This week, Seniors thought about the relationship between science and faith during an assembly talk with Steph Bryant of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, a Cambridge-based research group focussed on the understanding of religious beliefs in relation to the sciences.

Ms Bryant, who studied the Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, guided the pupils through a frothy chemistry experiment to illustrate the idea that science is primarily about observation, testing, and measurement. It can help us understand the world around us by explaining how things work; but we need to look elsewhere when we want to explore questions about meaning, purpose, and the ‘why’ of things. Religion, by comparison, is meant to examine questions like ‘Does life have a purpose?’ or ‘Why is there a universe?’ Because science is unable to fully answer these questions, she explained, having a broader perspective that considers many different fields of inquiry—including religion, morality and ethics, history, and aesthetics—can give us a richer and fuller understanding of the world. 

She encouraged the young people to be open to many different fields of study that they will encounter at school, which will all feed into the bigger questions about life and where they fit into that bigger picture. 

Many thanks to Ms Bryant and the Faraday Institute for an inspiring and thought-provoking assembly.

It has been a very full first week of the Summer Term, particularly for our Year 5 and 6 pupils who have just completed a 4-day camping adventure in the Peak District. During the past week, the children have enjoyed extended time outdoors together, with activities that included hiking in the countryside, weaseling through boulders, braving a high ropes course, and marvelling at limestone caverns. Evening wide games, tent sleeping, and communal meals prepared by our wonderful parent chef Mrs Bruins rounded out the experience. 

The campers were blessed with fine, clear weather for most of their trip (not a guarantee in April in the Peak District), with rain holding off until the final morning as they packed up to leave.

In his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, author Richard Louv points out that ‘the great worth of outdoor education programs is their focus on the elements that have always united humankind: driving rain, hard wind, warm sun, forests deep and dark— and the awe and amazement that our Earth inspires, especially during our formative years.’ An ambitious but worthy focus indeed.

All of this is possible only through the hard work and dedication of our staff and volunteers: Mr Fletcher, Mrs Watkins, Mrs Parkinson, Miss Pearce-Higgins, Mrs Bruins, Mr Bayley, Mr Pitcher, and Mrs Bracegirdle.