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News STEM Week 2024 15.03.2024

We celebrated STEM Week with a full programme of exciting events to spark students‘ passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

The week began with the return of sustainable STEM-education start-up Team Repair. Team Repair have been actively involved in our In-house Internship programme, providing young people with the tools, skills, and confidence to repair their broken gadgets, creating a long term impact of reducing waste. Alongside sessions for Year 8, they also ran a hands-on workshop where 22 Year 10 Godolphin students mentored 90 Year 7 students from Sacred Heart High School. Together, they tackled the Team Repair Challenge, working in teams to fix a games console. This collaborative effort encouraged problem-solving skills and fostered a passion for practical STEM applications.

Alongside the usual lunchtime meetings of the BioMed Society, Chemistry Club and Dissection Club, students were regularly seen on the Lower Corridor at break and lunch tackling some STEM-themed challenges such as solving rubik’s cubes and building LEGO astronauts.

A special highlight of the week was the visit from Kate and her hearing dog Beany, who demonstrated the valuable role assistance animals play in supporting individuals with disabilities. Their presence served as a reminder of the importance of empathy and understanding towards those facing challenges like deafness.

Later in the week, Lower Sixth IB students showcased their Collaborative Science Project in an exhibition held in the Cloisters Room. This exhibition highlighted the power of teamwork and interdisciplinary approaches in addressing real-world problems — from sustainable energy alternatives to Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

The week concluded with a thought-provoking assembly featuring Pallab Ghosh, BBC’s Science Editor. Ghosh shared insights from his extensive career, emphasising the importance of credible scientific journalism in informing the public about critical issues. His talk emphasised the importance of evidence-based reasoning and integrity in navigating complex scientific topics and referenced the dangers of reporting being overhyped – such as advances in gene therapy – or not having complete integrity or being credible – such as the report commissioned by the government during the BSE crisis to say that British beef was safe and the flawed study published in The Lancing about the dangers of the MMR vaccine. Pallab spoke at length to his attentive audience about the importance of trustworthy scientific reporting during the pandemic to reinforce the need for national lockdowns, and subsequently to inform and empower people in their everyday choices impacting climate change.

Later this evening we will be hosting a STEM panel talk featuring three influential and successful female speakers from the world of STEM. The Hidden World of STEM will explore some of the critical things we should know about but don’t — with everything from the future of surgery to the science behind sustainable vehicles.

STEM Week provided students with opportunities to engage with STEM subjects in meaningful ways, inspiring curiosity and fostering a deeper appreciation for the world of science and innovation.