Science at WBS bucks the national trend
Science is often seen as a ‘boys’ subject but this is not the case at West Buckland. Both girls and boys excel in the sciences here, with girls outnumbering boys in Physics which bucks the national trend in this subject. We relish having boys and girls taking any subjects and we’re proud that students feel welcome and accepted on all courses. It’s this culture which allows our students to fulfil their potential, as the examples below prove.
This picture shows some of our Sixth Form physicists working together.
Sixth Formers collaborate on academic paper
The school is very proud to announce that four girls in the Sixth Form have been named on an academic paper for a medical simulation conference. The four girls gained recognition from the Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare for their medical project. Anna Wilson, Amy Pullen, Juliette Reed and Isabel van Santen have been working with Mr Danny McRae, a doctor in A&E from North Devon District Hospital, to produce a cost-effective and sustainable model to train doctors how to do a tracheostomy. The Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare has agreed to accept the medical model at its conference from 6th November in Birmingham.
The picture shows Juliette and Isabel with their models.
Mr McRae plans to expand medical model project with WBS
Mr McRae has been working with West Buckland Sixth Form biology students for two years and the school is delighted that both the doctor and the students have gained such recognition for their efforts. Around 15,000 emergency tracheostomies are performed annually in the UK and it has been shown to be vital that cost-effective models can be used to train medics in how to perform tracheostomies. The availability of cost-effective models is even more essential in remote and developing communities. Together with Mr McRae and the biology department staff Noah Shawcross and Hector Cayuela, the four students produced two anatomically-correct models: one high-technology version and one which is lower-technology built using widely-available materials and a degree of sustainability. Both models cost around £15 to produce.
Mr McRae said: ‘Partnership with local schools gives hospitals access to resources not otherwise available that can lead to the development of innovative simulation models that can significantly reduce the cost of simulation. Both parties gain significantly from this partnership. Going forwards, we aim to continue the partnership to develop a central line training model over the next academic year.’
The picture shows the mixed eco committee.
Girls lead the way in Biology's Eco Committee
The school’s Eco committee (led by Sixth Form members of WEBS) met this term and celebrated the school’s recent success on issues of sustainability. The shortlisting for the Sustainable Independent School of the Year and the award of an Eco School Green Flag with Distinction was in part due to their work last year.
We published the school’s new eco code and members of the eco committee have been presenting this to their tutor groups. This year the committee will be focusing on energy use, tree planting and reducing food waste.
The Eco Committee, member of WEBS and Y8 7 artists have been working on an eco code for the school. 4 students – Suzi Howard, Poppy Milan, Bella Minns and Lottie McLintock came up with some designs for the code. The eco-committee and WEBS developed the text and Mr Cayuela helped pull it all together.
