PUPILS at Romsey Abbey C of E Primary School have been building dens and an ark last week as they continue to learn in their smaller classes amid coronavirus.

This comes after pupils in Reception, Year 1 and 6 were welcomed back to school two weeks ago, where classes have now been split into bubbles with 15 people in them to stop the spread of coronavirus.

This week pupils in the pink bubble explored The Gruffalo character, created by author Julia Donaldson.

Their teacher, Kathryn Holyland, said: “We went out into the school’s woodland area with the forest school den building kit and the children designed a cave for The Gruffalo to live in.

"They had to think about how tall the Gruffalo is as well as what he might need in his cave such as a toilet, kitchen and a bed; the pupils thoroughly enjoyed doing this.

"We have also been learning The Gruffalo song in Makaton, which is challenging, but the children are quickly learning the different signs.”

The Green bubble class created an Ark of Patience and their class teacher said: "We reflected on all of the times we need patience in life and created an ark upon the flood waters to remind us of Noah’s patience during his long wait for the flood waters to recede.

"The pupils have also been busy creating designs for a peace pole, which has been inspired by the theme of Standing Alone.

"The Year 6 pupils in the green bubble focussed on the power of our word to bring peace to the world.

"We have some brilliant artists and some wonderfully inspiring minds.”

The pupils in the Orange bubble also enjoyed the adventures of Elmer The Patchwork Elephant, by David McKee.

"Their class teacher, Miss Lisa O’Donohoe, said: “We have been retelling the story of Elmer using story stones and we’ve been painting to create our own patterns on elephants.

"The children had to mix paint to create the colours we wanted for their pictures. We are all very proud of our work.

"We also discussed why Elmer is special and this inspired us to write about what makes us special.”

The activities took place on Monday, June 15, and Tuesday, June 16.