
Oracy
“The school has created an oracy rich environment, where voices are valued and listened to. Pupils are provided with significant opportunities to develop their oracy skills in every subject and in every lesson.”
– T&L Review
– T&L Review

Music
“Music is taught very effectively as pupils learn to play instruments and sing to a good standard. Music and singing play a large part in the school’s life. Pupils participate enthusiastically in making music and singing in special events at the school and in the local community. Pupils sing in tune and in harmony using three parts with good tonal quality.” – OFSTED

Sports
Achieving the gold mark for Physical Education since 2018!
“The primary physical education and sport premium is spent very well. Pupils have benefited from access to a wide variety of after-school clubs, competitive events and special activities. As a result, increasingly more pupils participate in a wider range of sports” – OFSTED
“The primary physical education and sport premium is spent very well. Pupils have benefited from access to a wide variety of after-school clubs, competitive events and special activities. As a result, increasingly more pupils participate in a wider range of sports” – OFSTED

Curriculum
“The school’s aims are clear. They are committed to delivering a challenging and engaging curriculum, that is broad and balanced. The curriculum sequence is coherent and clear cross curricular links are made. Such links are further strengthened by the school’s additional ‘Building the Kingdom’ curriculum”
– T&L Review
– T&L Review











St Mary's Catholic Primary School Newcastle Under Lyme
📚✨ World Book Day Tokens Are Here! ✨📚
If you’d like to get ahead of the game, the digital World Book Day tokens have already been sent out! 🎉
We should still be receiving the physical tokens in school, but in the meantime, please feel free to use the digital version in stores now – perfect for choosing a new book to enjoy!
You can usually redeem the tokens at:
• Your local independent bookseller
• Asda
• Blackwell’s (selected stores only)
• Easons
• Foyles
• Sainsbury’s
• Tesco
• TG Jones
• The Works
• Waterstones
• WHSmith Travel (selected stores only)
Online: Books2Door
Happy book choosing – we hope the children find a story they absolutely love! 📚
#readingstm
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St Mary's Catholic Primary School Newcastle Under Lyme
🌿 Half Term Holiday Project: Lenten Promise Tree 🌿
As we head into half term, we are also preparing our hearts for the season of Lent. Lent is a special time in the Church year when we try to grow closer to God by praying, giving and making small sacrifices to help others.
This year, Lent begins during the half term break, so we would love our children to start this journey at home with a simple, meaningful project.
We are inviting all children to take part in our Lenten Promise Tree project. This is a creative way to think about kindness, generosity and caring for others and for our world.
EYFS
Create some leaves and draw pictures of kind things you can do during Lent, for example sharing toys, helping to tidy up or being kind to others.
KS1
Make a Lent Tree and write a kind or generous act on each leaf or branch. These could be things you will try to do during Lent, such as helping at home or being a good friend.
KS2
Create a drawn or 3D Lenten Promise Tree showing ways to live simply and generously during Lent. This could include caring for others and caring for the planet, for example reusing plastic, donating to others, saving resources or showing gratitude.
Children can bring their Promise Trees back to school after half term so we can share and celebrate how we are all trying to live Lent together.
Thank you for your continued support in helping our children grow in kindness, faith and responsibility 🌱
#restm #catholiclifestm
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St Mary's Catholic Primary School Newcastle Under Lyme
For Mental Health day , Year 1 created a welcome circle to help us to explore the feeling of belonging . We used our puppet Doris the dragon to share our ideas about what makes us happy. In our safe space art activity the children drew themselves and around it they mapped out all of the things they like to do and the people and things that help them to feel safe.
#year1stm
#mentalhealthweekstm
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St Mary's Catholic Primary School Newcastle Under Lyme
Safer Internet Day! What’s AI? How can we use it safely? All the things Year 2 have been focused on today. They thought about the differences between what a human brain can do VS AI, aswell as how we can use AI safely and correctly. #esafetydaystm #computingstm #year2stm
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St Mary's Catholic Primary School Newcastle Under Lyme
For Mental Health Day, Year 2 have been thinking about what makes us feel happy and safe. They explored each others happy moments during circle time and created a collage of happy memories. #mentalhealthweekstm #year2stm
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St Mary's Catholic Primary School Newcastle Under Lyme
Today, Year 4 brought the story of the Ten Plagues of Egypt to life! 🌊🔥🐸
After learning about what the plagues revealed about God’s power and His promise to His people, the children tackled the question:
“Should Pharaoh keep the Israelites in Egypt, or should Moses lead them to freedom?”
The children delivered a brilliant, thoughtful debate using their oracy skills to explain their viewpoints!
Enjoy watching a snippet of our debate below!! 🌟
#year4stm #REstm
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St Mary's Catholic Primary School Newcastle Under Lyme
📱✨ Safer Internet Day 2026 ✨📱
Today, dressed in their bold outfits, Year 6 created informative leaflets exploring the pros and cons of talking to AI versus a human, inspired by this year’s theme: Smart tech, safe choices – exploring the safe and responsible use of AI. We are very proud of their thoughtful and responsible approach to technology! 👏
#year6stm #computingstm #esafetystm #SaferInternetDay #SaferInternetDaystm
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St Mary's Catholic Primary School Newcastle Under Lyme
🙏Our Lady of Lourdes 🙏
Today our whole school family at St Mary’s joined their classes for a very special Celebration of the Word to mark the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Mary holds a particularly special place in our hearts as our patron saint. We gathered in our classrooms and chapel spaces, lighting a candle and reflecting on the story of when Our Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette in Lourdes in 1858. Through this humble young girl, Mary reminded the world of the power of prayer, faith and loving service — especially to those who are sick and in need
We listened to the Gospel from Luke 5:17–26 and reflected on the friends who lowered the man through the roof to reach Jesus. Their faith, love and determination remind us that we are called to help one another draw closer to Christ, particularly in times of suffering and difficulty.
During a time of quiet reflection, each child wrote a prayer intention — many thinking of loved ones who are unwell, those who feel lonely and those who have died. These were placed reverently in our prayer spaces before we prayed a decade of the Rosary together for healing and peace.
Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us 💙
#prayerandliturgystm #celebrationofthewordstm
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St Mary's Catholic Primary School Newcastle Under Lyme
During this learning block, Year 1 have been exploring the Music unit ‘Sound Patterns’. Throughout this unit, the children experimented with creating different sounds using a single instrument. They explored how to change the way an instrument sounds by tapping, shaking, scraping and striking in different ways, discovering just how many possibilities one instrument can have!
They also learned how to read and play simple rhythmic patterns, including beats and rests.
To finish the unit, the children used their new musical skills to retell the story of The Three Little Pigs. Through rhythm and sound effects, they brought the story to life – from the building of the houses to the big bad wolf’s huffing and puffing! 🐷🐺
We are so proud of their creativity, focus and enthusiasm in Music this term. Well done, Year 1! Here is a snippet of your excellent work!🌟🎵
#year1stm #musicstm
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