2023; What a year!
It’s been the most incredible year for the team at Cognition Learning. Indulge us as we reflect on the past 12 months as team Cog….
It’s a busy job, but we really do love it and can’t wait for more to come next year.
Wishing all our Cog Family the very best in 2024,
Team Cog
29th December 2022
We were thrilled to feature on Radio 4’s Guest Hosts’ programme. Sir Jeremy Fleming (former head of GCHQ) hosted the show on 29/12/22 and we were featured in a great interview showcasing our work as GCHQ Bude’s education outreach partners.
LEGO, Billund, Denmark
In January 2023 Sophie and Briony set course for Billund to go to LEGO HQ for some advanced teacher training. Sophie and Briony are now both official LEGO Education Teacher Trainers, meaning they can deliver high quality PD to teachers looking to integrate LEGO Education products in the classroom.
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February 2023
In February 2023 we welcomed 11 teams from across North Cornwall and North Devon to Bude for our FIRST LEGO League regional event. Our biggest event yet was a huge success! Braunton Academy walked away as winners on the day and progressed to Harrogate for the National Finals.
We also ran a fantastic Girl Guides day in February half term for Rainbows, Brownies and Guides from across Cornwall.
March 2023
Briony and Sophie attended Cyber First Training in Cheltenham to learn more about the Cyber First pathway, Cyber First Girls’ Competition as well as Cyber Security and the role of GCHQ and the NCSC. They’ve loved delivering Cyber workshops throughout 2023 as part of their work as education outreach partners for GCHQ Bude.
June 2023
We had great fun designing the STEM workshops to be delivered in Cornish schools for National Armed Forces day. These workshops and a LEGO Education robotics competitions were designed by Cognition and delivered by the fantastic team at Cornwall Council. We loved attending the day itself in Falmouth to look at the competition entries and run our own programming challenges for hundreds of local schoolchildren.
In August 2023 we attended 4 days of fun at The IET in Stevenage for the FIRST LEGO League season launch and the Faraday Challenge Delivery Partner training. We had an absolute blast and enjoyed catching up with STEM professionals and enthusiasts from around the country.
Summer 2023
We were thrilled to run another sold-out STEAM summer holiday club with subsidised places curtesy of Bude Stratton Town Council.
Our programme was featured in the Cornish and Devon Post. You can read the article on their webpage.
August 2023
Our GirlSTEAM summer dance and robotics workshops were a huge hit! Funded by the Cornwall Women’s Foundation these classes looked to build interest in robotics and programming through dance. We saw 60 girls aged 5-16 in two workshops and felt truly inspired.
Our funded work continues with a GirlSTEAM FIRST LEGO league team who will compete this season.
September 2023
The first of our 10 Faraday Challenge days took place at Devonport High School for Girls in September 2023. We are the delivery partners for North Cornwall and Devon for this wonderful full-day engineering challenge for Year 8 pupils. Delivered at no cost to schools, and funded through the IET and their partners, we have loved leading these challenges so far!
September 2023
We also loved running our Cyber Security workshops at the CyberHorizons Cornwall event hosted by Truro and Penwith college. A great event with heaps of networking and inspiration from the Cyber Sector.
September 2023
September really was a busy month! We loved running workshops for Bude at War on encrypting secret messages and creating locked safes for transportation. We ran workshops for school children and the community and saw an incredible 500 attendees.
October 2023
We welcomed John and Sarah from Raising Robots for a very rainy day in Bude! Our Pasty and Sea Pool date had been cemented in the diary for months and when the day arrived it resembled a Monty Python sketch. From dead sheep in the sea pool, howling wind and rain to campervan picnics. It really was a day to remember.
November 2023
I think we may have mentioned our awards? You can read more about the Tech South West awards on our blog post.
December 2023
Celebrating their accreditation as a Cyber First school and the success of their year 8 girls in the Cyber First Girls’ competition we attended Colyton Grammar School for a 1 day Cyber Security Festival. We were thrilled with the feedback from these bright and discerning students, with over 95% of students rating the activity as good or excellent.
December 2023
We ended our year with 40 children attending a Christmas Holiday STEAM Fest. We welcomed 40 local school children along to a GCHQ Bude subsidised holiday club. We had a great day and it was a magical end to the year.
