Science at Sir Henry Fermor

For key information about Science at Fermor School, please view our Science Overview 2026-2027 and Science Policy Statement which can by clicking on the PDF below.

Science at Sir Henry Fermor is an engaging subject where the children are exposed to a knowledge rich curriculum where the facts are consolidated first. The children are then encouraged to think like scientists in order to investigate and understand everyday scientific phenomena. Through scientific enquiry, children will be able to explore and appreciate the how and the why that surrounds science in the world around us. 

Science teaching and learning will focus on:

• building a strong foundation of knowledge that can be built and expanded upon from EYFS to Year 6 and beyond.
• scientific enquiry so children can develop scientific skills such as asking questions, planning and setting up experiments, observing, measuring, recording and analysing data.
• questioning; where the teachers pose thought provoking questions and the learners ask questions to deepen their understanding.
• STEM - During the year, children will have terms where they are involved in STEM science. This means an opportunity to revisit previous or new learning as well as encouraging creativity through cross-curricular learning. The whole school is also involved in a Fermor STEM day.
• encouraging the use of scientific language in their written work and discussion.
• putting learning into context so children can relate their learning and experiences to real life. This means their learning will have a greater impact on them as scientists and encourage them to ask more questions.   

Throughout their time at Fermor, children will revisit most topics, building on their existing knowledge to create a deeper understanding of the subject. From Early Years to Year 6, there are opportunities for exploration and investigation with children at the centre of everything we do. In Science at Fermor we inspire the children, believe in their ability and help them achieve as they should. 

Eco-Team

Another important issue related to Science is teaching children the importance of looking after our environment. We have a group of children in KS2 who are part of the Fermor Eco Team who are all passionate about helping our school become more sustainable. In the past few years we have run some successful initiatives to raise awareness of this important issue such as:

• Creating recycling posters for classrooms and shared spaces to help people sort rubbish correctly.
• We have run the 'Ellie the Eco Elephant' prize for the class who is most eco-friendly with their technology each term.
• The 'Book Swap' which takes place on World Book Day and allows children to swap old books with books brought in by peers - showing that items can be reused and loved!

If you would like to be a part of the Eco Team this year, please speak to Miss Holczimmer who can usually be found in Hedgehogs classroom!

Science Day 

Science Day 2027: 'Creativity'

This section will be updated closer to Science Week which is 5th-14th March 2027.

Science Day 2026:  'Curiosity: What's Your Question?' 

Each year group took part in an exciting experiment that was related to promoting fun in Science and delving further into the theme of curiosity. Throughout the day there were lots of Science themed questions being asked and booklets being made to answer some 'What If?' questions.

Science Day 2025: 'Change and Adapt'

To reflect the topic of British Science Week 2025, our Science Day took the theme of “Change and Adapt” this March. Having worked out our heights, we are now able to create a “Tree of Change” as a visual way to represent 2 clear ways that human beings change as they grow up.  The leaves of this tree are made of different coloured hand prints and are annotated with our own definitions of what we understand change and adapt to mean.

School Trips

At Sir Henry Fermor we are very lucky to have the Crowborough Pocket Park within walking distance. In July 2026, Year 4 went on a school trip to support with their Science topic in Term 6, learning how to identify trees and leaves. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm the children showed and many of them said they were hing to bring their families here too! Some children were also inspired to develop posters explaining how to care for the local environments in Crowborough. 

What do the children say?

Here at Sir Henry Fermor School we think it's important to regularly talk with the children about their learning. This informs our planning for future lessons whilst also giving valuable insight into the importance the children place on different subjects and their enjoyment of them. 

In a recent discussion about Science with children from several year groups we were encouraged to see that (of the children spoken to):

• 70% say they feel challenged to "about the right" level in Science
• Most children said that the scientific skill they are best at is "discussing scientific facts and explaining why things happen" and most would like to get better at "summarising results and explaining them".
• Over half of the children asked said that they really enjoyed or quite enjoyed Science.
• 100% of the children spoken to said that they think Science is important! 

This is very encouraging in itself, but especially considering some of the reasons the children gave for thinking Science is important:

• "because you learn about lots of different things" (Year 2) 
• "we need to learn more about the planet" (Year 2) 
• "if we didn't investigate things we might not have the right foods and medicines" (Year 5)
• "it can help people cure illnesses" (Year 6)

We aim to develop this curiosity and positivity towards Science even more through our Science lessons, practical activities and discussions in class.