Oundle School has a long and proud tradition of being at the forefront of STEM teaching and learning, which began at the start of the twentieth century under the leadership of Headmaster FW Sanderson, whose innovations established Oundle's reputation in science and engineering education.
Oundle’s SciTec site unites Mathematics, Science, and Design, Engineering & Technology both physically and philosophically, enabling pupils to move seamlessly from theory to practice, and from pure science to the achievement of a workable technology.
Within the main SciTec building, there are Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics departments. Each one is staffed by subject specialist teachers and supported by professional and skilled technicians.
Subjects taught here
The sciences are delivered by a staff of twenty-six full-time teachers and supported by nine technicians and form part of the core curriculum at Oundle: IGCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics are studied separately by all pupils up to the end of Fifth Form (Year 11) and are amongst the most popular choices at A level.
Practical work is central to the way that the sciences are taught. Facilities include 16 dual classroom labs, a wind tunnel, a scanning electron microscope, a highspeed camera, a rooftop observatory, and dedicated project rooms for each individual science, housing advanced glassware as well as molecular biology and data-logging equipment.
Every year the Science Department successfully prepare pupils to study science related degrees including Engineering and Medicine at the most competitive universities, including Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
The Science Department firmly believes in exposing pupils to the real world of science through trips and expeditions. Each year a group of pupils goes to the AAAS meeting in the United States, and to CERN. There is also a biennial Biology Expedition, which this year saw pupils exploring the Galapagos Islands.
Mathematics is flourishing at Oundle and and is one of the most popular choices at A Level. There are currently around 165 pupils studying Mathematics and 50 studying Further Mathematics in the Sixth Form, which stands as testament to the subject’s health.
Results at IGCSE level are significantly above the national average and Oundle was one of the first schools in the UK to prepare pupils for the Edexcel International GCSE, which has historically provided better preparation for A level.
Several pupils each year compete for places at top universities either in Mathematics, Engineering, Physics or other Mathematics-related subjects. Along with offers to read Mathematics at Oxford and Cambridge, many pupils have also gained places for related subjects such as Engineering and Computer Science.
The Department offers drop-in Academic Surgeries twice a week for pupils in all years, and weekly university preparation meetings, in addition to Maths clubs and other enrichment activities. A strong emphasis is placed on national Mathematics competitions, with many pupils qualifying for Kangaroo and Olympiad papers at all levels. Senior and Junior pupil teams have also frequently won places in the National Final of the UKMT Team Mathematical Challenge.
JONATHAN PEVERLEY, HEAD OF STEM“Pupils should ultimately have a deep and genuine understanding of STEM, for example, appreciating that the study of percentages in a Mathematics classroom is not just about assimilating theoretical knowledge of numbers, but about understanding how the calculation of percentages can be applied to levels of tolerance within the manufacture of a car engine.”
16 dual classroom labs
Wind tunnel
Scanning electron microscope
Highspeed camera
Rooftop observatory
Dedicated Project Rooms
Oundle’s STEM offering has been developed in partnership with both Imperial College, London and the Swansea University Engineering department, enabling Oundle to draw upon significant expertise from these institutions to develop collaborative STEM projects across the state and independent sector. Oundle employs an Imperial College London Outreach Fellow who teaches Biology and Chemistry and leads science clubs in local schools as part of our partnership programme. A STEM outreach programme takes science out to primary schools, whilst Oundle STEM Potential works with Imperial College to offer a programme for pupils from local secondary schools that includes termly workshops and masterclasses hosted at SciTec.
Opened in 2007, SciTec is a major and ground-breaking science complex housing 16 state-of-the-art laboratories. Phase 1 was designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and received a National RIBA Award in May 2008.
In 2016, SciTec was extended in Phase 2 to include a new Mathematics department, a refurbished Needham Building for Physics and an extended and refurbished Patrick Engineering Centre. Designed by van Heyningen and Haward Architects, Phase 2 completed the architectural aspiration of a grand entrance to SciTec, and created an internal quadrangle, giving equal status to all disciplines.
