Gough at School

A big hello to the children of Priestley Smith School!!

We’re in the middle of winter here on Gough, and the weather can be decidedly grumpy. We’ve been making the most of being stuck indoors to work on a project with Priestley Smith Specialist School in Birmingham, UK. The school teaches visually impaired children, and the teacher of the Lower Juniors class wanted to teach them about a place completely different to Birmingham. Gough certainly fills that requirement!

We started by sending the children’s teacher lots of information about Gough and its wildlife. The children then spent time learning about the island, and wrote emails to us with lots of questions, some of which were pretty tough to answer! Here’s some of our favourites:

-          What animals live on the island?

-          How do the animals get to the island?

-          How long do the animals live on the island?

-          Do you like the island and why?

-          Do you have a washing machine?

-          Do you have tables?

Once we had answered their questions, the children set to work on all sorts of science experiments and art projects about the island. The RSPB sent them lots of things to help. The children made some albatrosses, which went up on their classroom wall so that the children could measure their wingspans against the birds. We sent some measurements of the eggs of lots of our birds, and the children made graphs of the information. They also made Lego boats for us to leave the island in, and even model cranes, just like the one we use to get up and down the cliffs here to reach the sea. They tested the cranes out in their playground, to make sure they were safe. Sounds like the best classroom ever!

David testing out the children's crane (Louise Witcutt)

Ruben measuring his wingspan (Louise Witcutt)

Testing the crane (Louise Witcutt)

David and Em carrying out their work with Gough's wildlife (Louise Witcutt)