As part of the National Year of Reading and our celebrations for World Book Day week, we are excited to announce Lapal’s very first Pupil Book Swap, taking place on Wednesday 4th March 2026.

During the morning, each class will visit the hall where children will have the opportunity to choose a new‑to‑them book to take home and enjoy. All we ask is that every child brings one book from home, in good, readable condition, to swap for another story that sparks their imagination.

This event will be kindly hosted by our incredible Friends of Lapal team, who are helping us make this a memorable and enjoyable experience for all children.

To further celebrate this, we would love you to send in photos of you and your child reading their new‑to‑them book at home, so that we can capture the success and impact of this amazing event.

Please email any photos to the school office: school@lapal.dudley.sch.uk

Please see the attached flyer for more information, and feel free to spread the word—let’s celebrate reading together!

Thank you for your support.

With an exciting half term of Spring celebrations ahead, our Reception children have been busy exploring the meaning and traditions of Lunar New Year. They have learned how and why members of our local community celebrate this special festival and discovered what it represents.

Marking the Year of the Horse, the children took part in their own zodiac race, found out which animal represents their birth year, and explored the story behind the Chinese zodiac. Creativity flourished as they designed vibrant lanterns and dragon masks in lucky colours, and practised lion dance moves in preparation for a joyful parade around the school to wish everyone a happy new year.

新年快乐 – Xīn Nián Kuài Lè!

Over the last two weeks, pupils from Years 3 and 4 as well as Years 5 and 6 proudly represented our school at the West Midlands Maths Championships 2026 at Woodside Primary School this week. Throughout the event, the children demonstrated outstanding perseverance, teamwork and excellent speaking and listening skills as they tackled a range of challenging mathematical activities.

The competition required pupils to use creative thinking in maths with games and tasks including Target 24, a selection of logic puzzles and problem‑solving challenges that tested their reasoning and collaboration.

We are especially proud of our Year 5 and 6 team, who came second in their heat and have secured a place in the finals in June. This is a fantastic achievement and reflects their hard work, determination and passion for maths.

Well done to all pupils involved—they were great ambassadors for our school!

The children in EYFS and KS1 were absolutely delighted to welcome children’s author Donna David into school yesterday afternoon. She spoke with great warmth about what it means to be an author, sharing stories from her own childhood and the experiences that inspired her love of writing. The children were fascinated to hear about her passion for reading. Donna also read her book to us, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Later on, she met with some of our parents to chat about the importance of reading at home, sparking a lively and heartwarming discussion about our favourite childhood authors and the joy that books bring to family life.

This term, we are excited to launch Friday Feel‑Good Singing!

Every Friday afternoon, our whole school comes together to end the week with music, positivity, and community. We explore how music can lift our mood, bring us together, and help us celebrate another fantastic week at Lapal.

Throughout February, we’ll be focusing on how music can boost our confidence. The Ordinary and Happy Company have shared some brilliant song suggestions to help us think about how singing can make us feel bold and empowered. Why not give them a try at home?

Let’s get Lapal singing… and let’s get confident!

Year 2 have been embracing their Forest School adventures in all weathers, showing brilliant enthusiasm come rain or shine. They were especially excited to plant our free Woodland Trust saplings, beginning a beautiful new border for the Forest School area. Along the way, the children were delighted to spot two robins and listen to their cheerful song. Next week promises even more excitement as we make our own bird feeders and cook up all sorts of imaginative dishes in the mud kitchen.