Sciences

Year 3 enjoyed a virtual “visit” from a dentist, who told them all about how to keep their teeth clean and healthy. Everyone got a lovely goody bag at the end, which went down a treat!

Year 4 explored friction in Science. They tried picking up jelly with chopsticks, with and without oil on the jelly, and they created rollers with pens to test the difference between sliding friction and rolling friction

Year 7 Hit Forest Park Nature Trail

In October, Year 7 visited the nature trail on the little piece of woodland on our school site known as Forest Park, where the Pre-Prep have their Forest School lessons. Led by Dr Clive Nuttman, an environmental educator, the pupils learned all about “adaptations” in nature through our local flora and fauna. Dr Nuttman explained that everything around us has adapted to thrive in its environment. Pupils then explored the woodland themselves, collecting items to discuss with the class.

Year 3 conducted an experiment to see how many pennies a paper bridge could hold in Science.

In December, Year 7 welcomed back environmental educator Dr Clive Nuttman, who visited us to deliver workshops on animal classification. Year 7 had the opportunity to look at (and gently handle) some fascinating creatures, and there was even a chance to see some Physics in action with a thermal heat camera, which demonstrated temperature changes. Junior House joined other local primary schools virtually in March for an interactive RoboKids show with Spacefund, a company that produces educational science shows for young people. The show was a great way for the children to celebrate British Science Week and they particularly loved seeing all the incredible robots and taking part in a virtual rocket launch.

Pupils Strike Gold in Primary Mathematics Challenge

Middle School took part in the Primary Mathematics Challenge in November, stretching their logic and problem-solving skills on this year’s tough round of questions. 27 pupils achieved Bronze Certificates, 17 achieved Silver Certificates, and 9 of our 84 Year 5 and 6 pupils achieved Gold Certificates by scoring 17 or more out of 25. Congratulations to Kyle and James in Year 5, and Chloe, Casper, Aadham, Jihan, Daniel, Saku and Valerie in Year 6 on their Gold Certificates. A further congratulations to Kyle, Chloe, Casper, Aadham and Jihan, who qualified for the February bonus round with their scores. Although it wasn’t possible for the bonus round to run this year, the Primary Mathematics Challenge distributed badges to celebrate this further achievement.

Year 4 studied the human body in Science, consolidating their knowledge at the end of the topic by assembling a model skeleton.

Middle School enjoyed some pre-Easter fun with rounds of maths problem Bingo. A steady stream of Mini Eggs was doled out in a Covidsafe manner as rewards for winners. Year 3 conducted experiments to investigate durability in Science.

Year 4 explored electrical circuit building.

Year 3 examined different soil samples, adding water to them to observe their properties.

Year 6 learned about forces in Science, conducting an experiment outside and measuring the results.

Year 3 learned about germination in Science, undertaking two experiments: wrapping seeds in cotton wool and placing them in greenhouse environments attached to the classroom windows and planting sunflower seeds in pots for growing in the school greenhouse.

In Science, Year 5 learned about the chemistry of chocolate, conducting an experiment to change the state of some of the delicious sweet stuff by heating it over a Bunsen burner and discovered the importance of “tempering” and how temperature affects the crystals in chocolate. Needless to say, the labs smelled delicious afterwards!

Celebrating World Maths Day

We celebrated World Maths Day as a school in May by taking part in the world’s largest online maths competition. Our pupils joined millions of other children across the globe for the 48-hour maths event, which is so big it’s even been in the Guinness Book of World Records! In their year groups, pupils logged in on the school iPads and made full use of our IT suite in their lessons to earn points for correct answers to quick-fire questions in the live maths games. Always up for a challenge, everyone very much enjoyed taking part in this global celebration of learning.

In Maths, Year 4 folded 2D sheets of paper to create a labelled 3D shape.

Pupils Impress in Junior Mathematical Challenge

In April, pupils in Middle and Upper School undertook the Junior Mathematical Challenge, a competition run by The UK Mathematics Trust for school pupils across the UK. This year, our pupils achieved an amazing total of 10 gold, 22 silver and 17 bronze certificates. With over 270,000 pupils from across the UK sitting the challenge, only 6% received gold certificates, 13% silver and 21% bronze, making this a fantastic result for our junior maths whizzes. On top of this, gold certificate awardees Jihan (Year 6), Jake (Year 7), and Samuel, Wendy, Bouma, Matthew, Sage, Elena and Adolph (Year 8) placed in the top 3.4% of pupils in the UK, qualifying them for the Junior Kangaroo follow-on round, while Kyle (Year 5) qualified for the Junior Mathematical Olympiad with an extremely impressive score that put him in the top 0.4% of entrants. A truly remarkable achievement. A huge well done to everyone who took part in the challenge, and massive congratulations to all certificate awardees.

Year 3 dissected flowers in Science.

Year 4 went on a science walk.

Years 3 and 4 got hands on with some experiments during our annual Junior Science Morning.