The History of Holywell

Welcome to

The History of Holywell

Holywell Primary School opened in August 1968 and won awards for its unusual honey-comb shaped classrooms. The first Headteacher was Mr. Williams, then it was Mr. Sismey, Mrs. Cunningham as acting head and now we have Mrs. Linnitt. Holywell Primary School was intended as a two form entry infant and junior school for 560 pupils -14 classes each with 40 pupils. Now the classes have about 30 pupils each and there are just over 400 in the whole school. Unfortunately, in 1989 the school burnt down and only the ‘blue moon’ statue in the reception and the halls were saved. The children had lessons in mobile classrooms until the school was rebuilt and reopened in 1991. We are celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the school in 2008.

A Map of Our School

The Legend of the ‘Holy Well’ Ever wondered why Holywell Primary School was called Holywell? No, it wasn’t just someone who thought it was a good name. There is a history behind Holywell’s name… A local legend tells of a story which occurs in the 12th century. The evil Lord Comyn of Whitwick (a place near Loughborough) once had plenty of money but he spent it all. He really wanted to marry a woman called Lady Alice, a rich widow who lived in nearby Groby Hall. Lady Alice fled from her home, away from Lord Comyn of Whitwick, into the forest where she collapsed by a hermitage. Luckily a group of monks were walking past and they took her in and gave her water from their well. Lady Alice was revived, which was a surprise because all of the monks thought she would die. So the well, because it belonged to the monks, was therefore thought of as the ‘Holy Well’. Lady Alice later married Edward Grey of Bradgate Park. One of their descendants was Lady Jane Grey, the nine day queen of England who was executed in 1553. Holywell School is built near the site of the holy well and was named after it. Our uniform is blue, to represent the holy water and white, to represent the robes of the monks.

Facilities at Holywell Our school is on the edge of Loughborough town and we are lucky to be surrounded by trees, fields and lots of wildlife. We have lots of space to play outside and to watch the changing seasons. Inside, the building is well looked after with lots of our work on display to make it bright and cheerful. Lots of changes have been made to the school to improve the facilities and make it a really nice place for us to work. Recently we have had new and bigger bike sheds, as more of our children now cycle to school; we have cleared a section of woodland behind the school to use as a nature reserve; we have an extension to our library and new flat screen computers were fitted in the I.C.T.suite. We are proud of our school and like to welcome visitors to see it.

Our Classrooms

The school has 14 classrooms, (2 for each year) each fitted with interactive white boards and 2 computers. The classrooms are always bright with the children’s work and there are lots of posters up too. The classrooms have lots of space and new blue blinds. Children start school when they are 4 years old, in the Reception Class. The classes then count in year groups from 1 to 6. The children leave school when they are 11 years old. The school is divided into 2 sections, Key Stage 1 (KS1) for Reception,Year1 and Year 2 and Key Stage 2 (KS2) for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.

The Halls

We have a large hall which can be divided into 2 rooms with sliding doors. This is used for assemblies, P.E. lessons and clubs, drama, school lunches and performances of plays.

The I.C.T. Suite We have new computers, which were put in during the summer holiday. There are 18 computers in the suite and they all have the latest software. We also have 2 computers in each classroom which are linked to our school network. There is an interactive white board in the suite, which is linked to the computers, so that the teacher can demonstrate what we have to do. On the computers, we have lots of programmes that help us to learn. They teach us things in a fun way. When we go into the I.C.T suite, we work with a partner, which helps you to work well with other children. We usually go into the I.C.T. suite twice a week.

Our New Library In our school we have a new extension to our library. The library is big and has a good range of fiction and non-fiction books. An electronic system has just been installed and we have to scan our books and personal cards. We have to give the book back after two weeks or renew it. We are allowed two books at a time.

The Craft Area The craft area is where students do most of their art and craft activities for their class. Year 6 do things like Christmas decorations and Diwali divas (which are small candles). Mr French (The year 5 teacher) runs an art and craft club which is fun! Part of the area is for cooking and classes work in small groups to make some tasty treats.

Our Playgrounds We have two playgrounds, the KS1 playground and the KS2 playground. We have new equipment for us to play with at play time. We have tennis rackets, balls, skipping ropes, French skipping ropes and lots more. We have lots of fun with our equipment. There is a sun shelter in each playground and benches where we can sit to play games or chat to friends.

Our Playing Fields

Our field is at least half an acre long and is big enough for 2 football pitches or a 200m running track. We have a pavilion, a trim trail to play on, a garden with a pond and a maze. We have two seasons for games: football or rugby in the Autumn and Spring and cricket and athletics in the Summer term.

The Maze

A maze is a bendy trail where you have to try and get into the middle. The maze is by the KS1 playground but we all have chance to play there. Our maze is a home to lots of wildlife e.g. ladybirds and caterpillars. There are lots of trees and plants in our maze. The path includes stones, twigs and, at the moment, leaves! The maze has 2 benches so people can sit and enjoy the scenery. The maze is very confusing! The maze is a fun place to be, especially at this time of year, because we can have leaf fights!

Our Garden Mr French set up our garden last year, with the help from a team of volunteers. There are raised beds for each year group where we learn how to plant vegetables and flowers and how to look after them. We have a log pile to encourage hedgehogs and lots of rocks to encourage mini-beasts to hide there. Soon we are going to have a pond and hopefully frogs and newts will make a home there.

What subjects do we study at school? At Holywell Primary School, our lessons are I.C.T. (computers), Literacy, Numeracy, Handwriting, PPA art, Religious Education, History, Science, Geography, Design Technology, Art, Physical Education, Music and French (for years 3, 4 and 5). They are all very interesting and fun. We get to do experiments in Science that are very exciting and get to make great things in Design Technology. We have different topics and the subjects are often joined together to make it more interesting. We usually stay in our classroom and have the same teacher but for PPA art, handwriting and music we have different teachers. We go to the computer suite for I.C.T. and either outside or in the hall for our P.E. lessons.

Our Daily Timetable

8:55 a.m. Our school starts with registration and a short morning task that our teacher has set us. 9:10 a.m. We go to assembly for 20 minutes (except on Thursday when we do circle time). 9:30 a.m. We have lessons like maths and English. 10:20a.m. We then go out to the playground for 20 minutes as break. 10:35a.m. We have more lessons such as maths, English or PE. 12:10p.m. We go out to the playground and play until our bell goes to call our year group to lunch. There are some clubs on during lunch time. 1:15 p.m. We have lessons like science or topic work. 3:15 p.m. We go home. There are some clubs for children to go to if they want to.

Activity clubs

We are very lucky to have a lot of different clubs at Holywell which run at lunch time or after school. There are some for sports, music, crafts and games so children can all find something that they like. This is a list of some of our clubs: Football Chess Netball Digital photography Basketball School Council Athletics Pom-pom making Cricket D.T. club Cross country Yu-gi-oh cards Dance Tennis Badminton Sign language Multi-skills Club Recorders Choir Magazine club Internet club

Music Lessons and Assemblies

A lot of children at Holywell learn to play musical instruments and specialist teachers visit the school to teach them. There are lessons for flute, clarinet, oboe, brass instruments, guitar, piano, violin, cello, percussion and drums. Each half term, some of the children perform in assembly. This year, all of the Year 3 pupils are having lessons on the recorder.

A Wonderful Mix of Cultures

At Holywell there are loads of people from different cultures and countries around the world. There are some from India, Iran, Kuwait, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Pakistan, Germany, America, Saudi-Arabia and many other places.

Even though they are a bit different we still treat everyone the same and like to learn about their culture.

Special and Celebrations Each year we haveEvents a special ‘focus’ week when all of the children in school have different lessons, activities and visits from people in our community. This year we had a science week and had a great time doing things like lots of fun experiments, learnt about bees and amphibians, made kites and land yachts. In other years, we have had an art week, an Olympic sports week and an environment week. All of these are great fun for everyone.

at Holywell

We also celebrate a wide range of special religious days and customs such as Christmas, Easter, Diwali, Chinese New Year and Eid. We are very lucky to have children and their families from different cultures within our school, who help to explain the purpose of the celebration and share their food and dances with us.

Trips out of School Every year group is very lucky to have the chance to go on trips for the day. All trips have brilliant activities and interesting things to see connected to the topics we are studying at school. We go to places like the Sea-life Centre, Egyptian Exhibitions and the Bluebell Woods. Year 6 pretend that they are being evacuated to a World War II centre and dress up in costumes to make it seem real. Year 3 dress as Victorian children and attend a Victorian school. In Year 4, children go on a really exciting residential trip for 2 nights and in Year 6 they go for 4 nights. The children get to do great activities like climbing, abseiling, canoeing, quad biking, hill walking and enjoy staying with their friends. They all really look forward to going and have great fun.

Year 6 World War II Evacuees Year 6 Residential

House Groups

When you first come into Holywell School, you get put into one of the house groups. Each house is named after a different type of mythical creature and has a different colour. The houses are: Centaur which is yellow. Pegasus which is red. Aquila which is blue. Phoenix which is green.

Each house is led by 2 house captains from Year 6, a boy and a girl. A house captain is a person who collects the house points and represents the school. The house points are given to people who are working hard, performing well in music or sport, helping others or behaving well. Captains count the points each week and at the end of each half term, a trophy is awarded to the house with the most points.

The School Council Each class, from Year 1 to Year 6, votes for a pupil to represent them on the school council. The school council representatives meet every 2 weeks. They discuss improvements that can be made around school, how to raise money for charities, what money raised should be spent on and many more issues. They report back to their class and get the views of their peers. Each year Holywell pupils raise a lot of money for charities like Children in Need, Oxfam, R.S.P.C.A., Red Nose Day and Water Aid. The school council representatives organise what we should do to raise the money like fancy dress days, wearing silly hats, bring and buy sales. We all have a lot of fun and enjoy helping other people.

How Year 6 Help at Holywell Year 6 pupils do various responsible jobs to help the younger pupils and staff. They do things like: helping the reception age children eat their lunch and playing games with them, delivering registers, operating the music system during assemblies, organising the play equipment during playtimes and delivering fruit to the Key Stage 1 pupils. They also have important roles as House Captains and train as Sports Leaders to organise and teach the younger pupils games in the playground.

Playground Buddies The playground buddy’s job is to look if there is anyone who is unhappy or not playing with anyone at playtime or lunchtime and we try to help them out. But if it’s something big, like problems at home, we have to go to a teacher like Mrs. Severn (who is very very nice) or Mrs. Featonby who is equally nice. We have to wear bright yellow caps so people can recognise us easily.

Where is Loughborough?

Loughborough is in the East Midlands. It is in the middle of England in between two big cities, Nottingham in the north and Leicester in the south (both about 12 miles from Loughborough).

It is a small town with schools, shops, houses and a very big university . It has a lot of farmland, fields, countryside, lakes and woodlands so it is a nice place to be. Loughborough is in a borough called Charnwood and has some small towns surrounding it like Quorn, Barrow and Shepshed.

Loughborough Town Centre

The first lord of the manor in Loughborough was the Earl of Chester, in 1066. The town was very small and built near the River Soar. For many centuries, most of the land was used for farming but, in the 1800s and early 1900s, it became well-known for textile industries as well. A steam railway was built to transport the goods and this is now run as a tourist attraction. There is a bell foundry, which makes bells that are transported all over the world. The town has grown in size and now measures about 8km across. The centre has over 40 shops, a cinema and a Town Hall (which is also the theatre). There are 2 parks and in one of them is the museum and the ‘Carillon’, a tower built as a war memorial with bells at the top.

Loughborough Fair

In 1227, King Henry III gave permission for Loughborough to hold an annual fair for 3 days in November. The lord of the manor organised it and received fees from the stall holders. Most of the stalls sold things like jewellery, materials from abroad and unusual foods and drink. There were a few entertainers as well.

As the years have passed, the fair has evolved and is now packed with music, games and SUPER FAST rides! They now fill the town centre.

Loughborough Market

Loughborough market has taken place for over 700 years and was given permission by King Henry III in 1221. It takes place on Thursdays and Saturdays. The market has modernised over many years. They now sell: fruit and vegetables, chocolates, clothes, rugs, phone cases and many other objects. Around the market is the town hall and lots of other shops.

In Summary Overall, Holywell Primary School is a great school with fabulous staff and wonderful facilities, we also have exceptional equipment. We are packed with fun and excitement fitted into our 6 hour 15 minute day. The children here enjoy their classes. We all have our different strengths and can help each other. We learn, achieve and develop together to succeed.

Produced by Year 6 pupils 2007-8