Isle of Wight school hosts annual science festival

The festival, hosted at Cowes Enterprise College, brought together 23 local companies that showcased to Year 7 students at the academy.

The festival was dedicated to sparking interest in science, technology engineering and maths (STEM) careers.

The event also featured opportunities for Year 10 and Year 12 students with a Careers Speed Meet event, with businesses and exhibitors giving students examples of career opportunities and employability skills.

Students participating at the annual science festival(Image: Contributed)

Year 7 students watched a live science show from Dr Gareth Francis of Working Science, who demonstrated generating electricity with solar panels and fruit batteries, colour-changing chemical reactions and the principles of wave travel.

Students also participated in a Maritime Showcase and a STEM Challenge Workshop, involving plotting safe routes for robots.

Rachel Kitley, principal at Cowes Enterprise College, said: "The annual Science Festival at Cowes Enterprise College is a testament to our commitment to inspiring the next generation of STEM professionals.

"The enthusiasm and curiosity shown by our students, combined with the incredible support from local companies and exhibitors, made this event truly remarkable.

"We are delighted to provide such enriching opportunities that spark a lifelong passion for science and technology." 

Cowes Enterprise College are set to ban pupils from mobile phone use in school, as part of a move by Ormiston Academies Trust.

The trust is phasing out smartphone use across its 42 academies, of which Cowes Enterprise College is one.

Ormiston Academies Trust said: “Our schools are at different stages of the journey.

"A quarter of our secondary schools are piloting different approaches to this over the autumn term, and one is phone-free, where it’s been really successful and is popular with parents and students.

“We want schools to do this at their pace — they are best placed to make the decisions because they know their schools best, and because we want them to consult with their parent and pupil communities, as is happening at Cowes Enterprise College.”