Head’s blog
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has taken a front seat at Grimsdell this week as we hit the ground running with Engineering Day at the start of the week. Linked to our London theme the children were tasked with working in groups to create different iconic London landmarks. They used basic tools of newspaper, glue, masking tape and string to build large structures and the results were astonishing. Displayed in our foyer we now have: The London Eye, The Gherkin, Big Ben and even Tower Bridge with moving drawbridge created by a simple string mechanism.
The most impressive part of the day was how independent and collaborative the children were. Their ability to listen to one another and problem solve and take charge of their project was hugely rewarding to watch and the technical element of the task also provided them with new skills and knowledge to add to their toolkit.
Engineering is an area of Science that provides the infrastructure to any society or civilisation and therefore engineers have a significant impact on modern life and innovation. Engineering shapes the future, and without it there would be no technology at all.
Our children got to grips with the engineering basics through this opportunity and in fact one member of staff shared with me that her first task in her engineering degree was to do an exercise very similar to this! We are well ahead of the curve in providing our pupils with focused opportunities like this but also embedding these skills in approaches within our whole curriculum.
