The Year 3 team - Mrs Halcrow, Mrs Wright, Mrs James, Ms Kanako, and Mrs Marsden - are excited about teaching together this year.

Mrs Halcrow has been part of St Andrew’s for 8 years. An experienced KS2 teacher, she is passionate about helping every child thrive. With two young children of her own, she has a strong interest in PE and Wellbeing and believes in supporting the whole child, not just academic progress.

Mrs Wright has taught at St Andrew’s for over 10 years, working with pupils across all year groups. She particularly enjoys teaching Year 3, as this is the stage where many children really take off with their reading and grow in independence.

As a job-share, Mrs Halcrow and Mrs Wright enjoy working together because they hold the same high expectations and ambitions for pupils’ learning.

We are privileged to be supported by our experienced and skilled teaching assistants, who provide a range of support for all children in the class, enabling all pupils to “be the best that they can be” through a caring, structured, and ambitious classroom culture.

Year 3 marks an exciting transition as children move into Key Stage 2. It’s a year of developing independence and building on the foundations laid in the earlier years. In Year 3, children focus on becoming more fluent in both reading and writing. As their reading skills develop, they begin to use books and texts not only for enjoyment but as tools to learn across the curriculum. This is a key stage in their educational journey, where they begin to apply their reading to subjects like history, science, and geography, deepening their understanding and broadening their knowledge. Throughout the year, children take on more responsibility for their learning, becoming confident in their abilities and excited to explore new ideas. Year 3 is a time of growth, where curiosity is nurtured, and children start to see the connections between different areas of their learning.

The Year 3 curriculum at St Andrew’s is broad and engaging, built around themed units that immerse pupils in their learning and make purposeful links across subjects. In history, for example, pupils study periods such as the Stone Age to the Iron Age to explore how early humans lived and developed. In geography, units include topics like energy - often with a focus on sustainable sources - to help children consider how we care for the planet. A distinctive feature of Year 3 is whole-class violin tuition, giving every child a foundation in instrumental music. This is also the year pupils begin learning French, introducing them to language learning and cultural awareness. Overall, the curriculum is deliberately challenging and carefully sequenced to equip children with the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage of their education.

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