Chemical Engineering Talk

Pupils in Y4, 5 and 6 enjoyed a talk on Friday about Engineering from Mrs Diamond, a teacher in the secondary phase, who previously trained as a chemical engineer. Her engaging talk included battling the misconceptions surrounding Engineering - including gender stereotyping. Mrs Diamond brought with her two pupils who had participated in an Engineering project in the secondary phase called for Go4Set and they described what they had accomplished by taking part. Thank you to Mrs Diamond for taking the time to come and talk to the pupils about Engineering and what an incredibly interesting and rewarding career it could be.

Mrs Doran

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Y6 Victorian Day

As part of their history project, Year 6 pupils were transported to Victorian Britain on Wednesday to experience what life was really like as a Victorian child.

The pupils were introduced to Miss Daisy, a Victorian teacher, as she took over the school for a whole morning. The pupils learnt the 3 R’s and the strict punishments given for unruly behaviour. They examined real Victorian artefacts and compared them to our modern equivalents. They even played some classic Victorian children’s games.

The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience and gained a huge amount of empathy for life as a Victorian which will now be used the enthuse and inform their writing.

Mrs Doran

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Y5 Tudor Experience

All Year 5 pupils enjoyed an incredible history day last week when the wonderful people from History Alive came into the school to deliver Tudor workshops. Starting the day with an interactive show called ‘A Tudor Tale’, the pupils were transported back in time to meet Edward the crazy Jester and Henry VIII. The pupils then embarked on a day of hands on Tudor workshops including Health and Hygiene, Tudor sports and Edward’s Crime and punishment. All pupils also participated in a Grand Tudor dance - all in authentic Tudor clothes. Our thanks to the Wilton Trust for financing the event. The pupils all learnt an incredible amount about life as a Terrific Tudor.

Mrs Doran

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GCSE English Masterclass with Jon Mayhew

Pupils in Y10 and Y11 were treated to a masterclass in preparing for their GCSE English masterclass creative writing exam this week. Jon Mayhew is the author of the inspiring and practical book 'Storycraft: How to teach narrative writing' , a resource written to support secondary school teachers in developing their pupils' creative writing.

The workshop was filled with activities and expert guidance relating to idea generation, providing off-the-peg writing prompts that students can use when faced with a creative writing exam. The workshop broke down the simple components that must be in place for a narrative to work including the crafting of character, setting, shape and structure. Jon also spent time giving helpful advice dedicated to the process of editing, in which he provided activities designed to help students diagnose and improve misfiring narratives. The pupils gained a great deal from his invaluable tips for GCSE exam preparation.

Jon is an accomplished author within his own right. Jon Mayhew is the author of the multi-award winning Mortlock and Monster Odyssey series published by Bloomsbury. His books have won the Warwick, Sefton, Wirral, Leeds and Calderdale Prizes as well as being shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book of the Year. Our thanks to the Wilton Trust for financing the event and to Mrs Doran for organising it. Jon will return to Liverpool College in three weeks to continue to work with out Y10 and Y11 pupils.

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Astronaut Talk was Out of This World

Liverpool College was thrilled to welcome Jaclyn Bell to Liverpool College this week to talk about STEM and careers in Space travel and Space Tourism. Jaclyn’s life-long ambition to be the first scouser in Space. Jaclyn was chosen to train as an astronaut on the BBC programme: ‘Astronauts: Do you have what it takes?’ Jaclyn spoke to students about her journey from an ordinary school in Walton, to studying Mathematical sciences at University, to achieving her PhD as a particle physicist – to being hand selected for an astronaut training programme by the former Commander of the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield.

Jaclyn showed the students videos of her astronaut training, including flying a helicopter, underwater survival skills, battling claustrophobia tasks, self-medicating, multitasking memory challenges, centrifuge acclimatization experiences and working under pressure. The pupils were even given the opportunity to test their own problem solving skills.

Jaclyn explained to the pupils that they are never too young to start preparing for their ambitions and to recognise the core skills they need to be able to achieve their dreams. Her underlining message was that they have one life – so why not aim for the stars.

Mrs Doran

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Y4 Science Experiments!

On Monday, all of Year 4 descended on science to learn more about states of matter. Each class had 3 short lessons with Miss McCone, Mrs Worrall and Mrs Diamond, and pupils had the opportunity to see demonstrations and use practical equipment that they would otherwise not see until senior school. One of the best things about being an all-through school is that we can collaborate between phases and pupils benefit earlier from subject specialists to extend their learning.

Pupil voice was enthusiastic- "using the bunsen burners with Miss McCone was the best!" "Mrs Worrall has the coolest classroom ever" "Mrs Diamond showed us how solid can actually turn straight into gas!".

Thank you to Mrs Ormrod and Mr Ainscough for organising the day, and to the Year 4 teachers for letting us borrow their keen young scientists....

Mrs Diamond (Science Faculty)

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