is wonderful to see those children excel who are not always as academically gifted as others.
My final visit was to Year 6, who had also taken on the hydropower theme. Mr Scott had hoped to use his geography expertise to carry out a geothermal activity; however, it was felt that generating enough steam would be both tricky and most likely too much of a hazard! As the key was for children to be hands-on, they looked at the effect of low and high tides and created some very interesting examples of how this type of force could be harnessed.
At the end of the day we all came together in the hall to share our experiences. As well as the amazing array of devices, what impressed me was the confidence and eloquence with which the children explained what they had been learning and how their mechanisms worked – from Reception up to Year 6. Every presentation was different and built upon the previous work. It was clear to see, in a snapshot, the progression of learning across the year groups.
Ofsted are now very keen on teachers ensuring that their pupils retain knowledge – ‘sticky learning’ is the phrase often used. This whole day ‘hands-on’ approach surely goes a way to achieving this.