Maybe if Archimedes had plonked himself into a bath that was too hot for his principles, he may have let out the same cry that we hear in schools up and down the land.

That Eureka-gasp moment, preceded by a puzzled frown, which follows a teacher’s question when most of the kids in the class grab a short intake of breath and send a hand flying towards the ceiling. That puzzled look is almost as much fun to see as hearing the gasp. You can almost picture tiny cogs whirring in those developing brains.

Nothing so audible signifies that connections are being made, and that the kids are engaged in the lesson. Then, as they strain, their faces contort until they look set to burst. They try to make themselves more visible, taller, higherI Levitation must have been achieved in a few primary classrooms.

How many other professions have the Eureka gasp to get them through their equivalent of dull, pointless paperwork? The stage actor has the smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd. And when the estate agent sees the smiles of joy as a couple find their dream homeI well, maybe not.

Never having worked in a secondary school, I don’t know if the same gasps are heard. I vaguely remember a few gasps in my own early secondary years, but these quickly turned into surly grunts, with hands lethargically raised from wrists resting stroppily on desks.

In primary, not only do we have a school population dominated by pupils wanting to learn, we can employ incentives that adults (and teenagers) would see as mindless chores. If primary kids wouldn’t sit quietly in return for the honour of carrying the register back to the secretary’s office, how would we control them? When the lustre of the gold star wears off, you know they are ready for secondary school.

Kids love praise. At school we have a celebration assembly where those who have been working well go up in front of the school and receive a round of applause. They swell with pride so much that I sometimes think they are going to pop - letting out the biggest Eureka gasp of all time.

David Ogle is a PGCE student at Bath Spa University College