Festival for Science teachers

Members of staff from Leckford Place science department enjoyed an evening out in the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History. The event was a science teachers’ festival and there were tours, talks and displays on offer.

Deborah Hankins (our Science Technician) demonstrated 'Microscale Chemistry' alongside the likes of Oxford University Physics Department, the Association of Science Education and Science Oxford. She was able to show how chemical reactions can be carried out on a micro-scale and how to make a micro conductivity meter. There was lots of interest, especially in the latter as a fun piece of equipment to make in schools.

The festival was organised by the Oxfordshire Independent State Schools Partnership. It was great to meet up with some old friends, make new contacts and be inspired by science.

— Words by Anne-Marie Jones, Head of Science
Image is Creative Commons licensed by Mike Cugley

Interacting with Science at @Bristol

At the end of September the year 7s and 8s set off for their annual trip to the interactive science museum, @Bristol.


The two hour coach trip was justified by the fantastic experience of the huge range of activities on offer. Pupils ran on the hamster wheel to power a complex system of water ways, froze their own shadows, made stop frame animations and ran their own TV studio.


The shows on offer were equally impressive, with exploding hydrogen balloons and fizzy pop-rockets made from old film canisters. We relaxed for a while looking up at the autumn night sky in the planetarium and listening to ancient Greek tales. All agreed it was a great day of learning and fun and the year 7s are looking forward to their next trip.

– Words and photos by Natalie Vlachakis (Science teacher)

School Science Prize awarded to Elinor Farrell

Congratulations to Year 10 student Elinor Farrell, above, who was recently presented with a School Science Prize at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory – for 'outstanding effort and achievement in Year 9 Science'.

Around 30 schools from across the country were represented at the award ceremony, which was organised by the Oxfordshire Independent and State School Partnership (OISSP).

Elinor described the event as follows:

'I was pleased when I was nominated for the award. We went to the Rutherford Appleton Labs where we listened to some very interesting lectures. The first speaker talked about laser research and fusion energy. The second talked about space exploration and how in trying to reach their ultimate aims, they often come across discoveries such as the hole in the ozone layer. I then received my award and the group had several photos taken before we left. I am very grateful for the opportunity to visit this fascinating and pioneering research centre and I found the whole experience unforgettable.'

Trip to @Bristol: getting hands-on with Science

On September 23, years 7 and 8 visited the hands-on science centre @Bristol. They explored and interacted with numerous science exhibits, as well as visiting the planaterium. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the visit, which was characterised by the concept of learning through ‘play’: @Bristol is a very special place, and really brings Science to life. Here are some of the comments made by the students:

Cole reports that ‘the journey was long, but luckily she had her friends to joke around with.’

Meelie says that ‘as soon as she walked into the building, she heard people already going wow.’ She would definitely go again and thought it was an amazing trip.

Anand was excited as he arrived at Bristol and ‘was rushing to get inside and use the amazing scientific equipment.’

James found that ‘the first thing most people went to was the water works. Here there were a series of handles, levers, cogs and tanks which played a vital part in keeping the water moving. If you didn’t, the big tank at the top overflowed. This was one of my favourite parts.’

Jesse says she really enjoyed it and particularly ‘liked the TV studio where you did some filming. Someone acted and other people were on the stage changing the background, adding music and writing captions. I also liked the mini tornado. You could walk through a tornado without getting blown away.’

Cassandra can recommend the ‘comfy seats in the Planetarium.’

Joseph thought that ‘the only problem was time. It would have been perfect if we were there for another 48 hours.’

And – neatly summing up a most successful trip – Katie simply tells us that she ‘had a fantastic time.’