The Science and Mathematics Departments organised an amazing day at the forefront of STEM at The Big Bang Fair in Birmingham for Year 10 students.

Here pupils had access to a huge variety of activities and displays aimed at inspiring the next generation of scientists and mathematicians to achieve the very best they can. A voyage of discovery of virtual reality, medicine, marine biology, film and TV, space exploration, explosive chemistry, crime-solving, robots, computer coding, microscopic bugs, giant trucks and more. The Fair gave young people the chance to hear from inspiring engineers and scientists from some of the UK's biggest companies and find out about the opportunities available in science and mathematics. This event also complemented the GCSE Science and GCSE Mathematics courses; here are some thoughts from the pupils about their experiences:

I really enjoyed watching the 'Dangerous Equations' talk by Marty Jopson. It was fun to see how dangerous experiments could be completely safe if accurate thought and science was done before hand. The fire, martial arts and more all came together to make a very exciting show to watch! I also loved going round all the stalls and trying out the activities they had to offer. One of my favourites was the virtual reality by the RAF who showed what it is like to fly in a plane with the Red Arrows – Elizabeth 

The Big Bang Fair was an enjoyable day away from the classroom, to learn different things to do with Science and Maths. I really enjoyed how interactive it was and how we got free pens, key rings, badges, stickers and wristbands – you could even win a water bottle from completing 3 challenges. My favourite stand was the National Theatre because I enjoy Performing Arts and am doing Production. It was interesting to see how science and engineering was used in the National Theatre and theatre in general – Sami

You can see more photos from the day here