Primary School - October 2018

“Year 6 has really impressed me with their teamwork and problem solving skills. Throughout the project we encountered a number of unexpected problems and each time the students suggested a number of different solutions. I am really proud of what the students have achieved during this project and I'm sure they are proud of their own work too.” Mr Edward

As we near the end of our first half term of this academic year, I wanted to share with you some of the outstanding work produced by our Year 6 students. As the oldest students in our Primary School, we expect them to be prodcing some extremely high quality work and they have not disappointed. This is something even our younges students can strive for if they continue to ‘Work Hard’, ‘Aim High’ and ‘Accept Responsibility’ for their own learning.

As you are aware, we have introduced STEAM into our curriculum as part of the Nord Anglia Education collaboration with MIT (Massechusetts Institute of Technology). Each year group have had the same problem to solve and have tackled it in a variety of different ways. The Year 6 STEAM students came together as one group to build a suspension bridge. Inspired by famous suspension bridges such as the Golden Gate Bridge in the United States and the Maputo Catembe Bridge in Mozambique, they produced their very own. The deck of the bridge is hung from two main cables that are attached to the top of the towers. They are more likely to withstand the shaking from earthquakes because they are more flexible than arch bridges.

I spoke with Mr Edward who was leading the project and some of the sudents to get their opinions on the process. Their ideas went through various stages before the final product was finished. The original plan was to build the bridge to rest on tables, but now it is free-standing and is (with care) portable.

The message from all is one of team work and collaboration to find solutions. The STEAM team are now looking in to how we can give opportunities for all of our students to utilise and develop these same skills. These ideas will be shared with our teaching staff this week and we will be informing you in due course.

Here are just some of the reflections from the Year 6 students:

“I learned teamwork and patience because I never learned patience. I sometimes want to work by myself… I thought it wouldn’t work when it stood, but it worked because we helped each other.” Denise, 6A

“I learned how to do things more carefully like putting the cable ties inside the supports.” Suman, 6A

“We learned that by using teamwork we could make things that we can’t do alone.” Sahil, 6I

“We enjoyed making the bridge using different materials and with other people we don’t usually work with.” Keerthi, 6I

“We found out how to make the towers stable with sand and rocks. We were going to use cotton wool but we couldn’t because it was too soft to stabilise the tower properly.” Madhav and Jassmeeta, 6N

If you would like to come and see this amazing structure, it is currently on display outside Mr Dave’s office. It really is very impressive!


Elizabeth Westwood
Deputy Head of Primary