Subject: Physics & Engineering
The Ashfield Music Festival was designed by the Institute of Physics as a mechanism to broaden the perceptions of students and to highlight the range of careers opened up by studying A-level Physics.
Working in teams, students design all aspects of the main stage for a music festival. Each team member picks a role based on the skills they will be using and information is given via videos and speaking with experts. At the end of the day, the teams present their plans to the other groups and a panel representing Ashfield Council decide which proposal wins the contract.
Pupils use planning, analytical, negotiation and team working skills, as well as physics and maths in a context that is appealing and challenging. For schools, this activity satisfies statutory requirements for enterprise learning.
For a diversity agenda – instead of providing students with a list of job titles to choose from, pupils are required to pick a skill set. Evidence has shown that this has successfully encouraged girls to take on all of the engineering roles, and not simply roles that would more typically be chosen by them.
The IoP has produced an activity pack complete with videos, PowerPoint presentation, expert briefing sheets and student documents.
Year 9 – 10 students.
The IoP hosts all relevant Ashfield Music Festival resources that can be downloaded for free.
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