12 July, 2023
Ormiston Rivers Academy students have been exploring coding, teaching robots, and learning from pioneering companies at a UK-wide STEM fair.
52 Year 7 students from the academy attended the Big Bang Fair at the Birmingham NEC, one of the UK’s biggest STEM celebrations for young people.
The three-day event was a fantastic opportunity for the students to explore how STEM has a vital role to play in the environment, sustainability, and engineering careers and be amazed by the latest science and technology developments. In particular, this year’s fair had an exciting focus on coding, with FUZE offering the students a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn how to code their own game on a Nintendo Switch and Robocode teaching students how to get robots to play hide and seek.
Across the conference, the students engaged with passionate volunteers and panellists who have focussed on sharing their knowledge and providing opportunities for all young people to develop STEM interests and careers. With speakers and exhibits from companies such as Rolls Royce, National Grid, BBC, RAF, and Amazon, the students spent the day speaking with representatives and connecting to inspiring role models from the most innovative businesses in the UK and learning what their future career could look like.
Encouraging the next generation of young people to pursue a passion for STEM was at the centre of the event, with a talk from the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dame Angela McClean, to share her thoughts and encouragement for young people entering the world of science and technology.
Joanne Williams, principal said: “The Big Bang Fair was an amazing opportunity for our students and it was a real pleasure to take them on the trip. All the students were so polite and really engaged with the volunteers around exhibition to explore the exciting technologies and businesses.
“It was amazing to see everyone come away feeling so inspired about careers in STEM. One of our key aims at Ormiston Rivers Academy is to encourage young people develop a lifelong enthusiasm for learning – activities like this are crucial in creating opportunities for all our students to explore their passions.”
Category: News
