Primary pupils got a firey introduction to science when they visited east London’s Swanlea Secondary for the day.
They were fuelling their scientific curiosity as ‘science ambassadors’ for their classmates back at their own school.
‘Science Ambassadors’ is a project for Year 5 pupils in seven primary schools in Whitechapel and Bethnal Green to see science in action.
The project has been running for several years by East 1 Partnership Schools where youngsters experience science in a secondary school environment.
A few pupils and an adult from each Year 5 group went to Swanlea Secondary’s annual Science Day last Wednesday as ‘ambassadors’ for their schools.
Science teacher Rebecca Roberts got them to carry out experiments so they could repeat them back at their own schools to show their classmates.
“This is something I look forward to every year,” she said. “It’s great showing younger pupils how fun it is to study science and what they have to look forward to when they start secondary school.”
The Year 5 youngsters took ‘goody bags’ back with them with most of the equipment needed to show the rest of their class how to carry out scientific investigations.
The experiments at Swanlea included discovering how to take fingerprints, building a bridge out of paper and magnets, finding out how a Van Der Graaf electrostatic generator works to build up an electric charge and, of course, discovering how to safely make reactions with fire!
The East 1 Partnership was formed in 2008 as a collaborative of seven Tower Hamlets primary schools with Whitechapel’s Swanlea Secondary. The seven in the partnership are Canon Barnett, Hague, Kobi Nazrul, Osmani, Stewart Headlam, Thomas Buxton and William Davies.
The core aim is to raise achievements and aspirations of pupils and their parents.
Swanlea was given ‘Teaching School’ status in 2015 as part of its programme to achieve “education excellence” in all key stages and subjects, despite its catchment zone in one of London’s most deprived areas.
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