Mayfield School celebrated International Women’s Day and National Careers Week 2020 with a range of inspiring STEAM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] workshops, during which budding Year 8 pupils had the chance to try their hand at keyhole surgery, see inside their bodies with an ultrasound machine, and listen to their pulses with a Doppler.
A spokesperson for the all-girls senior school said: “They found it fascinating to wear pathology goggles and experience how people with different eye conditions see the world.
“The girls also planned and constructed bridges and huge room-sized shelters combining art, design and maths in an ‘Introduction to Architecture’.”
The school invited Year 6 and 7 pupils from Blackboys Primary, St Mary’s RC Primary and Ashdown House to join in the celebrations, with a series of fun lectures and workshops presented by eminent Mayfield alumnae.
The keynote speaker was Dr Helen O’Connor, a Senior Climate Change Advisor to the UK Government, who is currently training for a trip to Antarctica where she will work with a global network of female scientists to find solutions to climate change. She spoke to the children about her work and encouraged them to follow their scientific passions.
The children also took part in workshops on veterinary science, emergency medicine, physics and engineering. Their particular favourites were workshops run by vet and former Mayfield pupil Claire Burfield, who brought her two dogs to the session and showed the children X-rays of different animals.
Naomi Lee, a Jaguar Landrover engineer, spoke about her engineering career in HM Forces, and involved the children in making and racing elastic-band-powered cars.
Year 8 Mayfield pupil Olivia said: “We had such a fun day, and I learnt a huge amount about medicine and what actually goes on inside my body. Our shelter was a bit wobbly but we really enjoyed using wooden poles to see how various different designs worked.”
Headmistress Miss Antonia Beary said: “International Women’s Day is a celebration of the talents and endeavours of women and girls around the world, and at Mayfield encouraging girls to pursue subjects traditionally seen as ‘male’ is a key priority for us.
“The discipline, resilience, analytical ability and creativity required to become a groundbreaking scientist are the same skills required to be a successful artist, and transferrable skills are key to success in a world in which many of the roles our students will go on to play have yet to be invented.”
