The sky at night
Published: 17 January 2021
With schools closed for many, keeping students engaged and connected with their peers and with learning can be a challenge. However, it is a challenge that the Somerset West Partnership has risen to!
Six schools in the partnership recently took part in an astronomy quiz devised by partnership lead, James Williams, to engage students in the topic of earth and space. The quiz included questions such as ‘What did Irish amateur astronomer Dave Grennan spot from his garden shed in 2010?’ and ‘In our solar system, what is ‘Vesta’?’
Students were able to research their answers which they then submitted to their schools – entrants with the correct answers were entered into a prize draw. One winner from each school was presented with a beginner’s telescope so they can enjoy exploring the night sky for themselves.
“It was great to see so many students participating across the schools,” says James. “At Bridgwater College Academy alone we had 100 entries with 20 students getting all of the questions correct.”
Siou, Year 9 (pictured above right), was one of the winners. She is now thinking about getting some compatible camera equipment so she can capture images of the night’s sky when she uses her telescope.
If you’re interested in exploring the night sky, why not use the Ogden stargazing resource to help you. As well as including handy hints on running a stargazing event, it include a summer and winter ‘tour’ of the night sky.
APPLICATIONS FOR NEW PARTNERSHIPS open annually between September and February.
Find out more by visiting our partnership pages.
Partnerships normally comprise four to ten schools and can be a mix of maintained schools, academies, free schools and independent schools, across the primary and secondary sector.
We welcome applications from any schools in England but are especially keen to work with new partnerships in rural and coastal areas, as well as schools based in areas of social deprivation.