A couple of months ago, I enjoyed visiting the Reception class at Ringsfield Church of England Primary School in full Arctic gear, and speaking to an excited class of very young pupils about the Arctic. This month, I was pleased to be able to return not only to Ringsfield, but also to sister schools Bramfield …
Category: Teaching
Norwich Model Arctic Council for Schools 8
Now in its eighth year, the Norwich Model Arctic Council for Schools (NORMAC Schools) remains the flagship MAC in our annual series, with three and a half days of diplomatic negotiations, official ceremony, social events and dinners — and of course a huge amount of enjoyable learning. Over 50 pupils took part in NORMAC 8 …
Second lecture at Scottish Association for Marine Science
It was a real privilege last year to give a guest lecture about Arctic political geography to students on the ‘Polar Seas’ module at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS). So I was enormously pleased to be asked back this year to teach the new cohort of students taking the module. Though the Arctic …
Model Arctic Council London
This past weekend saw the launch of the newest Polar Aspect Model Arctic Council programme: Model Arctic Council London (MAC London) at Alleyn’s School! It was exciting to welcome 17 pupils from 8 schools in France and the UK to the first-ever MAC London. The conference took place alongside Alleyn’s School’s first International Model United …
Model Arctic Council Bilbao 6
The weather in lovely Bilbao, Spain, was beautiful this year for the sixth Model Arctic Council Bilbao (MAC Bilbao) at Colegio Ayalde this weekend. Quite a contrast from the MAC Bilbao 5 conference last year, when it seemed to pour almost continually! An auspicious start, then, to this year’s conference, which took place this past …
Wycombe Model Arctic Council 4
Always a pleasure to start our annual series of Polar Aspect MACs by returning to Wycombe Abbey for the Wycombe Model Arctic Council (WYCOMAC) — with this past weekend’s conference our fourth WYCOMAC since launching the programme in 2020. As with the WYCOMAC 3 conference last year, WYCOMAC 4 was an intimate simulation set in …
Schools outreach at Ringsfield Primary School
Last year, I had the privilege of visiting Ringsfield Church of England Primary School to speak with pupils about the Arctic, and about my experience of living and working in Nunavut in Arctic Canada. I’m pleased to report that Ringsfield invited me back again yesterday for a guest appearance in this year’s Reception class. As …
Partnership with Youth STEMM Award
I’m delighted to announce that Polar Aspect has officially partnered with the Youth STEMM Awards (YSA), an organisation devoted to promoting youth interest and achievement in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine right across the UK. By working towards a Bronze, Silver or Gold Youth STEMM Award, participating pupils not only learn more about their …
Schools Newsletter – October 2023
Welcome back to school! We hope you enjoyed a lovely summer. With the new academic year now well underway, we’re excited to announce our 2023-24 line-up of Polar Aspect Model Arctic Council (MAC) conferences for schools — including the brand new MAC London! Registration is now open for: Wycombe Model Arctic Council 3 — 19-20 …
Presentation at 8th UK Arctic Science Conference
Yesterday, I took part in a session on ‘Innovation in Arctic education and public outreach’ at the 8th UK Arctic Science Conference in Cambridge, organised by the UK Arctic Office and the British Antarctic Survey. In my presentation, I introduced and reported on results from my Scotland Model Arctic Council (SCOTMAC) programme for undergraduate students, including …