Inspiring curiosity and problem-solving
During the week commencing Monday 9th March, The Beacon has been packed with a variety of exciting STEM-related activities, from celebrating National Pi Day to hosting Science Roadshows and taking part in Maths Challenges, all designed to support and inspire a passion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The Happy Puzzle Company
To begin the week-long festivities, we welcomed our annual guest, the Happy Puzzle Company, back to The Beacon. Pupils in Years 1, 3, 5 and 7 took part in a range of engaging Maths workshops and puzzles, tackling hands-on challenges designed to encourage teamwork and logical thinking. Working together, our pupils explored different strategies and shared ideas as they collaborated to find solutions to each puzzle.
Year 2 Science Show
Our Pre-Prep pupils enjoyed their annual science show, featuring captivating experiments performed by Mr Horn and Mr Tenison. It was an exhilarating introduction to our science labs, with fun experiments that even gave some audience members the chance to participate.
Year 8 Trip to Bletchley Park
Our Year 8 pupils embarked on a trip to Bletchley Park – one of Britain’s most historic STEM sites. During the visit, they learned about the complex maths and engineering required to break the Enigma machine and decipher the codes of the Axis powers. They also had the opportunity to see models of the Bombe machine, one of the first electromechanical computers, which helped Turing, Welchman and their colleagues to unscramble the codes each day.
Maths Trails
Maths Trails for both Year 4 and Year 2 took place midweek.
Year 4 travelled to Chesham to complete their trail, tackling a range of tasks at different locations along the High Street. Working in teams, they tackled a series of tricky questions, helping each other along the way and practising their manners by politely greeting the local people they passed.
Meanwhile, our Year 2 pupils completed their Maths Trail around The Beacon, guided by Year 8. Our Upper School pupils helped them solve equations and introduced new challenges along the way, making maths both engaging and exciting.
It was wonderful to see such strong teamwork within each group as our pupils worked together to solve different challenges – well done to all involved!
Mini BMW Factory Trip
On Thursday, Year 7 visited the Mini Factory in Oxford as part of their learning about engineering. It was a fantastic way to explore the subject in a real-world setting and see how innovation and technology come together in modern manufacturing.
Pi Day
In the lead-up to our themed week, pupils were challenged to memorise as many digits of Pi as possible in celebration of National Pi Day. We then held our much-anticipated competition, where pupils recited the digits they had learned, continuing for as long as they could until our winners were crowned. Each year-group winner earned the honour of selecting a member of staff to pie as their prize.
On Friday, our community gathered for the grand pieing event. Miss Tierney, Mr Horn, Mr Walker and Mr Leutfeld bravely stepped forward to face their fate. Our top Pi reciters took centre stage and, to the delight of the crowd, delivered the winning pies to their chosen teachers – much to everyone’s amusement!
Jackie Gibson Maths Challenge
To round off the week, we hosted the Jackie Gibson Maths Challenge in memory of our colleague, Jackie Gibson. Twelve teams from different schools competed against one another for the coveted “Laughing Gnome” trophy. Having been delighted to win the trophy last year, the pressure was on for us to defend our title and keep it once again!
Keep an eye out on our socials for the results…
