Samuel Laycock students visit Tameside College Wed, 13 January 2010 A group of year 9 pupils from Samuel Laycock School, in Stalybridge, were given an opportunity to experience a day in the life of a full time college student. This provided students with a great opportunity to investigate what college life actually entails. For the first half of the day they were given a basic introduction to the college’s I.T system. Students learned how to use Excel to input data; make graphs and draw relevant conclusions. They also gained some useful knowledge of the new Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation software. The tasks were completed as a group with the aid of a large interactive whiteboard; which was also used for some short interactive ice-breakers and team building activities at the start of the session. In the afternoon students took part in practical team building activities within the greenhouse. They learned about the importance of taking care and protecting the plants and animals on the planet. They studied the important roles that insects play in the garden, for example; how some benefit vegetation; what they look like and the way they behave. They handled various insects some of which were slugs and snails. The students were encouraged to discuss insects in further depth. As they talked about how some insects hibernate during the winter and where they would go. The students were collectively encouraged to create a similar habitat (Bug Hotel) to put in the garden for the insects to live in. The students also experienced the ‘Chill Out’ zone where they took part in table football, pool and played Nintendo Wii games on the giant screen. The Taster day was a complete success and feedback illustrated that the students learned some new facts; skills and enjoyed their visit to Tameside College.
