For this half term in year 5 and 6, our topic has been 'Empire'. As part of this, we have looked closely at the British Empire. We have created timelines of key events; identified the roles of some of the most famous sailors and their voyages that formed the foundations of the British Empire; we have investigated the importance of the colonisation of India and the formation of the East India Company. Within this, we have used sources to then decide whether the treatment of the Indians by the British was just. The children have also begun to understand why the British Empire began to fail and were independently able to identify a number of reasons for this.

The theme of 'Empire' has also been taught across both reading and writing. Year 5 and 6 have been reading 'The Jungle Book' by Rudyard Kipling and have been practising answering SATs style questions based on the characters. This then helped them to imitate chapter one for their narrative writing. Additionally, the children have begun to write persuasively to The British Museum to implore them to return artefacts gained during the now controversial British Empire