F1 in Schools Saturday Masterclasses
The F1 in Schools project was held over three weekends at King’s, and attended by 24 pupils from three partner schools.
F1 in Schools’ main objective is to help change the perceptions of science, technology, engineering and maths by creating a fun and exciting learning environment for young people to develop an informed view about careers in engineering, Formula 1, science, marketing and technology.
This opportunity was targeted at students in year 7 and 8 in all partnership schools.

This opportunity was targeted at students in year 7 and 8 in all partnership schools.
The pupils worked in mixed groups to design and manufacture a miniature car out of the official F1 Model Block using CAD/CAM design principles. The cars were powered by CO₂ cartridges and are attached to a track by a nylon wire.
The final session involved each group pitching for sponsorship before hitting the track for the big race!
Scalextric Saturday Masterclasses
Over four weekends, more than 20 pupils took part in the Scalextric 4 Schools project for the latest Chester Schools Together Saturday Masterclasses.
Each of the four sessions focussed on a different area of the design and production of the cars before they took to the track for the final time trials.

The Scalextric4schools Challenge curriculum is for secondary school children to design their own Scalextric car in Pro/ENGINEER. Students are challenged to design and manufacture their car, fit it with a standard Scalextric motor and drive train, and then race it on a standard Scalextric track.
Creativity Saturday Masterclasses
Collaboration and creativity were the order of the day when the second series of Chester Schools Together Masterclasses was held over three weekends in January 2020.
The students from King’s, Bishops’ Blue Coat and Blacon High School worked in mix groups in each school, producing some wonderful individual and group work in projects focusing on Journalism (Bishops’), Chemistry (King’s) and DT (Blacon).
Students taking part in the Journalism Masterclass at Bishops’ set up their own busy newsroom and tasked themselves with researching ideas for articles and features for a student newspaper that they felt reflected the issues of interest to their peers.
Over in Blacon High School, students collaborated in small groups to explore the different techniques involved in graphic design and technology, producing some beautiful pieces and using specialist equipment to enhance their designs.
A Chemistry Masterclass in King’s gave students the chance to try their hand at a series of practical experiments, including making their own aspirin. The highlight for many was taking part in an initiative by Lancaster University, which challenged them to construct then propel custard rockets a distance of 8 metres.
Greg, from Bishops’ High School, set the current record of 6.5m!

Head of Chemistry at King’s, Dr Cook, who ran the three sessions alongside a number of colleagues and dedicated Sixth Form helpers, said:
” The students had a great time during the three weekends of the Chester Schools Together programme. In every session, whether they were making molecular models and synthesising aspirin, assembling and firing custard rockets, or researching and carrying out chemistry demonstrations, it was great to see students from different school working well together.”
Mr Hartley added:
“I have always felt that bringing pupils from different schools together to work collaboratively on challenging projects provides exceptionally powerful learning experiences. As well as the technical learning that takes place in the subject and topic itself, the young people involved will also learn a great deal about teamwork, communication and working systematically with perseverance through a complex process to reach a common solution.
It’s also always great to see the pupils enjoying themselves so much in school and making new friends in the process. For most participants, the masterclasses will be really memorable experiences that they will recall fondly in the future, knowing that they played a unique and key role in their personal development and new friendships.”
Diversity and Inclusion Conference
Students were thrilled to attend the Chester Schools Together Diversity and Inclusion Conference, in partnership with the Outreach Team of University of Chester.
The event, held at The Queen’s Park Campus, brought together more than 80 students from four Chester schools, to work in mixed groups and increase their knowledge and awareness of different issues, before agreeing campaign ideas to tackle each area.
The conference was targeted at 80 Year 10 students from The King’s School, Blacon High School, Bishops’ Blue Coat High School and Catholic High School Chester.

A small working group of Sixth Form and Year 11 students from each of the schools met in March and agreed the following four areas of D&I for the conference to focus on:
- Being a member of the LGBTQ+ in school
- The impact of a pupil’s socio-economic backgrounds
- Micro-aggressions
- Gender stereotypes
The conference began with students enjoying a talk and Q&A from an invited speakers in the campus’s lecture theatre, before they broke off into four mixed school groups and were given one of the four strands to discuss.