Page 19 - The Badger - Issue 8

THE BADGER Celebrating 125 Years of The Downs
Year 7 and 8 pupils entered the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge, with 12 Bronze, 7 Silver and 2 Gold Awards. The two Gold Award students had scored high enough for entry into the Kangaroo Challenge, where one of the pupils achieved a Bronze Award. Well done to all the pupils who participated in the Maths Challenges this year and to those who were awarded certificates in the MathsWatch competition.
The Science Department has hosted two Science mornings for local Primary Schools. The children were actively involved from the start with some hair-raising activities based on static electricity, using Bunsen burners to identify different salt compounds and using acids and metals to produce Hydrogen gas. The activities showcased our excellent resources, and the children went away feeling enthused and inspired.
Additionally, the Science Department ran the 2025 Great Egg Launch, with a great number of children and families undertaking multifarious feats of engineering with the ambition of being crowned champion, winning and adding their name to the fabled list of past victors on the hallowed Egg Cup of Glory.
During the Spring and Summer Terms, several new
class sets of coding books were purchased to deepen our already successful programming curriculum in Computing. Amongst other things, Year 3 have been using Scratch Jr to create art galleries on iPads, and Year 7 could be found outside in the June sunshine, transmitting messages to each other with Micro:Bits, for which they had written the code themselves. With coding taught from Pre-Prep to Year 8, and robotics embedded in DT, there are many more programming projects to come in 2025-2026 to build on this foundation.
In History, Year 8 have been conducting research projects on various themes of world history and archaeology. In May, Professor Paul Nicholson of Cardiff University, a leading academic in Egyptian archaeology, and author of The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, kindly visited The
Downs Malvern to talk to Year 8 pupils about life on expeditions and his excavations at Amarna. Pupils had the opportunity to handle 2500-year-old pottery, visibly thrilled at the thought that these same objects had
once been held in the hands of people who worshipped Osiris and laid eyes upon Pharaohs. The questions Year 8 asked were very perceptive; just what Mr Vaughan would expect of a cohort that has continually impressed him with its depth of insight and sheer love of learning.
Whilst this demonstrates just how brilliantly our highly talented and passionate teachers are working with the children, there is more to come. We are ever evolving and reflecting at TDM and continue to deliver an aspirational educational experience that leads from the front.
Steve Thomas
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