By Mrs Martin (Head of Year 5)

As a culmination to their exploration of the central idea: Exploration leads to new connections and understandings of the world. Year 5 have embarked on a transdisciplinary inquiry through their Explorer Project.

Each pupil selected an explorer whose story inspired them, from Amelia Earhart’s pioneering flight across the Atlantic and Sir Edmund Hillary’s ascent of Everest, to Jane Goodall’s rainforest discoveries and Jacques Cousteau’s underwater expeditions. Others chose figures such as Ann Bancroft, Mary Kingsley, Gertrude Bell, and Sylvia Earle, linking their journeys to specific biomes including the polar regions, deserts, oceans, and tropical forests.

Using their chosen explorer as inspiration, the girls created detailed maps showing routes, compass roses, and geographical features, before producing expressive watercolour landscapes depicting the places their explorer visited. Each piece captured the mood and beauty of its biome through the use of colour and one-point perspective.

Throughout their inquiry, pupils reflected on how places are represented, how exploration changes understanding, and how human choices shape communities and environments.

The project culminated in a class exhibition of Map Stories, combining maps, paintings, and written reflections that celebrated curiosity, creativity and responsible exploration.

Our pupils have shown that exploration isn’t just about discovery, it’s about curiosity, creativity, and connection with the world around us.