by Alisina Hassani, Year 8
On Thursday 25th January, my classmates and I left school and headed to Virgin Money in Gosforth for a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) event.
Once we arrived, we got settled and then had a talk about Virgin Money and about the importance of STEM. After this introduction, each school was called and sent to different activities. St Thomas More were sent to the coding activity first, where we had to follow instructions to code/fix a broken website in Python (a coding language).
Our second activity was the “lab” part, where we looked in more detail about the science and technology aspect of STEM. In this activity, we learnt about pads that change colour depending on the temperature that touches them, discovered why certain metals bend in hot water, and about many other fascinating materials. Other activities we did on the day included how British Engines make buildings, learning about stage-making software and more fun activities.
At the end of the day, the winners of the ‘Bank of the Future’ prize we had been working towards was announced. A few students from different schools won smaller prizes, but I was lucky enough to win the main prize, a mini computer called a ‘Crumble Controller’.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this trip, gaining insight into more career options, and I didn’t leave empty-handed. I recommend this to any student as it teaches you a lot more about STEM careers that they may find useful in the future, and it is also a fun day.
