Science Week at Balsall Common Primary School Academy

TREAD Lightly has been developed by the Education Group which is part of the West Midlands Lieutenancy, which encourages community projects that benefit the region as well as supporting The King and His interests.

TREAD Lightly: Turn off, Reduce use, Energy efficiency, Alternative source, Do something, was the theme with children learning about lots of ways they could help reduce both their and the schools carbon footprint.

Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands, Carmen Watson, representing King Charles III himself, commented that, “It was an absolute pleasure to attend Balsall Common Primary School to see the progress the pupils are making in their Tread Lightly programme.

“Working on climate change and sustainability topics was clearly something which resonated with them and the visit was well-timed, coming in Science Week.

“King Charles III has told me many times how he encourages people to pay attention to this topic and it was fantastic to see first-hand how the pupils at Balsall Common are doing just that.”

Arup, an international engineering company dedicated to sustainable development, came to talk about how they are helping to shape a sustainable future by delivering an engaging presentation of our renewable sources, solar, wind turbines and hydroelectricity. Some of the Year 4 pupils were lucky enough to try out miniature versions of the technology.

SMBC Council Leader, Cllr Ian Courts, a passionate campaigner on environmental issues, came in to talk about Solihull Council’s commitment to climate change and said, “Climate change is the biggest thing we have facing us today. It affects everyone and we all have a role to play. What really heartens me is the way our young people are embracing these challenges and wanting to do their part.

Danielle Parker, Project Manager and School Ambassador for Solar for Schools, provided examples of alternate power sources such as Wind Farms, hydro and solar. She also gave the children a practical demonstration using solar panels.

Danielle shared with us that, ‘For British Science Week, Solar for Schools visited and presented to an enthusiastic Year 6 audience, who got to use our Solar Explorer Kit to understand better how solar panels work, and some were even lucky enough to fly a drone over their school roofs, assessing them for the possibility of solar investment. It was a wonderfully energising afternoon, meeting so many eager pupils who asked us lots of great questions. The future is looking bright!’

Veolia UK, (waste management) conducted a practical session with Year 2 to look at what can and can’t be recycled at home. Not only were the children surprised but so were the teachers by some of the examples given of objects that cannot be recycled, such as paper plates, because they have a plastic layer, or greasy pizza boxes!

The children had a chance to explore ways that they could help the environment both at home and at school by reducing their printing, turning off lights, walking to school and recycling.

“It is shown in all of the things they have talked about today and all of the things they want to do, so I really welcome this wonderful initiative that has been taken by the children of Balsall Common Primary School Academy. As a council we want it to be as successful as possible.”

Our visitors were also presented with posters and persuasive letters created and written by the Year 3 pupils.

Emily Owen, Senior Engineer at Arup shared that, “It was a truly enjoyable experience to visit Balsall Common Primary School and the Year 4 pupils.

The children were all engaged and showed great enthusiasm and knowledge, which made it all the more worthwhile! Thank you for providing the opportunity for Arup to come along to present and, hopefully, inspire the next generation of mathematicians, scientists and engineers! I understand just how important it is to spark the interest of children at a young age, so this initiative is a great one for them.”

Where does our electricity come from? How sustainable is it? These questions where two of many that our 3 – 5 year old pupils asked Bradley and Sophie from National Grid.

They both commented earnestly that, “We had a fantastic morning visiting the nursery and reception children during British Science Week, helping them to understand more about electricity, how they use it in their everyday lives and what they can do to help save energy.

The children asked amazing questions and it was brilliant to see their excitement at being able to handle some National Grid equipment and get enthusiastic about the work we do.

National Grid are passionate about connecting with local pupils and having the opportunity to spark an interest in electricity and STEM subjects from a young age. We look forward to engaging with more pupils from Balsall Common Primary School in the future.”

As part of our Year 5 pupils’ learning about Ready Steady Grow, linking to Healthy Me, the pupils had a fantastic opportunity to see a master chef, Matthew Cheal from Cheal’s restaurant, in action creating a seasonal root vegetable soup and, of course, enjoying the sampling of the finished blended soup.

All pupils then had a go making their own healthy, and in season, vegetable soup using resources kindly provided by our local Tesco, with herb plants being donated by the Hillier Garden centre. A special thank you also goes to Go Outdoors, who kindly provided the stoves, ensuring we all had an inspirational workshop.

Mark Mitchell, the headteacher at Balsall Common said, “Our thanks go out to all of the visitors this week. It has made a real difference to the children being able to ask questions and take part in practical workshops, meaning that their learning has come to life. It provides inspiration for further learning and will stay with them for a very long time.”