STEM at the Buckingham School
In my role at The Buckingham School as STEM Leader, I have the pleasure of showcasing the fantastic work our teachers have done this first half term in promoting STEM subjects and supporting students in their drive for progress. Everyone has hit the ground running from day one and the wide variety of enrichment activities on offer is amazing. Showcased below is some of the opportunities that students have to select from.
Lacey Townes, STEM Leader
STEM CLUB
The STEM club (formally the Computing Club) has embraced cross curricular projects this year. Open to all students, AstroPi challenge - Mission Zero offers students and young people the chance to have their computer programs run in space on the ISS! Teams write a simple program to display a message to the astronauts onboard. Students receive a special certificate showing where exactly the ISS was when your program ran!![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/sm5vNME4RGW1C9XRo2v7-5DDIBmmzrA_zdvjvZcmL5bhV8pvw2tG87e8QXpv647JIyXtRLxkLI6SUsiVmPuNOp7bnNPJv9I0N-maM8Q1JxbkuyT54X2JmiQkGZB9M8roS0E9TJzK)
More information can be found at https://astro-pi.org/missions/zero/
ESports Team
With the support of Vertigo VR (https://vertigovr.co.uk) The Buckingham School has joined the inaugural first season of the British ESports Championships. After hard fought tryouts, we’ve launched two teams each for Rocket League and Overwatch.
We are very excited to participate in this championship series as ESports have been shown (based on developing research) to: Provide cyber and transferable skills, improve dexterity and concentration, positive social and communication benefits, promote teamwork and develop communities, decision making, reaction times and multitasking.
More information can be found at http://www.britishesports.org/assets/WhatisesportsPDFOCT17V2pdf1.pdf
Science Club
Science Club is a Key Stage 3 Club that allows students to explore science outside the standard curriculum. Every week the students will visit a new topic and participate in a fun experiment that cements their learning.
Want to know what this is and how to make to make it? Come to Science Club!
Year 7 and 8 Maths Club - Friday after school in M5
![](/_site/data/files/images/students/B0F068F8FC4EF50466F7410261DECCDA.png)
Students are challenged to complete a series of fun mathematical challenges, from the weekly Parallel Maths Project to the Cyber Security Challenges of Encryption. More information can be found at https://parallel.org.uk
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d4GjsiZE92JWoi8XdupwDskii-Y4z0dqrntEpA8fGBmq2q_ffqB9jWVTEp8rDGnPR66L1gPK2hYGhk0pdVFsx4mMdMb8lBzqXA8GmVzopTOG0_Xgw5ZC1IdJRZRkEeEUuPUkLpP-)
CHALLENGE:
Can you break the following code
(Hint… it’s a caesar cipher)?
Bucks Skills Show Results
![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YI4FJoWhyFr-jdozg-mO6DO8dGnlwGcLWVDf7eJFbiIl3lDhqifMOuANZYc3HpS_g-s5inZUGO80-XA9StXunNq9-DCRxHakYa3D4dMwNG4dguxBp01GKiJCT06OHXd8Aaqp92gy)
This year fourteen students had the opportunity to visit the Bucks Skill Show, based on their involvement with last year’s enterprise club. The students were given certificates, and a exclusive chance to build a LED flashlight.
In addition students visited the interactive booth, which featured highlights from the NHS, Royal Air Force and VR booths.
More information can be found at https://wannabebucks.org/bucks-skills-show/
Monster Confidence Conference in Birmingham
![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/jZQw5uyeIR5B3hG8o3fyGVQyXdZ594TlB3jdDFHTXJmWX8ClOrQGVJom9aY0hcJfRMJ-W-isaESbGgIi_Ze9tY1SrkYqJzR2yLXhWv-LszcN2MEl9glXeNR0F49sDAh7WufwXOsd)
The Buckingham School secured 25 tickets to send year 10 and 11 girls to attend this year’s MonsterConfidence conference in Birmingham.
“For young women aged 15+ who want to explore their options in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths world of careers, whilst meeting industry people and gaining some #MonsterConfidence for their career.”
See full details at https://monsterconfidence.co.uk/birmingham