We have been learning about forces and gravity so today I asked the groups to use what they know to build a tall tower. We discussed the success criteria and ‘compression’ and ‘tension’. I began by balancing a stick on my finger in order to explain the ‘centre of gravity’ .

The groups tackled the task with gusto and, as I thought, several groups took a ‘Jenga’ approach but some tried forcing vertical posts into the ground or simply piling up pine -cones etc. Half way through the session we toured all the towers to discuss the different strategies etc . The groups then went back and worked to improve their towers. Two groups started again.

We were especially proud of one group which has three children with ASN , all of whom lack resilience. Their tower collapsed several times but with encouragement from the person working with them they were keen to ‘try again’ etc. Oh we were proud of them!