Teaching resources

To support teachers in engaging students with the programme, this guide outlines five different classroom activities for KS3 and KS4 students which can be used in a flexible way, either as a complete day-long event or as part of planned lessons. Duration times are provided to follow along with the purpose and overview of each activity.

Students are provided with associated worksheets enabling them to record what they learned throughout the lesson or session and helping them to reflect on and identify the progress they have made regarding their STEMPowers, and whether they would consider a career in STEM.

PowerPoint slide decks are designed to provide structure for the lessons. Slide decks give students a visual aspect to focus on and feature images and information relevant to the activities.

These are accompanied by PowerPoint decks, providing the framework needed to deliver a maths or science lesson. Students are asked to take part in challenges and reflect on their own existing skills, which are referred to as their STEMPowers.

In this workshop students are introduced to Smeaton, a fictional city chosen as the site for a new high-speed rail terminus. A river crossing is being proposed to better incorporate the station into the city. Students will research crossing types, role play local people’s (stakeholders’) views and then present their findings to the rest of the class.

Rail Rush! is a turn-based board game for two to four players. Students act as competing rail networks, exploring the issues of costs, construction, sustainability, community and technical developments, and overcome these by making strategic and ethical decisions.