We asked Martha Boyne (MB) and Emily Clements (EC) from Angmering School about their experience of participating in last year’s Ultimate STEM Challenge. Their students’ enthusiasm and dedication lead them to submit 14 projects to the competition.
Why did you decide to enter the Ultimate STEM Challenge?
MB: We’ve both got amazing pupils that weren’t being stretched by what we were doing in lessons.
How did you deliver the challenge?
EC: We did the challenge during timetable. We managed to go through the content quick enough to be able to free up some time to cover it. It was within our actual lessons. Some of them did work on it outside of school as well.
Was it easy to choose which challenge you wanted to enter? Were there any difficulties?
MB: The PowerPoint on the BP Educational Service website was really useful in introducing the challenge, talking about efficiency and the expectations of the final product.
EC: When we came to choosing the challenge, we thought it would be too difficult for each group to choose out of the three, so we decided beforehand. The challenge which we were able to facilitate was Streamlined Ships.
What was the overall feedback from the students?
MB: The pupils really liked the independence. The experiments we do in lessons are very controlled. They really enjoyed having the freedom to think creatively about the method and then actually follow it through. They liked the fact that we dedicated so much time to one thing.
EC: They enjoyed that they got the time to really extend themselves. I think they thoroughly enjoyed it. We got positive feedback from all of the students. It was new to them and it was special and that really showed why they were so keen.
Are the students that took part interested in STEM topics?
MB: A few of them have always expressed an interest. Some of them didn’t realise what STEM was until we had the STEM Ambassadors come in. A few said, ‘Oh, I want to do that’, it was good opening their eyes to that.
How many STEM Ambassadors did you have?
MB: Two and they came to the first session. They said, ‘We’ve got free time. We can come to all of your lessons’. They came and really helped the students.
Would you say that taking part in the Ultimate STEM Challenge helped you overcome any challenges and if so, how?
MB: I think it’s made us realise that you can do a STEM Challenge in Year 9. A lot of people think, ‘Where’s the time? How are we going to do it?’ It’s quite a bit of work from our side but I think it can be done.
EC: Yes and I think it’s probably opened up the eyes of a lot of people in our department, that it can be done in lesson time.
Would you recommend other schools or other teachers to take part in the Ultimate STEM Challenge?
MB: Yes, definitely. I think we would have to look at the challenges to see if it was reasonable. Getting some of the equipment would have been difficult at this time of year, the end of the budget year. If it’s feasible, I’d recommend it because the kids really enjoyed it.
Would you say that taking part of it has changed their opinion of STEM?
MB: Yes, they’re really positive towards it.
This year, the Ultimate STEM Challenge is inviting students to use their creativity to design a rocket, remote controlled aircraft or robot arm that will enable a safer and easier working environment in some of the Earth's most extreme locations. Get involved and inspire your students with these exciting challenges.