DASP Science Development Fund 2016-17

Donations collected at the end of the Community Lectures have been split between the speaker's chosen charity and the Dorchester Area Schools Partnership (DASP) Science Development Fund in recent years.  DASP is a collaboration of schools working together to ensure the best learning outcomes for the youngsters of Dorchester and surrounding villages.  The aim of the DASP Science Development Fund is to promote science across the DASP partnership by allowing our students regardless of ability and background, access to high quality opportunities. 

On behalf of DASP, we are sincerely grateful to our Community Lectures audience for so generously supporting us in this objective.       

Over the course of the 2016-7 academic year, £2452.15 was raised for the DASP Science Development Fund (in addition to a similar amount being split between The Young Archaeologists’ Club, The Karuna Trust, Restart Rugby, Field Studies Council, The Jurassic Coast Trust, Marine Conservation Society, Oxford May Music and Lyme Disease Action). Residual funds carried over from previous years’ lectures (which had not been fully utilised in supporting science enrichment days for First Schools staged at The Thomas Hardye School or outreach visits to First Schools as anticipated) were added to the total. It was decided to allocate all remaining funds to enable all the schools which made bids this year to carry out their proposed activities:

Applications which were received by the deadline  5th May and notified of funding 19th May:

Broadmayne First School £450 towards a whole school science week – hiring a planetarium and visiting speakers and staging multiple activities; 135 students aged 4-8.
Damers School, Dorchester £450 towards inspiring and engaging the whole school community around a science and engineering and mathematical topic using K’NEX bridge building sets, establishing a whole-school bridge building competition. Reception to Year 4; 450 students aged 4-10.
Frome Valley First School £450 towards a trip for Key Stage 3 and 4 children to Marwell Zoo including two workshops delivered by the zoo with opportunities to handle some of the animals; 50 students aged 8-9.
Manor Park CE (VC) First School, Dorchester £500 towards a project to celebrate the Dorchester of ‘Dippy the Dinosaur’. The whole school to be off timetable for a week, to visit Dorset County Museum, to experience multiple activities across the curriculum in a ‘mini fossil festival’; 430 students aged 4-9.
Milborne St Andrew First School £450 towards mini-beast kits, data-loggers and other equipment for environmental and outdoor science activities in the school grounds; 85 students aged 4-9.
Puddletown CE (VC) First School £450 towards A science week for the whole school and also towards involvement in the Dippy the Dinosaur Exhibition at the Dorset County Museum; 150 students age 4-9.
St Mary’s Catholic First School, Dorchester £450 towards a pond and wildlife area to support the school’s Wildlife Club and Eco Club and to be used for animal and plants topics within the curriculum for all children in the school, year on year; 158 students aged 4-9.
St Mary’s CE VC First School, Charminster £450 towards a whole school topic focus for the autumn term around the theme of the human body. The purchase of a range of visual aids will allow the children to see accurate 3D representations of their bodies and to see inside themselves; 200 students aged 5-9.