NEWS
Oxford students and lecturers praise engineering potential of primary school pupils
Primary school pupils impressed lecturers and engineering students at one of the world’s most prestigious universities with their futuristic visions of school buildings in 50 years’ time.
The students from West Cumbria presented their creative designs to the University of Oxford during a recent visit organised as part
of The React Foundation’s Schools of the Future programme. The React Foundation, born out of Cleator Moor-based React Engineering, ran weekly after school sessions with Year 5 and 6 pupils at St Patrick’s and Montreal CofE, both in Cleator Moor, and St Joseph’s, in Frizington. The project challenged the students to design and manufacture a prototype of how they envisage what their school will look like in 50 years’ time.
At the end of the 12-week programme, the pupils headed to Jesus and Queen’s College at the University for a two-night stay in dormitories, with the visit culminating in a presentation of their work to engineering students and lecturers.
Dr Matthew Williams, of Jesus College, said: “It was our immense pleasure hosting three Cumbrian schools in Oxford, and the children from St Joseph’s, St Patrick’s and Montreal were a delight throughout their visit.
“We were blown away by the questions they came up with, their endless energy and the fantastic ideas they had for the future of education. We look forward to them applying to Oxford University one day soon.” Annette Savage, the headteacher at St Joseph’s, said: “This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity which has raised aspirations for all involved, and the children thoroughly enjoyed the whole project from brainstorming their ideas of their futuristic schools to making their models and then developing their speaking and listening skills to a standard where they confidently presented at the prestigious Oxford University. “I cannot thank The React Foundation enough for giving our children such a brilliant opportunity to see a beautiful city they had never visited before and allowing them to be submerged in university life and inspiring them to set high goals for their own future.” The React Foundation was founded in 2004
to mark the 10th anniversary of React Engineering and runs year-long fun activities and awards financial bursaries to provide new opportunities and inspire young people in West Cumbria to study STEM subjects.
www.reactfoundation.org.uk
Piping is “in the bag” for Moray kids thanks to new initiative
Budding musicians across Moray will get to grips with Scotland’s national instruments, thanks to a scheme which will make affordable piping and drumming lessons more available.
Primary and secondary schools across Moray will benefit from a pioneering project that will help pupils to learn the pipes and drums and to perform with other pupils.
The news is a welcome boost as Scotland’s musical education landscape faces a host of challenges with instrumental music under threat in schools in other parts of the country.
It has been made possible through a partnership between the Moray Council’s Music Instruction & Performance, the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust and the Moray Youth Pipes and Drums Tuition Scheme (MYPDTS) charity.
The MYPDTS has engaged a dedicated schools piping and drumming coordinator to run the programme. That coordinator will support a network of tutors to make sure children who want to learn the instruments have every opportunity to do so.
A small lesson fee will be charged to pupils on a non-
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www.education-today.co.uk
profit basis to cover tuition costs. Kids who benefit from free school meals or who cannot afford the usual fees will have their tuition provided free, with the
council music service providing £8000 toward those free places in the first year of the scheme.
Alexandra Duncan, Chief Executive at the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust (SSPDT) said: “Moray Council is putting children first by opening up more opportunities to learn and flourish through music. This new programme takes a practical approach by charging low fees on a non-profit basis, by drawing in charitable grants to help fund the programme, and by offering free places to those that can’t afford to pay. It has the capacity to reach every single young person who wants to take up the pipes and drums throughout the whole of Moray. This is truly remarkable.”
“Moray Council and the MYPDTS charity are due praise for exploring and embracing new and creative ways to give pupils greater access to our national instruments.”
www.sspdt.org.uk April 2023
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