On Tuesday 7 January 2020, Executive Head Carol Dougill and her staff at both Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary Schools had a very early start as they ambitiously took pupils from Reception to Year 6 to London to the Science Museum. Although a long time in the planning, this unique excursion at the very beginning of the new year, was designed to kick off each school’s special Science Week as apart of their broader curriculum focus for this term, and pupils of all ages were all excited to take part.

Yihuan, Corin and Alex from Siddington said ‘It Takes Guts was weird when you saw inside a human body, the camera going down the throat to the stomach and small intestine and then another camera going up to the large intestine. The experiments were great, fats burn slowly, like the candle and carbohydrates burn quickly like the flour experiment with a blow torch!’

Florence from Kemble said ‘I found it interesting when I learnt how the first toilet worked. We also played the old computer game called Pong.’

Kieran (Year 5) from Siddington stated ‘The electricity part was the best, I got to light up a bulb, make a fan work and make a burglar alarm.’
 

Harriet (Year 2) at Kemble said ‘It has been the best day ever!’
 

William from Siddington said ‘I liked the rocket show because they made things explode and they made Pringle cans fly up in the air!’
 

Bella from Kemble stated ‘I was astonished learning so many new facts. I loved seeing the cameras going through the body.’

‘What an amazing day! Even the coach journey up to London sparked many learning opportunities, seeing a range of buildings, landmarks, churches and mosques. All the children had a great fun day, and had so many learning experiences covering general science, engineering, physics, biology and chemistry. All children really interacted well with all the displays and activities. The children were all so well behaved all the staff were so proud of them. The staff were amazing, thank you to everyone for their help and making such a special trip for the children.’ Carol Dougill, Executive Head, Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary Schools.
 

Maisie England (Chair of Governors and Parent) said ‘I thought it was a great start to New Year and Science week. It was wonderful how it catered for all the different ages, particularly in Robins, things to keep them engaged through the day, the interactive pieces were good and they all thoroughly enjoyed the – a very memorable experience.’

Following on from the day’s activities, pupils at Kemble and Siddington will study a range of disciplines in Science using everyday items to create experiments to test ideas and challenge myths – all great fun while learning!

Children at Chesterton Primary School will be following similar topics within the National Curriculum and teachers in this school work hard to bring the Science and Humanities curriculum to the children through the use of resources provided by Cornerstones, visitors to the school such as Zoolab (Year 5) in September 2019, The Reptile Roadshow (Year 1) and a class trips to the prehistoric site at Avebury in November 2019 (Year 3) and Sevington Victorian School (Year 6) in December 2019

‘This was a great day out and a wonderful opportunity to launch our topic with an experience which will inspire the children to learn more about how people lived 5,000 years ago back in the classroom.’ Jim Tew, Head of Lower School, Chesterton Primary School.

‘I think that the Victorian Trip was a reality check as it showed us how little they had to help them in their learning in Victorian times. It was very strict too!’ Lewis, Year 6, Chesterton Primary School

Broadening our pupils’ horizons is critical and educational activities like these definitely help to develop their cultural capital.

At Cirencester Deer Park School, in November 2019, the Humanities faculty identified GCSE candidates who they thought might benefit from a similar excursion to help extend their knowledge and understanding of ‘Germany 1890-1945’ and ‘Britain, Health and People’. Cath Brace, Assistant Head and Executive Head of Faculty, joined the History team as they explored the Holocaust at The Imperial War Museum and participated in a surgical re-enactment at The Old Operating Theatre Museum. Read more...

‘It was a thoroughly enjoyable day! Pupil behaviour was excellent and their knowledge in response to challenging questions was impressive. Our pupils were visibly engaged and moved by the Holocaust exhibit.’ Cath Brace, Assistant Head.

‘The operating theatre was amazing and the artefacts in the cases were awesome! The Imperial War Museum was eye-opening. I learnt so much.’ Amalie, Year 10.