St. John’s ends the term with a bang

St. John’s Year 7 students ended term with a whole day of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) related activities.

The day was organised by teacher and STEM Co-ordinator, Gary England.  He said, “The purpose was to inspire future engineers to see the diverse nature of the subjects.  It is important for students to see how the subjects they are studying in school lead to skills that can be used in a variety of engineering careers.”

The RAF were there to assist with the ‘Flying High’ activity. Students had designed and made model cars with aerodynamic shapes in their Design and Technology lessons. This was in order to enter a national competition. Students have also attended a lunchtime club to perfect their designs.

Year 7 students watched as their cars were fitted with a fuse. With an explosion and thick smoke they whizzed down the tennis courts. Flight Lieutenant Norman Sonderskov, Sgt Michelle Ayling, and MOD civil servant, Simon Cray assisted the students with accurate time keeping and fuse fitting. The two fastest cars will go on to compete in the regional finals at the MOD in Corsham.

More speed, time and aerodynamics were carried out with Paper Aeroplane testing and construction. Other activities included BBC Micro-Bit (a programming activity with Richard Jarvis) and The Coding Box from the Happy Puzzle Company. Here students worked in teams to solve puzzles to unlock padlocks.

Two former St John’s students, Ace Kimber, from Rolls Royce and Mihaela Collins Botnariuc from Jaguer Landrover gave an inspirational talk to students, explaining how they had chosen engineering as a career.

“It’s been a lot of organization with military precision but well worth it !” commented Gary.