SciTech Bulletin Two

With pupils taking part in many inspiring STEM initiatives since October, our new state-of-the-art facilities are truly proving the perfect environment for pupils to fully immerse themselves in exciting learning and research.

Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff visits HaileyburySciTech

In November, we were honoured to host the esteemed chemist Sir Professor Martyn Poliakoff for a Haileybury Lecture on the topic of green chemistry. Sir Professor Poliakoff is a leading British chemist based at the University of Nottingham where he is known for being a world leader in his work in supercritical fluids and green chemistry, as well as his past leadership roles within the Royal Society of Chemistry. Professor Sir Poliakoff was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2002. Professor Sir Poliakoff is also well known for his work on the YouTube channel Periodic Videos, where he uses the platform (which has 1.6 million subscribers) to educate and communicate science.

Professor Sir Poliakoff had the opportunity to meet with Chemistry A-level and IB pupils to discuss their studies as well as the pupils undertaking research as part of the Stan-X and CubeSat projects. The Professor provided advice to the pupils regarding their university plans and remarked on how much he enjoyed visiting our School and spending time with the pupils.

Haileybury CubeSat welcomes Industry Partner - BAE Systems

We are very excited to announce a new partnership with BAE Systems as part of Haileybury’s SciTech project. BAE Systems will be providing its world leading industry experience in the field of spacecraft engineering by helping to support pupils realise their goal of being the first secondary school in Europe to launch a CubeSat into space.

The Haileybury CubeSat project has seen a number of developments since its inception last term. The pupils have organised themselves into a management structure akin to those found within the spacecraft engineering sector and also determined a basic outline for a

mission plan. They are now constructing the requirements documentation which will provide important technical information for the sourcing of the components required to complete the mission. A model of a possible CubeSat construction is being created through the use of SciTech’s 3D Printing facilities. Future newsletters will share more of the technical details associated with the project as they develop further.

Amazon App Design Curriculum

Through the Amazon Web Services (AWS) GetIT programme, our Removes pupils have been beta-testing cloud gaming devices in the autumn term, and in the spring and summer terms our LS2 pupils will be embarking on an exciting app design initiative. This involves visits, presentations, and mentoring sessions from Amazon employees, as well as entering a national app design competition.

Pupils have been busy designing and building autonomous systems using various Arduino tools. The diverse array of collaborative projects within the new SciTech centre has brought an exciting new dimension to our Monday evening club. Pupils have been honing and applying their STEM

skills through a combination of electronics, coding, and physical computing. Recent real-world projects include a moisture sensor facilitating automatic potted plant irrigation, a sound sensor triggering a desk lamp with three claps of the hand within five seconds, a remote-

Arduino Club

controlled hand featuring servo motors and a gyroscope, a watering trough for cattle ensuring a continuous water supply, a solar system model employing a multi-gear stepper motor, and a self-learning Braccio++ robotic arm.

STEM Twilight Sessions

Dr Christian Baker is a Research Fellow in the Department of Surgical and Interventional Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences at King’s College, London. He develops miniature, fibreoptic ultrasound sensors and transmitters designed to fit inside a surgical needle. His lecture at Haileybury gave an excellent insight into how laser light can be used to generate and detect ultrasound at the tip of an optical fibre as thin as a hair, allowing the position of a needle tip to be accurately located within the body during surgery, and even allowing microscopic imaging of the tissue surrounding the needle tip.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence looms large in the Computer Science curriculum.

It is a feature of lessons in Middles, Fifths and Sixth Form A level and IB lessons, and our Removes are pursuing a dedicated pathway devoted to AI, cyber security, and apps. This term we will be exploring the features, ethics and legality of using Chat GPT, Perplexity, Canva, and a host of automated image creation apps. These are cutting-edge technologies and we want Haileybury pupils to utilise them on a regular basis in order to prepare them for the world of tomorrow.

Drinkable Rivers

Vex Robotics

We are thrilled to announce that Haileybury has joined the Drinkable Rivers programme and has established its own hub. Our School is committed to actively contributing to the monitoring and preservation of our local river’s health, the River Lea, in alignment with the global effort to achieve drinkable rivers. This project brings together volunteering, STEM and sustainability.

The Drinkable Rivers citizen science programme is a pioneering initiative that

empowers individuals to actively monitor the health of their local rivers. By engaging in this programme, our pupils will play a vital role in tracking the progress towards the ultimate goal of achieving drinkable rivers worldwide.

The programme provides each hub with a professional, standardised measurement kit, comprehensive introduction workshops and instructional videos for ongoing support, manuals and instruction videos, and a data platform for data sharing and mutual learning.

“We are delighted to be supporting this important programme which fits with our commitment at Haileybury to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular UN SDGs 6, 14 and 15. It is a very exciting partnership, which we will follow with interest” Simon Heard, Deputy Master.

Computing Byte Club

Haileybury has now launched Vex Robotics and has already competed with other schools at regional and national levels. team, composed of Lower School boys and girls, underwent an interview process to secure one of the ten available spots.

The teams, named of learning and experience, utilising existing robot designs and meticulously organising robot parts. The first school competition proved challenging, marked by broken robots and plenty of challenge, but offered valuable lessons in

The second competition showcased resilience and improvement, with the Acumen team securing an impressive As they prepare for their upcoming competition, the teams reflect on their growth in resilience, perseverance, and collaboration.

“We put a lot of hard work into the competitions and faced many challenges, but the competition experience has really benefited our teams and we have already made key adjustments for the next tournament.”

Kyrah, LS2, team Acumen