[A] group of Year 8 students from St Benedict’s have recently celebrated British Science Week by organising their very own polar expedition.
The students were challenged to prepare for the polar expedition by selecting the best food, clothes and equipment to take with them. Polar expeditions require careful planning to ensure survival in a treacherous environment. The students were told that they had been successful in gaining a place with their group on an Antarctic expedition.
To guide them through the tasks, nuclear graduates from Energus, catering students from Lakes College and volunteers from Morgan Sindall mentored the groups.
Tesco’s, Starbucks, and Lakes College West Cumbria also provided materials for the experiments. The food that was provided was donated to the Whitehaven Community Trust at the end of the day.
Sam Craig, Curriculum Leader for Catering, Hospitality and Foundation Studies at Lakes College commented: “I think it’s great for the students to enthuse the future generation in any given career, but this event also shows how catering and hospitality links to other fields such as Science. It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to develop their own skills through the event.”
Ian Smith, Headteacher, said: “I am delighted that we had so many colleagues from business and industry providing support for our students as we celebrated British Science Week. Our students certainly benefitted from this expertise, and I am immensely grateful to all providers and the staff in school for making this event such a success”.
The students had a budget to spend, and had to decide for themselves what they would need. They then gave a presentation at the end of the session to explain their reasons.
Mrs Kelso, Assistant Headteacher from St Benedict’s said: “The students were very enthusiastic and enjoyed it. They had meaningful employer engagement and once they got to know their mentor were communicating well. They have clearly had a wide range of careers input during the morning.”
Katie Harper, Business Connector with Business in the Community helped organise the event. She said: “It is really important to provide opportunities for students to build their confidence working with those who are on a variety of career paths locally. We have had the opportunity to use some fantastic online resources, and provide a different way of bringing science and maths to life.”
