• Research Bletchley Park, home of the code breakers.
• Explore the Museum of Science and Industry, online if necessary
• Read Carol Vorderman’s coding books
• Try out your skills at www.codeacademy.com
• Attempt the different activities at www.cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk
• Join a Coderdojo – Cheadle have their own! www.coderdojo.com
• Watch The Enigma Code
• Join a coding club (www.codeclub.org.uk)
• Visit www.W3schools.com

• Learn who the twelve Olympians are and find out what they are responsible for. We will be incredibly impressed with anyone who can remember them all! Top tip: You could make some flip-cards and get someone to test you!
• Watch one of the following Greek myths and make a storyboard, summarising the story: Video 1    Video 2    Video 3
• Etymology is the study of words and where they originally come from. For example, the word daisy, comes from the Old English words for ‘days’ and eyes’ because the petals open when the sun rises and close when it sets.
• Find out what the oral tradition is and research a story which was originally shared via the oral tradition.
• Create a fact file about King Arthur, including the stories, characters and objects, which surround these legends.
• COMPETITION: Watch one of the following myths from around the world and write a poem, narrating the events of the myth. Alternatively, you could write a diary entry from the perspective of one of the characters involved in the myth. Video 1    Video 2    Video 3
• Create a fact file about William Shakespeare, including information about his life and works.
• Take a virtual tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. You could make a list of facts you learn while you’re exploring. Click Here.
• Read a book from the English section of the KS3 reading list. After you’ve read it, you could write a book review about the book, or a poster advertising it!
• On a rainy afternoon, get comfy and watch a film inspired by some of the great myths and legends we will study in Year 7 eg Hercules, The Sword and the Stone or Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.

The key to success is making sure that we read a variety of things and that we do it often. The most important advice we can give you is to find a book you can’t bear to put down! As J.K. Rowling said, ‘If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.’

As your teachers, we have created a fabulous Book List of our personal favourites and books to help you excel in each of our subjects. The list is available below, in the library or from your English teacher. All of these books are available at local Tameside libraries.

Over the summer holidays, we’d like you to get a head start and read any book from the list. Then, once you get to school in September, you can complete a quiz on the book to see how much you remember. The more correct quizzes you complete throughout Y7 the more badges you’ll earn!”

Click here to access the book list.

Click here to access the Year 6 Summer Reading Challenge.

• Improve your knowledge of places around the world by playing games on www.sporcle.com/games/category/geography as well as www.geoguessr.com. Record your best score and bring it into school in September.
• Draw and label a map of your local area and detail on where you went for a walk or a bike ride. Bring this into school to show your new classmates in September.
• On YouTube, watch Greta Thunberg’s speech at the UN Climate Change conference. Design a poster to support her campaign and to use during a Climate Emergency rally in school in September.
• Research the Anglo-Saxons in Britain and focus on Alfred the Great, Queen Aethelflaed, King Egbert and King Aethered the Unready. Produce a factfile on them and important things that happened in their reigns both positive and negative.
• Research your favourite castles in the United Kingdom- which is your favourite and why? Can you explain how they have changed over time?
• Watch some programmes on BBC iPlayer and write a review of your favourite which persuades others to watch it.
  eg: David Olusoga- A House Through Time series
  Seven Ages of Britain
  Rome’s Lost Empire with Dan Snow
  Invasion! With Sam Willis
  Civilisations with Simon Schama
  Black and British with David Olusoga
• Using the interactive resource, explore the galleries and artefacts inside the British Museum. Create a ‘must see’ guide to the museum including your own top 5 artefacts and an explanation why you have chosen them  https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/
• Do you know anyone in the Armed Forces? Where have they been stationed and why? Can you locate this on a map? What previous conflicts have happened here?
• Make a virtual tour of a famous place of worship or pilgrimage site. This must include where it is, how to get there and why it is famous! Use images and explain what is interesting about it.
• Create a fact file on the religion that you know the least about (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism or Buddhism). Possible things to include are: the symbol of the religion and what it stands for, place of worship, one fact about prayer/ meditation, where the religion comes from, who is an important figure in the religion and why.
• Find one religious charity and make a note of what they stand for and how they help (this can be from any religion).

• Look for languages everywhere! Have a look around your home and make a list of a few things that have words on them in foreign languages. You can also think of films, songs, books or computer games that you know which may have foreign words in them. Write down the things you have found and the foreign-language words they have on them. Then, see if you can work out what language these are in and what they mean (you can use the internet to help you). Remember that languages are all around you, all the time!
• Think about your favourite painters, musicians, singers, writers, footballers, rugby players, dancers or any other celebrities. Can you think of one who is from another country or who has gone to work abroad? Find out some information about them, including what language(s) they speak, what they do, where they were born, where they have lived, and so on. It’s important to realise that people use languages in all kinds of ways when they are older – it’s not just about becoming a translator or a languages teacher.
• Think of something that’s weird about English! Think about this: if one mouse is a mouse and two mice are mice, then why aren’t two houses “hice?” If one goose is a goose and two geese are geese, then why aren’t two mooses “meese”? Can you think of something else like this that’s weird about the English language, and write it down? Questioning your understanding of your own language will help you to see the patterns in a new language.
• Do some research online about the Spanish language. At Laurus Ryecroft, you will be learning Spanish as soon as you start school. Spanish is one of the world’s most widely spoken languages. Do you know which countries in the world speak Spanish? Can you write down 5 of them? 10? Can you name any famous celebrities who speak Spanish, and what countries they come from?
• Now, find out something about another language. Choose another language that you know of – you could find out which are the most widely spoken languages in the world and choose one of those, or you could choose a language from a country where you have been on holiday, or you could choose a language that you speak at home with your family. (Don’t choose Spanish again!) Find out some facts about this language and write them down – how many people speak it? What countries is it spoken in? Can you name any famous people who speak this language, and say where they come from? Can you also write down any words that you know in this language, and say what they mean?
• Find a motto in Latin from a football side, university or other organisation. Lots of big organisations have ‘mottos’ – these are short sayings that appear on the official logo of the organisation. Very many of these mottos are in Latin, an ancient language. The following organisations all have Latin mottos: Manchester City FC, Arsenal FC, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, Manchester University, Salford University, Oldham Council, Manchester Council, and many more… Find the Latin motto of any of these organisations (or find another one if you prefer!), write it down, and see if you can find out what it means in English. Latin is an ancient language, but it’s all around us. When we understand Latin words, it helps us to understand many words in Spanish, English and many other languages.
• Do you know anything about the rainforests of South America? Costa Rica has one of the richest collections of plants and animals on the planet. They speak Spanish in Costa Rica too! What can you find out about the rainforests of Costa Rica?
• Find a famous painting by a Spanish-speaking artist. Go online and take a look at some of the famous paintings by Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Diego Velázquez, Joan Miró, or any other artist you can find from a Spanish-speaking country. (If you’re not sure what to choose, why not have a look at the “Three Musicians” by Pablo Picasso?) Can you describe what’s in the painting, and say what you like or don’t like about it?
• Listen to the sounds of Spanish. If you’ve got Netflix or Disney+ or another online streaming service, you may be able to start playing your favourite film or TV show and then change the audio language to Spanish. You could also go to https://play.los40.com or download the “Los40 Radio” app for your phone, and listen to a little bit of Spanish radio. Spend a little while listening to what Spanish sounds like. You’ll soon be making these sounds yourself!

• Find ways to play with mathematics, every single day of the summer holidays. This book by Rob Eastaway and Rob Askew has some fabulous ideas. Maths on the Go! 101 Fun ways to play with maths.
• Think about the ginormous nature of number! How many hours will you be on holiday for, from the time you leave your primary school, to the time you start at Laurus Ryecroft? How many minutes is this? How many seconds? How old will you be when you start school at Laurus Ryecroft? In hours? Minutes? Seconds?
• Would you rather put £3 in the bank and have it triple each week for four weeks or put £4 in the bank and have it quadruple each week for three weeks? Be ready to justify and explain your answer.
• Visit http://www.mathscareers.org.uk/11-14/  and explore this website. Research some of the career profiles and think of a creative way to share your research.
• Take on the “Corbett 5-a-day” challenge. Can you answer 5 maths questions a day throughout the summer? Follow the link and choose from levels bronze, silver, gold and platinum, but pick a level that will challenge you. https://corbettmaths.com/5-a-day/primary/

• You may have seen some of M.C. Escher’s amazing mathematical prints? Have a look at his work; discover the mathematics within this amazing art. Can you create your own mathematical print, Escher style!
• Whilst you are out and about this summer, keep your eyes open for patterns and tessellations! Take some pictures of floor tiles, geometric ceilings, 3D structures and create a poster we can display in the maths classrooms. Patterns and structures are all around us. Sometimes you do not see them unless you are really looking!!
• Do you know about the Fibonacci sequence? Find out about how this links to nature. It is fascinating!  Use the links below to find out more: http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/secondary/math/download/file/powerpoint/Year%206%20Spirals.ppt

http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/secondary/math/download/file/Year%207%20The%20Golden%20Number.ppt

• Have you got a cook book at home? Can you find a recipe? Look at the ingredients required and notice how many people the recipe will feed. Think about how you would change the amounts of each ingredient so that the recipe would make enough for two people. What about for 10 people? Make a poster to display in our classrooms.
• People are naturally curious about mathematics. Gaining mathematical understanding is intrinsically satisfying. Here are some links to some interesting tasks. Have a go and bring your ideas into school in September.

https://nrich.maths.org/7035

https://nrich.maths.org/7016

https://nrich.maths.org/7024

https://nrich.maths.org/11119

https://nrich.maths.org/12672

• Practice your instrument regularly
• Sing every day
• Try to watch some of the BBC Proms concerts on television or iPlayer
• Go to the BBC Ten Pieces website to discover up to 40 classical masterpieces All 40 pieces – BBC Teach
• Listen to some different styles of music on the radio. Try Classic FM, Jazz FM, BBC Radio 6
• Go to a concert with your family or friends
• Research an instrument you would like to play when you join secondary school.
• Make a list of your favourite artists and find out how they started on their musical journey.

• On a rainy day watch an episode of Planet Earth or Blue Planet from BBC iPlayer and be amazed at the world we live in!
•  When you’re out and about, or even in your garden, have a look at all of the different plants you can see. What is the same about them all? What differences are there between them?
• Put some milk on a plate and add a few drops of food colouring in the centre. Using a cotton bud, dab some liquid into the food colouring at the centre of the milk and watch what happens! Why is this?
• Find out why the days are longer during the summer and shorter in the winter.
• Find out all about Alan Turing: Who was he? Where was he from? Why is he important?
• Have a read of one of the ‘Horrible Science’ books and write down three things that you found interesting.
• On a hot day, add some ice cubes to your drink. What happens to them? What happens to the temperature of your drink? What happens the level of liquid in the glass? Why does all of this happen?
• Find out why it’s important to wear sun cream when you are out in the sun.
• Take a photo of ‘Science in Action’ in your house or garden.
• Take a virtual tour of the Science Museum, London: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/virtual-tour-science-museum

• Have a think about what Creative Design actually means and the sort of things you might be doing in this subject.
• On one particular day during the holidays count how many household products you use that help you in your daily life e.g. a kettle or an iron. Do you think this is a lot?
• Imagine you are starting your own company and you need a creative, eyecatching logo. Design your logo on a sheet of A4 paper. Be prepared to show your design to the class and talk about it.
• Visit Manchester Art Gallery and Whitworth Art Gallery, online if necessary. Research famous British fashion designers and look at images of their work.
• Choose your favourite design and write a short paragraph explaining why you like it.
• Take a range of photos of buildings you like the look of. Why do you like these particular buildings? Are they modern buildings? Are they old buildings?
• Find out all you can about any of these famous creative designers: Sir James Dyson, Dame Zara Hadid, Coco Chanel, Jimmy Choo.
• Write three sentences explaining why Creative Design is important.
• Take a trip to a toy shop if possible and have a look at the soft toys. What do you like about the soft toys? Could any of the soft toys be improved in any way?
• Visit the Museum of Science and Industry, online or in person, and look at all the old machines that used to be used for making cotton.
• Find out three facts about cotton.

• Consider who your sporting influence is – why are they so influential? What have they achieved? How did they start their sporting career?
• During the summer holidays, play a sport or participate in a physical activity once a week.
• Research a sport that you have never played before. Find out the rules and its most famous players.
• Visit the National Football Museum in Manchester, online if necessary.
• Research a famous sportsman or sportswoman and write a short paragraph on what they have achieved in their career to date.
• Write three sentences to explain why PE is important to you.
• Find out where your local sports clubs are in your area and what sports they offer.
• Pick a sport and research its history in the UK or globally.
• Become familiar with what the different muscles are called in your body – draw a diagram to demonstrate where they are.
• Research why physical activity is important and list the top 10 benefits to your body and well-being.