The Friary School celebrated British Science Week 2022 with visits from eminent Professors delivering talks about cutting edge science, a weird and wonderful zoo and a leading engineer from JCB who told pupils about their quest for carbon free fuels.
The week began with a collaboration between the science and performing arts department. Miss Bates and the finest actors in Year 9 produced a film about the demise of Dr De’ath whose body was found in suspicious circumstances. Year 8 inspected the forensic evidence and deduced whether the driver, the cook, the maid or the gardener were the perpetrator of this heinous crime.
During the week, students were able to get close to snakes, a toothed frog and some rather large insects, normally the stuff of bad dreams, courtesy of Miss Stone and we welcomed a range of fabulous external speakers in to school to talk to students about their areas of expertise.
The first of our external speakers was Professor Janet Lord, Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Birmingham and a member of SAGE, who spoke to the whole of Year 9 about the process of ageing and how science may reduce this in future. On Wednesday morning, Professor Gina Rippon from Aston University spoke to some Year 10 students about how neuroscientists are mapping the brain, memory and perception. That afternoon, Year 10 also learnt about the treatment of disease and the battle between antibiotics and bacteria as well as new and promising treatments for infection. This talk was delivered by Professor Peter Lambert from Aston University who mesmerised the students with his energy and passion for his area of expertise.
Thursday saw the last of our speakers. Mark Richards, senior engineer in propulsion from JCB, who spoke to the whole of Year 7 about his successful project with televisions Guy Martin to build the world’s fastest tractor. He then told the students how he is working hard on utilising hydrogen as a fuel to power vehicles as the best alternative to petrol and diesel engines.
Simon Awbery, Assistant Head of Science, said: “Throughout the week, our students have undertaken all the activities with real gusto. They have thrown themselves into everything with a passion for understanding how science and engineering will shape their future.”
Carrie Cain, Deputy Headteacher, added: “The students really valued the experiences they had this week and the insight it gave them into the importance of scientific developments. Without exception, they engaged with the speakers with maturity.”
