Science week at the Junior School

British Science Week is celebrated across the UK at this time of year and the Junior School girls are no strangers to having fun in Science lessons or taking trips to explore what science is all about.

Pupils were asked to focus on ‘science in action’ throughout the week and were encouraged to conduct guided experiments, take photographs of their results, and reflect on the information at a later date. In addition to this, some of the girls took it upon themselves to take photographs of family, friends and themselves outside science museums and other premises of significance.

In House Assemblies during Science Week were focused on Science and scientists. With the late Professor Stephen Hawking’s death also widely discussed throughout the school, teachers provoked debates in the classroom, asking questions such as: ‘what is science?’ and ‘what is a scientist?’.

Year 3 was been busy learning what it is like to be a scientist throughout the week. They pondered questions such as: ‘why do we carry out science experiments?’, ‘where can you conduct science experiments?’, and ‘what objects do you need to make the science experiment successful?’. The pupils concluded that experiments can be carried out almost anywhere, with almost any object and that the simple experiments are often the best to test ideas or to prove/disprove an idea.

On the Thursday of Science week, the Year 6 girls enjoyed a visit to the British Science Week Exhibition, organised by BT at their headquarters in Martlesham Heath, Suffolk. The pupils spent an afternoon exploring the BT Future Technologies Showcases and also participated in a wide range of hands-on activities related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in real-world contexts.

The girls particularly enjoyed meeting Baxter, a life-sized industrial robot, and also enjoyed using the latest VR equipment. As well as this, the pupils learnt about fibre-optic technology; explored the various uses of facial recognition software and discovered the complex mathematics and physics behind space exploration. The girls were complimented by staff and volunteers for their intelligent questions, and the high level of interest and enthusiasm that they displayed throughout the visit.