Latest News - School Year 2023-24
April 2024
Ceres Reimagine Animation Competition
A group of Year 13 students and one Year 11 student entered this year’s Ceres Reimagine Animation Competition for schools across the UK. The aim of the competition is to encourage students to think about the global climate challenge and our ultimate goal of net zero carbon emissions.
Teams were asked to research a scientific idea to tackle the global climate challenge and present it as a 3 minute video animation. The aim of the competition is to ignite the imagination and to inspire a future generation of changemakers who will lead us towards a net zero world.
The students involved have spent the last few months attending webinars, tutorials or practicing with online software in order to learn the art of animating a story. They have also carried out their own research into their chosen topic area before putting it all together into the videos shown below.
Year 13 students Megan, Sheila and Sarah produced this amazing video encouraging us to protect whales.
Whales not only store carbon in their own bodies but they also provide many of the minerals required by phytoplankton, tiny microscopic photosynthesising organisms which absorb huge quantities of carbon dioxide.
Judges Feedback:
This group was a close runner up to the finalists, and produced a fascinating take on the brief. None of the judges had heard about the link between whale populations and climate change, and were initially sceptical of the facts. However, the team produced a number of articles that ratified the statements made in the video, and everyone was left impressed and with a new appreciation for whales! The video itself was very high quality, the communication style was well paced, concise and impactful. We particularly liked the final caption “Be a net zero hero and save the whale!” and everyone around the judging table learnt something new.
Year 11 student Isla worked on her own to produce this entry suggesting we might use exercise equipment at gyms across the country to generate clean electricity.
Judges Feedback:
If an entry could win on sound effects and song choice alone… this would take it! It was another very original concept, thinking outside the box and judge Mark Selby commended the excellent demonstration of how a generator works. Clearly a lot of effort has been put in to make some impactful content and this was actually one of Gen Kobayashi’s favourites. In another year, this would have made it to the final, but this year the entries were all so strong!
March 2024
British Biology Olympiad 2024
The Biology Olympiad is an advanced problem solving competition for A level students. It challenges and stimulates students with an interest in biology to expand and extend their talents. It enables students to demonstrate their talent and to be suitably rewarded with publicly recognised certificates.
Five students from Year 13 Biology chose to put themselves forward for this national Biology competition.
The results are now in...
Particular congratulations go to Bradley for his Commendation award, which puts him in the top 15% of all students who competed in this year's competition.
British Biology Olympiad 2024_SingleCertificate (4).pdfBritish Science Week 2024 - Time
We celebrate 30 years of British Science Week activities this year, so they have chosen to tie it all together with the theme of Time.
Students across the whole school are being treated to another of Mr Upstone's popular Science Week videos during Tutor Time. If you missed it or just want to watch it again you can do so here...
Science Week Assembly - Whats the Time.mp4Students can also choose from a number of additional activities contained in the official Science Week Activity Pack for Secondary Schools...
British-Science-Week-2023-Taster-pack-Secondary.pdfIf you have watched the video and you would like to know more about the nature of time, the following websites might be worth a visit. Have a nice time!
Relativity by the Institute of Physics
Has the future already happened?
February 2024
Scientists in Schools Symposium - The Human Brain
Students in Years 10 - 12 were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to hear talks from Prof. Sridhar Vasudevan and Prof. Chris Kennard, both from Oxford University, as part of the Scientists in Schools initiative run by Mrs Kasia Lewis from the Oxford International Biomedical Centre.
Prof. Vasudevan researches and lectures on pharmacology. His talk explored the mechanisms which regulate our circadian clock and what it means for our modern ways of living. It would appear that our waking/sleeping cycle is determined by genes in our cells being switched on/off in response to exposure to light. Furthermore, Prof. Vasudevan went on to say that the disruptions to sleep caused by modern devices such as phones/tablets are causing problems with learning and retention. In other words, a good night's sleep promotes learning and a high quality of wakefulness. It's something we've all thought but now we know why.
Prof. Kennard's work was in the field of neurosciences. He showed us how scientists study the brain's visual centres and explored the ways in which the brain creates illusions and how what we see may not always be real. Did you know, for example, that what we see is affected by what we already beleive? Prof. Kennard went on to discuss some of the disorders of the brain and how they affect how we see the world. Prosopagnosia is a condition in which sufferes are unable to see faces as faces. Most of us are so good at recognising faces that we often see them in random patterns. Yet people with Prosopagnisia seem unable to recognise their own faces let alone those of other people. Those who would like to learn more about brain disorders might like to read Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat.
"Absolutely mind boggling"
"I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn about different areas of biology that we hadn't covered in lessons"
January 2024
Inoculating Minds & Inspiring Tomorrow's Bioscientists
Year 12 Biology students were given the opportunity to visit Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Medicine to discover why and how vaccines are created and distributed. The trip was kindly hosted and arranged by Dr Sean Elias of the Pandemic Sciences Institute and held in the Institute of Developmental & Regenerative Medicine building. The Nuffield Department of Medicine is a large multidisciplinary organisation made of 24 separate Institutes, each with their own biomedical research and clinical capabilities. Their Jenner Institute, for example, along with the Oxford Vaccine Group were responsible for developing the Astra-Zeneca SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for Covid19. The Pandemic Sciences Institute draws upon experience and lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic to identify and counter future pandemic threats.
Students heard talks from Nick Edwards on preparing vaccines for the next major pandemic; Dr Tara Hurst on the Nipah virus; and Dr Amanda Rojek on the risk posed by the next pandemic, and on how to build the correct skill set for a career in the biosciences.
Students were then divided into teams and given a task to complete. They had to plan the delivery of a viral pandemic response for a fictitious island community. One team was tasked with choosing the most appropriate type of vaccine given the nature of the outbreak, another discussed and decided the best way to care for people unlucky enough to contract the disease and the third team debated the most relevant government policies to put into action in order to keep the community as safe as possible while allowing trades and freedoms to continue as much as they could.
All students thoroughly enjoyed the day and the majority mentioned how much they thought it will help them to secure a career in the biosciences. When talking about vaccine development, one student summed up the experience as “eye opening and brings to life how much work goes into it, and that it’s more than what we see on the news”.
We would like to thank Dr Sean Elias for organising the event and very much hope we can work together again in the future.
November 2023
Girls in STEM Careers Research Project
A group of Year 9 girls at The Cooper School were invited to take part in a research study into girls’ ideas about careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. The purpose of this study, conducted by Dr Paule at Oxford Brookes University, is to explore girls’ ideas about careers in STEM for women, their own imagined futures, and their ideas about the women in STEM they encounter in the media. The full study details can be found here.
There is an ongoing shortage of women entering STEM-based careers. Part of the reason for this is thought to be that girls may not know much about the kinds of work they could do in these fields. There is also some evidence that media and social stereotypes of scientists and engineers tend to have a gender bias.
By interviewing our group of girls, Dr Paule gained insight into what they think about STEM fields, and how they imagine careers in STEM to be. The girls were then shown some videos of women entrepreneurs in STEM to see how these might contrast with the ideas they currently have. Further discussion after the videos revealed the effects of the session in terms of whether or not the girls had any changes of heart.
The full project findings will be presented to us on completion and may appear in academic journals. It was clear from just our small part of the overall project that the girls’ minds had changed. At the beginning of the session none of our volunteers had considered a career in a STEM-based area and all of their thoughts and preconceptions of a typical scientist were men in white coats. However, at the end of the session the girls were able to see that a career in STEM involves so much more than just “doing science” and can offer the types of roles that they might eventually be looking for.
For these girls, it’s not just about dismantling their preconceptions. They’ve turned their STEM stereotype on its head, and have shown that the only 'formula' they're interested in involves breaking barriers and pursuing their dreams. And good luck to them!
Our Year 9 girls
One of the videos shown to the girls - This is Brittany, a STEM Entrepreneur
Unveiling the Sweet Side of Science!
Students Year 13 Biology students used a respirometer to measure the Respiratory Quotient of maggots. This piece of equipment measures the rates of oxygen consumption and the production of carbon dioxide as the organisms respire. From these measurements we can determine which food group (carbohydrate, protein or fat) the maggots are using as their main source of energy. Students were able to conclude that the larvae were using a carbohydrate such as glucose as their main respiratory substrate.
It turns out that maggots and these students have more in common than we thought -
They both have a sweet tooth 🍩
Meet the Climate Scientists
Do you fancy a job in which you get to help solve some of the worlds most pressing problems? Maybe you'd like to carry out unique research experiments or travel the world protecting wildlife. Whatever your future career goals, you could do a lot worse than follow in the footsteps of the Climate Scientists that some students were able to "meet" this week.
Students across the school were given the opportunity to meet a group of Climate Scientists in an online chat forum. They wanted to find out about their work, their qualifications and how some of the developing hydrogen technologies might offer us some solutions to halt the changing global climate.
The Scientists.pdfStudents were able to ask the scientists anything, and they didn't disappoint. You can read the full transcript for yourself below but as a quick summary:
It is clear that human activities have caused climate change.
Mainly through our burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil & gas to generate electricity or for our manufacturing & transport systems.
But there are things we can all do to help reduce the need for so much energy, for example:
Buying local seasonal fruit & vegetables to reduce the need to transport them across the globe.
Reducing meat consumption to allow more land to be given to growing crops.
Using public transport where possible to reduce emissions from vehicles.
Reduce, Re-use & Recycle to decrease the need to make new materials.
We can also help to promote the work of scientists like these by talking about it:
To share the knowledge of developing technologies such as hydrogen fuel.
To counter much of the misinformation spread by sceptics and those with financial incentives.
One of the main takeaway messages for students wanting to enter this area as a career is to stay curious, ask many questions and gain some relevant experiences.
Thank you to everyone involved who gave up their time to help. It is much appreciated!
If you'd like to learn more about climate science and find out what the world might look like as it warms to 1.5 degress above pre-industrial levels listen to this episide of Crowd Science, a great podcast by the BBC World Service.
Live Chat – Climate Zone.pdf