St Thomas More Catholic Primary School
Inspiration, Celebration and Education
Science
Science at St Thomas More:
Children at St Thomas More have an enthusiasm for Gods natural world around them and the Science that underpins this.
Children are empowered to act, think and undertake learning as a scientist might to ensure that learning is purposeful and engaging.
Children will be provided with a ‘hand’s on’ enquiry-based curriculum where they will experience the joy of having wonderful ideas, exploration and investigation.
Children are provided with a stimulating knowledge based Science curriculum that nurtures children’s natural curiosity and intellectual development.
There is a whole school ethos of understanding and caring for the world around us and an understanding of our responsibility towards both the immediate and the wider environment and community.
Our school grounds are used as a rich resource which we can utilise to inspire and effectively meet the requirements of the EYFS Framework and National Curriculum Programmes of Study. Wellie Wednesday is a regular time for our EYFS children to explore the natural world around them.
Accurate and timely assessments of how well pupils develop their understanding of Science concepts are used, including an initial baseline on the topic and an assessment at the end, so that teaching can be responded to and extend pupils’ learning.
Intent, Implementation and Impact of Science at St Thomas More:
Whole School Science Overview:
To learn more about our science topics this year, please see the overview below:
Complete Science Overview with National Curriculum Links and Lesson Objectives for Y1-Y6.
Science Vocabulary Progression from Year 1-6.
Working Scientifically: Essential Enquiry Skills.
Influential Scientific Thinkers:
In addition to celebrating interesting science topics the children also learn about influential, key scientific thinkers during their topics to broaden their knowledge and understanding of all that is related to Science in the ever developing world around them.
Science Days!
At St Thomas More we aim to make Science as fun and enjoyable for the children as we can, in order for them to develop a love for the subject and deep interest in the world around them. We organise lots of Science events and days for the children to get fully immersed with Science including visitors and workshops.
What we have enjoyed so far:
Science Week 2024!
Year 1, 2 and 3 visited Pates Secondary School
Science Week - Year 5 - Workshop from Cheltenham Ladies College
Year 4 - Cheltenham Ladies College - StarLab
Year 3 and 4 trip to Gloucestershire Wetland Centre
Year 6 Celebrating British Science Week 2024
Year 1 learning about the Phases of the Moon in English
Science Week 2023:
Year 5 and 6 Investigating Yeast Growth and Temperature
Year 1's Science Day
Year 1 started the day by visiting Pre-School where they learnt all about growing up and how we change through the years. They then came back to Year 1 where they used their sense of smell to guess what was in each mystery container - from vinegar to garlic, from chocolate to minty toothpaste. They ended the day visiting Reception where they learnt that a Scientist can look like anyone!
Year 5 and 6 Explored our Fascinating Fingerprints!
This activity was designed to get us thinking about fingerprints. We wanted to find out if everyone's fingerprints really are different. We compared different fingerprints and looked for patterns. We used a tablets to zoom in and study our fingerprints closely.
Year 5 and 6 investigated how sound travels through particles in sounds, liquids and gases.
Year 2 investigated finger prints, how sound travels and the phases of the moon
At the end of the day our thoughts were:
- I enjoyed learning about the moon and making a moon dial.
- I enjoyed seeing which finger print I was: arch, loop or whorl
- I learnt about the different phases of the moon
- I enjoyed making a cup telephone and sending messages down the string
- I didn’t know you could use pencil to make a finger print
- I enjoyed learning about which finger print I have
Reception: A nature hunt, finding out about different scents and draw your own Scientist!
Year 1 - Testing our senses
Sight
We explored what would happen when we tried to put our jumper on without our sense of sight - It was very tricky!
Touch/Feel
We explored which object was the coldest - The ice pack was.
Smell
We tested which smelt the nicest, the carrot or the pear - we decided it was the pear.
Taste
We tasted lemon - it was VERY sour!
Hear
The drum was the loudest instrument.
RIAT STEM Challenge - Glider Challenge - Year 5
Road to RIAT STEM Glider Challenge –Y6 showcasing our Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths skills.
RIAT STEM Challenge - Glider Challenge - Year 6
Christmas Science Day! Exploring Ice - Reception.
Christmas Science Day- Year 2 exploring colour!
Year 1 Science Workshop - making Christmas decorations
Christmas Science Day - Chemistry Armpit Fudge - Year 6
Christmas Chemistry Lab - Armpit Fudge - Y5
Year 5 Trip - The National Space Centre
What we have coming up:
Y5 - Virtual STEM event about Gliders or Rockets, run by The Smallpeice Trust.
Whole School Science Week - 13th March.
Trip to Cheltenham Science Festival for Year 4 - 8th June
Year 4 went on an invertebrate hunt and used a classification key to identify the invertebrates we found. We then made our own classification key.
Year 4 visit to Benhall Park - identifying positive and negative changes to the environment
Year 3 and 4 Fizz Pop Workshop
Year 5 - Fizz Pop Workshop - Detectives
Reception's Fizz Pop Science Workshop - Exploring rainbow bubbles!
Fizz Pop! Science Show
Year 2 'Fizz, pop science' lesson all about bubbles.
Reception Online Science Day - Exploring magnets and materials using an exploration bottle!
Fizz Pop Workshop year 1
Year 2 have been learning about plants!
Year 5 - Online Christmas Science Day - Santa’s getting old and he’s finding it hard to carry presents down chimneys. Would a pulley help him?
Science in Y5 - Separating Mixtures
Science in Y5 - Electrical Resistance
Year 6 have enjoyed carrying out their own scientific experiments.
