Our students have been working extremely hard behind the scenes to create something very special…
At Duke’s, we appreciate that the past 18 months have been like nothing we’ve ever experienced before. Coronavirus has been the single biggest challenge that many of our young people have ever had to face – causing disruption to both their education and their personal development over the past 18 months. While we understand that many people simply want to put the pandemic behind them, we felt it was important to really explore the impact of Covid-19 on a scientific, economic and historic level to fully appreciate the gravitas of what we’ve lived through.
This is how the Pan@NCEA project was born!
Combining elements of our school STEM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) as well as Art, Design, Media and Languages, we challenged our pupils to come up with a concept for an exhibition which would tell the story of the coronavirus pandemic, the different stages we have experienced and how these experiences have varied from person to person and place to place.
The whole school has been involved in aspects of the project, from taking part in activities during science lessons and tutor time to support the conceptual research, to the physical construction of the exhibition itself and we’re excited to announce that the exhibition is now (almost!) ready to launch and will be going on tour this summer!
What can you expect from the exhibition?
- Three large art installations to visually represent the scientific stages of the pandemic
- Audio visual elements including sound recordings of students, NHS workers and contacts from every continent around the world (except Antarctica!) talking about their experiences of lockdown
- Real-life X-Rays to show healthy lungs versus lungs infected by Covid-19
- Science experiments to demonstrate how the lateral flow test and the different vaccines work
- A Covid-19 virus DNA model, which was made by a registered blind student from Year 11
- Recorded interviews with Duke’s Secondary School’s Principal, Mr Atkinson and Father Laurence Freeman, Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation.
- Student artwork and written work
- NHS materials
Don’t miss out!
The grand opening of the exhibition will be taking place over two days starting from Saturday 14 August 2021 at YMCA Northumberland in Ashington, followed by an afternoon event at the Newbiggin Maritime Centre on Saturday 4 September and culminating in a very special display at Newcastle Cathedral (date TBC).
Mark the dates in your diaries and watch this space for more information coming very soon!
