We are delighted to open enrolment for the Inspire Scholars Programme for Years 9, 10 & 11 to the schools from Ealing and Harrow that participated in our three-year pilot programme! The Inspire Scholars Programme for Years 9, 10 & 11 is a pioneering, sustained-contact opportunity for students aged 13-16. The programme has been collaboratively…
Category: Pre-GCSE Inspire
2022 Spring Term Card Out Now
Our 2022 Spring Term Card term card sets out all of the exciting outreach events, opportunities and resources on offer from St John’s, as well as across the University of Oxford. The information is particularly relevant to teachers and pupils in our link regions of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, Southampton, West Sussex, and the…
Mathematical Modelling in Sport: Competition Results
Following the pair of Pre-GCSE Inspire talks delivered by Dr Tom Crawford on Mathematical Modelling in Sport – ‘How to take the perfect penalty’ and ‘Maths and the Marathon’ – we’re delighted to announce the winners of the two competitions following these classes! Both competitions were about how we can use Maths to help make…
‘The Magic Number’: Competition results
Following the Pre-GCSE Inspire talk delivered by Sammy Wright on ‘Why poems are like spells’, we’re delighted to announce the winners of the ‘Magic Number’ competition! This challenge was all about numbers in literature. If you look closely, there are certain numbers – such as two, three, seven, nine – which you will find recurring…
Year 10 Class 7: Competition results
We’re delighted to announce the winners of the latest set of Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions for the term! In Class 7, Adaptation and the Human Mind, we returned to evolution in science, looking again at some of the themes we first explored earlier in the course. We discussed what is meant by terms such as ‘genetics’,…
Year 10 Class 6: Competition results
We’re delighted to announce the winners of the latest set of Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions for 2021! In Class 6, Books, Literature & Leisure, we looked again at evolution through a cultural lens, exploring how books and novels have evolved through different formats, styles and practices that reflect the societies producing them. We then turned to…
Year 10 Class 5: Competition results
We’re delighted to announce the winners of the first set of Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions for 2021! Class 5, Evolution and Volcanoes in review, was a little different from previous classes: we looked back at some of the topics we’ve covered over our last two themes stretching back to the summer school – ‘What is the…
Year 10 Class 4: Competition results
We’re delighted to announce the winners of 2020’s final set of Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions! Click here to see the winning entries.
Year 10 Class 3: Competition results
Congratulations to the winners of this term’s third set of Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions! Read their work here.
Year 10 Class 2: Competition results
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s second set of Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions! Click here to see the winning entries.
Year 10 Class 1: Competition results
We’re delighted to announce the winners of this year’s first Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions! Click here to explore the fantastic entries we received…
Year 9 Virtual Summer School competition winners
Congratulations to Year 9 competition winners!
Inspire Virtual Summer Schools in review
Following last week’s Virtual Summer Schools on the Inspire Programme, we are excited to announce the winners of last week’s Year 9 and Year 12 competitions!
Submission Instructions: What is the power of a volcano?
During the past week, we have examined this question from four different subject perspectives. Now it’s time to submit your answer!
Biodiversity and Conservation for Year 9, Day 2
In this session you will consider biodiversity, and the impact of human activities on endangered species.
Biodiversity and Conservation for Year 9, Day 1
There is a huge variety of wildlife found locally, in our gardens and local green spaces. It is important to monitor this diversity, to see whether it changes seasonally, or over time as our green spaces in Britain become more urbanised.
UK Parliament for Year 9: Day 2
Today, you’ll be able to put your learning to the test with some interactive online games put together by the UK Parliament outreach team!
Ashmolean Museum
Welcome to our virtual tour of Oxford’s Ashmolean museum!
Pitt Rivers Museum
Welcome to the Pitt Rivers Museum! Take a virtual tour of the museum and practice your observation skills with the Museum’s collection of masks.
Natural Disasters
Define a natural disaster and describe one way in which natural disasters have impacted on human civilisation, using an example.
Museum of Natural History
Welcome to the Museum of Natural History! Take a virtual tour and explore the museum’s highlights here.
History of Science Museum
Welcome to the History of Science Museum in Oxford! Explore the museum virtually and learn about the fascinating instruments in its collection here.
UK Parliament for Year 9: Day 1
In this session you will get to know the UK Parliament, and you will learn about some ways in which you can get involved. We will start by learning about Parliament and its history, and finish off the day with some votes and debating exercises.
Year 9 Virtual Summer School: Timetable
Welcome to the Pre-GCSE Inspire Programme’s Virtual Summer School! Click here to see the timetable for the week.
Year 9 Class 6: Competition results
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s final set of Pre-GCSE competitions! Click here to see the winning entries.
Year 9 Class 5: Competition results
We’re delighted to announce the winners of our fifth set of Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions! Click here to find out more.
Year 9 Class 4: Competition results
We’re delighted to announce the winners of our fourth set of Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions! Click here to find out more.
Year 9 Class 3: Competition results
Congratulations to the winners of our third set of competitions on the Pre-GCSE Inspire Programme! Take a look at the winning entries here…
Year 9 Class 2: Competition results
Congratulations to the winners of our second set of competitions in the Pre-GCSE Inspire Programme! Click here to see their fantastic work.
Year 9 Class 1: Competition results
Here you can see the prize-winning competition entries for the first class of our online Pre-GCSE Inspire Programme.
Did volcanoes kill the dinosaurs?
Scroll to the bottom of the page for today’s task! It’s the age-old question – how did the dinosaurs die out? What if volcanic activity was responsible for their extinction? And are we heading for another mass extinction today? Step back 66 million years and try to uncover the answers to these questions and the…
Telling the time with volcanoes
Scroll to the bottom of the page for today’s task! It’s not all gushing lava and pyroclastic flows – sometimes the excitement of volcanoes lasts long after they erupt, in the form of radioactive rocks! Find out how radioactive decay and preserved ash can be used to date volcanic eruptions… Dating volcanic eruptions For geographers…
The power of Vesuvius in the ancient world
Scroll to the bottom of the page for today’s task! The eruption of Vesuvius has led to an interesting combination of destruction and preservation… Although the volcano buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, this means they are very well preserved. But recently they’ve come under threat from more destruction thanks to human activity. So…
Eruptions and transformations: volcanoes in poetry and songs
Scroll to the bottom of the page for today’s task! Volcanoes, plate tectonics and Roman gods – not necessarily your standard subjects for poems or songs… Read on to discover where the word ‘volcano’ comes from, and what volcanoes have come to signify in literature and music – and have a go at writing your…