St Mary’s Ascot got things off to a flying start this week with their exciting quiz night, a trip to the zoo and some fascinating lessons.

Quiz

Sprawled across the sports hall floor in small teams, pupils were eager to get started and show off their impressive intellect in the renowned quiz. With over 7 rounds testing different subjects, it was clear that there would be areas that would play to the strengths of all of the individuals in the teams.

At first, students found it tricky to work together and listen to everyone in the group. After a few questions, however, pupils soon became aware that others in the team were better equipped to answer areas of the quiz that suited their interests. With this in mind, teams began to rapidly improve their teamwork skills and started listening to each and every member of the group.

Now working together in a stronger capacity, the competition became fierce as teams stayed head-to-head throughout the quiz. The general knowledge known by students was exceptional and revealed areas that individuals were keenly interested in.

Finally, the quiz came to an end and teams applauded the victorious winners. It was a tough quiz and the competition was fierce but it ultimately provided an amazing setting for everyone to get to know each other better.

ZSL London Zoo

ORA students at SMA had an exciting excursion to the ZSL London Zoo this week. Ready and raring to explore the zoo and all of its exotic creatures, pupils were quick to begin exploring around the busy site.

The zoo is packed full of amazing animals, from giraffes and penguins to camels and tigers. There is even a baby sloth and penguin housed on site, the zoo’s newest arrivals. Eagerly exploring, students stumbled across animals they had never even heard of (Coatis, anyone?) and discovered species they quickly came to love.

As well as taking lots of photos of the creatures, pupils were also keen to learn about what they ate and how they behaved. There were various informative talks and live workshops scattered around the zoo – some of which our students marvelled at – and boards provided lots more fascinating information.

The excursion was captivating and gave everyone the chance to learn something new. The journey home was full of loud chatter, as students discussed their favourite animals and taught each other the facts they had learnt.

Science and Programming Workshops

A thrilling science workshop got our students excited this week as they created chemical reactions – including playing with fire – and loud noises. Gutsy pupils volunteered to participate in the experiments and helped the mad scientist teacher to conduct noisy reactions and demonstrations.

For our tech-savvy students, a programming workshop gave them the chance to build their own computer games from the ground up. With simple software to help students get to grips with programming, games came to life and pupils were hypnotised by the computer power they held.

Art and Free Time

Creativity ran wild in the art activities, as students painted, coloured and sketched copies of famous paintings, pictures and objects.

In free time, some opted to build marvellous creations from Lego blocks whilst others challenged their friends to a game of Jenga. The selection of activities for free time is extensive, but some still enjoyed just lying in the sun and soaking up some Vitamin D.

With the end of the week sneaking ever closer, ORA students at SMA have more lessons to look forward to, as well as the highly anticipated Graduation events tomorrow night so watch this space!