VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM
Creating the next generation of engineers
approach, characterised by a genuine commitment to the pursuit of excellence. Edge Grove looks to encourage and foster talent whether in the classroom, art room, in music, on the stage or on the sports field.
Its first-class
resources, strong academic approach and accessible and enjoyable teaching allow pupils to progress individually and reach their true potential in all spheres of school life.
Why do you believe exposure to engineering is so important from a young age? Children are naturally curious risk takers from a very young age. Encouraging an interest in engineering early on, gives them the opportunity to problem solve and apply practical skills to a range of different situations.
In many scenarios, I
n our popular View from the classroom feature this month, we’re delighted to hear
from Head of Tech and Engineering at Edge Grove School, Damien Rodwell-Davies, who shares his insight into how children as young as seven are benefiting from engineering lessons at the school.
Tell us about your school Edge Grove School is a successful, vibrant day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 3-13 years situated in 48 acres of glorious parkland in Radlett, Hertfordshire. Dedicated to the creation of confident, self-assured learners, the school nurtures individual excellence and academic rigour in a challenging, warm, fun and inspirational environment. Development of each individual child is at the heart of the school’s
engineering also helps children to explore more creatively in new ways and often in a manner that they might otherwise struggle to achieve in a more traditional class setting. Also, younger children aren’t bound by
preconceived ideas of the ‘right and wrong way’ so they tend to experiment with much greater freedom and expression than older children, who can become influenced and constrained by fear of failure amongst their peers. Personal interests are also often nurtured during the early years of life and so exposure to a wide range of experiences allows children to explore a multitude of career paths, many of which they may not have considered.
Inspiring young children to become
more familiar and interested in engineering at home can be extremely helpful, particularly if they start to recognise that it is actually all around us. Some of the projects we have been working on this term have really helped to reinforce that.
16
www.education-today.co.uk December 2020
You have recently invested in new engineering facilities at school, what does this include? We recently opened a new, state of the art engineering facility in a bid to broaden our STEAM offering and to enhance the overall educational experience in engineering for our prep-aged pupils. We’ve fully repurposed a classroom space and this has been transformed into an innovative technology workshop allowing our budding young engineers from the age of seven, to design, build and evaluate products in the same way they might at a top senior school.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
