Many of us know and appreciate Mr Barrett’s continued support across all areas of  NGHS as our school porter. Some of us are also lucky enough to have learnt many interesting things from him due to his dedication to astronomy.  We had a wonderful time interviewing Mr Windell Barrett to find out more about his knowledge and passion for the skies, and to hear about the many ways in which he shares his knowledge with the NGHS community. 

Mr Barrett first joined the NGHS family in May 2009. He had left a career in IT to support the school with cleaning, caretaking and portering responsibilities. He quickly became a full time porter, assisting the caretakers, maintaining the extensive school facilities and supporting a wide range of requests, from setting up rooms for exams to delivering materials across the school.

 

 

Alongside his full time position at school, Mr Barrett enjoys studying astronomy. He has invested in his own telescope and studied the many facets of the subject, including Physics, Maths, Astro-Biology, Asto-Chemistry and Asto-Geology. His commitment to studying this fascinating topic began at the age of six, and he explained that he’s never stopped learning. He’s currently studying with the Open University, covering topics such as Planetary Science, Moons, Gravity, Black Holes and Lunar Geology. He hopes to further his studies in planetary atmospheres, exploring the concepts of life beyond Earth through air born viruses. It’s certainly a wonderfully interesting subject with lots to learn, we can understand why it’s got Mr Barrett hooked!

 

 

Here at NGHS, we’ve been lucky enough to benefit from Mr Barrett’s knowledge on a number of occasions. The first event he delivered took place in March 2015. Working with the Science Department, Mr Barrett spoke to the students about the Solar Eclipse. He explained the Science behind the celestial event, breaking down the terminology and making the subject accessible for the pupils to understand. He explained how telescopes work and guided the students through the eclipse, which took place from 7.45am – 10.45am.

We also observed a Lunar Eclipse in 2015, and Mr Barrett helped support the students’ learning by working with the Science Department on a “Red Moon” photo exhibition.

In October 2016, he enabled the students to observe Mercury’s transit across the sun. He linked his telescope to a large monitor so that everyone could view the event safely. He explained the various laws of Physics at play in such a visually fascinating event.

 

 

Word soon spread about Mr Barrett’s expertise and wonderful ability to explain this complex world of Science in an accessible way, and he was invited to deliver talks to visitors of the Park Garden Trail on a number of occasions. He enjoyed talking to members of the Nottingham community and inspiring people to find out more about the mysteries of the night sky.

This academic year Mr Barrett has shared his expertise with some of our younger pupils too. He’s delivered talks and telescope demonstrations to Junior School pupils and their parents, and he was incredibly impressed with the girls’ curiosity and the maturity of their questions. The whole subject of astronomy is a wonderful example of how interesting the world is, and how our students’ curious minds help them continually learn and grow.