Pupils’ love of science was celebrated in style this week at Riverley Primary School, Willow Brook Primary School and Lammas School in Leyton, 8-10 March, when they once again took part in the annual Griffin Science Symposium – a proud tradition in the Griffin Schools Trust (GST) annual events calendar. Coinciding with British Science Week – a nationwide celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), the Symposium focused on the theme, ‘Innovating for the Future’. Riverley, Willow Brook and Lammas young scientists used their creativity and critical thinking skills to question and formulate ideas for improving their community in the future. All 13 primary and secondary schools in the Griffin Schools Trust family took part in the inspiring three-day event.
Commenting on the Science Symposium, Gemma Sant, Executive Headteacher, Riverley and Willow Brook, said, “It is our belief that events like these, alongside an inspiring curriculum, allow our pupils to discover and develop their talents and passions. We were keen to ensure that Covid did not disrupt this important event and that there were no limits for students and staff when commitment and enjoyment came together.”
Keynote speaker, Dr Anne Edwards, Plant Research Scientist at The John Innes Centre, an international centre of excellence in plant science, genetics and microbiology, opened the event, attended by over 1000 Year 6 and Year 7 pupils from across GST’s 13 schools. Pupils interacted virtually with leading internationally-based scientists to gain insight and deeper understanding of current and future issues. They took part in activities during live-streamed workshop sessions, with further opportunities for independent exploration.
Reflecting on the symposium, Charlotte Foulston, School Improvement Lead, GST, said, “The importance of scientific discovery and innovation has been powerfully illustrated over the past year. For our fifth Griffin Science Symposium, we adapted our approach to ensure that pupils had the chance to engage with science in innovative and thought-provoking ways. The symposium fostered exchange and collaboration within and beyond the Griffin Schools Trust and gave our pupils real opportunities to think, debate, explore new ideas and share their work in an exciting arena through interactive activities and presentations.
“The Griffin Schools Trust is committed to ensuring all pupils benefit from opportunities to ‘widen horizons’ and are not hindered by preconceptions about the gender, race or social class of scientists. In the last 2 years, across our three secondary schools, an average of 36% of sixth form pupils, 52% of whom were female, have gone on to study scientific courses at degree or degree apprenticeship level ranging from medicine and biomedical science to robotics and aerospace engineering.”
Concluding, Ange Tyler, a founder of GST said, “Our purpose at Griffin Schools Trust is to build learning communities that prepare our young people to find and take their places in society. It follows that we ask ourselves what kind of world we want to live in? Science plays such a pivotal role in that future and events like this inspire the next generation of innovators and scientists.
“Over the last five years our schools have worked with a wide variety of organisations including The Royal Institution, University College London, Cranfield University and The Open University.”