Watching the Daisies Grow? The Extraordinary Childhood of a Quiet Genius with Asperger’s

Liverpool College More Able pupils and their parents were all invited to attend a talk about the codebreaking hero and computing genius Alan Turing. As a person with Asperger’s Syndrome, Alan’s brain was unlike his peers. Yet with his family’s support, he discovered how to march to the beat of his own drum. His wonderfully unique way of thinking and superb intellect led to one of the most important inventions of the 20th century – the first computer. During the talk, the pupils learnt the value and wonder of original thought and were encouraged to embrace the individuality that often comes hand in hand with true genius. Our thanks to Paul Morris, author of Danny and the Codebreaker, featuring codebreaking genius Alan Turing.

Mrs Doran

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Y9 Law Workshop

Liverpool College is determined not to let lockdown affect the opportunities presented to its pupils. As a result, all Year 9 pupils have been given the opportunity to participate in a superb  event called Magistrates Mock trial. This helps young people understand how the law touches every aspect of their lives and gain an insight into how the legal justice system works. This week, professional defence lawyer Sinead Fearson very kindly volunteered to work with a group of 35 Y9 pupils – all interested in careers in law. Ms Fearson is a Partner in the law firm RMNJ Solicitors in Liverpool and specialises in the Criminal Law Department in the magistrates court. The students were given a specially written criminal case on money laundering and Ms Fearson helped the teams prepare legal arguments for both the prosecution and defence of the accused.

Mrs Doran

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The Magic of Music (According to Science!)

It’s not often you get to participate in a workshop presented by an international award-winning science communicator, turned musical comedian, whose show sold out in its debut run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Emer Maguire led a superb workshop over half term combining her love of music and science. Covering musical genres and their effect on the human psyche, she discussed Hanser study into the effect of music on mental health. She answered questions like - does music make you more intelligent and looked into what your musical preferences say about your personality. This was definitely one the children needed to take ‘notes’ in. She also gave pupils the menu for writing their own hit song based on the science of music! If there’s a ‘scale’ for workshops for ‘minors’, this one definitely was top of the pops. It certainly hit the right notes for our pupils.

Mrs Doran

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The Great Building Game

Over half term, More Able pupils were able to participate in a problem-solving workshop with a ‘cracking teacher’, the Enigma outreach officer from Bletchley Park. The pupils were given 20 minutes to make a model using anything they had to hand – whether Lego, paper, old boxes or even blue tac. They then exercised their creative juices by explaining the functionality of their robots, the purpose of its creation and the features than made it unique, useful or desirable to a potential purchaser. Multiple Liverpool College pupils took part in this practical, tactile workshop that led to some fascinating, thought -provoking oral work.

Mrs Doran

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Eating Insects – Would You Do It and Why?

As part of the Virtual Plus Educational Festival for More Able students, pupils were asked a simple question – would you eat insects?

The session asked pupils to think about what they eat and how it impacts on their own health and the environment. Pupils used the app Padlet to collaborate to identify the carbon footprint of the food in their cupboards. It invited the children to consider why some people think we should eat insects and explored the modern face of insect farming – including here in the UK. Led by educational researcher at the University of Bristol, Dr Verity Jones led the first research of its kind that asked children under 14 years old – would you eat bugs? The Liverpool College pupils participating were absolutely fascinated by the workshop and were positively ‘buzzing’ after the workshop. Well done to all who participated and especially to the 90% who said they would be willing to try a bug burger when we got back to school.

Mrs Doran

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Stop Frame Animation Workshop

Multiple Liverpool College pupils were stopped in their tracks this week when they participated in a practical workshop on how to create their own stop frame animation cartoons. Led by Gordon Parsonage, a Junior Content Producer at 20Twenty Productions, the session showed Pre Prep and Prep pupils an insight into how some of the great StopMotion Animation films were created. Using the free “StopMotion Studio” app, they were then taught the fundamental basics by creating their own a short movie.

Mrs Doran

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