Language & Literature

How Did the Penguin Get its Name?

These days, we all know what a penguin looks like. Even if you haven’t seen a real, live penguin, I’m sure you have seen pictures, perhaps watched them in a film. It seems strange to think that people in Europe had no idea they existed for so many centuries! Perhaps you have wondered about that part of history.

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Sports

Stories from the Stables Part 2 – Topper. Ouch!

Our Stories from the Stables series from Carolyn Ward continues with a  flea-bitten grey with a shocking attitude.

 

Topper.  I swear that pony could scowl.

It was my week to ride him, and I had just hauled him all the way down to the outdoor school and stood him in the middle to check his girth and stirrups.  As I reached under to tighten up the girth he turned his head toward me and eyeballed me, then stepped over with his nearside foreleg; and stamped on my left foot.

I hissed a very rude word and frantically pushed him to move him off. My foot sunk into the woodchip surface with his heavy weight crushing it down.  By now he was still looking directly at me, so I started punching his shoulder to try and get him to step off.  Today’s teacher was a crosspatch I have no fond memories of; if she had found out about it I’d have been bawled out for having my foot in the wrong place or something.

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Poetry By You, Written By You

Birds Eye View – Poetry Written By You

Hi, my name’s Daisy and I have a passion for writing and poetry.
One thing I like to write poems about are birds because they are such free and stunning creatures that fill the skies with their sweet sounding songs and happy chirps. I have written a poem about a bird flying in the Norfolk Countryside because that is where I live.
I wrote this poem when I was 10 years old.  I have now just turned twelve so although it is not one of my latest poems I would still like to share it with you. If you know Norfolk you might recognise some of the places in the poem.

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Art & History

Great Women You Should Know – Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft is known as one of the earliest feminist thinkers and writers to become famous and influential throughout Europe.  This reputation comes from the publication of her book “Vindication on the Rights of Women” in 1790.  At the time it was written, women in Britain didn’t go to school, weren’t allowed to vote or do the same work as men. But who was she, and where did she come from?

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