By Sarah Belton Children and staff from Falconbrook Primary School in Battersea were turned into mini scientists during May as the whole school celebrated their “Science is Fun!” week. Every day saw each class, including the nursery, take on a different scientific experiment from making oozing slime to creating funky coloured lava volcanoes from everyday cooking objects. The children were treated to Science experts who complemented the curriculum with hands-on, interactive shows. These included a bird show where children witnessed the silent flight of a barn owl and also met with their school’s namesake; a Peregrine Falcon. They also journeyed into space in a mini planetarium where they learnt all about the stars and planets in our galaxy. Finally, the children were treated to Gary the Clown, and his ‘Forces’ show demonstrating the effects of friction and gravity with balloons, diabolos, and spinning plates.

The week, which had been put together by the school’s Science Co-ordinators, Sue Faulkner and Shade Lapite, culminated in a whole school assembly where each class presented some of the fascinating experiments they had carried out throughout the week.

Ms Faulkner said: “It’s been an incredibly hectic week but well worth it. The children have been coming into school each day desperate to know what they are going to be making or learning. Anything that gets children excited and inspired in this way is worth it.”

This week, a government - sponsored report, The Rose review, recommended that Science be dropped from the tested core subjects and be replaced with ICT. Notes for editors: - Science has been a core subject of the National Curriculum since 1989.

- Science is the subject in which 11-year-olds have done best in their SATs: 88 percent reached level 4 last year, compared to 81percent in English and 79 percent in maths.

- www.garytheclown.co.uk