Primary Link Project

What is Primary Link Project? North Oxfordshire Academy runs a primary link project with local Primary schools. This is where Year 6 pupils attend the Academy one morning a week. They work in the Art, Design and Technology Faculty. Here they develop 2D and 3D skills in a range of materials as well as designing, making, team working and problem solving capabilities.

In term one, Cropredy primary school explored sound through Art and D&T activities. This included working in teams to design resource and manufacture a recycled wind chime. They learnt a lot about team work and reflection, their evaluations including such comments as ‘We had different opinions but managed to agree’ and ‘We talked about the design and made changes’.

They took a number of risks in an unfamiliar school with unfamiliar staff and using a workshop full of equipment they had never seen before, the learning curve was very steep. Their enjoyment and pride in the outcome said it all.



In term two, Y6 pupils from Hanwell fields explored Victorian toys, in particular moving toys and the mechanisms that make them move, before learning about CAMs and making their own automata from wood and customising with their own character. This was made using assembly line techniques where different members of the team manufactured different components and then they were all assembled together. The pupils learned a great deal about the importance of accuracy and good communication. This Primary project will continue with different Primary schools and themes throughout the year.