Lichfield Cathedral School’s #STEM competition success

Imaginative play area designed by junior school children to become a reality.

Excitement is at fever pitch at a Longdon junior school after children used their STEM skills to design an imaginative new play area.

And that’s because their ideas – which include a mini rollercoaster ride – are set to be transformed into a reality on an unused piece of ground at Lichfield Cathedral School’s Longdon site, during the next academic year.

It comes after the primary science lead Mrs Julie Peters set a competition for pupils to come up with playground feature ideas using their STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) knowledge.

“Amazing” upcycled and sustainable ideas

Rising to the additional challenge of incorporating sustainable materials and ideas of upcycling, the talented children came up with “amazing features” including fairy gardens, kitchens, marble runs, mazes, dens, obstacle courses, sandpits, wind chimes and even a mini ride.

Mrs Peters said: “I’m delighted that all the children thoroughly enjoyed this STEM event.

“Their amazing designs included a marble run made from plastic bottles and old chairs embedded in the ground to make a crazy rollercoaster ride.

“All in all, the children used sensible ideas, with materials that would withstand all weathers.”

Pupils’ ideas now set to become a reality

Mrs Peters added: “The children could design whatever they wished, however, the design needed to be replicable as we’re now looking to build on this project by actually creating this new play area and have started to source the materials required, which is very exciting.”

As well as the added bonus of knowing their ideas will become a reality, the talented creators of the best feature also won an indoor play marble run set.

The play area is the latest STEM competition at the school. The last one saw children using spaghetti and marshmallows to recreate famous building structures.

Lichfield Cathedral School’s junior site is based in Longdon, just north of Lichfield, while its senior site is located in central Lichfield.