STEM at The Buckingham School by Lacey Townes, STEM Leader
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.
Prestigious Royal institution Christmas Lectures
Every year since 1825 the Royal Institute has been putting on a prestigious science lecture, one that has been broadcast on television since 1936. The lecture has been so popular that the RI has been using a ticket ballot similar to the Wimbledon ballot to evenly distribute tickets to schools.
This year we were lucky enough to visit the Royal Institute for lectures and showcase our students singing talents in a project prior to the lectures - singing "This is Me" from the Greatest Showman, which fit in with the theme of this year's lecture which is "Who am I?" Students were amazed by the lecture allowing them to visit the wide range of genetics to explore the answer to that question.
We invite everyone to watch the broadcast on BBC 4 on Boxing Day, 27 December and 28 December. We are very proud of our students.
http://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/2018-who-am-i
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pmbqq/broadcasts/upcoming
STEM CLUB
The STEM Club (formally the Computing Club) has embraced cross curricular projects this year. One of the projects has been the 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!
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
Students are challenged to complete a series of fun mathematical challenges, from the weekly Parallel Maths Project to the Cyber Security Challenges of Encryption.
CHALLENGE:
Can you break the following code
(Hint… it’s a caesar cipher)?
Bucks Skills Show Results
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
The Buckingham School secured twenty-five tickets to send Year 10 and 11 girls to attend this year’s MonsterConfidence conference in Birmingham.
Monster Confidence Conference is 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