Events

Take a dive into our school event page, where we celebrate all the enriching experiences that happen right here at Portway School. From workshops and trips to celebrations and outdoor escapades, our annual planned events will ignite your child's curiosity and spark unforgettable memories.

School Council and Sports Ambassador Elections

Election Day is an important day in the calendar for our pupils. All have an opportunity to be elected for the positions of School Councillor or Sports Ambassador and do so through making speeches and running mini-campaigns to encourage their peers to vote for them. The elections themselves take place in the school hall with each member of the school community able to vote privately and democratically before the results are counted up independently and then announced in our Celebration Assembly. We are very proud of everyone who stands for election and are pleased that democracy is alive and well at Portway!

Our Elected representatives this year are:

We are looking forward to hearing more about what the School Councillors and Sports Ambassadors are planning to help our school, our local community and our wider world.

Sora Reading App

Introducing Sora

Reading is the most important thing that we can do for our children and we are always looking for ways in which to make this more accessible and easy for children (and parents) to access.

We are delighted to be able to tell you that we have invested in a new reading app called Sora. This is free to download on your phone, iPad or other tablet or can be found by simply typing Sora into a Google search. When you have found the app, please search for Portway Junior School so that you join our online library.

Children can use the Sora app to borrow books, magazines, ebooks and audiobooks from every genre and read for free! The content on the app is from our own school library and, because books are borrowed electronically, there are no overdue fines to be worried about! You can go directly to the Sora link from the pupils' page on our website or you can access it at the link below.

To discover the App, please click this link: Sora Reading App

For an easy-to-understand help guide, please click this link: Sora Help Guide.

Here's why Sora is a must-have for your child:

• Vast selection of engaging books
• Personalised reading experience
• Easy to access
• Fosters independent reading
• Reading is made fun
• Safe and secure environment
• Supports literacy growth

Term Times

School Term Times 2023-2024

Welcome to our term time page, your resource for key dates throughout the year. Here you will find a quick overview and schedule of term dates, holidays, and key milestones.

To ensure you are always up to date on all school activities we encourage you to explore our comprehensive school calendar, where you can discover more about each event and activity.

Together let's embark on a year filled with growth, learning and countless moments of joy and achievement.

Key Dates:

Inset day for staff - 1st September

Autumn term starts for pupils - 4th September 2023

Autumn half-term holiday - 23rd - 27th October

Inset day for staff - 6th November

Christmas holidays start - 15th December - 2nd January

Inset day for staff - 2nd January

Spring term starts for pupils - on 3rd January

Spring half-term holiday - 12th - 16th February

Inset day for staff - 23rd February

Spring term ends - 29th March

Easter holidays - 29th March - 14th April

Summer term starts for pupils - 15th April

Summer half-term holiday - 27th - 31st May

Inset day for staff - 3rd June

Pupils return to school - 4th June

School stops for a summer holiday - 23rd July

Forest School

We are lucky to have lovely Forest School area at Portway and, in our sessions we learn how to take care of the wild. We all have to look after the area and we have a path which helps us to use the area safely. We also mark the hazards - using special red flags - which means that everyone knows the area to stay in and where they have to be careful.

Our Forest School area is very special because there are all sort of hideaway places. We have a firepit there - we are not allowed to step into the fire pit, but have enjoyed cooking marshmallows over the fire! We play games like hide and seek too - it’s exciting to hide among the trees. We have also made snails from the wood that we learn to saw and cut into pieces - there are always two people using the bow and arrow saw. As children spend more time at Portway, we hope that they all get to use our Forest School area as much as possible - it’s a lovely big space and it’s really important that we all know how to look after our environment.

Forest Schools offer a unique and enriching learning experience for children, immersing them in the wonders of the natural world.

Activity in the Forest School Area:

• Nature walks an exploration
• Outdoor arts and crafts
• Tree identification and learning
• Shelter building
• Forest games
• Campfire cooking (Under Supervision.)