Great and Little Shelford Primary school is a fascinating mixture of buildings of different ages ranging from the original school house of 1843 to more recent extensions.
The school is approached via a driveway immediately to the left of Great Shelford Parish church. To enter during the school day, the school office can be contacted via an intercom on the security gate.
Grounds & Facilities
Our school is very fortunate to have a spacious playground at the back of the site with a wonderful aspect overlooking farmland.
Our school is very fortunate to have a spacious playground at the back of the site with a wonderful aspect overlooking farmland.
The playing field is large enough for a good-sized football or cricket pitch. An all-weather path around it gives access to a number of activity areas where our Year 6 play leaders happily lead Drama, Art, Science and Geography activities so that learning goes on throughout the lunchtime for those of all ages who want to join in. The path itself becomes a Golden Mile track at playtimes and lunchtimes, encouraging children to remain active by walking or running to achieve 5, 10, 25 or 50 miles over the school year. The current record stands at 75 miles!
A well-established wildlife garden with a pond, long grass, and a wooded area encourages different habitats for wildlife which the children love to explore at their weekly Wildlife Garden Club. We also have a small cultivated area where vegetables are grown.
A wonderful meadow area has also been developed from land acquired in 2013 from Jesus College. This is restful and inspiring space which "feels like the countryside" and provides an excellent opportunity for exploration and play in a relatively uncultivated area in which children are encouraged to take appropriate risks as they play together imaginatively, building structures from crates and tunnels and walking and talking together.
A large climbing frame and trim trail are also favourite activities for our children.
This outdoor area, known as our outdoor classroom, is used as often as possible within our curriculum studies.
Classrooms
From 2018-2019, the school began to research and innovate class spaces at Shelford. For more information, see our research page for photos. This project was underpinned by our focus on wellbeing and mental health, along with our approach to promoting physical health, concentration and focus through our active learning spaces (further details also found on our research page).
All of our classrooms have an interactive whiteboard and access to computing provision, so that computing can be fully integrated into the curriculum. We also have banks of pupil laptops to complete. Our classrooms are all fully resourced to cater for the excellent learning that takes place within them.
Interior
The interior of the school has been adapted over the years to meet changing educational needs and improvements continue to be made. The newer part of the building also houses a music room that doubles as a cooking facility with a basic cooking area. We also have a small library complete with comfortable chairs and rugs for independent or group reading activities. Our large hall doubles as the school dining room served by the adjacent kitchen.
The interior of the school has been adapted over the years to meet changing educational needs and improvements continue to be made. The newer part of the building also houses a music room that doubles as a cooking facility with a basic cooking area. We also have a small library complete with comfortable chairs and rugs for independent or group reading activities. Our large hall doubles as the school dining room served by the adjacent kitchen.
Swimming Pool
The school has its own heated swimming pool. This is used during the second half of the summer term to provide swimming lessons for all children.
The school has its own heated swimming pool. This is used during the second half of the summer term to provide swimming lessons for all children.