Curiosityin Action: Science at Great Ballard
Imagine if every lesson started with curiosity… “What’s your question?” – it’s a simple prompt that sparks great science. This theme for British Science Week perfectly captures how our science teachers aim to inspire your child at Great Ballard.
“The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.” – Claude Lévi-Strauss
In the Prep School, science begins with exploration. Pupils get hands-on immediately - testing ideas, investigating questions and discovering the world around them. From studying plants on our school grounds to experimenting with forces and simple reactions, every lesson encourages that spark of “What happens if…?”This curiosity will be centre stage at the upcoming Years 5 and 6 Science Fair, where students will present their own investigations. Alongside the excitement, pupils also learn to observe carefully, record clearly and understand how evidence supports ideas—skills that form the backbone of scientific thinking.
As our pupils move into the Senior School, the curriculum builds on this early curiosity by developing the skills scientists use every day. Students learn how to plan investigations, analyse data, evaluate evidence and communicate clearly. Skill-focused assessments help them practise these abilities in meaningful ways, building confidence and independence as they learn to think more scientifically. Step by step, they realise that science is not just knowledge—it’s a way of questioning, problem‑solving and seeing the world.
By GCSE, pupils are ready to apply their learning with real purpose. They refine practical techniques through required investigations and learn how to design fair tests, interpret results and judge reliability. They’re also challenged to use their knowledge in unfamiliar situations—an essential skill for exams and for life beyond school. Our aim is simple: confident young scientists who can think critically, analyse evidence and express complex ideas with clarity.
Curiosity naturally extends beyond the classroom. Through our Go Beyond Saturdays, pupils meet the people and careers where science comes alive. Recent sessions have taken them into the world of forensic science (examining how evidence solves crimes) and space science, exploring the technology that helps us understand the universe. These experiences help pupils see how their classroom skills relate to exciting futures in STEM.
Science at Great Ballard begins and ends with questions. Whether examining a leaf under a microscope, designing an investigation or imagining distant galaxies, pupils follow the same process: ask, explore, test and discover.
So if British Science Week asks, “What’s your question?”, we hope every Great Ballard pupil leaves our classrooms inspired to ask many more.
