Last week Year 9 pupils enjoyed their second visit from researchers at the University of Birmingham to analyse the particle traps that have been hung around school since the end of October.

We recapped what air particles are, why we are interested in them and how they can affect people’s health by getting into their lungs and even bloodstream. After a brief practice at using the mini microscopes people were then able to analyse their samples, counting the number of particles that were trapped on their grids and calculating a mean value.

We hung traps in history and art, science rooms, the canteen, reprographics and DT and results are shared below (as many staff have been asking!)

What impressed staff most was the number of pupils who used the workshop as a fresh look at science and asked intelligent questions and reflected critically on our method, suggesting ways we could improve the validity of our results.

Many thanks to all the staff who supported the day by covering classes and supporting sessions, providing our guests with refreshments and hosting our traps in your classrooms and well done to all Year 9 who made the most of this exciting opportunity.

We are incredibly proud of the commitment shown by our Year 9 and Year 10 pupils who have taken on the role of peer mentors, as well as our Year 7 pupils who have engaged so positively as mentees during recent attendance mentoring sessions.

This programme reflects our whole-school commitment to developing successful, resilient and confident individuals. By working together across year groups, pupils have helped to create a supportive environment where younger pupils feel listened to, encouraged and valued, and where older pupils are able to demonstrate leadership, empathy and responsibility.

Our Year 9 and 10 mentors have approached their role with maturity and care, offering reassurance, guidance and positive role modelling. In turn, our Year 7 mentees have shown openness, courage and a willingness to engage, which has been central to the success of the sessions.

The peer mentoring programme plays an important role in strengthening a caring culture within school. It promotes a sense of belonging and collective responsibility, helping all pupils to feel part of a community where wellbeing and attendance are supported through understanding and encouragement.

We would like to thank all pupils involved for their enthusiasm and commitment. Their participation highlights the positive impact of pupil leadership and peer support in building a school community where everyone feels seen, supported and able to succeed.

This year in Period 6 for science Year 11 pupils are focussing on “tricky topics” that pop up in GCSE Science. These are topics that have been identified nationally by exam boards as key areas where pupils commonly make mistakes therefore are great topics to help us pick up extra marks and close the gap between where we are now and our target grades. Groups have worked on command words like “compare” - where we know we can draw a table to make sure we are drawing comparisons or “explain” where we know we should be using link words such as “because”.

We have also been drawing attention to our practical skills, knowing that in exams a labelled diagram and accurately naming equipment can start us off with some marks in those long answer questions.

Last week Dr Patchett’s group drew links with their practical skills and knowledge of the structure of cells by extracting DNA from strawberries. We recapped the structure of a plant cell and used our knowledge of the other layers – the cellulose and cell wall and fatty cell membrane to break open the cell. We recapped the names of key equipment including, pestle and mortar, test tubes and pipettes. The results speak for themselves! Well done to all the pupils who took part in this task.

The Science department rounded off the winter term with a wonderful trip with 45 of our most hard working Year 7 scientists. Pupils travelled to the University of Birmingham for a campus tour and festive lecture given by Jon Wood where he spilled the beans on the science and engineering behind Christmas food.

We voted for our most essential part of Christmas dinner (roast potatoes of course!) and took part in a heated debate about the most appropriate meat. We also learned about why sausages contain bamboo fibre, why some people REALLY hate sprouts and what it means when our food packaging says, “stored in a protective atmosphere”.

Our pupils were as enthusiastic as ever, sharing ideas and thoughts during the lecture, braving the December weather with good cheer. We also got to enjoy the incredible Aston Webb building, which looked particularly impressive decorated for Christmas. Staff were even treated to various renditions of Christmas Songs performed by pupils in preparation for the talent show on the way back to school.

Well done to our pupils who made us proud representing the school so wonderfully and a special thanks to Mr Turbill, Mr Hawkes and Miss Abbott, who drove and supervised the trip making this experience possible and enjoyable.