TO celebrate our status as a Specialist school, Wolverley held a “Specialism Fortnight” in July, during which every subject devised lessons on the theme Sixties America, which also tied in with the theme for Wolverley Carnival. As can be imagined, this was wide open to interpretation and led to some very creative thinking.

In drama, year 10 GCSE students wrote and enacted a 20 minute performance based on life in Wolverley village during the Second World War.

They interviewed various people from the community, including the residents of a care home, and incorporated anecdotes into the play, with some of the scenes being set to music.

Those who had recounted their experiences were invited to attend the performance and all said how much they enjoyed it.

The science department went all out when they were planning their lessons and year eight students were treated to a phalanx of entertaining and informative learning experiences incorporating the space race, lunar landings, satellites and how they’re changing our lives, the Apollo missions and the making of rockets – when they were each given a film canister which they decorated then filled with specific “exploding” chemicals.

They then took the rockets outside, added water – and prepared for blast off!

Other students took part in an experiment to make the best parachute; they learned the basic science behind the working of parachutes then, in small groups, created their own using newspaper, string and Sellotape.

“The students learn about air resistance,” explained Mr Rouse, “and use this knowledge to create a working parachute, so learning is fun and educational.”

Other activities included writing a script and song lyrics, in English lessons, for an extra scene in the film Grease; devising a 1960s menu in food technology and, in textiles, designing an outfit for Woodstock.

The history department devised a series of ‘Active Learning’ lessons, in which the pupils, in small groups, researched a topic and then “taught” it to the rest of the class. So, by the end of the fortnight, year eights had learned – and taught – about the Civil Rights Movement, the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King, the hippy phenomenon and the moon landings. PSRE also explored the Civil Rights Movement as well as gospel music, whilst the music department devised an inter-school quiz and constructed a 1960s jingle.

The culmination of Specialism Fortnight was our own Church of England and Musical Festival, held on the afternoon of July 14, during which all students were off timetable.

After a free lunch – hot pork baps or a vegetarian alternative – the students were free to wander around the site enjoying all the treats on offer. These included the headlining ska band, the staff band, a breakdance workshop, the intriguingly named ‘God Gazebo’ and the Tanzania Tent. There was also supervised roller blading on the tennis courts and dance performances. All in all, a brilliant end as we celebrated the end of our second year as a Specialist – and Church of England – school.