All articles

All 15 articles on Frontier Academy, newest first.

• History · Ages 11–15 · 6 minThe Magellan–Elcano expedition and the first voyage around the world
  What happened on the 1519–1522 voyage that first sailed around the world, the fate of each of its five ships, and why Magellan himself never came home.
• Space history · Ages 10–14 · 5 minThe International Space Station and how astronauts live there
  How the International Space Station was built, how fast it orbits, why astronauts float, how the crew eat, sleep and exercise, and how to spot it from home.
• Geography · Ages 10–14 · 6 minHow latitude and longitude work
  Latitude and longitude for ages 10–14, with worked examples on reading coordinates, converting decimals to minutes and finding longitude from the time.
• Space history · Ages 10–15 · 6 minMars rovers and what they have found on the Red Planet
  From Sojourner to Perseverance: how rovers land on Mars, why they cannot be driven live from Earth, and what they have revealed about water on ancient Mars.
• Earth and space · Ages 10–14 · 6 minWhy we have seasons, eclipses and tides
  How the Sun, Earth and Moon cause three effects: the tilt behind the seasons, why eclipses need a straight line, and what makes spring and neap tides.
• Astronomy · Ages 10–15 · 6 minThe planets of the Solar System – key facts in one table
  Distance, size, day length, year length and moons for all eight planets in one table, with notes on each planet and why Pluto is now a dwarf planet.
• Earth and space · Ages 11–14 · 6 minThe layers of the atmosphere, from the weather to the edge of space
  What air is made of, the five layers of the atmosphere and why temperature rises and falls between them, where the ozone layer sits, and where space begins.
• Astronomy · KS3 and GCSE · 5 minThe life cycle of a star, from nebula to white dwarf or black hole
  How stars form from clouds of gas and dust, why they shine, and why Sun-like and massive stars end so differently, with a flow chart for KS3 and GCSE revision.
• Space history · Ages 10–14 · 6 minHow Apollo 11 got to the Moon and back
  The Apollo 11 mission of July 1969 stage by stage, from the Saturn V launch to the landing, the moonwalk and splashdown, with a timeline and worked example.
• Earth and space · KS3 and GCSE · 5 minInside the Earth, from the crust to the core, and how plates move
  The Earth's layers, how tectonic plates move, Wegener's evidence for continental drift and what happens at each type of plate boundary, with KS3 maths.
• Space history · Ages 11–15 · 6 minHow rockets work, from Newton's third law to reaching orbit
  Rocket physics for ages 11–15: thrust, weight and resultant force, why rockets carry oxidiser and use stages, how orbits work, and a timeline of spaceflight.
• Geography · Ages 10–14 · 4 minHow a magnetic compass works, and how to use bearings
  Why a compass needle points north, true north versus magnetic north, how to read and reverse three-figure bearings, and how to make a floating compass safely.
• History · Ages 11–15 · 6 minAmundsen, Scott and the race to the South Pole
  How Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott raced to the South Pole in 1911–12, why the Norwegian team won, and what went wrong on the British return march.
• Astronomy · Ages 10–15 · 6 minStargazing for beginners and how to find the main constellations
  A beginner's guide to the night sky: find the Plough, Polaris, Cassiopeia and Orion, measure angles with your hand, and tell stars from planets and satellites.
• Astronomy · Ages 10–14 · 6 minThe phases of the Moon and why they happen
  Why the Moon seems to change shape over a month, the names of all eight phases, how to tell waxing from waning, and when each phase rises, with a diary task.