Newsletter Spring

JCB Trip
STEM
Chester Zoo Visit
Stretford Grammar business/economics
students enjoyed a fascinating tour around
the massive JCB Headquarters at
Rochester in Staffordshire. Upon arrival
we were greeted with tea and coffee which
was then followed by a short cinema
presentation, then, suitably equipped with
flouro jackets, safety glasses and audio
headsets, followed our guide. We started
with ‘The Story of JCB’ - importantly NOT
branded as a museum, as it is very much a
growing and evolving company.
Year 12 Biology and Psychology students took a trip to Chester Zoo in late March in order
to attend lectures related to their chosen subjects, as well as to see some of the animals.
Psychology students attended a lecture in the Education Centre about attachment in
animals, learning about many different species and how they form attachments to others
of their kind. Biology students attended a lecture on the conservation of species, and why
it is important to be careful to conserve some of the endangered species on our planet.
Mobile
Planetarium
Total
Eclipse
It took us on a journey through time, from
the 1820s when the Bamford family were
blacksmiths in Uttoxeter, to the present day
and JCB’s ECO range of fuel saving
machines. The exhibition explores JCB’s
design and innovation ethos; its growth as
an agricultural machinery manufacturer;
JCB’s worldwide service and parts
backup; the success of JCB’s military
products; the development of the JCB
engine and the record breaking 350mph
DIESELMAX ‘car’ from 2006, powered by
two turbocharged JCB diesel engines
giving 750bhp each!
The factory tour took us around the
complete ‘line’ for the famous Backhoe
Loader, from the process of how the
machine is built from the delivery of the
sheet steel, profiling, laser cutting,
welding, paint shop, assembly and finally the
finished product! More than 60 roll out per
day from the plant, joining production from
22 plants from around the world in India,
Brazil, China.
The third largest company in the world, JCB
is a magnificent example of a family-owned
British firm gone global… but still with its
roots firmly in the Midlands. During the tour
there was an opportunity to visit the JCB
shop to buy branded merchandise such as
clothing or keychains.
50 Year 7 students took part in an
enjoyable trip to the mobile planetarium.
They learnt about how the Earth formed
and developed, about the historic
perspective on naming of constellations
and looked at the planets of the solar
system. They also learnt about human
exploration of space in the future as well
as current robotic exploration.
Tommy’s Success
Year 7 maths superstar, Tommy, has
achieved more phenomenal success. In
the recent maths Olympiad he scored
57/60. Competing against the top 500
students nationally, Tommy came 3rd!
In addition he has also gained
recognition in the UK Maths Trust
Yearbook also winning a gold medal.
On the 20th March 2015 millions of people in
the UK and northern Europe witnessed the
best solar eclipse in years. A great swathe of
the Earth’s surface was plunged into darkness
as the Moon came between us and the Sun.
Our science department took on the challenge
of developing a safe pin hole camera in order
to take these incredible images. The whole
school came to a temporary standstill as the
students watched the incredible solar event.
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