We found out what’s happening in the world of education

A trip to Buckingham Palace

A group of staff and students from Bridgwater College had the trip of a lifetime when they travelled to Buckingham Palace to collect their Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education.

The prestigious award was presented to principal Mike Robbins and vice-principal Andy Berry by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall at an awe-inspiring official ceremony in the Buckingham Palace ballroom.

Afterwards the Prince of Wales met students Luke Maidment, Cory Gutteridge-Turner, Will Kitch and Lucy Keirle and congratulated them on their achievements.

Hitting the right note

A performer from Wellington School has won the inaugural Taunton Junior Young Singer Competition.

Abigail Govey, a year eight, beat 11 other performers to win the coveted prize at a thrilling final.

This competition, which was judged by renowned tenor, conductor and composer Tom Robson, was set up by the Taunton Music Festival in response to the ever-growing numbers of vocal entries.

New patron

Lord-Lieutenant for Somerset, Annie Maw, is to become a patron at Bruton School for Girls.

She was appointed by the Queen in March 2015 as the Crown’s permanent representative in Somerset and is a trustee of charities supporting young athletes in Somerset. Annie was a director and is now a council member of the Royal Bath and West Society and is vice-president of the Friends and guide of Wells Cathedral.

David Batten, the chairman of governors at the school says: “Mrs Maw’s appointment as patron brings an added dimension, experience and a passion for education, which will greatly enhance the school.”

Space mission

King’s College pupils are preparing to become space biologists and embark on a voyage of discovery by growing seeds that have been into the universe.

In September 2015, 2kg of rocket seeds were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz 44S where they would spend several months in microgravity before returning to Earth in March. The seeds have been sent as part of Rocket Science, an educational project launched by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and the UK Space Agency.

King’s College will be one of up to 10,000 schools to receive a packet of 100 seeds from space, which they will grow alongside seeds that haven’t been to space and measure the differences over a seven week period.

The pupils won’t know which seed packet contains which seeds until all results have been collected by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and analysed by professional biostatisticians.