Wednesday 30 May 2012 The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) became CSI Alwoodley for a day as the school opened its doors to four crack teams of super sleuths from local primary schools. GSAL was forced to call in the budding forensic detectives following the discovery that the treasured Rose Cup was missing from the trophy cabinet. The visitors set to work without delay, using the appliance of science to try and work out whodunit. Although the whole scenario was a set-up, there was real science to be learned by the young investigators as they sifted through the clues, conducting scientific analyses of fibres and powders and learning fingerprinting techniques, under the guidance of GSAL’s science teachers. Biology teacher Amy Yuasa is one of the teachers who coordinate GSAL’s CSI Days. She said, “This is a fun learning opportunity for the pupils, who learn team-working, observational skills and lab safety, and use equipment like Bunsen burners and microscopes for the first time. It gives them an exciting taste of the science they will be doing at high school.” Shakur Raja, Wigton Moor pupil, said, “The best bit for me was the flame test using the Bunsen burner. Science is my favourite subject and I’m looking forward to coming to high school and doing science.” Mrs Turnbull, Year 5 teacher from Primrose Lane Primary School, said, “The children have been captivated. They enjoyed the opportunity to use equipment they can’t use in our classroom and have had a good insight into the practical application of science. We’ll do follow up work in class with the children becoming crime reporters and writing up newspaper articles about the case they have solved.” The four primary schools taking part in the CSI day were Primrose Lane in Boston Spa, Adel, Wigton Moor and Richmond House. General News
