We’ve come up with some exciting things that we think you might like to try before you start school in September!
Click the buttons below to find subject specific information.
Computing
- Research Bletchley Park, home of the code breakers.
- Visit Museum of Science and Industry
- Read Carol Voderman’s coding books
- Try out your skills at www.codeacademy.com
- Attempt the different activities at www.cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk
- Watch The Enigma Code
- Join a coding club (www.codeclub.org.uk)
- Follow BBC Click on Twitter
- Visit www.W3schools.com
English
- Write a postcard to your new English teacher telling them all about you and your
favourite films and books - Find out the most unusual fact about a word in the English Language. For
example: ‘Strengths’…has only nine letters, but all except one of them are
consonants! This earns the word a Guinness World Record. It is also one of the
longest monosyllabic words of the English language. - Decide who your favourite TV presenter or actor is and create a fact-file about
them…what is it that they do well when they speak on camera? - Find out all you can about any of these famous writers: – Geoffrey Chaucer –
William Shakespeare – Charles Dickens – Roald Dahl - Find out about the origins (etymology) of three of these words: disaster, salary,
tea, umbrella, alligator, hamburger, jeans, juggernaut, coleslaw
and… Look out for your bookmark with our top ten books to read!
History
- Visit the Imperial War Museum North and explore the impact of conflicts on
people and society. - Visit the land slips at Mam Tor, Castleton, and take in the amazing geography on
offer there. - Visit Quarry Bank Mill and see the impact of the Industrial Revolution on
Manchester. - Visit the People’s History Museum and learn about the lives, work and leisure
activities of British people. - Visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Take a trip across the road to see
Manchester’s very own Roman Fort. - Visit Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum to see the history and legacy of the
Transatlantic Slave Trade. - Visit the Humanities sections at Central Library.
- Take some pictures of the amazing places you see over the summer holidays and bring a few along to your first Humanities lesson.
- Test your knowledge of countries, cities and capital cities on Sporcle.com
- And if you find a spare moment in between the above, why not watch an
episode or two of Horrible Histories.
Languages
- Make a list of ALL the countries in the world that speak Spanish, and try not to be
astonished by how many there are! - Research Spanish and Central/South American festivals, they have many weird and
wonderful traditions. Which is your favourite one? Why? - Go to a Spanish tapas restaurant and have a go at ordering in Spanish; make sure
you greet the server with ¡Hola! - Listen out for Spanish songs on the radio. What songs are they? See if you can find
out what country they are from. - If you go to Spain, take as many pictures as possible of things that are unusual or
different to life in England and eat as much Tapas as possible; ¡la comida es
súper delicious! - See if there are any Salsa or Tango lessons in your area, go along and join in.
- Find out some information about the Spanish royal family. How are they different
from our royal family? Where do they live? - Like cooking? Try making a Spanish tortilla, you’ll get a head start for when we do
this as P&P and film it – who said homework was boring? - Can you find out how many languages are spoken in Spain? Here’s a clue, it’s not
just one! · And lastly, try watching Zipi y Zape if you enjoy a bit of adventure.
Maths
- Find ways to play with mathematics, every single day of the summer holidays. The book
‘Maths on the Go! 101 Fun ways to play with maths.’ by Rob Eastaway and Rob Askew has some
fabulous ideas. - Think about the ginormous nature of number! How many hours will you be on holiday for,
from the time you leave your primary school, to the time you start at Hazel Grove High School?
How many minutes is this? How many seconds? How old will you be when you start school at
Hazel Grove High School? In hours? Minutes? Seconds? - Are you going abroad over the summer holiday? Which currency will you be using? What is the
exchange rate? How much does it cost you for food or drink or activities on holiday and how
much would that be if you converted it back to pound sterling, using the exchange rate? Keep
a record to share when you start your mathematics lessons. - Would you rather put £3 in the bank and have it triple each week for four weeks or put £4 in
the bank and have it quadruple each week for three weeks? Be ready to justify and explain
your answer. - Visit http://www.mathscareers.org.uk/11-14/ and explore this website. Research some of the
career profiles and think of a creative way to share your research. - Take on the “Corbett 5-a-day” challenge. Can you answer 5 maths questions a day throughout
the summer holiday? Follow the link and choose a level that will challenge you.
https://corbettmaths.com/5-a-day/ - You may have seen some of M.C. Escher’s amazing mathematical prints? Have a look at his
work; discover the mathematics within this amazing art. Can you create your own
mathematical print, Escher style! - Whilst you are out and about this summer, keep your eyes open for patterns and tessellations!
- Take some pictures of floor tiles, geometric ceilings, 3D structures and create a poster we can
display in the maths classrooms. Patterns and structures are all around us. Sometimes you do
not see them unless you are looking! - Do you know about the Fibonacci sequence? Find out about how this links to nature. It is
fascinating! - Have you got a cook book at home? Can you find a recipe? Look at the ingredients required
and notice how many people the recipe will feed. Think about how you would change the
amounts of each ingredient so that the recipe would make enough for two people. What
about for 10 people? Make a poster to display in our classrooms.
Science
- Science can be split up into the 3 different specialisms listed. Present your ideas in
any way about what you understand by the following: • Biology • Chemistry • Physics - Take some pictures of ‘Science in Action’ in everyday life.
- Find out more about the planet we are living on and its inhabitants – why not treat
yourself to an episode or two of Blue Planet!
Relax and watch some episodes of ‘Horrible Science’ or if you prefer read one (or
more!) of the ‘Horrible Science’ books. - Find out 5 interesting facts about Marie Curie and her work in Science.
- Find out 5 interesting facts about Dimitri Mendeleev and his work in Science.
- Find out 5 interesting facts about Sir Isaac Newton and his work in Science.
- Visit the Museum of Science and Industry and find out about Manchester’s
involvement in the development of Science, Technology and Industry. - Visit Jodrell Bank and discover how the telescope works and what it is looking for.
- Visit Manchester Museum and observe the exciting range of collections held there.