Shrewsbury

Partnership work with Alpha Academies Trust goes from strength to strength

June 23rd 2023

Since our partnership work with Alpha Academies Trust started earlier this year, we have welcomed hundreds of pupils on site to enjoy a variety of activities.

Find out more about Partnership and Community Engagement (PCE) at Shrewsbury

On the 7^th June we were delighted to welcome the Alpha Academies back to Shrewsbury School for the second of our “Darwin Days” for Year 5 pupils. Once again our guests took part in a circus of events across the school site with the aim of learning about the life and times of Charles Darwin and his family, as well as his story as a scientist and his legacy for our thinking about life today.

Pupils had the opportunity to visit the Library to see some of the Darwin collection, a session in the Barnes Theatre to learn about and interpret the evolution of dance, and practical science laboratory sessions building the perfect sycamore seed, putting together skeletons and experimenting with bird beaks to see how they are adapted to diet.

The Alpha pupils engaged with every session with interest, enthusiasm and excitement; all of the sessions giving them opportunities to hone their skills in problem solving, teamwork and communication, as well as igniting a passion for careers and futures in STEM related subjects further down the line.

It was a pleasure to invite them in for the day and to continue to build our links with the chain of schools - we are looking forward to future “Darwin Days”.

Adam Smiter

Head of Science Outreach

A week later, on the 14^th June Year 6 pupils from the Alpha Academies visited Packwood making use of the set up for Outdoor Week as an end of year adventure and fun day – with the emphasis on informal learning through teamwork, problem-solving, resilience and leadership.

The grounds were at their very best – picture perfect – and the weather warm and sunny. The arrivals spent half a day both on the top of the site by the school enjoying cricket, rounders and nature walks, and stretching out into the Shropshire countryside down at the bottom enjoying activities ranging from paintballing, orienteering, caving, sports challenges and team building games. In between, a wonderful picnic lunch was enjoyed by all. The programme offered was put together and delivered in collaboration between Packwood, Alpha and Shrewsbury – and it ran smoothly on the day thanks to the fine work of senior Packwood pupils who helped with activities and wider logistical support – they were excellent hosts!

My thanks go to all colleagues involved – everyone at Alpha and Emma Martin from Character First, but in particular to the Headmaster of Packwood, Rob Fox and his team of Nick Weston and Suzanne Rogers for their enormous efforts planning and delivering a brilliant day – and at the Shrewsbury end, to Jeremy Lucas, Nick David and Tom Folker for their input and oversight building on the Outdoor Week programme and opportunities.

At the time of writing we have completed 5 of the 7 first year pilot events in this new and ambitious partnership with Alpha Academies. It has been a pleasure to work with Simon French, CEO of Alpha Academies and Louise Brammer, Executive Principal and Primary School Improvement Lead, this year and we are all already looking to the opportunities ahead for all involved.