Category: Trips & Workshops

26th April 18

Finton House School were tasked with a challenging space mission on their STEM Day recently. The children arrived at school in the morning to discover a crashed spaceship in the playground which had appeared overnight. This rapidly fuelled some early morning speculation as to what may have happened.

The children were then quickly ushered into assembly where a newsflash told them that an alien had apparently crash-landed at Finton House. A few CCTV clips showed the alien in various parts of the school, including sitting at the Headmaster’s desk. As the assembly continued there was sudden uproar as the alien walked past the window behind the presenter. Clearly something had to be done.

Throughout the day, children completed various problem-solving activities (relating to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to return the alien to its home planet. Our young engineers in Year 1 helped the alien by designing their own rockets and making straw rockets with fins to give them stability. Working in teams, Years 5 and 6 used Spheros (controlled by the iPad) to calculate and programme a route through a giant map of the universe back to the alien’s home.

Everyone visited the giant Science Dome, which was like a planetarium, to see footage of the space station, enjoy a journey to each planet and even a rollercoaster ride through the rocks and ice of Saturn’s rings. “It was totally awesome” reported one Year 3 pupil.

Another highlight of the day was the self-built rockets launching in the playground. To the amusement of the children, one of the rockets was so well built that it landed on the School’s roof.

At one point in the afternoon, a UFO was spotted in the sky: “Perhaps that’s the alien’s friend coming to rescue him”, cried the children in Year 1.

It was a very memorable day filled with valuable hands-on learning experiences, engaging the whole school and every member of staff!

Ben Freeman, Headmaster of Finton House, said: ‘there’s nothing like this kind of immersive learning to trigger massive enthusiasm for a whole range of subjects. It takes a great deal of planning and resource, but the dividends are incalculable.’

26th February 18

Did you know that more than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year?

Upper School pupils at Finton House listened to a thought-provoking assembly about the environmental impact of plastic waste in our oceans. Jo Ruxton, who is a founder of the Plastic Oceans Foundation, stressed the importance of spreading awareness of the issues amongst our youngest generation.

“We should never underestimate the harmful impact waste can have on the oceans and its habitants.”  Miss Jo went on to tell the children that plastic pieces can be found broken up in tiny pieces in the ocean which are then consumed by marine animals and release toxic chemicals in their bodies. As an example she highlighted that a shocking 90% of all seabirds are found to have plastic in their stomachs, since mother birds think the shining small pieces of plastic are squid and feed it to their babies.

Not only does this harm the marine animals but it is very much a concern for human health as well. For example, we eat fish without realising that those toxic plastic pieces also enter our bodies.

Jo made sure that the children are aware that it is never too late to make a difference by changing our daily habits to protect our environment. Avoiding the purchase of packaged vegetables at the supermarkets, drinking tap water instead of bottled water and recycling plastic are only some of the things every single one of us can do to live responsibly.

At the end of the presentation, the children were not only deeply touched by the fate of many sea animals who have sustained injuries because of plastic pieces in the ocean, but also realised how much our daily actions can impact the planet’s environment.

23rd January 18

Year 3 pupils discovered one of the oldest surviving cultures in the world.

Guided by local indigenous guides, Year 3 pupils were transported in seconds to Australia in an exciting Virtual Reality Workshop. Not only was the workshop a lot of fun, but the children also learnt a lot about Dreamtime stories, Aboriginal dances and Australian scenery in a full 360 degrees view. One child commented that it felt like she was actually in Australia experiencing everything for herself.

The workshop leader encouraged interesting discussions about the aboriginal life pre 1788, which showed just how much our pupils already knew about the topic. But the workshop definitely expanded their knowledge even further and deepened their learning through incorporating historical facts in 3D experiences.

The workshop definitely also made a few of the staff interested who dropped in to have a go themselves!

Miss Bridget, Deputy Head at Finton, commented: “While it was a cold and wet morning here in London, our children were transported to hot Australia in seconds which was an exciting experience for them all!”

18th January 18

What started with a rather long and complicated French introduction and lots of puzzled faces; ended up being one of the most entertaining shows the children have ever seen. Not only did they burst out in laughter on a number of occasions, but they also were impressed by how many French words they recognised. The play was performed by two actors, one Native English and one Native French. The children were perfectly able to follow the story in both languages, which certainly boosted their confidence about their language skills.

Lyra (Year 4) wrote a lovely review about the performance: