This February half term our Senior STEM camp will explore the exciting subjects of Probability, Statistics and Randomness in Maths, while in Robotics, Programming and Electronics pupils will be building and programming their own wheeled vehicle to take home.
The aim of all our camps is to help children develop their skills in logical reasoning and computational thinking, key foundational skills identified by McKinsey for the future of work. Like all our camps, this will be unashamedly academic but fun!
Children regularly change classroom, teacher and subject during the day. Participants also benefit from a pupil to teacher ratio of six to one with each group of participants being taught in their own separate classroom to maximise the learning opportunity.
In Programming, whether your child is already a confident coder or just starting out, we will create the most appropriate small study group for them, based on their age and experience.
In Electronics and Robotics, pupils up to age 10 will be working on our all new project as they build their own Radio Controlled Car. The project consists of a STEM Electronics Educational Teaching Kit and has two parts: 1) the car and its signal receiver and 2) the controller that sends the signals.
Pupils will assemble the vehicle and perform scientific experiments to gain a knowledge and understanding of radio signals and applications including radio signal transmission and receiving. Pupils will also be instructed in the action of gears and the principles of motors. Participants will be able to take their project home with them.
Pupils aged 11 years and up will work on the Robot Segway project, a two wheeled self balancing robot controlled by wifi where the robot itself is the wifi hub! Even if your child has never studied coding or robotics before they will learn the skills required to complete the project. Children can take their robot home with them and it should be considered part of a pupil’s pre-university portfolio of achievements even if the child is only 11.
Places are limited, please register your interest HERE.
In Maths we will look at Probability and Statistics as well as Randomness and ask:
is it possible to make accurate guesses?
can we describe the world if instead of deterministic rules it is governed by random processes?
Studying both Randomness and Problem Solving provides strong foundations in a maths education and these two fields of learning compliment each other. Here are our learning goals by Year group:
Year 3-4
Younger pupils will work on maths questions in which uncertainty is involved. The goal will be to extract useful information from a problem even when the data is incomplete. We will guess a number, use the average, apply the pigeonhole principle and play games so that pupils can appreciate the power of taking a mathematical approach to manage uncertainty.
Optional 9am extra Maths: Problem Solving
Year 5-6
The Quest of Randomness: pupils will make guesses in advance about random events then perform experiments with their group,collecting data to see the pattern of random results. Pupils will frame a mathematical model suitable for the pattern and then play games with coins and dice to find the best strategies and the chances that need to be considered.
Optional 9am extra Maths: Combinatorics - can you find all the possibilities? Can you find all the permutations?
Year 7-9
The Quest of Randomness: starting from the simplest experiments pupils will arrive at complicated random events. On the way they will reveal the mathematical structure that lies behind the scenes and learn how to make professional guesses. This will include the beginnings of Pascal’s triangle and infinity.
Optional 9am extra Maths: Sets, Combinatorics and Probability. Identities of Boolean Algebra.
Year 10-11
The Quest of Randomness: pupils will investigate different distributions and the possible shapes of randomness. Then they will consider processes that are governed by chance. How can we predict the result of a game if each step of it is uncertain?
Optional 9am extra Maths: Simultaneous systems of equations, Combinatorics and Probability.
Format and fees for the senior face to face camp:
- pupil to teacher ratio of 6:1
- participants are taught in small groups, tailored by similarity of age and ability, in individual classrooms
- camp times: 10am to 3pm
- or from 9am for an extra hour of problem solving and/or from 3pm to 4pm with our chess class. There is a supplement of £25 for each additional session booked
- fees are £595 for five days. It is not possible to join for a shorter period
Places are limited, please register your interest HERE.