REPTON PREP’S MISSION TO MARS

To mark British Science Week, one ambitious Repton Prep year 7 pupil and STEM enthusiast, Ferial Amin, has designed and built her very own Mars Rover.  

Inspired by the NASA Perseverance Mission, Ferial reached for the stars when she set about designing a fully working Mars Rover complete with solar panels. She explains the design of her Mars Rover and how it will aid the search on Mars: “The mission for the Mars Rover is to look for signs of one cell organisms, and the different areas of the Red Planet where they might be found. I have designed the Rover to include night vision equipment so that it could identify any possible signs of life. Being the fourth planet away from the sun, Mars has about 44% of the light that we see here in Earth, so as I have equipped the Rover with large solar panels in relation to its size to ensure it can remain active throughout the mission. A camera is set into the Rover to communicate evidence back to Nasa”. 

Repton Prep provides STEM opportunities for all the girls and boys and this week has had an exciting programme of events to mark British Science Week, including hands-on practical activities and lessons revolving around the NASA Perseverance Mars Rover expedition which is carrying out vital health checks since landing on Mars. 

Mrs Claire Waldock, Head of Science at Repton Prep is passionate about girls and boys enjoying equal opportunities when it comes to STEM subjects: “Women are still underrepresented in STEM subjects, so it has never been more important to highlight the possibilities to all our pupils across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. British Science Week coinciding with the NASA mission to Mars offered a perfect chance for Ferial to undertake her own experimental work based on the curriculum knowledge she has learnt during this term, as well as taking risks with her learning, which is actively encouraged here at Repton Prep.”   

Headmaster Rob Relton is immensely proud of Ferial and how she has proactively embraced the STEM opportunities available to her at Repton Prep, saying: "It is our priority to provide STEM subjects that offer a breadth of knowledge and opportunity. Scientists and engineers have the capacity to solve many of humanities most urgent challenges, including global warming and right now they are the sharp end of the pandemic. We encourage all our pupils to constantly interrogate the status quo, push the boundaries and question social norms from an early age.” 

This week, as part of the School’s Repton Role Models campaign, Repton is celebrating the achievements of Alasdair Hastewell, who left the school in 2014 to study STEM subjects at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he is now studying for a PhD and lecturing at MIT. Alasdair's interest in science was rooted at Repton Prep where he was an active member of the Chemistry Club.