On Tuesday 20th May, Leighton Park School hosted our annual STEAMfest event, welcoming 300 Year 5 students from local Primary and Prep schools, including St Piran’s, The Oratory Prep School (OPS), Farley Hill, Sonning CE Primary, Emmer Green Primary, Whiteknights and New Christchurch. The sun shone on LP’s Ten Acre Field as we celebrated the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) through hands-on challenges designed to inspire creativity and teamwork.
Organised into teams of five, the students engaged in three distinct activities that mirrored real-world humanitarian challenges; constructing storm-proof shelters, designing rafts to transport essential aid across water, and devising systems to move clean water efficiently. As each task involved water, one bright Year 5 student pointed out, we were “using water to make STEAM”.
Each challenge encouraged collaboration, problem-solving, and innovative thinking, reflecting Leighton Park’s commitment to fostering interdisciplinary learning and our strong school values.
Science teacher and STEAM Co-ordinator at Leighton Park, Rachel Milhofer, co-organised the event and expressed her enthusiasm for the students’ engagement: “It was great to welcome local primary school students to the Park and share the joy that is STEAM. Our students who supported the activities were delighted to help guide the younger pupils and point out how Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths alongside the creativity of the Arts can be applicable in real world scenarios, such as in a humanitarian aid crisis. The visiting students loved the challenges, assessing how well they completed the tasks, and what they could do to improve if they repeated it.”
Educators and students alike recognised the value of learning beyond the classroom. Brenna Crompton from the OPS said that STEAMfest “allowed the kids to do hands-on learning that they don’t necessarily get to do in school”. Meanwhile Mollie (Year 5 at Sonning) said she prefers “hands-on learning because its more practical and you get to feel how to do this in real life.”
The event highlighted the importance of teamwork and collaboration, with students not only tackling the challenges but also learning valuable lessons in communication and resilience. Leighton Park students played a pivotal role, assisting in the facilitation of activities and providing support to the younger participants. Head of Science at St Piran’s, Laura Americanos, commented: “It was really nice to see the children working really collaboratively, especially with the children from Leighton Park as well, who were helping and guiding really nicely. It was great to get some STEAM into their day today and for them to do some activities that they’ve never done before, working as a team and thinking about the wider world.” Annabelle (Year 5 at St Piran’s) agreed with her teacher, “We’ve done lots of fun activities at STEAMfest and the students at Leighton Park are really fun to work with.”
Roz Edwards coordinates Leighton Park’s Be Inspired Programme, offering schools free events and activities for children in Key Stage 2 (and beyond) that aim to build on the curriculum by extending and inspiring the students: “Organising STEAMfest again this year has been an absolute joy – from working closely with the schools and planning all the details, to seeing it all come to life on the day! But the best part for me was seeing the children’s happy faces as they embraced the challenges with amazing teamwork, creativity, and enthusiasm. Well done to everyone who took part and thank you to our fantastic students and teachers for leading the sessions!”
As the day concluded, the students departed with a deeper understanding of how STEAM disciplines can address global challenges, equipped with new skills and having had a lot of interactive fun… and not forgetting a delicious LP cookie courtesy of our Oakview & Thomas Franks team.
If you know a school that might want to join us for STEAMfest 2026 then do get in touch ([email protected]). Places fill up fast!
Read more about Leighton Park’s innovative approach to STEAM, putting creativity at the heart of STEM and how we equip our own students with the skills to become Future Changemakers.
Additionally, please click here to view more photos of the event and watch a short video of the day.
Take the next step by selecting an option below, or if you want to drop us a quick message, you can do so with the form.
Δ