National Grid’s school science sessions spark STEM inspiration
It was back to school for members of National Grid’s North Wessex Downs VIP project team, who have recently been delivering a series of special lessons at two local primary schools.
Enthusiastic Key Stage 2 pupils at Bishops Cannings Primary School and St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Devizes took part in the interactive STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sessions.
These were focused on bringing electricity and circuits to life and providing a first-hand explanation about National Grid’s work across England and Wales.
Equipped with buzzers, bulbs and crocodile clips, the pupils got stuck in to building their own mini circuits and even became part of the experiment themselves by linking hands to power an ‘energy stick’.
Through this activity, the children got to see for themselves that people can conduct electricity, before learning all about the differences between conductors, which complete electricity circuits, and insulators, which stop power from flowing.
Alongside the practical activities, National Grid’s team talked about its work to transform the local North Wessex Downs landscape by removing 13 pylons and 4.6km of overhead power line – providing inspiration for budding future engineers and scientists in the process.
Rachel Dewar, Year 5 teacher at St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School said: “Our Year 5 and 6 children thoroughly enjoyed the STEM sessions carried out by members of National Grid. As well as a fun quiz and presentation, the children learnt through hands-on exploration of electrical circuits, comparing them to the National Grid and how our homes are powered.
“They also learnt about electrical safety and explored conductors and insulators through energy sticks, which they absolutely loved! This has led to further scientific questions in class from the children, which we have followed up in our lessons. When asked about it, Frankie (Year 5) said, ‘Amazing! One of the best science and safety lessons I’ve ever had.’”
Ben Squires, deputy headteacher at Bishops Cannings Primary School, said: “A huge thank you to the National Grid team who came in last week. The children were absolutely buzzing with excitement and so keen to tell me all about it when I spoke with them in the days after the session.”
Commenting on the team’s involvement in the schools programme, Amardeep Malhi, project manager for the North Wessex Downs VIP project, said: “We thoroughly enjoyed working with the two local schools to deliver STEM sessions. It was great to see the children having a lot of fun learning about electricity circuits and we hope the sessions helped them to understand National Grid’s important role maintaining and upgrading our national energy infrastructure.
“As part of our work to leave a positive legacy for the local community, we are keen to hear from any other local schools that would like to partner with us to deliver further STEM sessions during our ongoing work to transform the North Wessex Downs landscape.”
If you have any questions, please get in touch with the VIP project team by sending an email to [email protected] or calling 0330 134 0051. If we are unable to answer your call, please leave a message and a member of our team will call you back.