Solving a murder mystery in the summer hols!

Last year they went to Mars, designing and building rockets and Martian buggies, this Year's Gifted and Talented students solved a murder mystery! The Advanced Performance group at Lincoln Minster School really know how to have a different time over the summer holidays.

Building on the success of last year's Summer School, Aspire More Able with Matt Hackett were back at the Prior Building working with our students in a CSI-based week of fun and learning. The event is geared towards students from Years 6 through to 9 with over half of the students choosing to attend more than one summer school.

Comments from last year's participants included: "Very enjoyable!", "Brilliant", "I enjoyed the week and would go again", "Lots of fun", "I arrived alive and I left dead.....It was definitely worth it!".

This year the students spent a week exploring techniques that cover over 100 years of forensic science. From fingerprinting, blood splatter investigation, forensic anthropology, hair and fibre analysis and toxicology, to DNA extraction and analysis, the students went from the time of Sherlock Holmes to CSI and Inspector Morse. At the same time they extended their critical thinking skills while having great fun.

This was a demanding week that saw the students analysing crime scenes, interpreting evidence and scrutinising witness statements. The tasks were challenging and needed great skill and teamwork. And in the end they had to deduce the Who, How and Why of the crime. Our students rose to the challenge magnificently, showing imagination, good humour and huge ability coupled with a determination to see justice done.

The groups managed to beat three of the all-time highest scores that have stood since 2007.