KS2 AUTHOR WORKSHOP - SUE PALMER - THE SHELL SECRET
Dear Parents,
On 24th September, author Sue Palmer will be running workshops for years 3 to 6 at Grove CE Primary School, called 'Secrets of the Shore – Rocking rock pools' and introducing her new children's book to us. The Shell Secret is an award- winning adventure and mystery story, set on the Cornish coast. Sue will be reading from her book, sharing the backdrop to her story and revealing the amazing and strange lives of some of the creatures to be found on our shores.
For 11-year-old budding detective Alice Clark, summers in Trevellen used to mean roaming the beaches and rockpools, collecting shells with her sister, Poppy.
But this year is different. Without Poppy and forbidden from visiting the beach alone, Alice reluctantly strikes a deal with Jasperthe annoying boy who's just moved in next door.
But the arrangement quickly becomes more complicated than she expects.
Drawn into the heart of a World War II mystery, Alice and Jasper find themselves in real danger, unearth a shocking family secret, and risk losing the one thing Alice came back to Trevellen to protect.
"Gripping...packed with mystery, danger and hidden truths"
"A thrilling adventure for 7–12-year-olds"
"Fascinating, intricate and totally absorbing"
If you would like your child to have a book signed by Sue or to order books for gifts, please order your copy from the Wallingford Bookshop Grove Primary School Page by the 21st September.
https://www.wallingfordbookshop.co.uk/sue-palmer-school-visits
They are discounting the price of The Shell Secret for our event.
Sue will bring the books along on the day and sign and personalize each book. Please do order one if you can as Sue is running these workshops at no cost to the school.
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KS2 AUTHOR WORKSHOP - SUE PALMER - THE SHELL SECRET Dear Parents, On 24th September, author Sue Palmer will be running workshops for years 3 to 6 at Grove CE Primary School, called 'Secrets of the Shore – Rocking rock pools' and introducing her new children's book to us. The Shell Secret is an award- winning adventure and mystery story, set on the Cornish coast. Sue will be reading from her book, sharing the backdrop to her story and revealing the amazing and strange lives of some of the creatures to be found on our shores. For 11-year-old budding detective Alice Clark, summers in Trevellen used to mean roaming the beaches and rockpools, collecting shells with her sister, Poppy. But this year is different. Without Poppy and forbidden from visiting the beach alone, Alice reluctantly strikes a deal with Jasperthe annoying boy who's just moved in next door. But the arrangement quickly becomes more complicated than she expects. Drawn into the heart of a World War II mystery, Alice and Jasper find themselves in real danger, unearth a shocking family secret, and risk losing the one thing Alice came back to Trevellen to protect. "Gripping...packed with mystery, danger and hidden truths" "A thrilling adventure for 7–12-year-olds" "Fascinating, intricate and totally absorbing" If you would like your child to have a book signed by Sue or to order books for gifts, please order your copy from the Wallingford Bookshop Grove Primary School Page by the 21st September. https://www.wallingfordbookshop.co.uk/sue-palmer-school-visits They are discounting the price of The Shell Secret for our event. Sue will bring the books along on the day and sign and personalize each book. Please do order one if you can as Sue is running these workshops at no cost to the school.
As we gathered at church on Tuesday for our Leavers Service, we celebrated an extraordinary farewell to our phenomenal Year 6s; outstanding staff and colleagues; and students embarking on new adventures! Wishing them limitless next chapters, where they'll continue to let their light shine. We also honored the shining stars in each class who exemplified our school values all year, earning the prestigious Governors award. Congratulations to these excellent pupils!
Why not visit Letcombe Brook this summer for these fun events?
Oak, Rowan, Willow, Maple and Sycamore Classes have already visited Grove Library this term to learn about how to sign up for the #SummerReadingChallenge 2026 and start their summer reading adventure! Make sure your family has a library card and pop in to Grove or Wantage library to join in the fun! https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk
Years 1 to 5 voted for their new school councillors last week, who will be representing their new classes in September. Today they were invited to an event run by Sustainable Wantage, to find out more about what other local school councils have been doing to encourage environmental awareness and to take part in some fun activities. They met Olly Glover, Liberal Democrat MP for Didcot and Wantage, found out about Letcombe Brook and Wild Wantage, powered a battery with pedal power and saw a robotic dog that uses AI to map out the room. We can't wait to think of ways to help our environment around school!
Postponed!
Quidditch at Grove! Today we had a very magical day learning how to play Quidditch; the game played in the Harry Potter book series. Our Professor, Jamie, began the day with a sorting ceremony where our house captains were chosen using the sorting hat and assigned a Hogwarts House based on their attributes. Once we had our captains from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin each class had a session learning the rules of the game. The children had so much fun learning how the quaffle and bludger balls are used and we had speedy human snitches zooming around whilst others tried to take their golden tags for points! The day ended with the announcement of which house got the most points. The winners were.... RAVENCLAW! Thank you so much to Jamie and to Miss Cooper for arranging such a fun day for the children.
Thank you to Cat and Jude from the Letcombe Brook Project who kindly showed Year 3 and 4 around the brook in Grove last week. We were fascinated to learn about this rare chalk stream, to find out what animals live in and around it and to calculate the water flow under the bridge. We didn't let the wet weather stop us learning more about geography in real life!