CELEBRATING SCIENCE

According to recent UCAS statistics only 35% of STEM students in higher education in the UK are women. The need for our youngest students to be introduced to the diverse roles in STEM and to see women taking the lead is more important than ever so that they aspire to follow these trailblazers and develop a life-long passion for STEM.

Mrs Charlotte Martin, Head of Year 3 and Junior School Science Coordinator explained:

“I love planning British Science Week, looking at how we can bring together leading women in science and showcase a range of careers, whilst linking back to concepts and knowledge through the IB PYP Units of Inquiry, allowing the students to showcase their learner attributes. The focus of British Science Week really helps bring learning to life, and opens students’ eyes to a wealth of possibilities. We had activities running in every year group across the week, including collaboration with the boys at Bedford Prep School and special lunchtimes clubs; however, one of the highlights is always the talks by our special visitors.”

To kick start the week, alumna and worldleading materials scientist, Dr Anna Ploszajski (DAHS 2009), returned to BGS on Monday 13th March to speak about her specialism in Materials Science; Anna delivered a thoughtful and interactive workshop providing an insight into the sorting of materials through recycling. She asked the students to imagine they were atoms and demonstrated how these atoms might move should they be solids, liquids or gases, before sharing how these atoms’ structure can change when heated.

Dr Ploszajski is hugely passionate about our environment and repurposing items for recycling. Tilly, from Year 5, was the lucky winner of a mug, for thinking that it could be reused as a dog food scoop. Anna kindly spent a long-time answering questions from the girls such as, “would atoms behave in the same way in space?” and “What do atoms look like under a microscope?”

Mrs Martin added: “Dr Ploszajski is incredibly engaging, and we are so thankful for her time. Her workshop made sure that our students were using all of their learner attributes, being inquisitive, creative and independent in their approaches to solving the questions Anna was posing. She took hugely complex concepts and made them accessible to our young students so they could link back to other learning. It was a wonderful morning and everyone was buzzing with questions following her visit.”

On Tuesday 14th March, Year 6 enjoyed a fascinating presentation by Mrs Liz Fordham, a past BGS parent, clinical psychologist and Founder of the charity Making Me. Her focus was on what’s going on in our brains as we grow and how this changes when we hit puberty. The students learnt about the structure of neurons, the cells that send messages in our brain and how they work. Our older students found Liz’s session really useful, both from a scientific level where it linked back to the Unit of Inquiry looking at how brains work, but also on a personal level as they head towards puberty. The workshop helped them understand some of what happens to our brains and how this is linked to the changes they may be beginning to experience. They explored how friendships and relationships can be affected during adolescence as we start to develop our own identities, and how this is linked to the science of our brain. It really helped them understand why they sometimes feel like they don’t belong.

Mrs Martin added: “It is important that we continually link learning, if students can make connections it will help with their emotional intelligence as it allows them to rationalise complex feelings. This introduction into aspects of psychology gave them an insight into the use of science in an area that they would not have been exposed to. Liz’s enthusiasm and expertise really had a big impact on many students.”

Year 5 students had the fantastic opportunity to learn from alumna Rosalie Inman (BGS 2019). Rosalie’s impressive educational background in biological sciences, including a summer internship for a small biotech company, and her current studies in biomedical science research, specialising in immunology and the biology of disease, made her a perfect role model in her field. However, Rosalie’s achievements don’t stop there. She also shared her sporting success in women’s rugby and her recent appearance on the BBC, which demonstrated the importance of pursuing your passions, both academically and personally.

Rosalie set up an activity for the students to find out more about their genetic makeup in relation to eye and hair colour, which was not only fun but also helped them understand the science behind it. The girls even got to think about what their future children might look like, which was a real eye-opener.

Mrs Martin said: “Rosalie’s visit was fantastic, and introduced the amazing field of biomedical science, an area that most young students won’t even know existed. It’s wonderful to see the impact that a passionate and knowledgeable speaker can have on young minds. Who knows, maybe we’ll see some future biomedical scientists emerge from this group of Year 5 students!”

To finish our week’s activities, alumna Chiovonne Koranteng (DAHS 2007) came in to speak to Year 3 about her 11-year journey into architecture and working for award winning architect’s practice, Adjaye Associates, whose notable work includes the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

Taking part in a work experience day at school gave Chivonne the opportunity to see what working in an architect’s practice was like. This proved a captivating experience and from that day she knew she wanted to be an architect. Chivonne began her studies at the University of Manchester, followed by the Centre for Alternative Technology and finally graduating from the University of Westminster in 2019.

Chivonne gave a stimulating recount of the role of an architect. The students heard about some of Chivonne’s design projects. They enjoyed seeing the process of a 300-year-old derelict barn in Cambridgeshire converted into a stunning housing development, and a school she is designing in Saudi Arabia for children with special educational needs. For the latter she explained the use of exposed brick to minimise heat, a perforated canopy roof to allow daylight but protect the students from direct sunlight and textured edges on thoroughfares to ensure students with poor sight know where they are going.

Chivonne introduced several architecture themed activities: tower and bridge building using just spaghetti and marshmallows and drawing their own bedrooms in plan. Chivonne also launched their upcoming project where students will be tasked to design a school, to support their current Unit of Inquiry. The school can be anywhere in the world and the students will need to think about lots of factors including climate, the environment and materials.

“I can see a number of budding architects in our midst! Chivonne’s presentation really captured the imagination of many of our students and inspired them to be creative; it was super exciting to witness; Chivonne was a real inspiration.” reflected Mrs Martin.

Mrs Carolyn Howe, Head of the Junior School concluded: “Our students are lucky; statistics from the Girls’ School Association highlights that students from girl-only schools are two and half times more likely to take Further Maths and Physics at A Level and we buck the trend with large number of our students going on to STEM related degree courses. They have access to amazing teachers, wonderful science facilities and a wealth of alumnae and parents to draw inspiration from. Our students are never too young to be introduced to exciting careers and inspirational role models. When asked to draw a scientist, or an astronaut they still often automatically draw a man! Whilst society is changing and we are seeing opportunities open up there is still subconscious bias that still needs to be challenged and British Science Week provides a wonderful opportunity to amplify learning, readdress misconceptions and open our students’ eyes to the wealth of possibilities.”