It was brrr-illiant to welcome Alice Oates, who is a Polar Studies PhD student at the University of Cambridge’s Scott Polar Research Institute, to King’s Ely Junior on December 8th.
Alice’s visit was organised by Geography Teacher, Helen Melville, to complement our Year 8 students’ current topic – ‘Pole to Pole’.
Mrs Melville said: “We listened with great interest to Alice’s presentation about historical expeditions and what it takes to be triumphant in Antarctica. We then had a go at designing our ‘perfect’ Antarctic explorer, considering what their skills and attributes would need to be in order to be successful. We wrote our clothing and equipment list for an Antarctic expedition and we designed a menu, thinking about what food would be appropriate to take, store and eat in this inhospitable environment, but also provide enough calories to keep us warm and full of energy.
“Alice’s visit tied in with our current ‘Pole to Pole’ topic, where we explore Antarctica and consider what makes it so cold, what it is like to live and work there, and how the continent can be protected through the Antarctic Treaty. Huge thanks to Alice, Mr Parkinson and Miss Sudbury for all their hard work and efforts for the event.”