What has been happening in school? Have a read 😊

• Helen Morgan visits us at Criftins C of E Primary & Nursery

  Mon 26 Jan 2026 N Evans

  We were delighted to welcome a special visitor to Criftins this morning, our local MP, Helen Morgan.

  Helen met every pupil, toured the school and was impressed by the children’s questions, taking time to answer them and explain her role. She also met with the Associate Heads of School, Miss Nia Evans and Mr Robert Jones, alongside our Chair of Governors, Mrs Janet Gargiulo.

  It was so valuable to have the chance to share our context, celebrate what makes our school such a special place and discuss some of the challenges we face as a small, rural school. 

  Helen was very complimentary about our school, our curriculum and, most importantly, our pupils. She could see what a wonderful place Criftins C of E Primary School and Nursery is. 

  Thank you to Helen Morgan for taking the time to visit our school. It was a pleasure to welcome her and share our school community.

  

• Year 3/ 4 Dodgeball

  Wed 21 Jan 2026 S.Palmer

  Another fantastic result for our Year 3/4 Dodgeball team who came 2nd today by winning 9 out of 12 matches and, as with our Year 5/6, have qualified for the North Shropshire finals as the top Ellesmere cluster school.

  Amazing result!

• Y5/6 Shakespeare Drama Workshop

  Sat 17 Jan 2026 Nia Evans

  This week, Michael Jenkins from Moreton Hall visited Class 4 to deliver a brilliant drama workshop exploring Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’.

   

  Michael, a professional actor and Moreton Hall’s Head of Drama, praised the pupils’ creativity:

   

  “Criftins School have got real talent. I was thrilled with how the pupils responded. Within just one hour, they were choreographed and working superbly together to create a tempest, telling the story of Prospero and his spirit, Ariel.

   

  “Every pupil was fully invested, using physicality and vocal skills to deliver the narrative while making great use of Shakespeare’s words. It was brilliant.”

   

  A huge thank you to Mr Jenkins for an engaging and inspiring workshop. The room was full of energy and enthusiasm, and it was wonderful to see the children’s confidence grow throughout the session.

  

• Year 6 Dodgeball

  Wed 14 Jan 2026 S.Palmer

  Congratulations to our Dodgeball team who, today, competed at the Marches School along with 12 other cluster schools.

  They won all their matches bar 1 and tied for 1st place in their pool.  The number of players left in each match are recorded and they missed the finals by 1 point allowing Whittington School to go through against Woodside.  However, as the top team from the Ellesmere cluster we have qualified for the North Shropshire finals, a tremendous achievement - well done to our team!

  

• Farewell, Mr Rushton

  Sun 21 Dec 2025 N Evans

  On Friday, with heavy hearts, we said goodbye to our very own Mr Rushton. 

  We came together for a special farewell service, with moving songs sung by the whole school and magnificent performances from each class. Alongside the children, we were joined by staff past and present, parents and members of the wider community.

  Mr Rushton has worked at Criftins for 13 years. During this time, he has taught across both KS1 and KS2, worked as Assistant Headteacher alongside Mrs Mandy Jones and, over the last two and a half years, taken on the role of Head of School. He has brought so much joy, kindness and passion to school life, along with many a joke! 

  He has inspired many adults and children during his time, and leaves behind a legacy that will stay with our school for years to come. 

  We wish you every happiness in your retirement, Mr Rushton, and thank you for everything you have given to Criftins. 

  You will be missed by us all. ❤️

  

• Online Workshop with The National Archives, London

  Sun 21 Dec 2025 N Evans

  Class 3 had an incredible online workshop yesterday with Sarah from The National Archives, streamed live from their London site, as part of their history learning on Ancient Egypt.

  This was a wonderful opportunity, giving our children the chance to work directly with a National Archives expert and explore genuine historical sources from thousands of years ago. 

  The children were completely engaged throughout, asking brilliant questions and showing great enthusiasm. This was a live session just for Class 3, which made the experience even more special.

  What an amazing experience! 

  

• Christmas Nativitiy

  Sun 21 Dec 2025 N Evans

  Our nativity performance is always such a special event. With both an afternoon and an evening show, the children were absolutely incredible and made us so proud.

  Every child had the chance to perform lines if they wished and the growth in confidence from the first practices to the final performances was amazing to see.

  It all came together beautifully- a traditional nativity story (with an added bit of disco groove!), fantastic acting and some joyous singing and dancing! Thank you for all of the lovely feedback. 

  For more photos from our nativity, head over to the collective worship page on our website:
  https://www.criftins.shropshire.sch.uk/collective-worship-1/

   

  

• Journey Day. 🌟

  Mon 08 Dec 2025 C.Suckley

   

  💫 The whole school came together today for Journey Day, something we have done and valued for many years. It is a time when we step away from the traditional timetable and focus on spiritual development. The children spent the day in their house teams rather than their usual classes and it was so lovely to see them working with different children.

   

  This term our theme was Christmas, with the scripture, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

   

   

  During the day, children moved through a range of stations including:

  ✨Creating stable scenes in Forest School
  ✨Exploring nativity interpretations from around the world
  ✨Making nativity themed decorations and clay stars 
  ✨Creating Christingles and learning about their meaning 
  ✨A music session with Mr Jones and Mr Kitcher learning songs about light and understanding the lyrics 
  ✨A calm reflection room for prayer and quiet thought

   

  To finish the day, the children came together to reflect on the day and perform a song they had learnt in their music session. We were also joined by our Reverend Gareth who closed the day with a thoughtful prayer. 

  

• Daily Mile Santa Dash

  Fri 05 Dec 2025 E.Ellis

  Criftins children, from Nursery to Year 6, took part in this fun, feel-good event which is all about getting children, teachers, and whole school communities moving together to celebrate the joy of being active. The Santa Dash is the perfect way to spread festive cheer while keeping everyone healthy and happy in the run-up to the holidays.

  

• THANK YOU

  Fri 05 Dec 2025 C Suckley

  We want to say a big thank you to Jane Webber and The Welsh Frankton Mothers Union for donating such a lovely selection of Children's Bibles and Christian stories for our library. The children have had a great time looking through them and selecting the ones that they would like to read!