Our Planet: Discovering Renewable Energy

To launch this term’s Theme of Investigation, Our Planet, children from Year 1 to Year 6 visited Europe’s most visible wind turbine at Green Park in Reading.

This was a great way to start the theme, introducing some extremely important and relevant concepts that will be explored in upcoming lessons.

It was a suitably windy visit, the perfect conditions to see the enormous 85m tower and blades up close, learn about the science behind the construction and how it produces electricity. The children were so engaged and thoroughly impressed the tour guide with their questions and scientific knowledge of climate change and its effects on our planet’s sea levels and wildlife.

They had a go at pushing the tower over (it weighs 300 tonnes!), listened carefully to the noises it makes and looked up high to see how the blades changed movement. The excitement continued once everyone returned to school with Year 1 deciding to create wind turbine artwork from a variety of materials and Year 5 putting together the facts they learned into a giant wind turbine display.

Each half term our whole school focuses on a different Theme of Investigation, with each year group choosing different concepts to explore across Science, Geography, History, Art and STEAM. The impact of extreme natural events, keeping our oceans alive, the destruction of rainforests, and the history of sustainable products and climate action are just some of the topics being explored over the next few weeks.