Making sense of the world through Science

Of all the ways of making sense of the world around us, Science is one of the most awe inspiring and ‘magical’.

The look on the face of our pupils when they see something unexpected is priceless and it is this sense of wonderment that highlights the importance of science in the curriculum.

As the youngest members of our community start to explore the natural world through their senses, they are in essence, taking their first steps towards a scientific education. Playing with sand, water, bubbles etc. as well as bug hunting in the Forest School, fuels their natural sense of curiosity. From these early stages through to the theoretical sciences in Prep 8, all the children benefit from gaining an understanding of how it all fits together.

As the children grow up, they learn not to just rely solely on their senses and begin to use a range of equipment, from weighing balances to thermometers, chemical indicators to digital multimeters.

And when something unexpected is experienced it challenges preconceptions and allows the children to question their own ideas. Seeing a drink-can crush in a split second could seem like magic until the force of air pressure is understood. Observing a single drop of water teeming with life forms, draws gasps of excitement and bewilderment that life could be so small. Igniting a gas given off when metals and acids react allows them to question and understand better the structure of the matter around us. Alongside music, art, literature, mathematics and more, science allows children to grow up with a full toolkit of ways to make sense of the world around them.