As part of British Science Week 2023, Junior students participated in a science House Challenge. During an allocated time and only using art straws, lollypop sticks, A4 paper, cellotape and masking tape, their challenge was to design and build a strong bridge between two tables which could sustain the heaviest amount of weight.  There is nothing like a House Challenge to bring out the very best in our junior teams !

The Junior House teams worked exceptionally well to design and build their bridges. They used fantastic inquiry, risk taking and communication skills to consider ways to make their bridge stronger, and also worked alongside and consulted with some of our Sixth Form students who prompted deeper considerations resulting in some exceptional and intriguing outcomes. 

Blakey House won the competition in Year 3, with a bridge that held a weight of 800g.  Blakey house also scooped first prize in Year 4, having designed and produced the strongest bridge which held an incredible 5.3kg. Congratulations to team members Isabella, Winnie, Millie C, Bella, Isla and Claudia, alongside their sixth form helpers Grace and Liv.  This group designed their bridge using a two-tiered approach, they started by attaching crosses using lollypop sticks and art straws to the base of A4 paper before layering this with the other tier to make it stronger. Second place was Mackie, third place was Lee and fourth place was Clayton.

In Year 5 the winning house was Lee. Their bridge was incredibly strong, holding over 2kg of weight (it eventually broke at 2300g). This was over 3 times the weight of 2nd place. 

In Year 6, there was a tie for first place between Clayton and Lee, whose teams both produced a bridge which could withstand 5kg! In second place was Blakey, with their bridge holding 3.5kg, and in third place Mackie with a bridge holding 3.2kg. 

All students involved thoroughly engaged with and enjoyed this challenge. There was lots of excitement during the competitive aspect of testing their bridges at the end. 

Mrs J Butterfield and Mrs V Hutchinson

Science Subject Leaders (Juniors)