Coombeshead Academy Aspire Spring 2017

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STEM Coombeshead Academy has been selected as the UK partner school for a European research project studying future global climate change. CRESCENDO is a European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation project that encompasses 25 Institutions across Europe, including the UK Met Office and the University of Exeter. The project aims to significantly improve the main European models used to predict climate change over the coming century. The project has initiated the CRESCENDO Schools initiative, with an aim to engage schools in the science of climate change and to work with these schools on the dissemination and communication of the latest scientific findings in the field. Dr Mike Morley, Deputy Team Leader of Science at Coombeshead, who co-ordinated the school's bid to be involved, said: "We're delighted to be involved in the CRESCENDO project – it's not every day that students get such an amazing opportunity to really engage with cuttingedge scientific research!" In joining the CRESCENDO Schools' initiative, Coombeshead Academy becomes one of only three schools in Europe, together with one in each of Sweden and France, to be working directly with scientists in the project. Over the course of the next year students, teachers and researchers will work together to develop a range of material that can be used to share the project's findings with the wider community. The CRESCENDO project coordinator, Professor Colin Jones, based at the Met Office in Exeter, said “We are thrilled to be partnering with students from Coombeshead Academy and look forward to developing new and exciting material to both increase awareness of climate change amongst students and also increase knowledge of the underpinning science involved in climate change research”. Year 12 student, Freya Vickridge, said: "We have to realise the threat climate change poses to our way of life. Educating people about what we know, and how we come to know this, is the only way to have a real impact on policy." Naomi Winter, also in Year 12 added: "The human impacts of climate change are going to be huge over my lifetime. Helping people to understand what’s at stake is really important to me." CRESCENDO is a European Union Horizon 2020 Project funded under grant agreement No 641816. For further information on CRESCENDO, please visit http:// crescendoproject.eu/ As the project leader for CRESCENDO,Professor Colin Jones visited Coombeshead in December to give a presentation to the students on the Science of Climate Change. 16 Aspire Magazine | January 2017
YEAR 8 MASTERCLASS …from the students’ perspective. In December we visited the University of Plymouth to attend a Maths Master class where we looked at patterns, made predictions about them and tested our mathematical predictions. We played a version of the TV show ‘Only Connect’ by having to sort sets of numbers based on the rules that described them. For example describe the number sequence: 1, 4, 9, 16 … We also played a game of ‘frogs’: What is the smallest number of moves (slides and leaps over a single frog) in order to get the frogs on the left to swap places with the frogs on the right? “We really enjoyed the day especially as we learned how to use mathematical rules to describe as well as to predict and test the rules. Dr Sharp was very informative and had some interesting challenges for us. Because of today we would consider wanting to go to university. It was great to have the opportunity to look around the campus and get a taste of university life.” Curtis, Sam and Harriet (Year 8) For more info see http://nrich.maths.org/1246 MATHEMATICS ENTERPRISING STUDENTS PITCHING IT JUST RIGHT! Years 10 and 13 students visited Plymouth University in November to participate in a Sustainable Business Conference. They were put into groups with other students from schools in the local area and given their brief for the day. This was to create products from waste material from a local Cornish company called Celtic & Co, formerly The Original UGG Company, in order to reduce waste that, at present, ends up on as landfill. In doing this the company can maximise profits but also reduce its carbon footprint. The waste material in question was the leftover material from the soles of Celtic suede boots (UGG style). The groups had to pitch their products to a panel of judges and identify the purpose of the product, its target market, potential % waste reduction and other key factors. Coombeshead Academy were very successful in that they were members of the three teams who won their heats in the semi-final and also formed part of the team who won overall with their products. The successful products were foot shaped photo frames, a buoyancy aid and a shoe rack designed for the elderly. The shoe rack was the overall winner which earnt the team £15 in Amazon vouchers each. Our students were amazing and their success was very well deserved. Aspire Magazine | January 2017 17
Page 1 and 2: A S P I R E Spring 2017 Inspiring E
Page 3 and 4: INSPIRING EXCELLENCE Welcome to the
Page 5 and 6: TRUST NEWS WELCOME TO EDUCATION SOU
Page 7 and 8: GREENING COOMBESHEAD Here at Coombe
Page 9 and 10: GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAMME LAUNC
Page 11 and 12: DAY MAKES AN IMPACT had the opportu
Page 13 and 14: SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES …
Page 15 and 16: RYDON FOLK GIG In December, Coombes
Page 17 and 18: AN INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHT Flossy and
Page 19: READING MILLIONAIRES Jacob Gordon i
Page 23 and 24: ALL CHANGE 2016/17 has seen a big c
Page 25 and 26: INSPIRING AND THOUGHT PROVOKING In
Page 27 and 28: POST 16 ALUMNI Kerrie Spicer Kerrie
Page 29 and 30: IN AT THE DEEP END BUT SWIMMING Thi
Page 31 and 32: PRIMARY LIAISON BETTER THAN EVER Th
Page 33 and 34: CAST COMMENTS Megan Badcock: “It
Page 35 and 36: COOMBESHEAD ACADEMY CHAMPION SCHOOL
Page 37 and 38: MAISIE WILSON Maisie came to Coombe
Page 39 and 40: NEW STAFF NEW FACES IN MATHS Curric

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