The Other Half

Astronomy GCSE This is an opportunity for anyone from the Third Year upwards to learn about Astronomy in more detail and to enter for the GCSE exam in the subject if they wish. It is being run through the Abingdon Science Partnership and a number of pupils from other, local schools also follow the course. New pupils should discuss the practical details of taking the GCSE qualification before joining. Biology Society Lectures are organised to support work being done in the biology specification, to extend knowledge of the specification and to give boys an up to date account of current advances in modern biology. Some lectures may also have a more general “Natural History” theme and be open to middle school pupils as well. Some pupils can also be given the opportunity to carry out more open-ended practical investigations, workshops or other experiments. Dissections and moth trapping are some of the activities that have happened recently. Subject extension sessions also take place to expand on the content of the course. Codebreaking Club XFMDPNF UP DPEFCSFBLJOH DMVC – Codebreaking Club takes place weekly and teams will be preparing for and taking part in the National Cipher Challenge. This is an annual competition for students across the country to crack ever more complicated ciphers, including simple Caesar Shift Ciphers, Vignere Ciphers and beyond. If you like solving puzzles and reading secret messages then come along – programming and IT skills are a bonus but not necessary. Computer Programming The Computer Programming activity is intended to provide hands-on experience of the nitty-gritty of computer programming. We use a range of modern programming languages, and develop projects using hardware on which they run. Practical tasks will be undertaken in a dedicated programming environment using the latest interpreted object- oriented languages and application development frameworks. We support a mixture of students’ own projects and guided investigations into areas covering software, computer science/ algorithms and electronics interfacing using Raspberry Pi and Arduino platforms. Examples include smartphone games/ apps, real time image capture and processing and even an automatic sudoku solver. No previous experience is necessary, but an aptitude for logical and analytical thought will be essential. Projects typically run over half a term and are aimed to support the most enthusiastic coders down to those just starting. There is a particular focus on showing students techniques that will help them after Abingdon, be that at university or in the workplace. Electronics Electronics Club provides an opportunity to learn how to design and build simple electronic devices. The emphasis is on experimenting and learning rather than copying existing designs. Past projects range from reaction games to light sensitive musical instruments. Programmable microcontrollers are also available for more adventurous tasks such as robotics. No experience is necessary but eagerness to learn is essential. 25