We were delighted to welcome back pupils from Christ the Saviour C of E Primary School, St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, Montpelier Primary School, Selborne Primary School and North Ealing Primary School after half term to the sixth of our BUDS sessions last Saturday.

BUDS is our new Saturday enrichment programme working with primary schools in Ealing. The BUDS programme is aimed at Building Understanding, Developing Skills in Gifted and Talented Year 5 pupils from local primary schools. With a focus on Science, English, Maths and Creative Thinking, pupils will learn the soft skills required to be able to think creatively, solve problems, and express their own ideas.

This week in Science we were making the most of the fabulous weather to design and launch our own stomp rockets outside. We investigated different materials and tried to ensure our designs were as air tight as possible. We measured the distance and thought about last minute adjustments to make them go even further. Some rockets went over 50 metres on just two litres of air – very impressive!

In public speaking, the students have been deciding what they would put in Room 101 and get rid of for ever. Some favourites were fruit and vegetables and their younger siblings’ favourite toys! Afterwards they were challenged to make the argument to take the objects back out again – a relief, no doubt, for all those younger siblings!

Meanwhile in Creative Thinking, the pupils have been working hard on their buildings and final construction has started. The streetscapes are also coming to life with trees, buses and traffic lights. We can’t wait to show you our finished project next time!