British Science Week 2020 at Millfield

Our annual celebration of ‘all things Science’ ran from Monday, 9^th March – Sunday, 15^th March this year. Students in all year groups attended a one-off British Science Week 2020 assembly on the art of perfumery by Mrs Alexendra Haydon, Deputy Head Academic. This was an incredibly interesting assembly, which guided students through the history of perfume-making, as well as the chemistry of different scents. All students were able to smell different ‘perfumes’ to try and identify the various different underlying aromas of each one.

Students in Year 9 also had three different special British Science Week 2020 sessions throughout the week in their timetabled Biology, Chemistry and Physics lessons. In one of their Biology lessons, students attended a session on endangered species by staff from Longleat Safari Park. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to learn about – and hold – lots of different and unusual types of animals, including pancake tortoises, royal pythons, tarantulas and lizards. We were also delighted to welcome students from Elmhurst Junior School to attend these sessions. In one of their Chemistry lessons, students learnt about energy journeys. They learnt about different types of energy, and investigated how much chemical energy is stored in different foods by carrying out a practical in which they burnt different foods and used the heat energy given off to heat up a set volume of water. This practical provided a great learning opportunity and generated lots of discussions about what constitutes a balanced, healthy diet. In one of their Physics lessons, students then attended The Grand Physics Show 2020. This was an all-singing, all-dancing production delivered by staff from the Physics department, that really engaged students and provided lots of ‘ooo’ and ‘aaa’ moments! Students in Year 10 were also given the opportunity to see The Grand Physics Show, which they were all delighted about.

All Biology students were invited to join a Biology Breakfast which provided an excellent academic enrichment opportunity. Launched in September 2019, this was the fourth meeting and the topic for discussion, 'Should the government fund research into rare diseases', followed up on an excellent talk delivered by guest speaker, Dr Gavin Welsh, at the recent Biology & Psychology Symposium. Biology technician, Mrs Louise Mathias-Lukins and her daughter, Grace, opened with their very personal account of Nephrotic Syndrome, before Lower Sixth students Jasmine Nobbs and Polly Painter presented on some research they had carried out into how disease research is funded. This was followed by excellent discussion in small groups.

Finally, Psychology students visited the University of South Wales to experience their Criminology Conference and they also had the opportunity to visit Downside School to discover how consumer companies know how to buy their products.

See all the photos on our flickr album here.