Thomas the Gorilla Visits Year 5

01 February 2022

Year 5 were visited by Teach Rex New Age education to learn more about deforestation and the effect it is having on our planet.

Year 5 were very lucky to have a visit from ‘TeachRex New Age Education’, who introduced their very special guest, ‘Thomas the Gorilla'.  During the day, the children were treated to a thought-provoking assembly on deforestation and the effect it is having on our planet, before embarking on a range of workshops and class activities.

During the assembly the children came face to face with Thomas and were immersed in the story of Thomas’s life. Through story-telling by the TeachRex team, the pupils developed an emotional attachment with Thomas and his home, exploring the positive and negative impacts of human behaviours on our world. The story outlined the importance of sustainability and raised awareness of our human footprint on the world around us.  

The children worked in small groups to plan and then act out their own movies using iPads and green screen technology and, in the process, learnt how to edit their videos. In class, the pupils researched critically endangered animals and created excellent information posters in groups before learning how to sketch gorillas. It appears that we have some very talented artists in Year 5!

Oliver from 5P commented, "I went home that night and downloaded the app and started making my own green screen videos!"

Jessica from 5B said, " It really got me thinking about how we are damaging the world and how important it is for us to protect wildlife. The Teach Rex guys were really cool!" 

A fantastic day was had by all. Huge thanks to the team at Teach Rex for such an inspiring experience for all the pupils.