Glebe Primary School in Southwick has been chosen by The Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, to receive a Partnership Grant that will enable local scientists to work with teachers from the school to implement an innovative science project.
The project, titled Fantastic Photons, aims to get the pupils of Glebe Primary School to explore the magical properties of light through hands-on experimentation, and to discover how light can be used to study the world around them. It will see pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 (aged 5 to 12) take on the challenge of examining the nature and properties of light, and then devise experiments which use optical methods to investigate the world around them. They will use microscopes to study samples from the school’s garden, they will visualise stress distributions inside plastic components and lead investigations into fracture mechanics, and then use strobe lights and digital cameras to study the motion of objects. The project will be led by Dr Cyril Crua who works in the Centre for Automotive Engineering at the University of Brighton, where he conducts experimental research on laser diagnostics for sprays and combustion.
The project offers young people the chance to meet and work with a local scientist and allows them to build and develop their scientific understanding in a way that is exciting, original and relevant to their lives.
Professor John Pethica FRS, Vice-President of the Royal Society, said: “We’re pleased to be supporting Fantastic Photons at Glebe Primary School and are looking forward to seeing this imaginative project come to life over the coming months.
“Science and engineering are exhilarating and dynamic subjects and we hope that by giving teachers the opportunity to introduce innovative science that we can help show young people how much fun in real-life these subjects can be, and inspire them to become the inventors, explorers and innovators of the future.”
Dr Cyril Crua, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Brighton, will be working in partnership with Glebe Primary School during the next year. Talking about why he has become involved in the scheme, he said: “Our project will bring cutting-edge research to the classroom and help pupils to understand the impact of science and engineering upon their day-to-day activities. Making these subjects relevant is how we demonstrate how vital they are to our lives.”
