Inspiring Science
2016
Edition 2
Introduction
Inspiring Science edition 1 was published last year and included a summary of the activities that were
undertaken in the Science Faculty at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in the 2014/2015 academic year.
The record of activities celebrated the achievements of students and also the significant support
that we receive from visiting scientists and engineers. The academic year of 2015/2016 has been no
different. Boys in every year have had a wide range of opportunities to see how their studies relate
to a range of scientific disciplines. Many of these activities have been undertaken outside normal
lesson time. If you are a student reading this then I do hope this enables you to think what you
might get involved in next year – you are lucky to have these opportunities so do take advantage of
whatever is available to you. If you are in years 10-13 then you might also consider getting involved in
activities, whether that be leading activities or simply supporting activities with younger students.
We wish to take this opportunity to thank the many visitors and teachers who have worked hard to
make this programme of enrichment possible. If as you read this programme you recognise that
either you or a colleague could contribute to our programme in the next academic year then please do
feel ‘inspired’ to get in contact.
Dr Emma Baker
Director of Science
July 2016
Index
Contents
Challenges and Olympiads
Biology Fieldtrip
BWS is now an Arkwright Affiliated Engineering school
Young Medics – a student led organisation
Institute of Physics Grant for ‘Engineering Enrichment’
Year 11 Science Revision Programmes
‘Young Engineers’ Engineering Workshop
The Hidden work of a Technician
Goodwood – Festival of Speed
Science Fair
Bristol Christmas Chemistry Conference
STEM Club
Planetarium and Cell activity
Science Week
Geology Field Trips
Peer Mentoring
Institute of Mechanical Engineers
Arnold Barks Schools Lecture
BAYS
STEM enrichment days
A chemical application of onions?
Dr Tim Harrison – Year 11 Chemistry talk
Year 10 Science Live – Bristol
Ornithopter Challenge
Cake Friday……
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Challenges and Olympiads
There are a range of high level challenges in each of the sciences and entries this year has been no
exception with larger numbers of boys than ever taking part. For many of the challenges teachers
have run preparatory sessions to guide and support the students. Regardless of the final results, it
is an indication of the resilience of the boys at BWS that they are prepared to give even the hardest
of challenges a go - they deserve huge congratulations. For those that missed out on an award this
year despite their efforts then they should remember that there is always a chance of an award in
future competitions next year.
Chemistry Olympiad
The Chemistry Olympiad competition is organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry and involves
students having to complete questions to stretch and challenge their chemistry problem solving
abilities. Whilst the competition is aimed at year 13 students we encourage students in year 12 to
have a go. In order to prepare the students the Chemistry department run a number of afterschool
sessions from October to December and these were well attended – on some occasions students had
to be sent home at 5.30pm so keen were they to keep going!! Henry Humphries achieved a gold
award which was terrific as he was only a year 12 student. There were 11 silver and 13 bronze
awards. All the boys should be congratulated for their efforts and achievements and those that
achieved an award or indeed missed out in year 12 should give it another go next year as they will
have done 4 times more A Level Chemistry by the time they undertake the competition in year 13 so
they should do even better!
Biology Olympiad
Gold
Luke Demetri, Matthew Peacey - (Luke entered the second round which was only open to the
top 200 students out of 7200 that had taken part)
Silver Tom McCormack, Edward Tough (yr12), Harry Lawley, Andrew Ulaeto, Joseph Smith, Alex
Vaughan (yr12)
Bronze Samuel Nute, Tom Freeney, Toby Peebles (Yr12) , Grant Futcher (Yr12)
Highly Commended
Ross Giesler, Joshua Evans, Kevin Hocking, Olufemi Oduneye, Justin
Miller(yr12), Harry Baker(Yr12), Harry Fergusson(Yr12), Samuel Dalton(Yr12).
British Physics Olympiad GCSE Challenge
This year, for the first time, we entered eight year 11 boys into the Physics GCSE Challenge. Across
the country 3418 students took part answering questions to extend and apply their knowledge of
Physics to practical situations. Following only seven weeks of practice, the boys performed brilliantly.
Ben Godson and Connor Hocking were among only 106 in the country to achieve the top Gold award,
well done to them both. Our overall results included 2 gold awards, 2 Bronze level 1 awards, 2 Bronze
level 2 awards and 2 Commendations (narrowly missing a bronze by only 1 or 2 marks). The boys
enjoyed the challenge along the way and we are hopeful that more will be inspired to get involved and
give it a go next year.
Biology Challenge - Year 10
Our best ever results……
Gold: 15 Boys - Jack Hollis, William Nath, Tom Holliday William Wright, Joseph Jenner, Martin
Endersby, Vincent Elvin, Oscar Kitchen, Theo Lincoln, Oliver Wilkinson, Jack Mesnard, Thomas
Howard, Gabriel Cox, Sam Shaw, Toby Thompson. Silver: 27 boys. Bronze: 35 boys. Highly
commended: 23 boys. Everyone else being awarded commended.
Intermediate Biology Olympiad
This is a new competition aimed at year 12. Despite taking place in the middle of their year 12 exams
Rory Stewart, Bhupinder Tanday, Alexander Green, Jamie Cordon entered and should be
congratulated on all being highly commended
The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge.
This year 28 enthusiastic year 12 boys decided to undertake this difficult challenge which is
designed to really stretch students. 5 boys attained Gold awards, 4 attained silver and 19 attained
bronze awards. Congratulations go to Edward Turnbull who was our top scorer this year, closely
followed by the other boys who received Gold awards; Huw Lloyd, Ryan Neville, Stephen White and
Jacob Twentyman. All students did well and it is encouraging to see so many students tackling
difficult questions which go beyond the demand of the specifications.
Physics Year 12 AS Olympiad
In March 2016 some Year 12 boys entered the British Physics Olympiad AS Challenge. Roughly the
top half of entrants receive a Bronze 2 or better. Huw Lloyd scored most highly and achieved a Gold
award. In addition there was a Silver Award for Tom Barrett and 7 bronze awards. Only the top 100
from 2300 entrants received a gold award so special congratulations to Huw Lloyd but a good effort
all round from some talented physicists.
Year 12 Biology Field Course
On 26th June, 39 Biology students set off to the Isle of Purbeck with the aim of developing practical
skills in ecology. The Leeson House field centre team provided expert tuition in the ecology of the
local area and our students were able to apply their knowledge to a wide variety of ecosystems. After
a brief outline of the local geology, students were quickly set to work collecting data to show
succession across the sand dunes in an interrupted belt transect. We compared the species diversity
of a mowed and an unmowed grassland meadow, and the boys were kept busy after dinner analysing
and presenting this data. Having set up some humane animal traps within the grounds of Leeson House
we were able to release the rodents that were to be captured the following morning.
The boys enjoyed the freshwater survey in the river Piddle, and we even managed to catch a rare
native crayfish. Our final ecosystem was the marine environment at Kimmeridge . It was a very full
and productive two days and I would like to thank all the staff that contributed to the trip. I must
also commend the boys who worked so well, making it such an enjoyable and successful field course.
BWS is now an Arkwright Engineering
Affiliated School
The Arkwright Foundation identifies and provides opportunities for future leaders in Engineering by
awarding Arkwright Engineering Scholarships after a rigorous selection process. This year two
students Dean Hodgson and Callum Blackman were awarded Arkwright Scholarships. Both were given
£600 to support their VI Form studies and were paired with industrial mentors. The opportunities
that these boys gain from the opportunities the scholarship provide are significant and the boys
should be congratulated on achieving their scholarships. Special thanks are also needed for David
Oyns who is our local Arkwright officer for supporting us in becoming an Arkwright affiliated school
which brings opportunities to not only the scholars but all students at BWS.
Young Medics – A student led organisation.
Jacob Adams and Harry Lawley were central in establishing a Young Medics group. This was a joint
venture with SWGS with alternative talks from medics at each of the schools. Sessions were
attended by students from years 10-13 who were either interested in finding out about medicine or
just simply interested in the medical topics under discussion.
Institute of Physics Grant for
‘Engineering Enrichment’
In July 2015 Dr Baker applied for a grant to support a number of engineering enrichment
opportunities. The STEM days and the Arkwright support programme at BWS was facilitated using
this money and the impact of this grant was widespread. In addition, a huge display on Engineering
was displayed in the Science Foyer – many a student stopped and reflected on this display during the
year – perhaps encouraging the engineers of the future?
This year the year 11 boys were involved in a revision programme in each of their sciences. The
lessons were planned for the final 10 weeks of the course and involved a range of activities – games,
card sorts, quizzes along with a spattering of past paper questions to enable the boys to refine their
exam technique were undertaken. The boys worked really hard and even on the very last lesson they
were engaged in activities which we hope will have optimised their preparation for their IGCSE
examinations – well done boys!
‘Young Engineers’ Engineering Workshop
by Marcus Kimberley and Charles Kantolinna
The Young Engineers paid us two visits this year. Initially 8J had a visit for a morning of activities in
December and then in June year 9 boys (those not at Pencelli) took part in a morning of engineering
activities.
On 10th December, 8J were visited by Simon from the Young Engineers scheme. Young Engineers is a
project to teach young people about engineering and it inspires you to be one and this is exactly what
he did.
He talked to us about different sources of energy and put us into teams, where we created different
presentations on what he talked to us about, and to present it to other team members. I really
enjoyed this as it allowed us to be the ones talking and not just listening.
After break we came back ready to learn more. Our next challenge was to build our own working car.
This was probably the best challenge as it involved teamwork and actually making something. In the
same teams we set to work designing and building our car using a motor, card board, straws, wheels
and lots and lots of sellotape. Once we had built our car we had to charge it to a certain amount and
see how far it went on our track. We then plotted the results on a graph and tried to work out the
charge we would need to make it go 4m exactly. This caused some friendly rivalry between groups.
After everyone one had tried their car we saw who was closest to 4m – one car was only 10cm out
which was very good.
Overall it was a great day which inspired lots of and we would thoroughly recommend the day to any
other class.
The Hidden work of a Technician
Interview between Mrs Williams (Senior Science Technician) and Tom Dormer (Science Prefect)
The lessons in science often are credited to the work of only the teaching staff; however the
technicians also play a vital and often unknown role behind the scenes. To find out more, Tom Dormer
one of the Science Prefects interviewed Mrs Williams, Senior Science Technician.
The Science Technician Team.
Within school the science technicians play a vital role, but for those who don’t know, what
exactly does the job entail?
So we very much tend to be behind the scenes. We set up anything that puts together the practical
sessions that the boys have from year 7 up to year 13, so that involves the basics such as making up
chemicals, making sure there is stock levels as well as more technical actions such as looking to next
year, checking we have enough of everything and making sure all equipment is serviceable and in good
working order. When the equipment is being used, we’re checking it as well as making sure it is all
taken back in good condition and can be stored in a suitable place for next time. As well as that we
have to keep ourselves up to date with health and safety such as all the chemicals that we use and
the relevant legislative changes. It is our responsibility to make sure that all the teachers are aware
of what the risks are. On top of that we keep the labs tidy and clean so that pupils can come into a
lab where they can work effectively. This means that the labs are well stocked with not just
apparatus but also exercise books and graph paper and even simple things like board pens for the
teaching staff.
2. Usually, on average, how long does it take to set up an experiment before the lesson?
It varies. I couldn’t say; it depends on what the lesson is, obviously if you’re going to set up a
titration, then we need to get the burettes, we need to make all the reagents, especially in Year 12
where everybody is going to do an individual titration, we can be going through 5 to 10 litres of acid
or alkali. Because we don’t like to stock vast quantities of chemicals so we’ve got to calculate the
number of boys and the amount of acid and alkali they will each use so we try to keep it limited. So
this can take a long time, if there are things that we can prepare in advance, especially for physics we
try have some trays so they are pretty much ready to go beforehand.
3. What is your favourite science experiment to perform in school?
Probably because I’ve just mentioned it, I love doing titrations, they’re really nice.
4. Where did your interest in science begin? And what would you say to people who are deciding
whether to study science at A-level?
Well I went to university and studied biology and biochemistry and then I worked in a burns unit in
the Yorkshire Regional Tissue Bank and did some research in skin cell research. Then I have worked
in the science industry since then.
I think there are so many opportunities. If you study science it just opens up the doors for pretty
much anything you want to do. All the sciences are so good at giving you a broad education, by not only
giving you the practical side, but also the maths side and being able to write and communicate. Also
you are always seeing and hearing things outside of the classroom which is linked to science such as
how snowflakes can be made into icebergs. Science also helps provoke you into thinking about things
that you have never really thought about.
As well as that, everyone’s really aware of Tim Peake going up into space, and that is based on
scientist, and behind those scientists there were loads of technicians from screwing the bolts his
spaceship to preparing food that they take, and monitoring the health of the astronaut.
5. What’s the best part of your job?
The other thing we get to do is to try all of the new practicals. That’s a really important part of our
job because we not only make sure that they work, but also work reproducibly and relatively easily,
that it can be done in the time set and is also safe.
6. How often do the experiments change?
There is always one or two experiments changing every year; there’s always stuff coming in and stuff
going out, or something in the chemistry syllabus might have moved to the physics syllabus. We
obviously have to keep on top of that, because if it comes up in an exam, and you find you haven’t
been taught that it wouldn’t be good. We also have to be able to communicate with the teaching staff
and make sure they are able to communicate with us to make sure it runs as smoothly as it can.
7. How many experiments do you have to set up a week, from all years?
Well, Year 7 will do a practical pretty much every week, so with 4 classes and 3 sciences that’s about
12 just in Year 7. Same in Year 8. Pretty much all year, apart from end of topic tests, you’re talking
on average 12 practicals per science per year group. Pretty much there will always be a practical going
on in the Physics lab, Biology lab, Chemistry lab and Science lab and then some combination of 6th
Form experiments. So you can have 5-6 practicals going on during periods 1-4. Fortunately there is
good teamwork. You have to have a really good sense of humour so you can’t get too stressed running
around. We’ve also got to be organised and got to work ahead. We’ve got trays that we set up our
equipment in and we try to work ahead as much as possible so we usually have trays ready two days in
advance.
From this interview, I learnt about the incredible unseen work of the Science Technicians and how
they can be organised even during the most stressful times. I also learnt that it is a very fulfilling
place to work as well as providing a vital role for our education.
Year 10
Goodwood
‘Festival of
Speed’ trip
by Sam Higson
We started early in the morning and embarked on our journey to Goodwood. A highlight was the
rather fancy Hydrogen powered cars. We received a tour of the Bloodhound model car and had an
interesting talk on the Hydrogen Peroxide rockets at the back of the bloodhound which are used to
propel it. We tested our balance on the Team Sky bikes (and won some water bottles), met the
beauty of a car that is the Ford Mustang and tried out the Honda stand. Dr Marsh is still waiting to
hear if she won the new Honda R-Type. Then we went to compete in the challenge. We spent 20
minutes shaving our car bodies to size and then it was race time. Although we had a wet track we
managed to get good times with Taylor Oakley’s car going so quick it split on colliding with the end
barrier. Although we did not win, we lost by only 0.01 seconds (we blame the wet tracks!) we were
happy with this result. Our journey home did not match the speed of the Bloodhound car or the
Ferraris we had seen racing around the track - we went at a slow pace, reaching an astonishing 6miles in 1 ½ hours, thankfully we had Honda Top-Trumps to keep us entertained. We eventually
reached school after an awesome and interesting day! Myself, Tom Holliday and Taylor Oakley would
like to thank both Dr Marsh and the Bloodhound Team for arranging the day.
Science fair
Boys in year 7 again set about investigating all manner of questions which then culminated in the
presentation of their posters at a conference style Science Fair. The new year 6 students visited
the fair as part of their induction day in July and this gave them an opportunity to find out what
learning about science was all about at BWS.
The best investigations as judged by the year 6 boys were ‘How does the length of rope affect the
speed of skipping?’ by Theo Cochrane and Edward Langer, ‘Which fizzy drink harms your teeth the
most?’ by Cormac Brown and Sheon Toms, ‘Which fruit can create the most current’ by Oliver Key and
Callum Kealey and ‘How does the placebo effect change the time taken to run 30m’ by Nathan Elliot,
Thomas Jowett and Max Woodhouse
Year 9 University of Bristol – Christmas
Chemistry Conference
In December, 54 year 9 boys had the opportunity to attend the Bristol University Chemistry
Conference. Students heard a number of talks from students and saw lots of exciting
demonstrations delivered by Dr Nick Barker from Warwick University and Dr Tim Harrison from
Bristol University.
STEM Club
STEM club was offered the chance to dissect
some owl pellets that had been kindly donated
by the Hawk Conservancy. This proved to be a
popular activity for boys from year 8 through
to year 11 and their skilful and patient
dissection work was rewarded by uncovering a
range of different rodent bones. They were
soon proficient at differentiating between the
jaw bones of voles ,shrews and mice and
through this were able to build up an
interesting picture of the barn owl’ s diet.
Planetarium and Cell activity
In the last week of term Mr Bannister organised a Space Odyssey activity for all year 7 students.
Boys were able to enter the space dome which was erected in the Sport Hall to spend time learning
about the topic of space which they study in their lessons in June and July.
Science Week
Science week in 2016 involved a wide range of activities including an egg drop challenge, catapult
activities and engineering problem solving sessions. Dr Turnbull and a number of year 12 students
helped to organise these sessions which ran every lunchtime throughout the week.
Egg drop challenge
Catapult challenge
Geology Field Trips
There were a number of Geology Field trips which took place this year – some visits were warmer and
drier than others!
Kilve
Lulworth
Whatley Quarry
Iceland
Peer Mentoring
VI form boys have developed their skills in working with other students as they have supported boys
in years 9-11 in lunchtimes. Boys in years 9-11 who wanted to improve their Chemistry were given the
opportunity to work at a lunchtime with a year 12 or 13 student. The boys all benefitted from this
work and some very effective relationships developed between the VI form boys and the younger
students whom they were working with – all boys should be congratulated for this work.
Institute of Mechanical Engineers
Arnold Barks Schools Lecture
We were again pleased to host the Institute of Mechanical Engineers Arnold Barks Schools lecture.
This year we were delighted to welcome students from other secondary schools and colleges,
including St Edmunds, Wyvern College, Godolphin, The UTC, Salisbury VI Form College, Trafalgar
School. Students heard a really engaging talk from Dr Jock Clear who spoke about his work as a
Formula one race engineer.
BAYS
The BAYS programme continues to provide boys along with students from Godolphin and SWGS with
the opportunity to hear a range of scientists and engineers discuss their career progression and
current job. Boys from years 10 upwards are encouraged to attend although attendance is expected
for boys in the VI Form who study at least one science. This programme undoubtedly gives students
a really good idea about the opportunities that lie beyond BWS which all helps to shape the decisions
that they make regarding future university and job applications. This year we have had a record
number of BAYS talks with one or two talks each month from September through to May.
STEM Enrichment Days
by Tom Dormer (Science Prefect)
The school is always actively encouraging its students to continue the sciences and mathematics into
their later years for A-level. Nowhere is this more pronounced than during the annual STEM Days
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This year was no different, as it managed to
reignite the spark of enthusiasm for the understanding of the world around us.
In November, a STEM enrichment day was organised for year 9. Boys heard two Keynote talks, took
part in a problem solving activity and then attended a workshop from a choice. Dr Stuart Cotterell
from Reading University delivered one of the Keynote talks on the science of sports which in Olympic
year was particularly well received. Dr Elizabeth Beech also delivered a Keynote talk on Antimicrobial
resistance where boys were encouraged to understand why the overuse of antibiotics increases the
pool of antibiotic resistance microbes. DSTL ran a problem solving activity and boys then had the
opportunity to attend one of a large number of workshops covering engineering, space and satellite
science, sports science and computer coding.
In January a year 12 STEM day started off with a fascinating talk from Dr Keith Foster whose
speech about Botulism gave an insight into the incredible work that occurs in preventing the disease
from spreading. Dr Foster gave a foresight into the future of the disease and discussed how it may
evolve. For many of the biologists and biochemists in the room, the speech also provided an
opportunity to broaden their horizons as Dr Foster reviewed various ways to enter the medicine
world.
A short break was then followed by a lecture from Dr Ben Cons on his road to becoming a successful
entrepreneur. His entertaining talk, assisted with music from Fatboy Slim and Blur, proved to be
appealing to both students who study science and those who do not. During his talk he discussed
setting up his business and the problems that came with it. He also linked his career path in business
to the transferrable skills he had acquired through his scientific background.
For the rest of the day, the students visited different lectures depending on their interests. My
passion for physics and engineering meant I listened to a talk on military technology by Tim Marshall.
I found this talk particularly interesting as the year previous, I had done a presentation on this topic
in English. The talk was very informative and gave a different insight into the career prospects
available in the army.
The final speaker I visited was Phil Alexander whose talk on Mathematics and Financial Modelling was
captivating. He did a fantastic job removing the stereotypes of mathematicians and showed how
financial modelling is very important in the digital age. However what most struck me was the
flexibility that came with his education; he had studied maths at university but then travelled to the
City and became a successful stocks trader without any other training. He now works as a data
analysist; however his transferable skills had allowed him to have a large variety of careers.
Overall, STEM day was a great success and everyone benefited from the enthusiasm and the hard
work put in by Mrs Armstrong and the Science and Maths departments. I would also like to thank all
the speakers that came in, as they did an amazing job and helped many to find their inner passion for
the sciences.
A Chemical application of onions?
by William Nath Year 10
This year I participated in the ‘top of the bench’ competition run by the Royal Society of Chemistry
(RSC) with 3 other boys from BWS. The competition was held at Portsmouth Grammar School this
year and, despite some transport issues, we all reached there mostly alive. We started the day with
an experiment investigating exothermic reactions, for which we had to make all our own equipment
out of thermosoftening plastic (As I am a student who is particularly bad at sculpting the equipment
I made was rather suspect). We then started a practical called olfactory titration in which we used
the change of smell in an onion to neutralise an alkaline solution, I hadn’t previously known that that
was even possible but we managed to make it work. Despite the strong smell of onion everywhere I
thoroughly enjoyed trying to do chemistry using only my sense of smell. We finished the day with a
lecture on the effects of extreme temperatures and a presentation on what was possible career wise
with a degree in chemistry, which was interesting and enlightening. We may not have won but it was a
fun event anyway.
Dr Tim Harrison – Year 11 Chemistry talk
by Edward Harvey Year 11
Through explosives, coolants and a scientist’s common sense, Dr Tim Harrison from Bristol University
made the atmosphere all the cooler. An airhead in truly the smartest sense, Tim Harrison is an
expert in our atmosphere and the issues climate change is bringing to bear. While we’re sure his
research is of high importance, his knowledge also made him aptly qualified to construct a rather cool
shower out of rubber tubing and- say- liquid Nitrogen.
An interesting fact about liquid Nitrogen- it is very, very cold. One would lose fingers, should they
touch it. Imagine my shock when Dr Harrison begins pouring the fluid from a very expensive thermos
flask into a very expensive glass bottle without so much as a funnel.
Through all the fizzing, popping and warnings of death, I’m surprised my heart didn’t give out during
the demonstrations. I do seem to be alone in this, however, as everyone else was rather into it, it
seemed!
Of course, Dr Harrison didn’t come to BWS just to freeze gloves. As an expert, he explained to us
the very properties and constituents of the air we breathe. Nitrogen does little, Oxygen burns and
hydrogen doesn’t just make you sound like one of those singing squirrels. I thought I would know
much of what was said, but Dr Harrison managed to clear up more than one misconception, and not
without a suitable amount of humour. One has never made it such a pleasure to learn that everything
you thought about steam was wrong!
And so I can only summarise that the visit was a pleasure. Though I may always shy away from
dangerous chemicals and cold things, the difference between physics and chemistry is certainly
embedded in my mind. I hope that in my future endeavours in science.
Year 10 Science Live
by Jack Mesnard Year 10
At the GCSE Science Live we went to Bristol by coach. There were talks on many areas of science
from the Physics of time travel to the evolution of the human race. It was held in large, very modern
lecture hall which in itself was awe-inspiring. There were 5 speakers Professor Steven Jones, Dr
Bruce Hood, Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Professor Dave Cliff and Professor Alice Roberts. My favourite
talk was the physics talk on time travel as I am very interested in theoretical physics myself. The
speaker covered many ideas involving Einstein-Rosen bridges (Wormholes) and parallel universes. I
also noticed that the talk covered many ideas that are brought up in Stephen Hawkins book ‘A Brief
History of Time’.
Another talk I enjoyed was the talk on computer science and in particular the concept of Moore’s
Law. Moore’s Law states that every two years, the cost of producing computing components halves.
This law allows technology that would previously be considered unprofitable and therefore not worth
creating, become reality in our everyday lives. The speaker talked about how new ideas in computer
science are often made real in six to ten years after they have been conceived such as cloud
computing and the speaker claimed that he has an idea that will make millions in the future but it is
just not profitably right now. Many thanks to Mrs Madzarevic for organising this trip.
Ornithopter Challenge
by Dr Turnbull
QinetiQ challenged schools in Wiltshire to prototype and produce a working ornithopter: a flying
machine that only uses flapping motion to propel it forwards. The origin of the orntihopter is from
Leonardo Da Vinci's original drawings of winged machines. We were given roughly 6 months in advance
to make and finish our portfolios and our ornithopters but this proved to be a shorter period of time
than we had first anticipated. It was a challenge to spread the massive workload over short lunch and
after school periods. However, we worked hard during the following months and managed to complete
all the work required to be in with a chance of winning the competition.
On Friday 13th May, we travelled to the QinetiQ complex in Boscombe Down where we were given an
additional hour to finish off and polish off our portfolio and ornithopter. There were several schools
at the competition and it turned out to be a very heated challenge. Luckily, there were multiple
marking criteria such as longest flight, furthest flight, best portfolio and best design. This gave us a
greater chance of winning at least one of the areas. With some last minute adjustments and some
quick thinking, we managed to attain the furthest flight and a very respectable 2nd in the longest
flight. We also did excellently in the portfolio section, where we were told that our portfolio was
very professional.
When we were not being marked, we enjoyed a particularly delicious lunch and a tour of the QinetiQ
site. It was a great experience and I speak for all of us when I say that that it was a fantastic place
with lots of interesting and varied departments. Jobs at the site ranged from mechanical engineers
to clothes designers. Many of us also plan to have careers in related areas, so this was an amazing
way to see first-hand what jobs in that sort of industry entailed. We had also participated in a quiz
beforehand where we scored wining 19/20. It was an excellent chance to improve our overall score
and it was greatly aided by Jack's sensational aeroplane knowledge.
All in all, it was an exceptional day and we had enjoyed ourselves greatly made even better by being
overall winners! It was a triumph for our team and our project manager, who had spent many hours
working to get the project completed. We relished the challenge of producing an ornithopter and are
proud to be writing about our success. We won a goody bag of QinetiQ themed items. The greatest
prize, however, was the Power Up 2.0 paper aeroplane conversion kit which gives a normal paper
aeroplane the ability to fly for considerably longer than it would have had. We were worthy winners
and I would like to congratulate the team for their efforts - Thomas Avant, Samuel James, Jack
Beaver, Thomas Parrott, Daniel Parsons, Adam Pinnock and Kiaran Jarvis-Down (Year 9)
And finally…….. whilst Science has been an area of hard work, endeavour and many opportunities for
the boys to further develop their knowledge and understanding it has on occasions strayed onto
other areas of the curriculum. For those VI Form groups which have been timetabled for a Friday
and which have taken place in a classroom rather than a laboratory (where eating is forbidden) some
groups have instigated ‘Cake Friday’. This entirely student organised activity involves a weekly rota
with a member of the class making and sharing a science related cake.
Geology – Trilobite cake
Chemistry – Solution with water molecules (correct bond angles displayed)
What will 2016
2017 bring?
What will you get
involved in?