Croydon pupils go dragon-taming

The Year 6 pupils marked the end of term on Friday 27 March with a screening of the film adaptation of Cressida Cowell’s popular children’s book How to Train Your Dragon.

“The purpose of the visit was to provide Year 6 pupils with a high-quality film experience by watching How to Train Your Dragon,” said Elena Abril, Group Lead at Chestnut Park, which is a member of the GLF Schools multi-academy trust.

“This experience was designed to help pupils understand how visual texts create meaning through character, setting, sound, and cinematography.

“The film also acted as a shared stimulus for the English unit on persuasive writing, encouraging pupils to develop justified viewpoints, and apply their pre-teaching on film features, such as camera angles, soundtrack, mood, and character development.”

Ninety children took part in the cinema trip, which is an annual event at the school.

“During the visit, pupils watched How to Train Your Dragon in a cinema setting, allowing them to engage deeply with the film’s storytelling and visual style,” continued Mrs Abril.

“The most memorable moments were pupils recognising key film techniques they had studied beforehand, such as changes in soundtrack, camera movements, and character development, and discussing these with excitement afterwards.

“They enjoyed experiencing a film together in a large-screen environment, sharing reactions, and forming opinions they could bring back into their English lessons.”

“These trips are an important component of the Year 6 curriculum,” she added.

“They provide an immersive learning experience that enhances pupils’ understanding of how films convey meaning; strengthen critical thinking by encouraging pupils to analyse visual texts with purpose; offer a shared experience that supports collaborative discussion and persuasive writing tasks; build pupils’ confidence in forming and justifying opinions; and create a memorable learning moment that enriches classroom teaching and supports deeper engagement.”