EDUCATION
IMAGES The Leys (below) was evaluating the use of VR even before the pandemic, while St Mary’s (middle) used lockdown to fur ther encourage pupils in STEM subjects. CAST (right) is a specialist STEM academy with excellent laboratories and facilities
interactive. Protocols were established and techniques such as chunked learning, interactive quizzing and real-time discussions were used to keep learning going. Staff shared what they learnt about what worked and what didn’t, and the school developed a toolkit for effective online learning. Alongside the lessons, our teachers
our integrated specialist-taught STEM curriculum, we are inspiring our girls and laying the foundations for possible future careers in a STEM- related industry,” comments Computer Science co-ordinator Andrew Severy. “Our specialist STEM programmes start from reception, where the girls begin learning wood-working and continue all the way up to year 6 and beyond. This approach pays dividends; it imbues our girls with the confidence to pursue STEM-related subjects at much higher rates than the national average.” If any further proof is needed of St Mary’s pupils’ enthusiasm for STEM, you only need look to the school’s prize-winning robotics club, which has seen national and international success over the past couple of years, winning national RoboCupJunior competitions and coming eighth in the European Championships in 2019 – the only all-girls team to make it to Championships. Also enthusing local young people in all things STEM is the Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology (CAST), situated in the heart of the Biomedical Campus. Surrounded by world-leading academic and commercial organisations which
maintained pastoral support via regular video calls with pupils.”
Over at St Mary’s School, teachers used lockdown as an opportunity to engage pupils in computer science and STEM, setting coding challenges and encouraging creative thinking to tackle real-world problems. From programming computer games and LED light shows to building parachutes for toys, pupils were encouraged to explore, create and design – characteristic of St Mary’s approach to STEM teaching as whole. “We firmly believe that through
While we’re pleased to be teaching face to face, the lessons we learnt mean we are ready to move towards remote teaching”
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