School selectedfor science event

The Polar Explorer programme encourages and supports schools who are keen to raise aspirations and attainment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Children from the school welcomed STEM ambassador Jo Fox into their school on Friday 9th February.

STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in the four specific disciplines in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.

The Government supported campaign also addresses the inadequate number of teachers skilled to educate in these subjects.

As part of the project, the school have been providing science lessons linked with the Polar Explorer theme.

These lessons have been inspired by the new research vessel RSS Sir David Attenborough which will enable leading worldwide research in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Fully equipped with the latest instrumentation for carrying out research, this vessel will have improved ice-strengthened capability and greater endurance over existing polar research vessels.

This will enable scientists and technicians to stay at sea for longer and study the polar environments during the Antarctic and Arctic summer months.

A state-of-the-art robotic subsea vehicle, Boaty McBoatface, will be on board

During the project, the school children have written to a variety of scientists about their roles, carried out a number of scientific investigations and participated in a workshop led by Jo.

She brought class sets of WeDo (a programmable lego kit) to the school. The children worked collaboratively to build machines and programmed them to move using computer software.

Science coordinator Lorna Watson explained: “We are delighted to be involved in this project. It has been a fabulous experience for our children. We certainly have some budding scientists and engineers amongst our school!”

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