CSES bursary kits granted to Chelmsford County High School for Girls
As part of the ongoing commitment to education, support and inspiration Chelmsford Science and Engineering Society (CSES) has been working with Chelmsford County High School (CCHS) for girls.
CSES member Ed Bye has been working with a group of sixteen keen and enthusiastic year 10 (14/15 years of age) students at Chelmsford County High School.
One lunchtime a week during the autumn term, the students have been exploring control electronic engineering and stored program systems based on the Micro:bit microcontroller.
In the world, there are by far many more devices (microcontrollers) than computers. With increasing electronics finding its way into all sorts of items, this number will grow. As an example, a typical budget low-end car has about 25 microcontrollers, a high-end luxury car can have over 50 microcontrollers.
The current generation of students will be using microcontrollers, developing their own equipment and projects to solve engineering problems. Thus, giving young students some insight and experience with microcontrollers puts them at an advantage and an early start.
To enable some understanding and to provide some practice with this technology, Ed designed a kit of parts to work specifically with the Micro:bit. There is a variety of about 25 sensors and actuators, shown below. These could be used in numerous projects in conjunction with a Micro:bit.
Read more: CSES continues to support schools with technology and engineering
For Primary and Secondary Students
Taking a camera or your phone and shooting a picture is an easy. But how about, when composing your image, you think about how your picture might be used to discover some aspect of science and engineering?
From your camera or mobile phone to a flower or a rainbow, from a bubble to radio mast, from smoke to light, from microscopy to astronomy, everywhere in our modern world we are facing science and engineering wonders that make our lives easier and more fun. This is the fifth year of our competition and we have had some outstanding winners.
Science meets Art – Our annual photographic competition aims at creating an opportunity for you to creatively express what you observe within science, in pictures, and we hope that this will get you to explore the visual aspects of STEAM through the art and science of photography and capture images that demonstrate and communicate STEAM concepts and phenomena.
This year 2024,
the focus of the competition is on:
"Time"
(Including everything from clocks, hourglasses, sundials to biological clocks, sunsets, stars, ancient monuments and more!)
We want you to take photographs (up to 3 entries per person) that express what Time means to you or how it impacts health or our environment, including the negative or positive roles of technology. Each photograph must be accompanied with a short plain language explanation (not more than 50 words) of the thoughts behind your photograph.
TEXPO Schools' Competition: Fri 21 June 2024, Anglia Ruskin University
We are pleased to confirm the date for the 2024 CSES Schools' Technology Exhibition (TEXPO).
The dates will be as follows:
- The TEXPO will take place on Friday 21 June 2024.
- The awards evening will take place on one evening of Thursday 11 July 2024.
Find out more about the competition here.
We are open for early-bird entries – click here to enter the TEXPO now – and will send further details in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, remember to enter this year's Big Bang competition!
From passion to project
The Big Bang Competition is open for entries! Inspire students to work together, problem solve and get creative with science, engineering and technology. New for this year, celebrate your students' inner innovator with brand-new technology prizes, supported by Siemens.
Entries will close on 27 March at 5pm so you've got plenty of time to start a project!
Find out more about The Competition and how to enter online.
Read about Felsted's collaboration with Remap following the CSES TEXPO 2023. Words and pictures by Mrs C Bury, kindly reproduced with permission from the Felsted School website.
In a bid to foster connections to the wider world and make a positive impact on the community, Felsted School proudly announces its collaboration with Remap, a renowned charity dedicated to creating bespoke devices that enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities. At the heart of Felsted School's ethos is the commitment to extending its influence beyond the classroom, and the partnership with Remap aligns perfectly with this mission.
Remap, known for its work in utilising design and technology to craft custom devices not commercially available, has found an eager ally in Felsted School's STEM team. Our students are enthusiastically taking on the challenge of developing two memory light-up devices designed to support individuals living with dementia. This innovative initiative aims to demonstrate how science, design, and technology skills acquired in the classroom can be harnessed for tangible, real-world impact.
FREE club starting 27 January 2024 for Year 10 students – apply now
We are excited to announce a fantastic opportunity that is open for all Year 10 students who are studying STEM subjects.
Under the umbrella of the National Saturday Clubs (NSC), CSES and ARU are running another free Science and Engineering Saturday Club. The club will provide an opportunity for Year 10 students to experience a range of different Science and Engineering topics using the state-of-the-art Super Lab and workshop facilities at ARU's Chelmsford Campus. Each session will explore the science and engineering behind real life activities and problems that can affect our daily lives. In addition to laboratory and workshop sessions there are also visits to science and technology-related organisations. The NSC also organise for us a masterclass with leading industry professionals and a Summer Show at Somerset House in June.
Starting on 27 January 2024, the club will run for 15 weeks. The sessions will take place from 10.00 am – 12.30 pm on Saturday mornings during term time.
The programme is delivered totally free of charge for up to 30 students, so places are limited and we have only a few weeks to recruit. Please see the attached letters to parents and teachers for more information.
Report from the event: 15 November 2023
On Wednesday 15 November 2023, Chelmsford Cathedral hosted a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) conference for teachers and young people from a range of schools across Essex and East London. Participants came from Castledon College, Beauchamps High School, Drapers Academy, CCHS, CVHS and St John Payne. In total, well over 100 students.
The day was the latest in a series going back over ten years organised by Ivor Moody the Vice Dean and Canon Pastor (and latterly with Lee Bryant, Head of Sixth Form at Drapers' Academy). Students from years 11, 12 and 13 are offered the chance to experience a cross-curricular day, seeing how the academic subjects they are studying can cross-connect and interact with other academic disciplines, subjects and situations which are relevant to, and which may be encountered by, the students as they progress in their studies and experience 'the real world'.
Read more: CSES co-hosts STEM Conference with Drapers' Academy and Chelmsford Cathedral
A packed programme for everyone to look forward to
We are delighted to announce that our 2023-2024 season is taking shape, with (nearly) all the talks for the year now confirmed, the socials for the remainder of 2023 in the diary (more to follow!) and other highlights such as the Chelmsford Science Festival on the horizon.
We are also pleased to be jointly hosting a STEM Conference with Drapers' Academy at Chelmsford Cathedral (15 Nov), and to be able to offer a unique opportunity for students to hear a talk by the former Head of Technology at British Cycling (6 Dec)! Looking forward to 2024, we will be running TEXPO and Do & Discover as usual, and at various careers fairs and other events.
Keep an eye on the events page of our website for the latest programme. Members can receive email updates with all the latest news and invitations, so if you haven't yet joined the society but are thinking about it, we would encourage you to do so now! It's an easy, online process – free for students/teachers and only £12 a year for everyone else.
Read on for the events in the calendar so far.
15 November 2023, Chelmsford Cathedral
We are delighted to announce the opportunity to attend an educational visit to Chelmsford Cathedral on Wednesday 15th November 2023. The event is organised by Drapers' Academy in collaboration with CSES and Chelmsford Cathedral, and will feature our My Smarter Essex interactive polling format.
CSES is currently seeking a new President. This is an exciting and high-profile opportunity for someone who is passionate about STEM industries and STEM education, or who wishes to accelerate their professional development. Please read on for further details.
Please note that we are also recruiting for the role of CSES Secretary.
The GB Team's Track Bike For The Tokyo Olympics – 6 December 2023, ARU
We are delighted to announce that one of the UK's foremost engineers, Professor Tony Purnell, has agreed to give a special presentation for schools and students (and parents). The Team GB track bicycle for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics caused a stir on its announcement. Its wide forks and unusual titanium-carbon frame were a radical departure from convention. Tony, former Head of Technology at British Cycling, will talk about how engineering helped Great Britain top the cycling medal table at the Tokyo Olympics.
The talk will take place from 2pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 6th December at Anglia Ruskin University. We would suggest that it is especially suitable for students aged 11+ with interests in Science, Engineering or Sport.
DUE TO SELL-OUT DEMAND, Prof Purnell has kindly agreed to give a second edition of the talk at 5.30pm on the same day (replacing the previous talk scheduled for the evening). Members and the public are also welcome, subject to pre-booking.
To register your interest, please e-mail
- Step into STEM at Harwich
- Congratulations to our Giving Voice winners
- 2023 TEXPO results and National Saturday Club awards
- Photographic Competition 2023 winners announced
- Do and Discover 2023
- Photographic Competition 2023 – Deadline Extended!
- We need volunteers for Do & Discover 2023!
- TEXPO 2023 – enter now
- Obituary: Vic Leverett (1944-2023)
- Now open: Big Bang and TEXPO 2023