The following articles are made up of excerpts of articles written by pupils at Grafton Primary School
Arsenal Women won the first Fifa Champions Cup in the Emirates stadium last Sunday, beating a Brazilian side for the first time in Arsenal history.
Safraz, a 10-year-old boy from Islington, said: “I felt proud because I am local to Arsenal, I feel happy because Arsenal are the best team in the world and they will always be.”
Naseema, a 38-year-old mother from Holloway, said: “I felt happy. Even though I don’t support a team, I am still happy because I am local to Arsenal.”
Souad, a big fan of Arsenal, football in general and women’s football in particular, says that she feels very proud of her team.
The goals came from Olivia Smith, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Caitlin Foord. However, Corinthians captain, Gabi Zanotti, cancelled out Arsenal’s early goal just six minutes later, meaning the scores were level at half time. Eventually, Arsenal beat the Brazilians 3-2 after extra time.
As well as adding a brand-new piece of silverware to their cabinet, Arsenal also claimed the winners record-breaking prize of £1.7 million in money.
Arsenal Women led their team to a roaring victory against Brazilian side, Corinthians, last Sunday, winning the biggest single cash prize for a women’s side.
Arsenal beat Corinthians 3-2 in extra time at London’s Emirates Stadium. The new Fifa tournament brought together six continental champions from around the world in a bid to determine the world’s best women’s club team. They qualified after their champions league success last summer and are now the first team to win Fifa’s Women’s Champions Cup.
Arsenal Women started in 1987. They are the most successful club in English women’s football and now the world.
Roz, a local Assistant Headteacher, stated: “I am delighted because it’s a local team and I teach in a local school, it will be exciting to celebrate together.”
Mustafa, a 41 year old supporter, said: “Arsenal Women are the best women’s team in the world so they deserve to win.”
From the other side, Manon, a ten year old football fan, stated: “I am a bit disappointed because I wanted my team, Manchester United, to win. But I am happy my local team won.”
Due to the win, Arsenal claimed a £1.7 million prize, the highest amount of cash in women’s club football.
They play their next match against Manchester City.
A social media ban may take place for under 16 year olds in the UK, after the government consults on whether to follow Australia’s example.
Some people believe UK teenagers are spending too much time on social media, which affects their lives and mental-health. The government will release consultation results in the summer of 2026.
Australia, France and Denmark have already either considered the ban or have already put this into place. The social media platforms that may be banned include: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, Youtube, Reddit and others.
Manon, a 10 year old girl, said: “It has good and bad things about it because if you have family across the world it could affect their contact.”
Sofia, an expert technologist and mother of two, said: “I don’t like bans. I don’t believe that any technology is bad by itself. So I don’t think banning social media is the answer but I do think young people need more protection than adults. What worries me is that if you go on social media at 16 you will not be prepared.”
Soonita, a parent of a 9 year old, stated: “I think it is a good thing because social media can be damaging to young people’s mental health.”
Others have a different opinion. Luka, a 9 year old boy from Islington, said: “I don’t agree with the ban because children need social media to study and it could cut off connections from families and friends.”
Under 16s in the UK will have to wait and see how the results of the consultation will affect them.
Under 16s in the UK are facing a potential ban on social media.
The government is deciding whether to ban it or not because people believe UK teenagers spend too much time on their devices. It will be decided in summer 2026.
The targeted platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat Tik Tok and Youtube. Last year, Australia became the first ever country to ban social media in the world for under 16-year-olds. Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister, stated that he wants to wait and see what happens in Australia before deciding what happens in the UK.
Some adults say it could protect children’s wellbeing, while others worry it might do more harm than good.
Many people have different opinions on the potential ban. Roz, a teacher from London, stated: “I think it’s a good idea because children are spending too much time on social media and not enough time in the real world. One benefit is children find it easier to concentrate without looking at their phones - but it would affect people with online friends.”
Sevval, a 10 year old girl, said: “I’m with and against the ban because some people have online friends but it might be good for people’s mental health”.
Sinem, a mother of 3, stated: ’’I think they should ban it because they spend too much time on their screens and it has a negative impact on their learning and social life’’.
There are many different rules for different countries. Denmark plans to ban social media for under 16s, while France had a parliament enquiry, which recommended banning under 15s and introducing a digital curfew. Ireland is introducing a digital wallet system to verify users’ age and identity.
Kelly Maria, a 46 year old woman with family from India, Ireland and England, stated: “I think it’s a fabulous idea because my older children were brought up without social media and I feel that social media is taking over the new generation of children.”
On Wednesday evening, the House of Lords voted in favour of banning under 16s from social media, adding pressure on the UK government to match a similar ban to that in Australia.
The following article was written by pupils at Our Lady and St Joseph's Primary School
On 27th January, Our Lady and St Joseph’s Primary School went on a trip of a lifetime to the Natural History Museum to take part in an evolution and adaptation workshop for their science topic.
Year 6 travelled there by train and tube.
Annalise said: “I enjoyed the train ride there since we got to play charades with Ms Ruminska, our teacher, but the wait was long.”
Tristan said: “I enjoyed the first ride there, but on the way back, I felt overwhelmed/ tired as a lot of people were yelling.”
When they arrived, Elijah said: “Me and my partner thought it looked like Hogwarts!”
Ms Ruminska, the year 6 teacher said: “It’s one of my favourite places in London, the building is awe-inspiring!”
Located in London, the Natural History Museum is a museum that proudly showcases a colossal amount of specimens, the main 5 being: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology, with 80 million items altogether. In the main hall, there is a huge skeleton of a whale gazing down at everything. This huge exhibit has attracted over 6.3 million visitors in the past year.
Year 6 took part in the Evolution Workshop. They learned about fossils and were also identifying animals from their very stinky bones. They also learned about lizards and learned
that different species of lizards have different sizes of padded feet.
Overall, year 6 really enjoyed this trip.
Eabha said: “I thought the crystals were cool.”
