Tuesday 15th September 2026
Happy Tuesday!🌟
Welcome to today’s lesson! 🌟 Did you learn something at school today or yesterday that you found a little tricky? Sometimes, children — and adults too! — pretend they understand something because they’re worried about feeling silly. But there is absolutely nothing silly about needing a little extra help. That’s what teachers and schools are there for! Sometimes we need to hear something, read it, practise it, write it down and try it again and again until suddenly… it clicks! 💡 Keep asking questions, keep trying and never give up. Perseverance and a thirst for knowledge are two of the greatest ingredients for success! 📚🧠
On this day... in 1890!
On 15th September 1890, the famous mystery writer Agatha Christie was born in Devon, England. 🔎📚
She grew up to create some of literature’s best-known detectives, including Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, filling her stories with mysterious clues, suspicious characters and unexpected twists.
Christie became one of the best-selling fiction writers of all time, and her books continue to challenge readers to solve the mystery before the detective reveals the answer!
Have a live lesson scheduled today?
Click below to join the meeting.
💭 Thought of the Day
Learning isn't only about books and lessons. Eating well, staying active, drinking plenty of water and getting enough sleep all help your brain stay focused and ready to learn. Look after your body, and you're looking after your mind too! ⭐
I is one, II is two, III is three.
Struggling with Roman numerals, or do you already think they’re great fun? Either way, check out the awesome video below! 🎶🏛️ It uses a fun, catchy song to help you learn and remember Roman numerals. Listen carefully, sing along and see how many you can remember by the end! 🎵🧠
Activity 1: Personification
For today’s activity, we’re going to define, identify and create personification — a special type of figurative language used by many of your favourite authors! 📚✨ Personification helps writers bring their descriptions to life by giving human actions, feelings or qualities to things that aren’t human. It’s also an important skill for the 11+ Reading Comprehension, where you may be asked to identify personification or explain why an author has chosen to use it and what effect it has on the reader. So, let’s find out how it works and then have a go at creating some brilliant examples of our own! ✍️🌟
WATCH
Don't you... forget about me
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
From animals with Simple Minds to humans with slightly more complicated ones, there’s one thing we can all agree on:
Practice makes perfect! 🧠✨
That’s why, every now and then, I’m going to give you a little nudge to practise the vocabulary we’ve learned so far. The more often you use new words, the more naturally they’ll become part of your everyday vocabulary.
So, are you ready? Here’s your challenge!
Choose TWO words from the list below and say a sentence to a relative that uses both words correctly:
Catastrophe • Compulsory • Meander • Portable • Serene • Timid
Monday 14th September 2026
It's a new week! Happy Monday!🌟
Welcome to a brand-new week! It’s the 14th of September, and by now you should be properly settled into your new school year. What topic are you studying this term, and what are you most excited to discover and learn about?
Remember, every day is an opportunity to learn something new. Be enthusiastic, stay curious and never be afraid to ask questions. Some of the greatest discoveries begin with someone simply asking, “Why?” 🌟
On this day... in 1752!
On 14th September 1752, people across Britain woke up to a rather unusual situation — eleven days had disappeared from the calendar! 📅
Britain had changed from the old Julian calendar to the more accurate Gregorian calendar, so Wednesday 2nd September was followed immediately by Thursday 14th September. Imagine going to bed on the 2nd and waking up on the 14th! The change helped bring Britain’s calendar into line with many other European countries.
🌟 Think about it: If you could make one school day disappear from the calendar, which would you choose? 😄
Have a live lesson scheduled today?
Click below to join the meeting.
💭 Thought of the Day
“Every new word you learn gives you a new way to express what you think, feel and imagine.” 📚✨
A strong vocabulary isn’t just about knowing difficult words. The more words you know, the more precisely you can understand the world — and explain your ideas to others.
Horrible Histories - William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was one of Britain’s most famous and influential writers, creating some of the greatest plays and poems ever written. 🎭📚
Learn more about the life and work of William Shakespeare through one of my favourite Horrible Histories songs of all time! It’s a brilliantly funny way to discover more about the man behind Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 🎶✨
Activity 1: Non-Verbal (Most Alike)
For Activity 1 today, I’m inviting you to join a recorded seminar with me and some of last year’s very talented students as we explore a common type of Non-Verbal Reasoning question: Most Alike.
As you watch, remember to pause the video whenever a question appears and have a go yourself before hearing the students’ answers and explanations.
Sunday 13th September 2026
Happy Sunday, Students! 🌟
There are no new activities set for today, so enjoy your Sunday! However, if you find yourself with a little spare time, have a look back through the previous days and catch up on any activities you may have missed or not yet completed.
If you’re eager to keep learning and you’re completely up to date, here are a few simple ways you can continue developing your skills:
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Practise your times tables, particularly the ones you find tricky. Remember, truly mastering your times tables means being able to recall the answers quickly and automatically, without breaking your rhythm.
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Play a game of Scrabble. It’s a fun way to improve spelling, increase your vocabulary, think quickly and practise rearranging letters to form words.
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Discover something new. Watch an interesting documentary or read about a fascinating person, place, event or topic. You never know what might capture your imagination!
Most importantly, enjoy your Sunday and come back refreshed and ready for another week of learning! ⭐
On this day... in 1916!
On 13th September, we celebrate the birthday of one of Britain’s best-known children’s authors, Roald Dahl, who was born in 1916.
Before becoming a writer, Dahl had an adventurous life that included being a fighter pilot and a spy, but he later became famous for creating unforgettable stories such as Matilda, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox.
Today, 13th September is also celebrated as Roald Dahl Story Day, encouraging children to enjoy stories, play with language and use their imaginations. Challenge: If you could invent a Roald Dahl-style character, what wonderfully unusual name would you give them?
💭 Thought of the Day
“Like Matilda, never underestimate the power of a curious mind.”
You don’t need extraordinary powers to achieve extraordinary things. Read, ask questions, stay curious and never stop learning — your mind might just be your greatest superpower! 📚✨
Live Lesson today at 09:00am
11+ Vocabulary
Words we have learned so far:
Compulsory
Serene
Timid
Friday 11th September 2026
Welcome to today’s lesson!
🎉 And… it’s Friday!
Just one more day of crunching those times tables, perfecting your handwriting, and discovering lots of cool new things before you can put your feet up and enjoy the weekend! 🙌
How has your first full week back at school been? Hopefully, you’re starting to settle into your new routines and getting used to everything again.
💭 Have a think: What’s one interesting thing you’ve learned this week?
Now, here’s your challenge… can you find out something MORE about it? 🔎🧠
Sometimes, the best learning starts with simply being curious!
On this day... in 1846!
🌕 A robot landed on the Moon!
On 11 September 1967, a spacecraft called Surveyor 5 successfully landed on the Moon. 🚀
But it didn’t just take photographs — Surveyor 5 became the first spacecraft ever to analyse the soil on another world! Scientists could use the information it sent back to learn what the Moon’s surface was made from. 🔬🌕
Getting there wasn’t easy. The spacecraft developed a problem on its journey, and engineers had to quickly work out a new way to land it safely. Amazingly, it worked!
Surveyor 5 eventually sent back more than 20,000 photographs from the Moon. 📸
And here’s the really cool part…
Less than two years later, Apollo 11 landed humans on the Moon only about 25 kilometres away from where Surveyor 5 had landed!
Live Lesson today at 6:00pm. Click below to join.
(Maths & Non-Verbal Reasoning)
Activity 1
At first glance, Baker Street may seem like an ordinary London road, but behind its busy traffic and familiar buildings lies an extraordinary literary legacy. It became world-famous when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle chose 221B Baker Street as the fictional home of his brilliant detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Discover how Holmes and his loyal companion, Dr John Watson, captured the imaginations of generations through mysteries solved with logic, observation and an exceptional eye for detail. Then explore how fiction spilled into the real world, transforming Baker Street into a destination visited by Sherlock Holmes fans from across the globe.
💭 Thought of the Day
“Don’t be afraid to get things wrong — most people are far too busy thinking about their own mistakes to worry about yours!” 🌱
Putting your hand up, trying something difficult or giving an answer that turns out to be wrong might feel embarrassing for a moment — but that’s how learning happens.
✨ Be brave enough to have a go. Making a mistake is much better than never trying because you were worried about what others might think.
Thursday 10th September 2026
Welcome to today’s lesson!
How was school today? 😊
You should be starting to feel settled into your new school year by now, but don’t worry if you’re still getting used to things. New routines, new classes and new challenges can take a little time — that’s all part of being human! 🌱
💭 Have a think: What’s one thing you learned at school today that you didn’t know yesterday?
On this day... in 1846!
🔭 A new moon was discovered!
On 10 September 1846, astronomer William Lassell discovered Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune! 🌙🔵
What makes this even more amazing is that Neptune itself had only been discovered 17 days earlier!
Lassell used a telescope that he had built himself to look at the newly discovered planet. As he observed Neptune, he spotted something tiny nearby — a moon that nobody had ever seen before!
Triton is a very unusual place. It is extremely cold, has a surface covered in frozen material, and even has geyser-like eruptions that shoot material high above its surface. ❄️
Live Lesson today at 4:00pm. Click below to join.
(English & Verbal Reasoning)
Activity 1
Charles is quiet, distant and a little different. While the other children race around the playground, he prefers to stand at the edges, noticing things that everyone else seems to miss. When his classmates begin to watch more closely, they discover there is far more to Charles than they imagined. From helping an exhausted bee to carefully rescuing a damaged fly, Charles has an extraordinary understanding of the tiny creatures that share their world. Soon, curiosity replaces suspicion, and the children begin to see the playground through Charles’s eyes.
💭 Thought of the Day
“Getting something wrong doesn’t mean you’re bad at it — it means you’ve found something new to learn.” 🌱
Every mistake gives your brain a chance to grow. The important thing isn’t getting everything right the first time — it’s being willing to have another go.
✨ Remember: “I can’t do it” can become “I can’t do it yet.”
Wednesday 9th September 2026
Welcome to today’s lesson!
🌟How was school today?
How are you finding your new school year so far?
Are you enjoying your new classes?
What’s one thing you’d like to focus on doing even better this year than you did last year?
Activity 1
Dance! Dance! takes young readers on an energetic journey through the fascinating world of dance. From the precision and grace of ballet to the partnership of ballroom, the rhythm of tap, the creativity of contemporary dance and the expressive world of street dance, readers discover how different styles have developed and what makes each one unique.Written especially with 11+ preparation in mind, this engaging non-fiction text helps pupils practise essential comprehension skills, including retrieval, inference, vocabulary in context, comparison, identifying evidence and understanding a writer’s purpose.
On this day... in 1947!
79 years ago, on 9 September 1947, engineers working on an early computer at Harvard University found a computer bug.And we mean literally… a computer BUG!
🐛💻They found a moth trapped inside the computer, interfering with one of its components. The engineers carefully removed it and even taped the moth into their logbook!
Here’s the funny part: people were already using the word “bug” to describe problems with machines. So when the engineers found a real bug inside their computer, they joked that it was the “first actual case of bug being found.”And the moth? It was kept and can still be seen today! 🦋
Got an 1:1 lesson today? Click the image below.
💭 Thought of the Day
You don’t have to be great at something straight away. Every time you practise, make a mistake, or try again, you’re getting a little bit better.” 🌱✨
Think about it:
What’s something you can keep practising this year, even when it feels tricky?