An original song written and recorded by Year 3 and 4 students across the XP Trust to raise money for the Yorkshire Wildlife Park Foundation

The story behind the song...

In the Spring of 2022, year 3 and 4 pupils from Primary Schools
across XP Trust studied a cross-curricular expedition, ‘What a
Wonderful World’ looking to answer the guiding question,
‘Why should we protect our beautiful planet?’

We undertook our expedition with the
underlying purpose of highlighting, at
first to our children, and then the wider
community the environmental problems
that we are faced with, specifically the
impact of greenhouse gases on the melting
of polar ice caps and rising sea levels.

We did this through focusing on an area
of the world known as Svalboard, which
is also the town where the core text is set.
This part of the world has suffered the
greatest temperature rise of anywhere
else on the planet: a 6 degree rise in the
last 100 years and 4 degree rise in the last
30 years.

To provide context and develop background
knowledge, the first case studied centred
around geography, locating Svalbard
and comparing the two different localities
focusing on geographical and
meteorological differences, specifically
topographical features as well as comparing
the climate of both areas.

The second case study focused on the
dramatic effect that greenhouse gases has
on global warming and the impact it has
had throughout the world but specifically
focusing on the polar regions. Here, children
examined many sources of data from
scientific reports on air pollution to graphs
and tables monitoring arctic ocean sea
levels. From this, children then developed
their understanding of climate change and
the negative impact of humankind on it.

To provide context of abstract ideas such
as global warming, children undertook
scientific experiments such as observing
and recording ice under different
temperatures as well as examining the
different effects of having a thermometer
in a closed container opposed to an
exposed one. The second case study
culminated in the children exploring
magnetism and how that can help with
recycling. A trip to a recycling centre
brought this understanding to life for
our children.

The fi nal case study tied together all the
children’s learning from the previous case
studies and provided a platform to write
their own lyrics to a Trust XP charity single.
Here, they worked with experts on
songwriting and drew on their learning from
the literacy cycle that had a focus on poetry
- using rhymes to construct rhythmic and
melodic compositions.

During this time, the children evaluated and
appreciated music throughout the decades
to develop their understanding of melodies,
lyrics and composition. Furthermore, they
had the opportunity to create music in a
class composition, using body percussion
to represent a rainstorm and drawing
on reused plastic materials to create
the sounds.

Finally, the children wrote their own verses
to the chosen melody which resulted in
them singing from memory with accurate
pitch, singing in tune and performing with
control and an awareness of others.

Prior to the celebration of learning, all four
primary schools came together at XP East
to perfom and record the song with our
experts, Geoff Hewitt and Alex Byard-Cooke.
The children stood on the steps of the
school’s auditorium and sang both together
and as individual schools. This allowed us to
capture footage for the music video that was
produced alongside the product by XPT
Comms Crew.

The schools then hosted their own
celebration of learning by inviting families
to come together and listen to the children
performing the single. Children articulated
the journey of the expedition and presented
key learning outcomes as well. Families were
then given the opportunity to purchase or
download the single and all proceeds were
donated to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Foundation – a charity selected by the
children and with whom we collaborated
throughout the expedition.