This term the children in Year 5 & 6 have been thoroughly engaged in a collection of Grimm Tales, adapted by Philip Pullman. From the quests and romance of classics such as 'Rapunzel' and 'Cinderella' to the danger and wit of such lesser-known tales, 'The Three Snake Leaves' and the class favourite ‘Hans-my-Hedgehog’, the children have enjoyed reading and re-reading these tales full of wicked wives, brave children and villainous kings.

Through the sequence of learning, the children began by orally telling their own story using props, followed by analysis of the language, characterisation and common story structure across many of the tales. They made comparisons between many versions of the same story and were definitely keener on the ‘Grimm versions’.

Finally, the children wrote their own Grimm tale, planning for a balance of dialogue and narrative to advance the action quickly. Full of gruesome deaths and lessons to be learnt, they created a superb collection of tales.