STEAM day

On Tuesday, we held our third annual STEAM day.  This year’s theme for the Prep pupils was ‘Growth’ in Formula 1 racing.

We started the day with some inter-house balloon rocket racing in assembly followed by a presentation by former Sevenoaks Prep pupil Tim Bampton, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer for McLaren. Tim focussed on how McLaren’s “fearlessly forward” company constantly tries to grow in terms of performance, diversity and sustainability. Pupils then had the opportunity to ask Tim questions both in assembly and afterwards in their classrooms.  There was much excitement when pupils (and staff) were able to hold the racing jumpsuit worn last season by McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris, as well as the steering wheel from the car. We are very grateful to Tim for giving up his time to visit us, but also to Year 3 parent, Stephanie Brimacombe, for enabling his visit.

After assembly, pupils in Years 3 to 8 split into small groups and began the task of designing their own School F1 STEM team complete with branding, car and jumpsuit design.  Pupils were encouraged to think about the values their team stood for as well as the appearance and aerodynamics of their cars.

The day ended with some of the cars being raced on a track in the hall using compressed gas to launch them down the track. All 49 teams will get the chance over the next week to race and time their own cars using the launcher to find the fastest car! The final winning team will be announced in our assembly on the last day of term.

We would like to thank all the staff and pupils for supporting and working so hard on STEAM day.