Lower Key Stage 2 · Ages 8–9
Year 4.
Vashti Hardy Class & Jim Beckett Class. The second year of Key Stage 2 — Ancient Greece to the Egyptians, the Victorians and the rainforest. The year of the multiplication tables check, and swimming continues.
The team
Two classes, two children's authors.
Each Year 4 class is named after a much-loved children's author whose books we read together throughout the year. Our Year 4 teaching assistants are Miss Hayes and Ms Phillips. They work across the Year 4 classes rather than in one class, so they can go where they are needed.
Lower KS2 · Year 4
Vashti Hardy Class
Mrs Goodwin & Mrs McManus
Job-share class teachers
Lower KS2 · Year 4
Jim Beckett Class
Miss Woodward
Class teacher
Curriculum
What they're learning, this year.
Year 4 covers a wide stretch of history and geography — Ancient Greece, Egypt, Victorian Britain — alongside science topics from sound and electricity to states of matter. Six topics across the year, with the multiplication tables check landing in June.
The year at a glance
Autumn 1
It's All Greek to Me!
Autumn 2
Electrifying Experts
Spring 1
Walk Like an Egyptian
Spring 2
Watery Worlds
Summer 1
Vile Victorians
Summer 2
Jungle Is Massive
Autumn term · this term
It's All Greek to Me!, then Electrifying Experts.
From Athens to Edison.
Year 4 begin the year learning how the Ancient Greek civilisation shaped the world, especially the empire of Alexander the Great. The children find out about the origin of the Olympics, the differences between Athens and Sparta, and what daily life was like for the Greeks.
After half term the topic is Electrifying Experts: the discovery and development of electricity, and key people such as Thomas Edison, Michael Faraday and Nikola Tesla. The children also learn about renewable and non-renewable energy sources.
Later this year: Walk Like an Egyptian and Watery Worlds in the spring, then Vile Victorians and Jungle Is Massive in the summer.
By the end of Year 4
What success looks like.
The National Curriculum sets out what children work towards across each year. These are the headlines for Year 4 — every child develops at their own pace, and these are the milestones, not a checklist.
Mathematics
Recall all multiplication and division facts up to 12×12 (the multiplication tables check happens in June). Compare and order numbers beyond 1,000 and decimals to 2 places. Read Roman numerals to 100. Round any number to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000. Add and subtract numbers up to 4 digits using columnar method. Recognise equivalent fractions; add and subtract fractions with the same denominator.
Reading
Give a personal point of view on a text. Re-explain confidently. Justify inferences with evidence and predict what might happen next. Use appropriate voices for characters in stories. Identify how sentence type can be changed by adding/deleting words or amending punctuation. Skim and scan to locate information.
Writing
Vary sentence structure and openers. Use fronted adverbials with commas after them. Use apostrophe for plural possession. Use inverted commas (with other punctuation) for direct speech. Use paragraphs to organise ideas around a theme; use connecting adverbs to link paragraphs. Increasing legibility, consistency and fluency.
Just for Year 4 parents
Things only you need to know.
A few Year 4 specifics — the multiplication tables check in June, swimming continues, and the homework rhythm steps up.
Multiplication tables check
In June, every Year 4 child sits the national Multiplication Tables Check — 25 random questions on the 2 to 12 times tables, six seconds per question. Low-key, on a tablet, with their class teacher. Daily practice at home (TT Rockstars, five minutes) is the bedrock; we don't want anyone stressed.
Swimming continues
Year 4 is the second of our two-year swimming programme at Lancing College pool. Lessons run weekly during one half-term — the school office sends home dates, kit and any cost contribution at the start of the relevant term.
Homework rhythm
Reading 5 times a week, weekly spellings to learn, and TT Rockstars practice. Use spelling-and-read time as low-pressure family time — five minutes after dinner goes a long way.
Communication
Day-to-day messages come via SchoolPing. Anything urgent — call the school office on 01273 453176 and we'll get a message to the class teacher.
Want to see Year 4 for yourself?
Contact the school office to arrange a visit at a time that suits you — we're happy to help.