British Science Week 2026

British Science Week

British Science Week Wow, what a wonderful Science Week we have had. Well done to all our amazing Science teachers for their hard work putting this event on. With plenty of experiments, trips, workshops and talks, there was something for everyone.

Brockenhurst College Workshops #1 “All of Year 10 visited Brockenhurst College for an exciting programme of workshops. Pupils attended a lecture on the psychology of healthy eating, explored the Tech Truck where they used VR headsets and vehicle simulators, and enjoyed an informative session on maritime careers. It was a brilliant introduction to post -16 STEM opportunities and career pathways.” Mr Marker.

Brockenhurst College Workshops #2 “Our Year 10 Scholars and Laureates returned to Brockenhurst College for a bespoke day designed to stretch and challenge them. They heard from ExxonMobil about routes into the petrochemical industry and their work with the Red Bull Formula One team, complete with a life -size Formula One replica on display. Pupils also took part in a high level physics workshop exploring the Casimir effect and the collapse of black holes, offering a taste of advanced concepts far beyond GCSE level.” Mr Marker

Brockenhurst College Workshops #3 “Our Year 9 Scholars and Laureates visited Brockenhurst College for their own bespoke sessions, engaging with challenging content and demonstrating excellent curiosity throughout.” Mr Marker

Winchester Science Centre #1 Our Year 5 pupils enjoyed their immersive STEM experience, bringing our ‘How Things Work’ theme brilliantly to life! From hands -on experiments to interactive exhibits, it was a day full of curiosity, discovery and scientific wonder.

Winchester Science Centre #2 Our Year 1 & 2 pupils had a wonderful day exploring and discovering the exciting exhibitions and hands -on displays, where they could touch, build and experiment for themselves. The children loved learning about science through play, asking curious questions and trying new things. It was a fun and memorable visit that sparked lots of excitement back in the classroom.

New Water Feature Brings Science Week to Life Our Nursery and Kindergarten pupils have been enjoying a brand -new water feature, designed and built by our talented Estates Team in time for Science Week. The installation is a hands -on exploration wall with scoops, tubes, wheels and containers that allow pupils to experiment with the movement and flow of water.

Pupils enjoyed investigating how water travels through the different channels and mechanisms, encouraging them to test ideas, observe cause and effect, and collaborate as they explore principles such as gravity, motion and volume through play.

The project has already become a popular part of outdoor learning and is a wonderful example of Science Week in action. Thank you to our Estates Team for creating such an engaging and educational addition to our early years area.

Static Electricity As part of British Science Week, our Kindergarten children took part in a hands -on investigation using balloons to explore the wonders of static electricity. Using ideas from a science book, the class experimented with how rubbing a balloon can create an electric charge strong enough to make hair stand up or pick up small pieces of paper.

It was a brilliant introduction to scientific enquiry, filled with curiosity and plenty of ‘hair -raising’ moments.

Boats “As part of our British Science Week celebrations, some of our Pre -Prep pupils created their own boats at home for their How It Works investigation. A variety of materials were used and the designs ranged from very simple and effective to ones with baffles! They were delighted to see that all their boats floated and they could carry lots of marbles!” Mrs Hunt.

You may watch some of their reactions here.

Floating Challenge “Year 5 was set the challenge of building a boat that could float and hold as much weight as possible. They had to use their knowledge of water resistance and upthrust to help them. The only things they were allowed to use were two paper straws, an aluminium foil rectangle and 20 cm of Sellotape. They then had great fun testing their creations in a small aquarium. The winning one held over 500 g. and little did they know the straws and Sellotape were just red herrings!” Mrs Greaves

Magnetism “As part of Science Week the Reception class has been exploring with magnets. We can now use the words repel and attract to describe the movements of the magnets, and we can predict how something might move by looking at the colours of the magnets. We also had fun making cars, castles and ice cream, as well as a pull -along snake!” Mrs Edwards. You may watch some of their reactions here.

Curiosity Mystery Box Challenge “Year 6 pupils were challenged this week by Curiosity Mystery Boxes containing a selection of objects. Pupils had to examine the objects, testing them for balance, movement, connection and sound. They then had to come up with a ‘What if?’ question based on their discoveries and create an object to investigate the idea. It was all about being curious.

We had some very interesting questions, including: What if a balloon can move on its own? What if we could make a working zip -wire? What if the cup could fly? What if we could make a swing?

The models made were a couple of hot air balloons, a catapult, a zip -wire, a human body, a double-decker swing and a fishing rod.

The pupils had great fun working in teams and then presenting back their findings and creations to the rest of the class.” Mrs Greaves.

Bionic Hands Mrs Greaves ran a workshop for Year 4 to find out more about how disabled people use prosthetic limbs. As part of our curiosity topic, the pupils learnt about how tendons and muscles enable our fingers to work before making their own bionic hands which could move.

Fossils and Gems “Rounding off the week, former staff member, Mr Paul Craven, returned to deliver a ‘Fossils and Gems’ session to pupils in Years 3, 7 and 8. He discussed how fossils form, demonstrated the properties of various gemstones and allowed pupils to explore real specimens, a hands -on experience that brought Earth science vividly to life. Thank you, Mr Craven” Mr Marker

Photosynthesis Practical “Year 10 pupils carried out an experiment to test leaves for the presence of starch. This allowed them to identify whether photosynthesis had taken place.” Miss Rothwell.

Science Festival - Project Curiosity For the theme of this year's British Science Week, we ran our own "Curiosity Competition".

This was a competition for all year groups, from our youngest pupils in Pre Prep all the way to our Year 11 pupils at the top of our senior school.

The brief was: "find something you are curious about and then explain how it works". The entries were amazing!

One of the standouts was a working model of engine pistons created by Will S (Year 9). Our other winners were Bea T (Year 6) for her ‘Wizard of Oz’ themed tornado project; Myka H -A (Year 6), whose model explained how fossils are made and the different stages of fossilisation, and Frankie W (Year 7) for her working lung model. You may watch our Curiosity Project video here.

Careers Lecture #1

“Our senior pupils attended a careers lecture on nursing from Mrs Rose Baylis.

Her talk covered different routes into the profession, key skills required and the diverse career pathways available within the NHS. Pupils left with a clearer understanding of the opportunities and the vital role nurses play in healthcare. Thank you so much, Mrs Baylis.”

Mr Marker

Thursday - Careers Lecture #2 “Our Year 10 and Year 11 Scholars and Laureates were treated to a fascinating biomedical science lecture delivered at school by Dr Mel Smith, a researcher at Southampton University Hospital. She shared insights into her work in clinical academia, current research areas and life as a biomedical scientist.

The talk was inspiring, informative and offered a real glimpse into modern medical research. Thank you so much, Dr Smith.”

Mr Marker