Young weather-watchers at Chilton Primary School have been keeping an eye on the blustery late autumn skies.

To find out if conditions are calm, a little bit breezy or really quite gusty, the Year 1 group has designed and made its own windsocks in Design and Technology lessons.

Firstly the children discussed weatherproofing as their creations would need to be outside and had to be protected from the rain.

To find out which materials would work best they conducted an experiment to test materials for their absorbency. Next they considered that windsocks needed to be lightweight to catch the air currents.

To make their designs, they used junk modelling materials including plastic bags, tin foil, tape, string, glue and scissors. The also had to work out what shapes worked best and how to attach any extra parts to their windsock.

Year 1 teacher Polly Bryson said: “This was a great experiment and our little ones were really excited and thoroughly engaged with the topic. They were so keen to get their windsocks working just right.

“Allowing the children to modify their original plans was a key part of the learning.

“Many who had originally chosen a plastic bottle to form the body of the windsock altered their designs to add lightweight materials, such as tissue paper and ribbons, to better show the wind speed and direction.

“Then, when it rained, they were able to reflect on how although their thinking was on point, the materials they had chosen were not waterproof.”

Head of School Kate Law said: “This is a fantastic example of creative learning, particularly discovering the need to modify and improve the designs along the way to make them more efficient. The resulting windsocks were pretty impressive.”

Chilton Primary is part of the Viking Academy Trust with partner schools Upton Juniors and Ramsgate Arts Primary.

*For more information contact Head of School Kate Law on 01843 597695