Prescriptive STEM competitions/ interactions
September 2018
AWE came in to deliver pre lesson to students taking part in the challenge in October. All set one in year 9 had a lesson on buoyancy, hydrodynamics and aerodynamics
October 2018
AWE engineering day. 4 year 9 students entered the competition against other schools to build a submarine. We competed well and won the first challenge of sink and rising the fastest, but did not fare so well in the moving the length of the pool. Overall, we came 3rd.
Cypher challenge national challenge run by the University of Southampton. We have a core group of Year 9s who participate and it will be running this lunch time if you want to come and see us, we also have a handful of pupils from other year groups.
On Thursday at 3pm the new task goes live and we have a week to complete it. We meet each lunch until we crack the code. There are two tasks each week. We have completed 3 practise tasks and are now on our 2nd actual competition task. We have used a Caesar Cipher and frequency analysis to date.
The competition is running until January.
Healthcare Day Readng Uni 17th June 15 – Y10 Students
The event will include workshops on pharmacy, healthcare careers and the history of medicine, as well as lots of opportunities for pupils to see our university campus and talk with current students.
Our Find your Future in Healthcare day will allow students to experience various subject tasters focused around the central theme of Healthcare. This day will aim to show pupils the vast range of higher education pathways leading towards Healthcare careers.
Future Thinking Reading Uni 27th June 15 – Y9 students  STEAM Event
The workshop will start with activities that present future scenarios, where an academic from the University will use their research to set the scene and guide pupils through a process whereby they can begin to identify problems and offer solutions. Later on, pupils will use a range of materials, alongside a selection of other objects or art tools, to create a physical representation of their solution – these artworks will add to a growing installation within the museum. As an example, the academic may talk about biodiversity of trees in the UK and suggest that by 2060 we will have lost 30% of our species. A possible solution could be to make a seed-spreading shoe that plants as you walk!
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WSP Engineering Workshop 30th April – 20 Y9 students
An overview of the engineering industry, the skills needed by its future workforce and the variety of career opportunities available. Students will be able to speak with professionals and find out about their career paths, and they will take part in an interactive activity.
Whitchurch Silk Mill – STEM Enterprise Challenge 9th May, 12 – Y8 (2 teams of 6)
| Hosted by the Whitchurch Silk Mill, this event will give students an opportunity to work as a team to undertake specific tasks based on a STEM theme including research, developing ideas, problem solving and making a presentation to a judging panel. |
June 2019 – July 2019
4 year 9 students are taking part in the AWE RI masterclass sessions on a Saturday morning, over the course of several weeks, working with students from other schools.
Non Prescriptive STEM competitions/ interactions
March 2019 – Science week
During in science week, we ran the science week poster competition, looking at journeys of either famous scientist or of an object e.g. food or plastic.
We also took part in the Bayer lab coat competition for the second year running.
During science week the Eco schools committee ran assemblies for all years on the dangers of plastics in the ocean. In this, they also looked at what the students could do to reduce their own plastic consumption and what we as a school were planning on doing.
Eco schools
Collected lids from the plastic drink bottles and have used them to make a collage, which is hanging in the science corridor.
They also attended a march in London on climate change, with year 10 & 11 students. The students found it an informative day and even spoke to serval MP’s putting across their point view.
April 2019
Big Bang fair – 40 year 10 students trip to Southampton Big Bang Science fair. Looking at a verity of different companies that work with the STEM field.
April 2019
Sea city Plastic sculpture competition. The competition was to design a sculpture that connects people with the issue of marine plastic pollution. This was designed by Miss Taylor and that extra explanation and work was completed by the eco schools committee.
January – April 2019
Newton Space saplings
As a school we applied for a space sapling, this required writing a statement about why we wanted a sapling and how this would influence the school and wider community. Even if we do not win the space sapling, we will be getting some pips from Newtons tree and will therefore be growing a tree. We will continue with the plan for the notice board on Newton.
February 2019
Farrah Ryan-Culver works as a sister on the gastric ward. She came in to speak to the health and social care class about her role on the ward. She explained the types of qualifications needed to work on a hospital ward as well as her own career path. She told the students about the kind of work that she has to do on a day to day basis and the health and social care values associated with the nursing profession. The class were able to ask questions about the life of a nurse. It was a very honest account of working in a hospital which included both the positives and negatives of the nursing/sister role.
Community Activities
STEM club activities
September 2018 – October 2018
Can you survive a zombie apocalypse? Students worked on a project to make their shoes quiet when walking to avoid the zombies.
November 2018
Acecom came in to do some work with the STEM club on towers. They started by looking at which space would hold the most mass. Making the shapes out of marshmallows and cocktail sticks.
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