Feedback about our resources:

"Just the sort of approach needed to get able pupils hooked on science." Teacher & Reviewer, london read more

"The way the presentations enabled the pupils to learn was astonishing." Science Teacher. Lancashire read more

"Hot Stuff is brilliant" Head of Department. Essex read more

"The enthusiasm generated ....was clearly evident." Deputy Head, Suffolk read more

"Excellent PowerPoint presentations...an invaluable tool to extend pupils" (Schoolzone evaluation 2004) read more

KS 3&4 In-School 1-Day Event Programmes

Click here for Reviews of our Forensic Murder Mystery - 'Dead on Time'

1-Day Target:Mars - Event Information

A fantastic day which engaged and stimulated all students. Fast pace, interesting and relevant content. An excellent day for gifted and talented students..
Vanessa Fern, Assistant Subject Leader for Science, Higham Lane School, Nuneaton

An excellent event. Well aimed at our G&T students. The fast pace kept students engaged. The content and pace challenged and extended students knowledge and understanding. The event also catered well for the Business and Enterprise skills promoted by our school's specialist status.
Clare Jones, Subject Leader for Science, Higham Lane School, Nuneaton

Students engaged brilliantly with the tasks and enthused with what they were asked to do.
June Wischhusen, G&T Coordinator, The Priory School, Hitchin

An excellent day! Students really engaged. There was a real buzz of excitement all day.
Frances Ward, Assistant Head, Bishop Stopford School, Kettering

Extremely relevant & addressed a variety of learning styles. Particularly enjoyed the competition side & the enterprise (economic) angle. Excellent use of reward & celebration. Particularly enjoyed watching the pupils with the micro-science kits. The Presenter made a confident delivery & had good room management.
Anthony Curran, Science KS3 Coordinator, Swinton Community School, South Yorkshire

One of the best workshops we have had - pupils fully involved.
Gwynneth Watson, Assistant HOS, Aston Comp School, Rotherham

Range of challenges across the science curriculum. Great resources that we've rarely had access to in school previously. Very experienced with the format which shows.
Karen Johnson, Science Subject Leader, Maltby Community School, Rotherham

An absolutely fantastic day. Professionally delivered! See you next year!!
Dominic Halls, Lead Teacher of Science, Thomas Mills High School, Suffolk

Fantastically motivating. Promoting team building. Improving self confidence. Excellent, well done.
Peter Wood, HOS, Caistor Yarborough School, Lincoln

It was great to see the pupils so engrossed in what they were doing. Working well as a team and engaging in every activity.
Lynnette Washbrook, Science Teacher, Middlecott School, Boston

Very entertaining. Stretched their learning. Would definitely come again
Dennis Law, Barnhill Community College, Middlesex

A great range of activities. Some of the children said they wished school could be like this everyday!
Mrs Emily Hazell, G&T Lead Teacher, Shenley Brook End School, Milton Keynes

I cannot praise all the aspects of this day enough. I'd love to come again. Oh and the pupils enjoyed it immensely as well.
Jon Dexter, Teacher, Queen Elizabeth's High School, Lincolnshire

Made the students really work hard in a fun way. Absolutely superb packed day!
Angela Hobbs, Director of Teaching & Learning (Science), Carrie's Grammar School, Sleaford

A very enjoyable day - the students have been buzzing about the challenges. Really good to work in a new environment & put science into context.
R Marshall, Science Teacher / G&T Lead Teacher, St Hughs Maths & Computing College, Grantham

All pupils were engaged and entertained for the whole day and even spent most of the breaks discussing work too!
Michael Hole, The Gateway Academy, Essex

Really well organised and good equipment. Excellent day, pupils seem to really enjoy the whole day.
Karen Hunnable, The Deanes School, Essex

Excellent organisation. Activities were very well timed and moved into each other seamlessly. Arrangement of resources was excellent.
Presenter engaged students from beginning to end, making all activities interesting and students were on task at all times.
B. Finnigan, Sacred Heart School, Middlesbrough

Fantastic day, well organised & delivered. I felt our A&T scientists really enjoyed the day - They even cut short their lunch to continue work!
Nadia Eslick, Hameldon College, Burnley

Students experienced an excellent day with a variety of stimulating challenges. They also had the opportunity to work in teams with students from other local schools. Well organised, everything was provided and suited to task - Brilliant. Presented with enthusiasm and motivated students to participate fully. A brilliant experience for G&T students & staff!
Grace Andrew, Assistant Headteacher, Kesteven & Grantham Girls School, Grantham

The whole day was very slick. The students were able to do activities they are not normally able to & that was great. Your obvious enthusiasm was great & catching for the students.
Sara Jones, Assistant Headteacher, Robert Patterson School, Lincoln

Excellent - big thank you. Fantastic experience for the students involved.
Brilliant - A really worthwhile challenge extending the curriculum. I was extremely impressed with how engaged the students were.
Attending Teacher, Honywood School, Coggeshall, Essex

A fantastically well organised day, packed with stimulating and engaging activities
L Roberts, Head of Science, The King's School, Ely

Pupils were engaged and excited throughout the day - comments such as "This is so cool…" were frequently heard! It was great that pupils could access materials not normally available to them, e.g - microchemistry and electronics.
The presenter was fantastic; engaging, with a huge amount of energy. Thank you.
Sue Humphries, Head of Science, Whitton School, Twickenham

Students were totally engaged and pushed to work under pressure. Aspire.more able had excellent preparation prior to the event and organisation on the day. They provided an excellent range of well prepared resources and opportunities to carry out a good range of practical tasks. Pupils were very motivated by having choice. The presenter held students' attention all day, even at the end of a long day when they were tired and under pressure.
Carole Portman-Smith, Lead practitioner for the Specialist Schools Trust and AST for Herefordshire

1-Day Dead on Time - Event Information

An absolutely superb day where the students were fully engaged throughout the day and were very motivated by the competitive element. Thank you very much.
Angela Hobbs - Director of Teaching and Learning, Carre's Grammar School, Sleaford

An excellent event, the pupils were engaged and stretched. Well paced and superbly delivered. A nice introduction into a complex subject
Anthony Murphy - Science Teacher - Bishop Ramsey C of E School, London

This event couldn't be better. A truly challenging day incorporating a wide variety of skills around a theme that pupils really enjoyed.
Laura Roberts, Head of Science, The King's School, Ely

Fantastic, very interesting and engaging throughout. Excellent equipment and tasks.
Rob Simmonds - Attending Teacher - Ruislip High School, London

I attended both sessions and was really impressed with the presenter and resources! A very worthwhile day. Thank you.
Bhavini Lad, BTEC Coordinator in Science - Hatch End High School

The presenters were very clear and concise, making the experience very enjoyable for students by adding a competitive edge.
Kamaljit Attariwala, Biology Teacher - Guru Nanak School, London

An excellent event which the pupils obviously enjoyed very much. Resources - very professionally put together. Presenter - Great rapport with pupils and very well presented.
Gavin Bain, Science Teacher, The Gateway Academy, Essex

Fantastic! Lots of new and different stuff shown! Thanks. Presenter very good!
S Summers, Science Teacher, Harlington Community School, Middlesex

Fantastic value for money. Good Informative information
Laura Winder , Southfield School for Girls, Kettering

I felt this was something I couldn't organise (It would take me ages plus I don't have the resources) so it was worth holding this event. It also gave me an opportunity to bring several year groups together. Thanks
Moira Nigriello, St Gregory The Great School, Oxford

Extremely good, fun and exciting day. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Excellent resources.
Jean Harris, The Hemel Hempstead School, Hemel Hempstead

A fantastic day with lots of variety of challenge
Jean Carson, Langley Park School for Girls, Kent

This was a great day. The activities captivated the children - it was wonderful to see them so engaged. The resources wer fantastic - particularly liked the 'CSI' equipment. A parent/governer personally thanked the school for hosting the events - his son and friend had enjoyed themselves so much!
Emily Hazell, G&T Coordinator, Shenley Brook End School, Milton Keynes

Two brilliant days. The feedback has been very positive from both students and staff
Lesley Meadows, Science College Coordinator, Sacred Heart RC School, Redcar

1-Day Bunkered - Event Information

Engages the pupils from the outset accommodating every level of ability. Stretches their learning capacity to new heights. Plenty of resources which are a mix of diversity & innovation. Phenominal energy & commitment. Keeps the students totally focussed & motivated 100% of the time.
Dave Read, Head of I.T, Manningtree High School, Essex

This was a very challenging, fast paced day which kept the pupils stimulated and motivated throughout. The group work was excellent, especially as there were different pairings for different activities. The fact that many pupils chose to give up part of their lunchtime and stay after school shows how much they enjoyed it.
Laura Roberts, Assistant Headteacher, The King's School, Ely

Target: Mars Enterprise Event - Event Information

An excellent event that kept all the students occupied. It provided challenges for all abilities and allowed students to use a whole range of skills in practical, creative & scientific areas. An excellent motivator who kept the students on task and encouraged them at every opportunity. A thoroughly enjoyable event and extremely well orgainsed!
Miss Zoe Taylor, G&T Coordinator, The Herts & Essex High School, Bishop's Stortford

Very well managed by Aspire staff, making it easy for teachers on the day. Very motivating & engaging for wide-range of students. Interest sustained successfully throughout whole day.
Ellen Leggate, Teacher, The Herts & Essex High School, Bishop's Stortford

Enjoyable & great to see the girls so enthusiastic.
Penny Richardson, Teacher, The Herts & Essex High School, Bishop's Stortford

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Evaluations of our Extended Events and Summer School Programmes

2-5 Day Target:Mars - Event Information

This was an outstanding experience for our students. I know these students really well, I know their strengths, weaknesses & areas they enjoy. I saw different sides of many of the students due to your energy level & dedication. I am very impressed at your energy level, organisation & ability to engage the students! Thanks so much
Leila El-Chehasi - US Assistant Principal - Luxembourg International School - Luxembourg (4 Day Event)

I would like to thank you for the outstanding Aspire program you brought to ISL. The planning you provided, the flexibility you allowed, the written information you sent and the timely responses to my questions were all greatly appreciated. As for the program itself, it was a gem. What particularly struck me was the variety of stimulating and engaging activities you presented along with the infectious enthusiasm you engendered in my students. How nice it was see the way you guided students and encouraged them to openly recognise each others' talents and strengths in a variety of different ways. It provided us all a boost. Four days of excitement and highly motivated students-- what a learning experience for me.
Christine Jakobs - Science Teacher & Event Organisor - Luxembourg International School - Luxembourg (4 Day Event)

The event was full of pace, challenge & skills but most of all fun. High quality resources, superbly delivered by the presenter & brilliantly supported by Aspire's classroom assistant. An array of skills were developed. Many thanks.
Heather Jeffrey - G & T Coordinator - Lincoln Minster School, Lincoln (5 Day Event)

Having seen most of the activities twice now I still find the whole thing exciting and motivating for the students. For them to still talk about it as one of the highlights one year on can only be a good thing. Having seen the group work and how well it motivated the pupils I have taken the concept and adapted to my science lessons, competition between groups, earning points and losing them has proved a great motivator. Pupils encourage, discipline and educate each other using this type of group work. It has proved so successful I have been asked to pass on the methods to the rest of the school and to the Teacher Training Provider in the area.
Martyn Stringer, GT Coordinator, East Bergholt High School, Colchester. (3 Day Event)

3 brilliant days which thoroughly engaged students. Topics covered were interesting to students of the competitive element also kept them very well motivated. Well suited to needs/ability of students.Varied approach using all learning styles. Very helpful during booking process & provision of information. Gauged tasks to ability of students giving more challenge as needed.
It is 10 minutes before the end of the final day, students are all smiling & laughing - I can see it has been worthwhile - Thank you.
Pauline Mason, Head of Science, Mayflower High School, Billericay (3 Day Event)

Excellent in every way! Superb! Wonderful.
Leanne Cooke, G&T Coordinator, Mayflower High School, Billericay (3-Day, Secondary)

A fantastic week - I'd do it again in an instant!
I was very impressed with the whole week. The activities combined the right amount of challenge and fun. There was a real buzz about the students from beginning to end. The students engaged well with the variety of resources. The fact that they were up to date and the practical resources were those used in industry was good. The presenter was really helpful throughout the set up and running of the week. I felt that I had input and a really clear idea of how and why the event was progressing. He had a good rapport with the students.
Jane Anderson, Head of Science, Bishop Wand C of E School, Middlesex (5 Day Event)

The pace of the lesson was fantastic at the end of the week both staff and students were thoroughly enthralled. The students and staff enjoyed the experience and we will book again.
Jon Cosgrove, Assistant Headteacher, Fairfield School for Girls, Manchester (5 Day Event)

Splendid. Pupils always seemed to be active. Microchemistry and blood testing resources were especially good.
Thank you. Look forward to seeing you again!
James Beckett, Head of Science, Fairfield School for Girls, Manchester. (5 Day Event)

The events literally get the absolute best out of every individual. The creativity they show meshed with using scientific knowledge is fascinating. The students loved it.
Martin Wadsworth, G&T Coordinator, Saddleworth High School, Oldham. (5 Day Event)

Matt (the presenter) has astonishing energy...thank you for restoring my faith in education. You arrived post SAT and GCSE preparation - and showed us, with skill, how to engage bright year nine pupils. Science is now definitely on the map and future science 'A' levels and university courses are now considered possible. Fantastic stuff! The modern up-to-date equipment was excellent - never seen before in school and taught us as teachers, what can be possible. We are hoping to buy some ourselves. Matt's passion for science shone through and carried year nine on and upwards. He evoked a fantastic response from the pupils. They were totally involved even when high expectations were set and yet the sheer fun and enjoyment was tangible. Excellent organisation and good value for money, the content covered a huge range of skills covering many parts of the curriculum. The pace was excellent. Matt kept pushing them harder, yet he was positive and sensitive to those who were feeling very stretched. The organisation was excellent. The realism offered by using business and enterprise to organise groups and encourage teamwork is an inspiration!
Mrs M Hughes, Lead Teacher, Saddleworth High School, Oldham (5 Day Event)

An excellent event. Target:Mars has become an integral part of our science year.
James Barker, Head of Science, Saddleworth High School, Oldham. (5 Day Event)

This was a challenging and exceptional experience - the government should franchise this and set up teams to deliver challenges like this to all schools during the year. Impressive!
J.T. Moreton, MAPs Coordinator. Manningtree High School, Manningtree. (5-Day, Secondary)

It really stretched every facet of pupil's intelligence and application. They truly excelled under pressure!
Diverse enough to present constantly changing and constructing challenges.
The presenter is not just a teacher, but a communicator through may different techniques that maintained interest, fun and maximum participation.
Dave Read, Head of IT. Manningtree High School, Manningtree. (5-Day, Secondary)

Excellent - no negative comments about the entire week. Intensive but great fun.
Resources - excellent
I think the entire week has been superb - mind stretching for students as well as adults!
Dee Weedon. Manningtree High School, Manningtree. (5-Day, Secondary)

I would recommend this event to head teachers & staff. Delivered by a gifted presenter, I and the students were impressed. Students very well motivated. Clear learning has taken place.
Paul Matty, Manager, Towneley Park CLC, Lancaster. (3-Day, Secondary)

An excellent event - excellent content, pace, organisation and value for money. We hope to repeat next year.
John Meinke, Assistant Head Teacher, Waldegrave School for Girls, London. (5-Day, Primary & Secondary)

All good, an excellent range, quality and relevance of resources. I would definitely recommend it.
Tom Harris, Science Teacher, Ash Manor School, Surrey (4-Day, Secondary)

As a primary teacher, I enjoyed the work the pupils carried out and the way it encouraged teamwork and an understanding of the world outside the classroom. Very well organised. Very approachable.
Nick Crabtree, Deputy Manager, Towneley Park CLC, Lancaster. (2-Day, Primary & Secondary)

Overall a really interesting week with a range of activities. A really worthwhile week, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the students.
Teacher, Grey Court School, London. (5-Day, Primary & Secondary)

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Primary School Target:Mars Adventures

1-Day Primary Target:Mars

Great two days at a time in the term when pupils are flagging. I have only heard very positive enthusiastic comments from them. Thank you both very much. I will be in touch for more events next year.
Fiona Cumming, Chesham Preparatory School, Chesham

The children have had great experiences using new equipment. Presented with a fantastic amount of enthusiasm and very knowledgable about all aspects.
Emma Greaves, SSA - Audenshaw Primary School

A great day, everyone really enjoyed it.
Claire Curtis, Teacher - Manchester Road Primary School

The children were engaged and enthusiastic all day.
Katie Jackson, Year 5 Teaching Assistant - Fairfield Primary School

A super day from beginning to end - thoroughly enjoyed by children and teacher alike!
Karen Rosenbloom, teacher - Moorside Primary School

The children thought it was amazing and would love to participate in a further activity.
Anon Teacher acting in support, Burnley Primary School

Excellent learning exercise which was enjoyable, practical and well lead.
Anon Teacher acting in support, Heasandford Primary School

The day was excellent & kept the children interested all day. Presented in an enthusiastic and professional manner, which was a great example for the children.
Anon Teacher acting in support, Stoneyholme Primary School

Stimulating and exciting challenges.
Anon Teacher acting in support, Edge End Primary School

This is the 2nd year of attendance and the whole day is extremely well run, organised and thoroughly enjoyable.
G Smith, Springfield CPS, Burnley

Excellent event the children enjoyed it very much. Team building was good. Fantastic resources. Very useful for science lessons. Fantastic presenter.
Louise Lynch, Barden Junior School, Burnley

5-Day Primary Target:Mars

Thank you for bringing Target:Mars to Kellett earlier this term. The week proved to be an unanimous success. The children certainly enjoyed the challenge of the project and I have received numerous positive comments from parents.

From a staff development point of view, we found it extremely valuable in identifying strategies to challenge our able children.
Your organisation and feedback was superb.
Ann McDonald,Principal, Kellett School Primary School, Hong Kong

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Evaluations of our Software Titles

"Excellent PowerPoint presentations...an invaluable tool to extend pupils" full review (Schoolzone evaluation 2004)

Aspire Software:
I thought I'd let you know how useful the Aspire software has been. It's easy to get set in your ways when you've been teaching for a few years. Even changes in the technology like getting an OHP, data-logging and interactive whiteboards haven't helped that much. I find that real advances come from jolts that change your whole approach.

That's why I like the Aspire software. It's targeted at "gifted" students. Most of the students I teach are working at the grade C/D borderline, so they wouldn't be described as gifted. But I still find the Aspire software useful as a model teaching tool. It breaks new ground and it provides that extra nudge a hard pressed teacher needs to move on and design their own lessons on the same lines (though without the professional finish admittedly).

So what's special about the Aspire teaching approach? The lessons themselves are stimulating. The great visuals and engaging activities are a powerful motivator. At the most basic level they show the potential PowerPoint presentations have as stimulus material. These are third-generation presentations and its clear that a lot of work has gone into them. The contrast with the dreary didactic approach of some presentations sold for interactive whiteboards is impressive. Something to aspire to. In Hot Stuff, for example, students have to explain why aerogel is such an amazing insulator. This requires a detailed understanding of conduction, convection and radiation and the literacy to articulate the ideas. The high quality graphics give pupils a model for the task and the stimulus to want to give it their best shot.

There's a lot of superficial, marginally interactive, software around and students find it attractive. The extra thing about the Aspire software is that it gets students looking at topics from a different angle and this is its most important quality. In Motorway Mayhem, for example, students have to juggle with distance-time and velocity-time graphs in the engaging context. The slightly surprising approach gives them a deeper understanding and greater personal satisfaction. This is just the sort of approach needed to get able students hooked on science. Although the software is aimed at students who have good reasoning skills already, it also strengthens their thinking patterns by giving them challenging activities to wrestle with.
Pam Large, Science Department, Sacred Heart High School, London.

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The Haber Process:
The way the presentations enabled the pupils to learn was astonishing. The Haber Process is usually difficult and boring for the students. It was the sense of fun that made a huge difference. It was amazing how quickly students picked up the key ideas from Aspire.more able's approach. They really actually enjoyed it and grasped it a lot quicker. They were able to think about and discuss complex ideas and they remembered them!
I found it easy to teach with, saving lots of preparation time. The presentation style is so much more impressive than anything teachers have time to prepare. The presentations can also be used with lesser ability pupils too because of their structure. I was able to spend time talking through ideas with these pupils - who also benefited from the visual nature of the presentation.
Mrs M Hughes, Science Teacher, Saddleworth School, Oldham.

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Physics & Chemistry:
Aspire's 'Hot Stuff' is brilliant at showing students how conduction occurs. The imaginative approach helped students to structure their own understanding of the process. The animated model was clear and easy to grasp. They understood it and could still explain the concept months later. The same comments are true for 'Electricity'.
'Electrochemistry has been used with year 10 before they started their SC1 investigations. The superb animations and step-by-step structured approach to modelling and understanding of a concept meant students were more able to use their understanding to describe predictions and give detailed scientific explanations for them.
M Dhesi, Head of Department, Syndney Russell School, Essex.

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Provision in an Enterprising School:
As one of the 'Capital of Enterprise in the East' schools, we were particularly impressed with the enterprising approach to science that Aspire.more able has taken. The style of teaching reflects our desire to encourage pupils to be imaginative in their own approach. We want to enable all pupils to succeed in the community and in future career choices. Using Aspire's teaching resources and strategies help to deliver this.

The skills that Aspire develop through the use of its presentations are transferable throughout the curriculum. The problem-solving skills and techniques in the structuring of one's ideas, in order to explain them clearly to others, are particularly invaluable.

We find the presentations develop communication skills through the very nature of each lesson. Pupils actively discuss ideas with a renewed enthusiasm for the subject. However, it is the requirement for the pupils to think creatively that is of most benefit. This is a theme that is central to both our educational belief and obviously that of Aspire.more able.

We are currently assessing our curriculum content, discussing various approaches that can be used within each department. We want to deliver inspiring lessons that develop key skills, in an enterprising context. We have been so impressed with the work of Aspire.more able that we are including Matthew Hackett (founder) in our development of curricular content.

The science presentations are a single step in the right direction, complimenting our school-wide approach. We have worked very closely with Aspire to create a 'Professional Development' programme for our most able pupils - focussing on transferable skills for university and career placements. The science resources have been used, very successfully, during a specialist event for 'Gifted' pupils. The enthusiasm generated within the participating pupils was clearly evident, so much so we will ask Aspire to deliver a similar event this year.

Aspire have created a complete package that, in its most basic form, is easy to deliver and exciting to teach. Using their resource pack, MultiPack 2, enabled us to develop opportunities far beyond the expected. It has been the inspiration to many further developments within the school. We have seen many 'multimedia' resources, some of which are very impressive visually. The difference with Aspire's resource is that it supports the excellent visuals with superb teaching ideas and strategies that are also practical.
Mrs Hazel Johnson, Assistant Headteacher, Kirkley High School, Lowestoft.

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