Australia Day 4th Feb 2026
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Part of our school focus this year has been on learning about beliefs, cultures and ways of life that are different to our own. As part of this focus, on Friday 30th January, we had an Australian teacher come to visit us. She shared what it means to be an Australian and the ways of life and beliefs of the indigenous people of Australia. The children asked some fantastic questions and were keen to find out as much as they could. Each class took part in painting Aboriginal art on boomerangs, using the traditional symbols. Each class then wrote letters about themselves to Australian children that have been delivered to the school by our visitor and we hope to hear back from then soon! It was wonderful to see the children so keen to learn about a different culture and history that was different to their own.

Photographs from our Forest School 3rd Feb 2026
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BAT Sports Day 29th Jan 2026
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We took 34 children to the Bridge Academy Trust Sports Day. It was an excellent event involving all schools from the Trust. The secondary school children led events and the primary children competed against each other. We came 2nd in the cheerleading competition and won multiple bronze, silver and gold medals throughout the day. Well done to all the children who came along and represented HOPS.

Move It! 29th Jan 2026
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The Year 6s performed their show ?Move it? to their parents and family. It was a brilliant performance involving a variety of singing, dancing and acting. A special mention to Jonny who played ?Sam?- excellent acting and vocals!

Adventure Island, Southend 29th Jan 2026
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Year 6 reward trip to Adventure Island at Southend.

Residential trip to Stubbers 29th Jan 2026
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We took a group of Year 5s and 6s to Stubbers in Upminster in September, for their residential trip. The children were impeccably behaved, demonstrated excellent manners throughout and were a joy to take away! Myself, and the other staff, were so proud of their willingness to have a go at all activities, despite being nervous or unsure. The activities included camping, the high ropes, paddle boarding, banana boats, archery and laser tag. So many of the children experienced things for the first time and were so proud of what they achieved. It was also lovely to see the children forming new friendships and supporting each other to succeed. The children were an absolute pleasure to take and represented HOPS better than we have ever seen before!

Forest School 29th Jan 2026
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Years 1-6 enjoyed their first Forest Schools day of the year on Friday 26th September. It was wonderful to see the children exploring natural resources, hunting for bugs and identifying some very rare Stag beetles.

Rosh Hashanah Assemby 29th Jan 2026
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We were delighted to welcome our special guest Rabbi Yossi, who spoke to the children all about Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year. We were shown special items that are used during the festival including a shofar, prayer book, kiddish cup and a ?tallit which is a prayer shawl.?

Harvest Festival 29th Jan 2026
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Well done to our EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 children for their wonderful harvest assembly! They presented their autumnal art, harvest poems and songs beautifully with confidence and huge smiles.

Shoe Box Appeal 28th Jan 2026
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A big thank you to all the children who donated items to the Shoe box Appeal. Wendy Pike was blown away by the number of things donated and St Mary's church made up 106 boxes on Sunday which will now be sent overseas to needy families. A big thank you to Bonnie in Ash Class and Sam in Maple Class who went along to the church to help pack the boxes. Wonderful community spirit shown by the children of HOPS!

Kindness Celebrations 28th Jan 2026
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Our kindness points celebrations with a hot chocolate and cake treat!

Essex Multi-Skills Event 28th Jan 2026
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Our Key Stage 1 children took part in the West Essex Multi-skills event on Wednesday 12th November. It was a non-competitive sporting event where the children had various obstacles and races to take part and were able to showcase their athletics skills alongside other schools. A big well done to all the children that took part and tried their best! A group of our Key Stage 2 children took part in the West Essex Schools Cross-Country event at Ongar Primary School on Thursday 13th November. They competed alongside local schools. Despite the challenging course, every student gave their best effort and showed great determination, refusing to give up. Their sportsmanship and resilience were truly inspiring!

Night Owls Visit 28th Jan 2026
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On the 20th January we had a visit from 'The Night Owls' team. They bought along a selection of Barn Owls, White Face Scops Owls and Asian Brown Wood Owls. The children learnt about their habitats, their diet and how we can help to protect them in the wild. The children then had a chance to have a photograph with the owls perched on their shoulder..

The First Christmas and Knock Knock The Nativity 28th Jan 2026
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It has been fantastic to see our littlest children in Ash Class performing ‘The First Christmas’. They did amazingly well, spoke with confidence, remembered where they needed to go and sang beautifully! Beech and Elm classes also performed their brilliant version of ‘Knock Knock Nativity’ - again wonderful performances of acting, singing and dancing with confidence and enthusiasm. Watching the nativity performances is the favourite part of my job as headteacher, and this year it didn’t disappoint! A big well done to all of the children and the staff for the hard work they have put into these and thank you to the parents, grandparents and siblings that have come to support the children.

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