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On Thursday 21st December, pupils at Cheadle Hulme Primary School had the exciting opportunity to be filmed by BBC News and appear on the national evening news as part of a feature on British Sign Language (BSL).

It comes after the government announced their move to offer BSL as a GCSE in England from September 2025.

At Cheadle Hulme Primary School, children learn how to sign from the moment they start school.

Signing is used in assemblies, lessons, and as part of performances.

As part of the school’s Key Stage 2 Carol Concert, pupils in Year 5 have been signing throughout performances within the school and at the local church.

Their school performance was broadcast on national television as part of the BBC One Evening News programming on Thursday.

During the feature, pupils discussed why they feel it is important for young people to learn how to sign.

One pupil said; “I believe it’s good because it can help support people to sign to communicate.”

Another said; “I think it would make people that can’t hear well very happy that you’re talking to them.”

In 2022, BSL was officially recognised as a language in the UK following the passing of the British Sign Language Act.

Students taking the new GCSE will learn more than 1000 signs, as well as studying the history of British Sign Language in the UK.

Mr Thompson, Head of School, said:

“We have children in school who rely upon using signs to communicate with their peers, and for their peers to communicate with them. Signing is an important part of school life, and I would hate for that to end when they leave their primary education.”

Cheadle Hulme Primary School is one of three primary schools within the Laurus Trust.

The Laurus vision is for everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, to be inspired, to thrive in all environments, to recognise what it takes to succeed, to set aspirational goals and work hard to achieve them.

As such, a great deal of importance is attached to developing pupils’ oracy and communication skills, including sign language.

The commitment to teaching BSL, as part of a wide progressive Enrichment Curriculum, is underpinned by the school’s mission to ‘prepare our children for a world we know and a world yet to be discovered.’

It has been a very busy term at Cheadle Hulme Primary School and to end a fantastic month filled with festive cheer, we have wrapped up some of the highlights from the past few months!

Pupil Parliament Week

UK Parliament Week was an opportunity for the children to really immerse themselves in the idea of what parliament/government is and what they can do for us. The topics they spoke about in class ranged from naming and identifying different locations in parliament (The Houses of Parliament, Westminster, 10 Downing Street, Houses of Commons and Lords) to debating in class.

Forest School

Forest School is an educational approach to outdoor learning and is designed to inspire all individuals through positive outdoor experiences. Children can learn about and interact with their natural environment, use their own initiative to solve problems, work closely with others and handle their own risks.

Our Forest School Base Camp is located on our school grounds behind the school MUGA. Every academic year, each class at Cheadle Hulme Primary School has a series of Forest School sessions encompassing art and creative skill, as well as bushcraft, den building, bug hunting – usually rounded off by the obligatory hot chocolate!

Nativity

Each year our pupils really look forward to the nativity and they always embody the characters. Whilst this is an exciting and interactive performance, it is also a chance for our pupils to learn all about advent and the Christmas Story. They all did a fabulous job this year with lots of energy and worked hard learning their lines.

Visit from GM Police

Year 2 had a visit from Greater Manchester Police, to learn all about their day-to-day job and to explore their theme of ‘heroism’. This was an opportunity for the children to learn, interact, and get a real idea about everything the Police do for people all around Greater Manchester.

Inflatables Day

All the pupils had a fantastic day on the inflatables and bouncy castles which we hired. This was a treat for the children and a chance to have fun and play with their friends outside of school times and wear their own clothes.

That’s a wrap! From all of us at Cheadle Hulme Primary School, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!