Science: Unlocking Potential

News and chat from Dr Caroline Oprandi on the frontline of science and technology at PACA

Today it is all about vehicles. Firstly we are very excited about the Science and Technology Bus that Brighton and Hove buses have kindly donated to Mile Oak Primary School. Brighton and Hove buses have re-painted the bus, stripped it out and placed a dome on top for stargazing.

The bus is currently housed here at Portslade Aldridge Community Academy but it will be moved to Mile Oak Primary School where it will be used as a central hub for other local schools to benefit from. We will be adding further painted details to the outside of the bus – star constellations, animals, that type of thing.
In Portslade, the school leaders and staff believe they are ‘stronger together’ than working in isolation and have therefore formed the Portslade Partnership of Schools which consists of all the local primaries and PACA (and temporarily Kings School until they find a new home). The schools have been working hard together to improve the educational outcomes for all children, and want to raise the aspirations of the local community as a whole – from Primary School right the way through to University and Industry.

Moving on to a different vehicle. I would like to say thank you to John Lilley for bringing one of his ‘Game Wagons’ from his company Junior Game Creators to PACA the other day. Junior Game Creators is a family of fun, running educational clubs and workshops that are designed to kickstart kids interest in computer science through video games. It is for kids who want to look a little deeper at the games they play at home but it is more than just about code. Each session is a super fun, group learning experience. Everyone works towards a common goal, in teams, on challenges that will stretch their creativity in art, design, maths, problem solving, teamwork and communication. In the same way that learning to read enables learning, learning to code opens up a world of exploration and opportunity.