PGHS Stem Festival

We are all excited for the beginning of the annual PGHS STEM festival fortnight beginning on the 27th February. With 75% of the fastest growing careers being STEM related and only 16% of STEM career professionals being female, we aim to produce an extravaganza of events that endeavour to intrigue and inspire our girls to consider Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as a future career path.

Year 7 students will experience the wildlife beneath our oceans on a trip to the “Blue Planet Aquarium” learning about marine biology and the diversity of species within our oceans. They will get the opportunity to meet a professional sports writer within their PE lessons as well as learning about financial matters within their Maths lessons taking on the ‘Natwest MoneySense’ challenge. Later in the academic year, the girls will get to experience the mystery of distance galaxies and constellations with a visit from a mobile planetarium.

Year 8 students will experience a trip to Helmshore Mill to observe how technology has changed and developed since the beginning of the industrial revolution. They will learn about music therapy with a visit from a practicing music therapist, get the opportunity to meet a professional sports writer within their PE lessons, and take part in the Faraday challenge, researching, designing and making a prototype to real world engineering challenges. The year 8 girls will also get the opportunity to learn about the hydrology and ecology of our local waterway on a Geography trip to the River Ribble. 

Year 9 students will be taking a Geography trip to look at the coastal defences at Fleetwood. They will learn about fraud investigation and try out escape room scenarios during their Maths lessons. They will also have the opportunity to learn about a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates from Safari Phil’s Animal Adventures. The girls will get the opportunity to meet a professional sports writer within their PE lessons, as well as taking part in a fashion design workshop run by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

Year 10 and 11 students will have the opportunity to meet with professionals working within a wide range of STEM related industries during our STEM careers carousel, learning more about the opportunities STEM provides. Our STEM ambassadors are kindly giving up their time to give advice about working within STEM and different career paths within STEM industries. Some of Year 10 and 11 students will take part in a virtual Bletchley Park visit, as well as Computer Science workshops.

All year groups will get the opportunity to outwit their teachers in a STEM based version of the popular TV quiz show, The Chase! The girls will also be encouraged to dress in denim to raise funds for charities supporting research into genetic disorders when we host our “Jeans for Genes” day.

Mr Knee, Science Department

Share!