The Magic of Music (According to Science!)

It’s not often you get to participate in a workshop presented by an international award-winning science communicator, turned musical comedian, whose show sold out in its debut run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Emer Maguire led a superb workshop over half term combining her love of music and science. Covering musical genres and their effect on the human psyche, she discussed Hanser study into the effect of music on mental health. She answered questions like - does music make you more intelligent and looked into what your musical preferences say about your personality. This was definitely one the children needed to take ‘notes’ in. She also gave pupils the menu for writing their own hit song based on the science of music! If there’s a ‘scale’ for workshops for ‘minors’, this one definitely was top of the pops. It certainly hit the right notes for our pupils.

Mrs Doran

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The Great Building Game

Over half term, More Able pupils were able to participate in a problem-solving workshop with a ‘cracking teacher’, the Enigma outreach officer from Bletchley Park. The pupils were given 20 minutes to make a model using anything they had to hand – whether Lego, paper, old boxes or even blue tac. They then exercised their creative juices by explaining the functionality of their robots, the purpose of its creation and the features than made it unique, useful or desirable to a potential purchaser. Multiple Liverpool College pupils took part in this practical, tactile workshop that led to some fascinating, thought -provoking oral work.

Mrs Doran

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Eating Insects – Would You Do It and Why?

As part of the Virtual Plus Educational Festival for More Able students, pupils were asked a simple question – would you eat insects?

The session asked pupils to think about what they eat and how it impacts on their own health and the environment. Pupils used the app Padlet to collaborate to identify the carbon footprint of the food in their cupboards. It invited the children to consider why some people think we should eat insects and explored the modern face of insect farming – including here in the UK. Led by educational researcher at the University of Bristol, Dr Verity Jones led the first research of its kind that asked children under 14 years old – would you eat bugs? The Liverpool College pupils participating were absolutely fascinated by the workshop and were positively ‘buzzing’ after the workshop. Well done to all who participated and especially to the 90% who said they would be willing to try a bug burger when we got back to school.

Mrs Doran

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Stop Frame Animation Workshop

Multiple Liverpool College pupils were stopped in their tracks this week when they participated in a practical workshop on how to create their own stop frame animation cartoons. Led by Gordon Parsonage, a Junior Content Producer at 20Twenty Productions, the session showed Pre Prep and Prep pupils an insight into how some of the great StopMotion Animation films were created. Using the free “StopMotion Studio” app, they were then taught the fundamental basics by creating their own a short movie.

Mrs Doran

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KS3 Masterclass - Using Critical Thinking as Your Superpower?

Fake news – can you recognise it? Over half term, KS3 More Able pupils were invited to an interactive masterclass offering an introduction into critical and creative thinking and how to applies to everyday situations. The workshop was led by Alex Elliott and Tom Ziessen, the Managing Directors of Oxford Catalyst, they specialise in how to teach young people to think critically and creatively, to analyse important issues and think for themselves. During the session, pupils learnt how and when they would need to apply critical thinking skills in the real world, from establishing what is and isn’t fake news, knowing whether to sign an internet petition, to deciding which points should be included in an essay or knowing how best to see things from different perspectives and win an argument. An incredibly important message with real-life applications – the pupils who participated gained a great deal from the experience.

Mrs Doran

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Introduction to Quantum Computing - KS3 Masterclass

Jessica Pointing, selected for Forbes 30 under 30 in Science, led a fascinating masterclass in quantum computing this week. Targeted at More Able students in Key Stage 3, Jessica explained the science behind quantum computing and the implications of the technology for the future. Applications in fields such as machine learning, medicine, and energy systems were discussed. The pupils enjoyed crash course in computing and excelled with their superb questions.

Mrs Doran

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