SCIENCE

It has been such an exciting year at Sherborne Qatar Prep, made all the better with the addition of our very own Science Lab! Staff and pupils feel so lucky to have a dedicated space to unlock their inner scientists and explore thought provoking scientific investigations. When asked about our new learning environment, Year 5 had some wonderful things to say: ‘I really like the layout and chairs in the Science Room. I love the atmosphere of being in a different room’ - Yaseen Khan ‘I really enjoyed doing all of the experiments in the Science Lab. I had so much fun’ - Tameem Al Mana ‘I have enjoyed the Science Lab a lot because it has lots of amazing materials and it is very exciting to be in’ - Yousif Jabbar

To make the lab our own, Years 1 to 6 worked in collaboration to add some informative displays with the aim of celebrating noteworthy scientists who were, or still are, specialists in their field. To do this, pupils conducted research to find out more about the following scientists: Albert Einstein (relativity) David Attenborough (animals) Marie Curie (radiation) Alexander Graham Bell (sound / telephone) Helen Sharmen (space) Maria Telkes (solar energy)

In the Summer Term, we enjoyed our very first STEM week where each class participated in a variety of science, technology, engineering and maths activities with the expert help of Mr Calas and Mrs Mohammed. Teachers at Sherborne Prep had a fun time trialling our whole school biscuit dunking experiment before sharing the learning experience with their class. The investigation varied in complexity from EYFS to Key Stage 2 and encouraged our pupils to think about the range of factors that affect a biscuit’s ’dunkability’, such as: the type of liquid used for dunking (tea / water), the temperature of the liquid, the brand of biscuit, the thickness of the biscuit and the amount of sugar in the ingredients.

Looking ahead to the next academic year, we are eager to persist in expanding our understanding of the world through our dedicated science curriculum, whilst continuing to showcase our fantastic learning to the wider community via our CUBE social media channels. Who knows, maybe someday pupils will be decorating their science lab with information about a famous scientist who studied at Sherborne Qatar Prep!

Stacey Duncan Head of Science