This week, Year 6 have been learning about the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940. After discovering how thousands of soldiers were rescued from the beaches, the children held a debate: was Dunkirk a success or a failure? They listened carefully to each other’s arguments and thought like real historians, weighing up evidence on both sides.

They also stepped into an ‘operations room’, moving “troops” (multi-link cubes) across a map to make key decisions, just as wartime leaders had to do. This hands-on activity really brought the tactics and tough choices of the time to life.