EDUCATION Pupils set their sights on building Inuit canoe

PUPILS at Cardiff Steiner School are building a full size reconstruction of an Inuit canoe from 1827 in a special project with help from the British Museum.

The original canoe is from Igloolik Island in Foxe Basin, Canada and is part of the British Museum collection in London.

Woodwork teacher, Mike Morgan, partnered with the museum to draw and survey the boat which is kept in their vaults in London and a class of 13 and 14-year-old pupils are now working from the plans.

A fibreglass reconstruction of the vessel was made for Cannes award winning film Fast Runner but the Cardiff Steiner pupils are using original construction techniques – although they are using canvas rather than the original 13 seal skins.

Once skinned and painted the children will float the canoe on the River Taff, and Mike will also be taking it for sea trials.

Projects like this are a feature of the Steiner curriculum where children use maths, literacy and science across subjects, Jenny Grewal from the school said.

“The Steiner teaching philosophy takes a “head, heart and hands” approach, and aims to develop the whole child by focusing less on testing and technology, and more on learning through creative, physical and practical tasks.”

In September this year the first cohort of children will start Upper School, which will lead to them taking the Steiner School Certificate - the first international qualification to be fully based on the Steiner educational curriculum.

The SSC is a recognised, alternative secondary school qualification that allows students to progress to further or higher education or into the world of work.

“Amid ongoing debate about creativity in schools, concerns about socalled “teaching to test” and calls for technology to be embedded in the national curriculum from early years up, Cardiff Steiner School offers a true alternative,” said Jenny.

“The Kayak project is just one example of our unique outcomes-based education in action.

“The flexible, student centred approach focuses on individual students’ learning styles and goals, with a clear and measurable expectation of what has to be accomplished at the end of a course for both students and teachers.

“It is an approach that develops students’ skills, creative and analytical capacities and competencies.”

Cardiff Steiner School in Hawthorn Road West, runs visit mornings every month. The next is on May 5 from 9.30am to 11.30am. To book visit www.cardiffsteiner.org.uk/ admissions/visit-us/visit-mornings/