News round-up week ending 1st October 2011

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Created on Saturday, 01 October 2011 12:52

Science

With an impressive 73 m diameter, Jodrell Bank’s radio telescope is the third largest of its kind in the world. Since designed and built by Sir Lovell in the early 50’s, it has gathered scientific data from deep space using radio wave signals only. Physicists from the University of Manchester analyse these data to learn about enigmatic space objects such as pulsars.

On Tuesday 27^th September, 48 year 8 pupils and 6 A-level physics students had the privilege to spend the day in this fascinating place. They learnt about space in the planetarium, taught by a qualified astrophysicist. The upper 6^th were appropriately challenged to use some radio telescopic data to calculate the mass of a galaxy. They realised that, with the physics taught at A-level, they are already able to achieve such an exciting task. The difference between their results and the result from a different method to calculate the mass of the same galaxy was explained by the presence of dark matter, which at the moment is still not explained by physicists. The students found it a most stimulating visit!

Seventeen Year 11 pupils and one Year 13 student completed a challenging two-day expedition over the weekend of 1-2 October. It was the assessed expedition for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award, and it took place in the Pennines in between Hebden Bridge and Ogden Water, to the north-west of Halifax. They walked for at least six hours each day. Conditions on the Saturday were especially challenging thanks to the steep climbs and unseasonably hot temperatures. One group made it in to the campsite in the dark, but there was a turnaround in their fortunes on the second day, when they finished first, and it was the turn of the other two groups to make navigational mistakes!

Thanks to all of the staff who helped out at this event – Mr Alcock,Mr Robinson, Dr Sykes, Mrs Jobling, Mrs Hainsworth, Mr Wormald, and Mr McDermott.

We are pleased to announce that pupils in Year 9 and 10 are being invited to take part in an expedition to Morocco, in July 2012, run by an organisation called World Challenge. They organise life-changing expeditions around the world for young people. As a school we are very excited about the opportunity this will give pupils to do something really unique that will make them stand out from the crowd. The expedition experience will provide them with a wealth of new skills which they will find invaluable in school, and in the future at university and in the world of work.

The pupils have seen a presentation which has opened their eyes to the possibilities that lie ahead for them if they decide to take part. Parents of Year 9 and 10 pupils are invited to join us in school for an information evening, presented by World Challenge, where they will have the opportunity to hear all about the amazing challenges that their sons/daughters will have the chance to experience on the school expedition. The information evening will be held on: Monday, 10^th October 2011 at 7.00pm, in the West Hall.

It will be an informative and interactive presentation with plenty of opportunity for questions, along with video footage and images of the expeditions and what it will be like to take part. We are very much looking forward to the evening and we hope you will be able to join us, be inspired, and help to get our expedition off the ground. There will be lots of information on what the pupils will do whilst overseas, the safety and back-up on the expedition, and the benefits they will derive from taking part. 

If you are a parent of a pupil in Year 9 or 10, please let Mr Alcock or Miss Wilkinson know if you would like to attend or if you are unable to attend but would like more information about the expedition. 

Staff in the MFL department organised workshops for all modern language pupils in years 7,8,9 & 10 on European Languages Day last Monday. They learnt about the importance of learning and language and worked in groups to produce ideas for a “promote languages video”. All videos are to be submitted by the 7^th October.

Students also had the opportunity to take part in a “language treasure hunt”.