This project aimed to challenge the stereotyped image often held by boys of textiles and to enthuse boys about the nature of the modern textiles industry. Included here are articles describing the activities undertaken and the successes of the project, as well as the views of students who took part.

This article from School Science Review, describes the design, delivery, evaluation and impact of a CPD course for physics and chemistry teachers. A key aim of the course was to use the context of the James Webb Space Telescope project to inspire teachers and lead to enriched teaching of STEM subjects.

The...

This Catalyst article looks at the changing definition of the kilogram, a unit of mass and a base unit in the SI system (the International System of units). It has been found that the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK), made in 1879 and kept in a vault in Paris, has lost about 50microgrammes of mass over the...

This edition of the Computing at School newsletter focuses on teaching computing in primary schools, and contains articles covering:

*Pedagogy of computing in primary schools

*National curriculum programme of study

*Game design in the primary classroom

*Primary – secondary transition...

This introductory article shows working examples of basic Python programs. It includes:

• Printing to the screen
• Comments
• Simple arithmetic
• Using variables
• Strings and string arrays
• For and While loops
• Random numbers from the Random library
• Creating a...

This introduction to programming in Scratch uses a trivial example to demonstrate simple audio and animation. It is written for Scratch 1.4 but can be easily adapted for later versions. ...

This short practical guide shows how to implement a bubble sort algorithm in Scratch. The procedure is easy to follow, and can be used in conjunction with theory or unplugged activities to aid...

This simple game is an engaging way to extend learning in Scratch. It uses fairly simple scripts running in parallel to detect collisions and move sprites, which have been designed in the Scratch environment. It could be used a basis for other similar ‘scrolling’ games. 

This activity is an introduction to writing programs that can handle errors. It also helps students to understand number bases, by guiding them through the writing of a ‘base converter’ program.

Suitable for students throughout secondary computing, including those studying at an advanced level, this exercise introduces the Heap Sort and explores why it is more efficient than the Bubble Sort in another Scratch Patch article. Students learn about tree data structures, including the correct terminology for...

This game-writing activity using Scratch will bring back youthful memories for some! It provides...

This practical guide to creating a simple game is aimed at those new to programming with Scratch...

Combining some fundamental physics with trigonometry and computer programming, this guide helps students to create a simulation of the projectile motion of a cannon ball. The concepts are all briefly explained, and the program introduces some clever mathematics as well as game elements, such as collision detection...

This project, exploring basic encryption, is a useful introduction to data security as well as iterating through strings to manipulate them. The program create a ‘substitution cipher’, one of the most basic forms of encryption. It also demonstrates that, for more complex chained commands, Scratch becomes rather...

This visual mathematics project focuses on the beautiful images known as Julia Sets (named after French mathematician Gaston Julia). Students use a repeated iterations to explore the world of complex numbers, writing and amending a relatively complicated Scratch program.