, as well as those within the Windmill Federation.

“It is open to all students from the Trust who are in Key Stages 2, 3, 4 and 5,” explained WNAT Confidential Administrator Emma Pearman. “It’s also open to school staff. There are five categories – each of the Key Stages, plus a Staff category.

“This year we will also be inviting students and staff from the Windmill Federation Schools to take part.”

The annual competition is taking place for the third year running, with past themes having included ‘Our Environment’ and ‘My Community’.

“There is an open theme this year, covering any subject the student or staff member thinks would make an interesting picture,” said Mrs Pearson.

WNAT high schools taking part include Marshland in West Walton, St Clement’s in Terrington St Clement, Smithdon in Hunstanton, and Springwood in Lynn; alongside Trust primaries Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Heacham Junior, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn.

Initial judging will be carried out by the WNAT Senior Leadership Team, with ten entries chosen from each category to go through to the final at Springwood on 25 June, where winners will be chosen by a panel from KLDCC.

“There were 147 images submitted last year,” continued Mrs Pearman. “It is expected that there will be more this year, with it increasing in popularity year on year, and also with the fact that the Windmill Federation Schools are invited to take part this year.”

Each category winner will receive £20 of Amazon vouchers, while one overall winner will be awarded the Dave Ashfield Cup, which last year went to Year 13 Springwood Sixth Form student, Ava.

“The Trust places a huge importance on extra-curricular activity for all of our students, alongside excellent relationships with our community including the KLDCC,” added WNAT CEO Andy Johnson.

To enter, send a jpeg format photograph, no larger than A4, and a maximum of 3600 x 2400 pixels, to e.pearman@wnat.co.uk before the closing deadline 1 June.

The importance of reading for pleasure was just one of the topics under discussion, when pupils from our school joined others from primaries across the West Norfolk Academies Trust for a literary-themed, public-speaking event.

The WNAT Primary Literary Event is staged annually to coincide with World Book Day, and was taking place for the sixth time.

Held at the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange on Wednesday 4 March, the celebration of reading featured teams of Year 5 children from primary schools which included Trust members Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Heacham Junior, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn, along with Terrington St John, Tilney St Lawrence, Walpole Highway, and West Walton from the Windmill Primary Federation.

“Teams of three pupils are asked to speak for five minutes,” explained organiser Emma Hunt, who is Primary English Lead at WNAT. “The first pupil introduces the speaker to provide the audience with a little background; the main speaker then has approximately three minutes to deliver their views on the team’s chosen topic; the final team member then delivers the vote of thanks.”

Among this year’s topics were: whether children should be encouraged to reread favourite books or always try new ones; whether stories help children understand real-world issues better than facts alone; whether illustrations still matter in books for older children; whether it is important for children to see themselves represented in the books they read; and whether reading for pleasure improves creativity more than structured reading at school.

The audience included fellow pupils, teachers, and trustees, as well as the CEO and Deputy CEO of the Trust, while staff from across all schools supported the teams in writing their speeches and rehearsing for the event.

“Literary events that involve public speaking are so important, as they give children valuable opportunities to build confidence and communication skills,” continued Mrs Hunt.

“Preparing and delivering a presentation encourages pupils to organise their ideas clearly, structure their thoughts, and express them in a way that engages an audience. Through this, they learn how to communicate effectively and share their ideas with clarity and purpose.”

“Taking part in events beyond the school environment, alongside pupils from other schools in the Trust and Federation, also offers valuable social and personal benefits,” she added. “It allows children to meet new people, experience different perspectives, and learn from others.

“Engaging with a wider group of students can broaden their horizons, build resilience, and encourage a healthy sense of collaboration and friendly competition. Such experiences help pupils develop confidence in unfamiliar settings, and strengthen the interpersonal skills that will support them throughout their education and beyond.”