On Friday 30th April, 36 Year 7 students from Harrow Way visited Salisbury Cathedral. The students had the opportunity to explore the beauty and uniqueness of the Cathedral while engaging in some interesting practical maths. The visit was split into three sessions, including:

  1. A tour around the Cathedral, giving the opportunity to take in the scale of the building and look into its exciting history.
  2. Cracking the Sarum Code: an intriguing maths investigation, following the premise that much of the magnificent medieval building at Salisbury Cathedral was constructed based on the Golden Ratio or Divine Proportion. The session set the students the challenge to find out if the Cathedral’s layout really holds these precious secrets.
  3. Master builders: a look at how medieval masters managed the process of designing windows and arches using their knowledge of mathematics. The students were given the chance to try it out on paper and then put this into practice by drawing their own life-size gothic arches on a mock tracing floor using giant beam compasses.

The year 7s represented our school in the best possible way. They were very cooperative and showed great enthusiasm taking part in the sessions. The trip was a real success and everyone involved enjoyed it very much.

By Mr Kambarev