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swindonlink.com • February 2010 15
Education Business Award for Isambard Space dust turns on Haydon children

Isambard Community School in North Swindon has received national Youngsters at Haydon Wick Primary School were given the chance
recognition of its achievements in encouraging staff and pupils to take to see irreplaceable and very expensive samples of Moon rock close
part in the Arts Council’s Arts Award scheme. up and handle meteorites from outer space at the end of November.
The Education Busi- The lunar samples, provided by the Swindon based Science and
ness Award for Arts and Technology Facilities Council, were collected during NASA’s manned
Crafts was presented space missions to the Moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A small
to the school by news- proportion of the rock and soil was made available to develop lunar and
caster Bill Turnbull at a planetary sciences educational packages around the world.
ceremony at Arsenal’s Jenny Cooper, science specialist at Haydon Wick, said she’d never
Emirates Stadium in seen the children so excited by the chance to see the space material. “The
December. children were overawed by handling material that was billions of years
Kirsty Carter, director old and had travelled millions of miles to land on Earth.”
of the performing arts Ben Kay said, “I learnt the difference between a meteorite that falls
and media specialism at to the earth and meteors that just burn up. It was amazing to be able to
Isambard, said, “we’re hold a bit of rock from outer space.”
very pleased to raise Haydon Wick children holding up the space samples and enclosed lunar soil
the school’s profi le in
this way. We’re unique
in that every member
of staff is trained as
Arts Award advisor. We
shared this model at a
national trainers’ confer-
ence and now we receive Isambard headteacher Rachel Mattey holding the Edu-
enquiries and questions cation Business Award outside the Emirates Stadium
from schools all over the country. vital in business today.”
“The Arts Award is a similar Isambard is the fi rst Swindon
scheme to the Duke of Edinburgh school to implement the Arts Award
Award, in that there are bronze, scheme. “The take up has been
silver and gold levels to achieve. very impressive as more pupils are
The pupils have to work on differ- registering their interest in getting
ent types of research projects for involved,” said Kirsty.
each level and organise events or Other schools in Swindon such as
opportunities to share their skills. Commonweal, Churchfi elds, Nova
This fosters good leadership and Hreod and Greendown are imple-
communication abilities, which are menting Arts Award programmes.

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& Junior School

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Thursday 25th February
Junior School Open Morning
Friday 5th March 9am - 12 noon

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Web: www.rendcombcollege.org.uk

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