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St Peter's College Schools Ambassador Project
Posted on: July 3rd 2018Mr Liam Mc Menamin, Design and Technology teacher and Mr John Carrigy, Head of Sixth Form, visited St Peter's on Friday 22 September 2017 where they had a chance to meet with the academics with whom they would be paired. This the official launch of the St Peter’s College Schools Ambassador Project, which will run from September 2017 to summer 2020.
The Schools Ambassador Project is designed to provide career personal development for teachers in their subjects by pairing them with an Oxford academic. The intention is also to raise the profile of St Peter’s and the University as a whole in those schools, and to encourage more suitably-qualified pupils to apply, not least from students with under-privileged backgrounds. Mr Liam Mc Menamin is particularly interested in this aspect. Improving the attainment of disadvantaged students was at the heart of his research project and dissertation for his Master’s Degree in Teaching and Learning.
Mr Liam Mc Menamin has been paired with Civil Engineering PhD student Miss Iona Richards, whose research is principally concerned with sustainable energy production using wind turbines. They have worked closely together to create a D&T sustainability project for GCSE students at Southgate school, which is linked to the new exam board specification. The resulting project has now a link to a real world problem and has more depth because of Iona’s specialist knowledge that helped inform key aspects of the project. The end result is that Southgate students have learnt about sustainability and how to build a prototype wind turbine that generates electricity. Iona Richards has recently visited the school and delivered a highly engaging lesson, where she demonstrated how wind power can generate energy in (miniature) wind farms.
Mr Daniel Pugh-Bevan, Schools Liaison Officer at St Peter's College, (paired with Mr John Carrigy) was also present in the recent visit to Southgate on 22nd May 2018. Daniel promoted St Peter's College services to year 8 students, with an introduction to ‘Oxplore’; a website for any student to ask big questions about a wide range of subjects, which promoted debate and intellectual curiosity in the session. He was also on hand to speak to students in the sixth form about university applications to St Peter's College. Southgate students gained valuable insights into the university application and interview process, helping them understand precisely what makes a university applicant successful.
The schools ambassador project will continue until 2020 and has so far been a great success with the students, teachers and senior leaders at Southgate School and St Peter’s College, helping forge strong bonds and relationships for working together in the future.
Please follow the link below to view the photographs taken during the visit:-
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