Page 34 - LION YEAR MAG 2017_FS_R_Neat

Our current Year 12 has been the guinea
As a teacher at St David’s for 28 years I have been well pig year for the new specification. Despite
aware of the immense support we give to the pupils the enormity of the new AS content - the
but seeing it from a parent’s perspective has made me glaciation topic alone has nearly 200
realise just how important St David’s can be in turning words in the glossary - the group have
around pupils’ lives. coped remarkably well.

Joshua had always clashed with DT teachers. He had a The most memorable parts of any
creative flair and a real talent for design, which he geography course should be the
wanted to use ambitiously in his DT projects. However, field trips and this year was no
his teachers had always tried to reign him in, unable to exception, though possibly for
cope with his quirky ideas which ‘didn’t fit the spec’. the wrong reasons. Every time
we ventured out of the
The final straw was being told at a parent’s meeting classroom, the temperature
that his A2 project had no innovation and could only plummeted by several degrees!
get a maximum of a D grade. He needed 3 As to get to
his first choice university. Now in November of his A2 Our first trip was to Cwm
year, the only solution was to transfer him to St Idwal and Nant Ffrancon in
David’s. Snowdonia to study the
spectacular erosional features
Immediately, thinking outside the box changed from for which the area is famed.
being a problem, to something which was encouraged However, it was so cold that it
and developed. Joshua was no longer constrained by a was impossible to write, let
proscriptive approach to the design process and was alone draw, so the skill of field
able to brainstorm ideas, experiment, and go off on a sketching had to be postponed.
tangent. Joshua changed from being totally negative Our second trip was to the villages
and frustrated about his DT to being enthused and full in the Conwy Valley to study the
of ideas. impact of second homes, surely a more
favourable area climatically? Part of the
His project was inspired by the Nepal earthquake, study involved conducting questionnaires
when he was dismayed that the search and rescue to local residents. Sadly, the cold weather
operation was hampered by a lack of helicopters due to had put off all but the hardiest of
the expense. His solution was to build a drone that residents and only four people could be
could fly into inaccessible valleys, with a gimbled found on the streets during the entire
attachment which could hold a camera, search light and investigation; not exactly a representative
maybe first aid supplies to be dropped from the air. sample size.

He was able to use the wide range of complex and hi- Our final trip was to the cliffs of
tech production techniques available at St David’s. Aberogwen on the Menai Strait to study
Some of these included 3D printing, laser cutting, the glacial deposits. The day dawned
Pictured: Joshua Bradnam project, he was able to develop ideas for a future geography - a new start
sunny, but sadly we were working under a
hydro-dipping and, of course, access to the advanced
north-facing cliff in the shade and a gale
computer modelling programmes. As well as the main
force wind blew down the Irish Sea
adding to the chill.
business associated with drones.
The drone was a success. The moderator was so
impressed that Joshua was put forward for an
innovation award and went on to win the WJEC
National Award for CAD, a far cry from the previous
Hilary Bradnam
November! He also attained a place at his first choice
university to study Mechanical Engineering.

For the first time in his life, his quirkiness had not been an issue. Yes, Joshua is still challenging, and
still regularly comes up with obscure designs to solve problems in the world. But now, rather than
thinking they will never come to fruition, he believes in himself and genuinely feels that he can achieve
in the design world. He has recently had a diagnosis of ADD which probably explains the difficulties he
had been experiencing previously. But I sincerely believe that the short time Joshua had at St David’s
has had such a positive effect on him that it will stay with him throughout his life.

aparent’s perspective: Cwm Idwal But 300 stones had to be measured so they

Hilary Bradnam adopted a variety of methods to keep warm:
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