Pupils from Whitehaven’s Mayfield School got hands on with science and engineering thanks to experts from Sellafield Ltd’s Engineering Centre of Excellence.
Alongside a group of engineering and maintenance graduates, the team visited the special education school to deliver two days of inclusive activities for students with diverse learning needs.
From a robot dog and coding mice to help them find cheese, to playing with plasma spheres and light sticks, students aged four to 19 could take part in 12 hands-on experiences that sparked imagination and learning.
The activity stations were set up to generate interest and deliver beneficial STEM experiences to the children who attend the school.
After many years of visiting local education centres, this is the first time the Engineering Centre of Excellence has visited Mayfield School. Each session hosted 20 to 24 students, including those from Mayfield’s Cockermouth centre, which educates students aged 15 to 19.
Claire O’Connor, socio-economic lead at the Engineering Centre of Excellence, said: “It’s all about the kids, we’ve been working with a number of schools county-wide for many years, and we endeavour to reach everyone in our community.”
Working alongside staff to ensure that the range of pupils’ additional needs are met, the centre hopes to continue delivering events with the school, refining what activities students enjoy the most.
Claire added: “We’re thrilled to have started working with Mayfield on events like this, we’ve taken a lot from visiting the school over two days, and we hope to use this time to develop our activities and make them even more bespoke for Mayfield students going forward.”
Teacher Sarah Sim said: “It’s been fantastic to watch the children interact with the activities brought to us by Sellafield staff, it’s always a pleasure to watch the children’s faces light up when they experience something new, and the robot dog in particular has been a hit!”
“Each child has their own Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP), and we’ve been working closely with the Engineering Centre of Excellence to ensure that all students could enjoy taking part today – and the outcomes have been great. We’re looking forward to future events like this one, and growing our connections with Sellafield.”
