Sciences Masterclasses for Local Primary School Pupils

Established in September 2014, our Sciences Masterclasses comprise six 90-minute sessions held on Saturday mornings over the course of a term. Children spend two sessions each in Biology, Chemistry and Physics looking at a diverse range of topics such as forensics and rocket-building.

Aims

The project aims to bring together like-minded children from local primary schools to work through a variety of stimulating scientific investigations using techniques and equipment that are not usually available to children of this age. 

By working with pupils from many other schools, each child's self-confidence is improved. This serves as ideal preparation for their moves onto secondary education settings.

Background

When our sister Mathematics Masterclasses started in September 2005, demand outstripped supply almost immediately. The introduction of further subjects such as Sciences allowed us to expand the breadth of our offering as well as the number of children involved. Gradually, the Masterclasses programme has expanded from an initial dozen partner schools to the current 76.

Resources

The classes take place at Kimbolton School and are taught by subject specialists. A course comprises six 90-minute sessions; four Sciences courses are held each year. There is no charge for our Masterclasses.

The commitment and enthusiasm of our teaching and technician staff in all three sciences departments is key to the success of these classes.

There is no charge for our Masterclasses.

Impact

We ask for, and receive, feedback from parents at the end of each course. A typical response is:

"Just to say thank you for all your hardwork with the recent masterclasses - my son J has attended the Stafford science course and has loved every minute of it! He has gone on to join 'Imagineering' club after school; an engineering club run by a local company. I think the Sciences course has showed him that education worked out practically by making things can be lots of fun!"

Pupil Involvement

The pupils are drawn from Year 5 or 6 depending on which term the classes fall in. Over 450 local state primary pupils have attended our Sciences Masterclasses.

Frequency

Four Sciences courses are held each year.