STEM Newsletter – Autumn Term 2015
Welcome to your Autumn Term STEM newsletter. We’ve been busy having lots of meetings with teachers about their STEM plans for the year – there are some great STEM enrichment ideas out there! It’s also a bumper term for exciting opportunities for local schools so please get in touch if you’d like to know more about any of the opportunities below.
STEM Clubs Week – If you have a STEM club, or would like one of any flavour of extra-curricular STEM then how about using STEM Clubs Week as a place to shout about it? 1st – 5th February 2016 is when it all happens – let us know what you are planning! And if you need a bit of a leg-up, how about a STEM clubs pack combined with some 1-to-1 support from me? Always happy to help, just drop me a line to talk more.
And not forgetting STEM Ambassadors – we are already booking STEM volunteers in to schools for the Spring Term so get in touchnow to put in your requests.
STEMNET Award Winners
This year we were really pleased to have two local teachers shortlisted for the national STEMNET awards. Yolanda Chadwick from Churchill Academy was shortlisted as one of the top 3 STEM teachers of the year for her hard work in organising a huge variety of STEM events. Rachel Beddoes from The Castle School, Thornbury won the Joan Sjøvoll Leadership Award, which highlighted her outstanding leadership in promoting STEM in the school and local community. Rachel will be heading to CERN next month as a reward for her hard work. Congratulations to both Yolanda and Rachel for their fantastic contributions to promoting STEM. Get in touch if you’d like to be in the running for next year’s awards!
Activities for Students
STEM Clubs Pack – Plastics Challenge and *NEW* Into Film: Into Space
It was great to see how many schools were interested in our Six Week STEM Club Challenge Pack last term. If you didn’t get one, you still can. Get in touch to receive a pack based around Practical Action’s Plastics Challenge. Can your students make a profit from waste plastic?
This term we will also be creating another pack for the Into Film and UK Space Agency competition: Into Film: Into Space. This is a competition for students to create a film on a space theme. Winning films will be screened for Tim Peake whilst he is in orbit on his space mission! We will be putting together a pack of activities for a STEM club connected to the competition, and how you can make use of local STEM Ambassadors with space expertise. Get in touch if you’d like more information and if you’d like us to send you this STEM Clubs pack.
Tomorrow’s Engineers: EEP Robotics Challenge
Schools can apply for the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenges which gets students using Lego Mindstorms to design robots to complete space missions designed by NASA. Teachers will receive training and all the Lego Mindstorm kits required for the challenges for free. STEM Ambassadors will be on hand to give students advice during the challenge which can run in lessons or in a STEM Club. The programme will start in January 2016 and to take part in this exciting opportunity, schools will need to complete an online application form detailing how the school/students will benefit from taking part in the programme. The deadline for applications is the 5th November 2015, 5pm so be quick! Get in touch if we can help with your application and more info can be found on the website
Maths Inspiration Lectures - Bath
The popular Maths Inspiration lectures return and this year they will be hosted in Bath at the Bath Forum. The event consists of interactive lectures on different maths topics aimed at Sixth Formers and able Year 11s. The show is on 3rd March 2016 and tickets are £7.50 each (they book up quickly!) More info:
Bloodhound SSC Education Programme
In the run up to their 2016 world land speed record attempt, Bloodhound SSC are expanding their Education Programme to local schools. There are a range of sessions including designing and building rocket cars, programming robots and visiting the workshop to see the engineers working on the car. The sessions’ costs vary depending on group sizes. However, there are free online resources for schools to use and Bloodhound ambassadors can give assemblies in schools for free. If you’d like more info, please get in touch.
Competitions
CISCO - Little BIG Awards
Cisco is inviting students in years 7-9to take part in the Little BIG Awards. The Awards challenge teams of 3-6 students to demonstrate how life could be made better by connecting everyday things together with the internet. The Awards will recognise teams that can demonstrate how they have worked together to get creative, plan and present their ideas. Additionally, all schools that register teams will be able to access additional support from us to help them get started and succeed! Teams must be registered by the 16th December 2015, so for more information and to register visit
BP Ultimate STEM Challenge
KS3 pupils are presented with three real-world STEM challenges they need to come up with “energy efficient solutions” to. This year, the themes are Streamlined Ships, Better Buildings and Trim Turbines. Students will compete for prizes including £500 to spend on science equipment or a field trip. The celebratory final event will take place during British Science Week at the Science Museum in London. The deadline for applications is 15th January 2015 so this could be a project for STEM Clubs this term. To find out more visit:
Raspberry Pi Competition
This year the Raspberry Pi competition gives students the opportunity to drive innovation in Sport and Leisure. Students will need to design something using a Raspberry Pi that could benefit this industry, from wearable technology to apps to help crowd control in stadiums. Winning entrants will receive £1000. To register for more info, go to:
Brain Art Competition
The School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol and the Royal West of England Academy are holding an art competition as part of the Bristol Neuroscience Festival (18th-19th March 2016). The theme of the entries should be broadly brain/neuroscience related and there are a number of different media that can be used. Winning entrants’ work will be on display at the University and RWA gallery and there will be prizes in different age categories. Deadline for entries is 4th March 2016. Please see here for more info:
Discovery Friday at The Big Bang Fair (NEC, Birmingham)
The British Science Association are looking for KS3 student projects to be showcased at next year’s Big Bang Fair as part of Discovery Friday. If your STEM Club has some exciting projects to showcase, you can nominate your students in teams of up to six students. Applications will open in November. The top 50 entries will be invited to present an engaging stand about their work at the Big Bang Fair on 18th March 2016. Bursaries are available to cover the cost of travelling to Birmingham. If you would like more info and advice about projects that could be entered please let us know.
Events for Teachers
Bristol Green Capital – How Can Pupils Contribute to a Sustainable Society?
The year of Bristol Green Capital is drawing to a close but there are still lots of opportunities for your school to access sustainability resources and programmes. This free networking event, hosted at Bristol Zoo, is a chance for you to find out about the range of activities on offer. The event takes place on Thursday 26th November, 4-6pm. Organisations represented include: WWT Slimbridge, Bristol Textile Recyclers, Knowle West Media Centre, My Future My Choice and many more! For more information and to sign up for a free ticket go to:
Funding and Grants
British Science Week (11-20th March 2016) – Grants Available
British Science Week is an opportunity for your school to celebrate and promote science. There are lots of resources online, and plenty of STEM Ambassadors who can work with you to run activities. The British Science Association has grants available from £200-700 to help schools cover the costs of running exciting activities. The deadline for grant applications is 23rd November 2015. Get in touchif you’d like some support from us for your application and see the website for more info:
The Royal Society of Chemistry – Chemistry at Work Funding
The Royal Society of Chemistry run a number of events in school as part of the Chemistry at Work programmes which aims to show pupils the relevance and societal importance of chemistry and future career opportunities in the subject. These workshops can be run over 1-3 days and are an opportunity for the school to meet with local organisations that specialise in chemical sciences who will deliver sessions about their industry. This term, the RSC are offering funding of up to £1500 per day to help schools to cover the costs of organising a Chemistry at Work event. Closing date for funding is 30th November 2015. There is more info online ( or let us knowif you’d like some help with your application.
Royal Society Partnership Grants
Are you looking for funding to support a great STEM activity or club and would like to work in partnership with a STEM Ambassador? The next round of Royal Society Partnership Grants will open 23rd November 2015, closing 1st February 2016. Grants of up to £3000 are given to schools and STEM partners to bring research alive in schools as part of a STEM project.If you have some ideas and would like us to find a STEM Ambassador to partner with please get in touch. There is also more information online ( including case studies and examples. The Royal Society are also happy to look over draft applications in the week before the deadline.