Schools Activities 2011

The work described here for 2011 was jointly funded by Dorset ASSET, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (Dorchester) and the Schools, Parents and Pupils themselves.

Budmouth Technology College

We formed a new group in September 2010 with around 15 new Year 7s, and a few Year 8s and 9s, doing smaller projects and competitions to design and make a special box for someone for Christmas.  Then they chose their own projects, including a rocking bench seat with an elephant theme.

This club took a break in 2011 and will restart in February 2012 after half-term.  We will be participating in a Quinetiq competition to build model boats to a set specification and motor.  These will be designed and built for a national race at Haslar hydrodynamics facility in May 2012.  The Tech Club will resume after this for the summer term, designing and building their own projects.

We built a Greenpower Car in 2010 and are still working on a second lightweight version for the 2012 race season.

Textiles and Design Projects for GCSEs, A levels and the Valter Prize are approaching completion and will be assessed around Easter 2012.  In 2011 Verity Finney-Green shared the Valter fashion prize with a pupil from Corfe Hills School (see extract from the Dorset Echo below).

All Saints School

The 2011 Greenpower team has changed from last years team.  There are now younger members, who are keen and the team spirit is good.  We are preparing the Greenpower car for racing in 2011 and 2012 seasons.  Yet again the Rules have changed and major modifications and new batteries are required.

In 2011 we stripped the old car built some 6 or 7 years ago.  It will not race in Greenpower but we may use it as a project to build a new body on the chassis.

Broadmayne First School and Frome Valley CE VA First School

We took a 70-seat coach to “Explore @ Bristol” on 28 June 2011.  We left at 08.00, arrived at 11.00, stayed until 15.30 and arrived back at 17.30.  The year 4s had a wonderful day of totally hands on experience of many aspects of science and engineering.  They were enthused and inspired as you can see from the Thank You letters enclosed for the funders (below).

We also took the Year 4s from Broadmayne First School to the Durlston Country Park for a Science Field Day on 24 March 2011.  We used a Dorset County Yellow Bus as the journey is short and we fitted between school runs, leaving at 09.20, arriving 10.30, leaving at 14.00 back at 15.00.

This was a really excellent day that I strongly recommend.  The staff were really good at explaining how scientists work from the evidence around us to work out how the birds, fishes, animals and vegetation evolved and adapted in this area.  We then went outside into the local habitats to find examples and they explained why they were there, based on food-chains and adaptations to the environment.  Then they explained the local bird population and showed us models.  We could also see right into one of the nesting colonies over the cliffs via a video camera set up.  Then we moved out onto the cliff tops and looked down to see the species wheeling below us.