Year 4 - St Alban

Welcome to Year 4! Pupils in Year 4 are confident members of the school community, familiar with the routines of our friendly school and the approachable staff who know them well by this point in their school career. The pupils are keen to learn in more depth, using their skills of writing and reasoning across the curriculum.

In St Albans, we are lucky to have fantastic evidence of the Roman Empire close at hand and school trips for Year 4  include hands-on learning sessions at Verulamium Museum, dropping in to look at the fascinating hypocaust in Verulamium Park on the way home.

The Year 4 class saint is Alban and we have wonderful whole-day learning experiences at St Albans Cathedral, exploring the life and times of St Alban and working creatively in activities such illuminated manuscript writing. This learning has often provided the background for Year 4’s class assembly to their parents, when they act out a play telling the story of Alban’s martyrdom.

The cathedral is also the venue of amazing live performances by the Electric Umbrella Orchestra, A UK charity empowering disabled and neurodivergent people through inclusive music events. Together with scores of other Year 4 classes, St Adrian’s Year 4 children participate in these but our children also benefit from the fresh air and exercise by walking there and back.

A bit further afield is the Fitzwilliam Museum, in Cambridge. It runs learning sessions in their galleries which are full of beautiful, original Ancient Greek artefacts. The day-long learning sessions are led by the museum staff who are experts in their field and deliver the museum and afternoon clay-sculpting sessions inclusively, for just £2 per child.  

Did you know that St Adrian’s has its very own ukulele band, based in Year 4? A peripatetic ukulele teacher comes to deliver weekly ukulele sessions and the class performs to family members whenever they can, including events such as the Christmas “Grandparents’ Tea and Carols”.

In preparation for the multiplication check in the summer, Year 4 is the year when children learn the remaining times tables (6, 7 and 9) and refine their recall of all times-tables facts so they can answer any times-tables question within a few seconds. Through lots of practise on Times Table Rockstars, the children grow in confidence and relish the challenge!