Mr Stephen Molyneux

smolyneux@throstonschool.org.uk

'Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated' Rosalind Franklin

British Science Week 2024

‘Time’ to get planning

Time is key to so many discoveries in science, technology, engineering and maths. Evolution looks at how plants and animals changed over a long period of time, the Earth’s movements show us why we have seasons and different time zones. In fact, the study of all the celestial bodies in our universe are centred around time; we talk about stars and planets being lightyears away – the distance light travels over a year.

Lifecycles are all about how organisms grow and die during their time on our planet. The average human lifespan is almost 73 years. You could investigate the lifespan of other animals, and how they spend their time.

Scientific innovations are also intertwined with time. The passing of time prompted the invention of ways to mark it, from the sundial, to the pendulum clock to digital clocks – where would be without them? Time is also vital in engineering; complicated machines have moving parts that all need work in time with each other for the machine to work smoothly. Can you think of any?

Perhaps you could consider the issue food waste by thinking about how passing time impacts different foods. We need to use this knowledge to reduce food waste, perhaps future inventions will help.

‘Time’ as a theme offers a huge range of topics to delve into as part of your British Science Week 2024 activities. Why not share your ideas with us using the hashtag #BSW24?

We’ll be opening the British Science Week activity packs call for content in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled on our website and social media for further details.

Science Gadget Shop 

Our ‘Gadget Shop’ is linked to aspects of the National Curriculum.  Each experiment or activity is interactive and requires children to ‘do something scientific’. There will be a superb selection of child friendly science activities to excite young minds.

 Items at the ‘Gadget Shop’ are priced from £0.50 and the shop will be open soon to celebrate BSW2024. Details to be made available soon!  

Gadget Shop opens 3.20pm until 3.45pm.

All welcome to come along to purchase some exciting scientific gadgets and gizmo’s, be quick as items are likely to sell out fast!!

Keep a look out for activities in school that will be uploaded!

British Science Week 2023 - Connections!

The connection between human actions and climate change could be a fantastic topic to explore in our poster competition. Or how about how atoms connect to form chemical bonds which make up everything around us. What is water if not a connection between hydrogen and oxygen?

The human body is another topic that offers a plethora of opportunities to think about connections. Why not use how our organs are connected and work together as a brilliant topic for a school assembly, or create a poster which explores the human skeleton?

We can find examples of connections within all subjects and all around us, making it an excellent starting point for a celeb ration of science!

This collection, produced by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), provides ideas for incorporating science teaching and learning into a topic based plan. Divided into three age ranges which span the primary phase, each resource contains key questions which can be used to drive enquiry based learning around relevant science topics. Science ideas webs can be used to support topic planning, offering opportunities showing how science could fit within a topic.

Enthuse Partnership Lead School (Hartlepool) - Throston Primary School

What are ENTHUSE Partnerships?

ENTHUSE Partnerships inspire young people in STEM (science, technology including computing, engineering and mathematics) subjects and careers. They are groups of schools and/or colleges that work together to address local issues of low uptake or underachievement in STEM subjects. The school/college-led model builds capacity and capability across all partner schools / colleges involved, whilst encouraging sustainable change. The Partnerships aim to deepen relationships with local employers, and utilise the wider package of support provided by STEM Learning.

The objectives of ENTHUSE Partnerships

·  To raise attainment in STEM subjects by improving student attainment and progress

·  To close achievement gaps

·  To improve progression opportunities in emerging technologies

·  To improve teaching and learning through developing teachers’ subject knowledge,

pedagogical understanding and their understanding of the application of STEM subjects in

business and industry

·  To improve STEM careers awareness, information and guidance for teachers enabling

them to embed real life contexts into their teaching and enable them to talk more

confidently about STEM careers

·  To improve social mobility of disadvantaged and under-represented young people

How ENTHUSE Partnerships work

We believe strongly that the best way to support pupil development is by developing their teachers. ENTHUSE Partnerships work across groups of 6-8 schools and colleges to develop a bespoke two year action plan which includes:

·  Teacher CPD - residential, local and online

·  Resources - free, curated and quality assured

·  Teacher placements - immersion in industry or university

·  STEM Ambassadors - employees inspiring pupils and teachers

·  STEM Clubs and activities - exciting young people and developing practical skills

·  Further information at www.stem.org.uk/enthuse-partnerships-schools-and-colleges

We are proud to announce that we are part of the Ogden Trust Science Partnership in Hartlepool. Working alongside several other schools in the town – both secondary and primary- the partnership aims to develop the teaching and learning of Science, particularly Physics, through sharing best practice and supporting transition of pupils from primary to secondary and beyond. This partnership will form a key part in sharing our commitment to STEM achievement and aspirations with our wider community.

A HUGE thank you to High Tunstall for allowing 20 of our children to attend the 'Nanotechnology' lecture with Professor Ventsislav K. Valev at the Borough Hall today. They really enjoyed it, and were further inspired to think about science as a career.

Every child at Throston will have the chance to visit the nuclear power station during their time with us. This happens usually in Year 4 when children work on the topic of electricity. As we have a Nuclear Powerplant on our doorstep, it is important to ensure that children experience these facilities and are able to think about their future job prospects.

Further, that in 2019, Year 6 pupils attended a career fair attended by major petrochemical employers, universities, NHS, biomedical engineering firms, renewable energy firms and representatives from the automotive industry that was held by our secondary school colleagues at High Tunstall College of Science. 

A HUGE thank you to High Tunstall for allowing 20 of our children to attend the 'Nanotechnology' lecture with Professor Ventsislav K. Valev at the Borough Hall today. They really enjoyed it, and were further inspired to think about science as a career.