Drop Down Day - Enrichment Workshops

Maths - CSI: Michaela Maths

If it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of one of her teammates, Michaela Maths, one of Britain’s most promising young athletes, would be dead – slain by an unseen hand! The police are baffled by the crime and want the pupils’ help in solving it. Having been introduced to the crime, the suspects and their possible motives, students will work in teams on a carousel probing a range of mathematical skills. Taken together, these lead to the suspects being eliminated, one by one – until, if all the calculations are correct, the criminal is unmasked.

Maths - CSI: Bake Off

All is not well in the world of the Bake Off – one of the judges, Saul Pinewood, has had food poisoning – and he knows it wasn’t an accident! He’s narrowed the field down to six suspects – and hopes that pupils can use their understanding of fractions, percentages and measurements to help him take the final step.

Maths - The Trading Game

Fast, furious and fantastically engaging, The Trading Game provides students with opportunities to think about maths in some very different ways. Working in an ever-shifting environment, they’ll come to understand that “value” can be a concept that changes depending on circumstances, that the ability to prioritise is an essential mathematical skill, and that the properties of 2D shapes allow them to be arranged in a variety of ways.

And while the Game has its own intrinsic merit, of course, its greater value lies in the follow-up – where students are facilitated through a process allowing them to identify and categorise the skills they have had to use.

Maths - Number Patterns: The Bunker

At the heart of maths, of course, lies the ability to identify, analyse and predict patterns. so, inspired by the work of Alan Turing and his fellow mathematicians at Bletchley Park during World War II, The Bunker is based in cryptology – the writing and reading of codes. Appealing to all age and ability ranges, The Bunker has a simple premise. Working in teams, and at their own pace, students need to identify as closely as possible the location of an Enemy Radio Transmitter by cracking a series of increasingly fiendish numeric, geometric and semiotic ciphers. The more codes they crack, the more precisely they’ll be able to pin the Transmitter down.

The Bunker has been so successful over the years that we've now developed the most challenging version so far (for those who wish to take it!). Calling on participants to manipulate numbers, geometrics and abstract symbols, it's ideal for high-ability mathematicians - and provides a perfect way of demonstrating just how far maths can take you!

Maths - The Prioirites Game

This thought provoking workshop sees students working in teams to create a series of budgets designed to fund an exciting new community initiative. The sting in the tail, though, is that each team will represent a different interest group, with, of course, different priorities. And whether the students are representing other young people of their own age, local businesses or police officers, they’ll have to bear those priorities in mind as they put maths in context by putting together “wish lists” based on limited budgets. They’ll be given the prices of some popular items (other costings being available on request!) and will be supported throughout by a structured planning scaffold - but they’ll also have to continually review their decisions in the light of rapidly changing events. At the end of the day, however, only one budget can be implemented - and it’ll be the power of teams’ final presentations that determines the outcome!

"It was by far our most popular event during maths week. The students enjoyed the competitiveness of the trading game, it was great for their group and negotiating skills. The delivery and hosting of the activity was superb.” Langholm Academy

Literacy - CSI: Reading Skills

Students who tell us they don’t like “reading” are always amazed when they realise quite how much skilful reading they’ve accomplished by the end of this fun and busy workshop. From inference and deduction to skimming and scanning, from previewing to predicting and from context to content, CSI: Reading Skills makes no bones in drawing connections between the everyday skills required to interpret infographics and play computer games and those required to delve into more formal texts.

Specifically designed to support students in making those connections between different ways of “reading”, CSI: Reading Skills sees them working in small teams to help out in a time of national emergency – because a briefcase containing some Top Secret plans was discovered on the 8.42 to Little Padworth, destined for an Enemy Power. The only clues to the identity of the traitor are to be found in a pile of old train tickets, recipe, book reviews and faded photographs. If “read” correctly, however, they’ll allow the pupils to discover who took the plans and why.

Literacy - Spotlight on Shakespeare

Shakespeare didn't write his plays to be read - he wrote them to be experienced, of course, as living, breathing narratives. So our. Spotlight on Shakespeare programmes offer pupils a uniquely "actor's eye view" of a text of your choice. Mixing whole group activity, classic drama exercises, structured improvisation and grappling with the text, pupils will explore the backstory, meet some of the principal characters, bring to life key "landmark moments" and respond to "unseen scenes". Our approaches can be used to explore any of Shakespeare’s plays – but we are happy to make recommendations to suit the needs of your cohort.

Literacy - Poetry in Sight

Our poetry writing workshops encourage pupils to play with words and rhythms while working to the restrictions imposed by different poetic forms. By thinking carefully about the vocabulary they use, pupils will come to realise the role “choice” plays in creative writing processes - and the power that brings with it. Poetry in Sight can also support studies right across the curriculum and beyond - as we can build sessions round any topic/theme of teachers’ choices!

"Many of the students involved said it was one of their favourite parts of the week! I will be recommending As Creatives to colleagues in other departments and schools without a doubt and I very much hope to be able to include you in our literacy week next year." Head of English, The Kingsway School

Science - Journeys into Space

After a tour exploring the human journey to space so far, pupils will imagine the day when space tourism is routine. Working in small groups, and supported by our specially designed Interplanetary Fact Files, they’ll explore and bring to life some of the real, scientific challenges posed by space travel - and use to this to investigate some of the features of our neighbours in the solar system.

Science - CSI: Rollercoaster

CSI: Rollercoaster sets your students a problem – to identify which of six suspects sabotaged what was to be the most exciting and force-defying rollercoaster in the world: the Newton. And they’ll need to consider all their prior knowledge to explore some forces that are entirely new to them – before finding out about a little-known inventor whose understanding of magnetism is still saving lives today: Alexander Miles.

Science - The Regeneration Generation

Climate change is the biggest challenge the world faces – so The Regeneration Generation explores what climate change “is”, what causes it, why it’s important, what individuals can do about it – and, crucially, why some solutions aren’t as straightforward as they might at first seem. And students will be introduced to arguably the world’s first climate change scientist: Eunice Newton Foote.

"The main reason for the workshop was to engage the students and hopefully to develop more of an interest in science. The students definitely did this!" Head of Science, Notre Dame Catholic College