THE UNVEILING of an award-winning bee sculpture at The Petersfield School (TPS) added to the buzz at the school’s record-breaking open day.
The sculpture outside the art block was officially unveiled by Petersfield Mayor Jamie Matthews last Saturday (September 23), as hundreds of visitors and prospective students visited.
The sculpture was created earlier this year by TPS students Annika Loh, Fred Loh, Patrick Loh and Oliver Fernandez as part of the UK-wide ‘Polli-Nation’ programme.
TPS is one of 260 ‘Polli-Nation’ schools in the UK, working to develop its grounds to help increase the number of pollinating insect habitats in the country.
A school spokesman said: “Our allotment, where students were cutting sweet peas on open day, is attracting a host of bees and other insects.”
The allotment was just one of the attractions, which included displays and demonstrations by after-school clubs such as the horse riding club, the sailing club and its land yachts, the scuba diving club and an electric car race circuit.
Members of the school’s newly formed Combined Cadet Force and Police Cadets, complete with police car, were also on parade.
The school spokesman added: “A record number of visitors were faced with a mind boggling choice of what see, guided by more than 500 students who gave up their Saturday to be tour guides.
“They took visitors to each department where they were offered immersive experiences, including hands-on experiments in science and maths challenges.
“There was also edible insects in the geography department, painting and photography demonstrations and workshops.
“In the IT suite, there was a virtual reality dinosaur experience, and drone flying was put on by the design technology team. And in The Studio, there was a live rehearsal of our 2018 production of the musical Oliver!”
TPS principal Mark Marande said: “It was a fantastic atmosphere and we were very excited to be showcasing the great things that happen every day at TPS.
“We are very proud of our exceptional GCSE results this year and we continue to offer an unrivalled experience for all of our students.”