School News
CHILDREN FROM CLASS 1 AND 2 were joined by members of Little Windmill's
playgroup for a lively performance of the Toymaker's Apprentice. With lots
of audience participation, children enjoyed this whimsical tale of a scatty
toymaker and his quest to make a set of traffic lights to stop the congestion
on the palace bridge, all so the King could have his lunch on time!
Meanwhile Class 3 is anticipating a morning of story telling. To link with their history topic, children will hear tales from Ancient Egypt.
Class 4 joined in a Circle Link schools' activity, solving the mystery of thestolen bike. Here is their account of their two action packed mornings.
NET DETECTIVES
A report by Class 4 (all characters are fictional)
On Sunday 5thMarch a silver mountain bike was stolen from Upware Field Study Centre. It was going to be use as a prize in a competition to raise money for charity. It was stored in a shed in the centre grounds.
On Monday morning we linked up with police and witnesses to find out more about the crime. By setting up a network of computers it was possible to e-mail police and witnesses to find key information. Form this session we have learned more about the witnesses and found out who the suspects are.
Our first witness was Sid Goose who is a wildfowler who lives near the river. He saw a lady riding a bike similar to the bike stolen. He also saw a boy crying near a bonfire.
Our second witness was Gerry Blythe a local boat owner. He saw a silver bike on a boat and a greeting card dropped on the tow path. A bit later he saw a man standing near the boat with the bike.
Our third witness was Harry Carter, a young person who was playing football in the car park. About 4pm he saw a lady riding a bike, in a hurry. She dropped something on the verge. He didn't know what it was.
Suspect 1 is an IT specialist at Upware. He is a guitarist who might need the bike to get to an audition, 5 miles away.
Suspect 2 is Jake Radcliff, the gardener's assistant. He had been seen crying by the bonfire. A piece of mudguard was found in the fire, perhaps his bike had been burned or damaged which would give him a motive for stealing the new bike. So he could have stolen the bike to get around the village. His footprint matched with the one that was found by the shed but he could have been mowing the lawn.
Suspect 3 is Anne Gibson, a secretary at the centre. A piece of material found at the crime scene matched her coat. She said she was in a hurry to get to the post box, so this might have been her motive. However, she didn't need to be in a hurry because there was no pick up on Sunday it was Monday to Friday 4.00 - 5.00pm.
Suspect 4 is Bruce Osborne, a handyman at the centre. He lives in a boat near the lock and has a grandson called Charlie who wanted a bike for his birthday on 6th March.
Our fifth suspect is Ruth Edwards. She received an e-mail saying there was a squash tournament at 4.30 on the day of the crime, so she might have needed the bike to get there in time. She was seen by Harry Carter at ten to four rushing to the event. He also saw her drop her squash racket.
When we were in the forensic evidence laboratory we tested samples of clues found at the scene of crime. First we used a syringe to test DNA samples of blood found on the lock of the shed. The results pointed towards Bruce Osborne. Next we did fingerprints which again showed Bruce Osborne. A footprint was found at the scene of crime. By doing a wax rubbing of the different suspect's shoes we found out that they matched Jake Radcliff. We looked at hair which also matched Jake Radcliff. A pen and handwriting found in the shed suggested that Jez Holliwood was the thief. To finish off we looked at cloth which showed Anne Gibson to be a suspect.
Every group went down the tow path and we saw Bruce. We asked him some questions he answered our questions but we thought he looked very suspicious. We discovered that he was in the centre on the day of the burglary. He had a cut on his finger but he said he cut it on a nail while making a bird house but he denied ever knowing about a bike.
In conclusion we finally figured out that the main suspect was Bruce Osborne. He stole the bike for his grandson's birthday. Jazmin read the charge and he was taken away for further questioning.
Each year Circle Schools, those primaries which feed in Bottisham Village College, have a special event. Last year it was a dance day and this year the especially organised science detective day, which was made all the more interesting by practical activities and the use of e-mail.
The trim trail at the front of the school is now complete - the last piece of equipment was installed last month. Thanks to FoSPS for all their fundraising.