Parkfield pupils, from the smallest to the tallest, enjoyed a day of science, exploration and investigation inspired by Charles Darwin.
Mixed groups of students from Year three to Year 10 came together to learn about evolution and Darwin’s theories through a range of experiments and creative work.
Reception and Key Stage 1 students carried out surveys and activities to help them understand classification and animal identity.
The children also measured a variety of their own genetic characteristics, including their hand and feet size and whether they are right or left handed and this information is being collated into a Parkfield-wide survey of biometric data of inherited traits.
Head of science, Dr Lucie Evans, explained: “It was a fascinating day of activity and learning for us all.
“The older pupils studied the voyage of Darwin’s ship The Beagle and learned about the unique and vulnerable wildlife of the Galapagos Islands.
“Each group then produced a joint work of art depicting various aspects of the voyage and the different species Darwin studied.
“These pictures will now be joined together to form a large and very eye-catching wall mural for our new school new site at Hurn.”
Bournemouth’s only Free School, Parkfield opened in September 2013 and teaches children from the age of four through to 16.
Parkfield pupils enjoy a day of mixed, year group working once every half term.
Phil Williamson, humanities leader at Parkfield, explained: “Our curriculum days are about all our different year groups learning together and learning from one another.
“We place a great emphasis on the value of shared learning, and our younger pupils mixing with our older pupils always results in some amazing creativity. “
Parkfield School will hold an Opening Evening at its new Hurn site on September 28, from 4pm-8pm.
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