Science and Engineering
Science should be a fun subject for children and teachers with a focus upon understanding and finding out about our world. This is most certainly the case at West Lodge where children are encouraged to explore and investigate. There is an emphasis upon practical, investigational work which helps the children to understand theoretical concepts. Children love the chance to learn through being totally hands-on and finding things out for themselves and this is the basis for our Science teaching.
Engineering and iterative design is a real focus and strength and we have recently launched a new curriculum. The curriculum, that runs from Nursery through to Year 6, is built to support each child to think and solve problems as an engineer.
It is based upon the engineering approach of identify a problem, design a prototype, evaluate, redesign and modify which links perfectly with the now well-established Learning Powers.
Each year we run a whole school project, and every term each year group has a class engineering challenge that is interdisciplinary in nature and links to their topic work.
This year's whole school project inspired 103 pupils to enter a national engineering competition, with considerable success (see graphic to right):
Our STEM weeks are a celebration of Science, you can learn about our most recent STEM Week below:
STEM Week was really fun, especially engineering the roller-coaster. We had to include a 360° loop, at least one 45° drop and ensure it ran for at least 30 seconds
STEM Week 2024
The motivation behind STEM week was to introduce the children to problem solving challenges, enabling them to use their creativity together with their science and technology skills to become engineers.
Latest STEM News
National Engineering Competition Success
Congratulations to these young engineers who have been successful in the London regional finals of a national engineering competition. Their well-designed ideas and engaging letters caught the attention of the panel of expert judges and engineers.
Year 6 visit Tate & Lyle's Thames Refinery
Year 6 enjoyed a fascinating visit to Tate & Lyle's Thames Refinery to learn about the production process from raw material to the end consumer as part of West Lodge's commitment to STEM education.
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Science
Pupils undertaking a Science experiment
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Physics
Pupils undertaking a Physics experiment
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Pupils taking part in Engineering project
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Pupils taking part in Engineering project
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Physics
Pupils undertaking a Physics experiment
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Science
Pupils undertaking a Science experiment
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Physics
Pupils undertaking a Physics experiment
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Science
Pupils undertaking a Science experiment
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Physics
Pupils undertaking a Physics experiment
Engineering Gallery:
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